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Title: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace by Terry Brooks ISBN: 0-345-43411-0 Publisher: Del Rey Books Pub. Date: 29 February, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.03 (402 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Darth Hideous
Comment: I am a Star Wars fanatic and picked up this book without a second thought. Let's just say I was lucky to have seen the movie (which was awesome) before I sat down and read the book.
The book is aimed at 10 year olds, I think. The dialogue is taken RIGHT from the movie, and the descriptions are so BASIC. I actually feel less intelligent after reading this book. How much effort does it take to directly copy the movie? SW, ESB, and ROTJ all had very good novels, and went into more detail about certain scenes (ie. Luke's training on Dagobah, the history of the Republic). However, in TPM, the "background" is so obscure and generalized you'd be better off not knowing it (case in point: the history of the sith). The pod race was so BORING I couldn't believe it! It is understandable that visuals are needed, but come on, at least TRY and put detail and expression into your writing!
Before I get too angry about this I'd better stop. I should also explain my rating. I would have given the book 1 star, but the extra star is for the nifty Darth Maul cover.
Rating: 3
Summary: kind of boring
Comment: Author Terry Brooks was given the task to write the book adaptation of the first Star Wars prequel movie: "The Phantom Menace". The novel is based on the screenplay by George Lucas. As with any other book there are good things and bad things about this novel. In this case, the good and the bad are the same thing: Terry Brooks must stay close to George Lucas's screenplay. This is good because Brooks must stay close to what the movie would end up being. This is bad because the screenplay wasn't very good.
The story is obviously the same as the movie (though fleshed out a little bit more). Two Jedi are sent to negotiate with the Trade Federation over the Federation's blockade of Naboo. The Neimoidians, under the power of Darth Sidious, try to kill the Jedi (Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi). The Jedi escape and travel down to Naboo where they end up rescuing Queen Amidala and a few select Nubians. To hide from the Trade Federation they land on the planet Tatooine where they meet a boy named Anakin Skywalker. Their ship is damaged and to get the parts they need Anakin helps them win something called a podrace, which Anakin is a driver in (the only human who is able to do so). Qui-Gon believes this boy is strong in the Force and is the one mentioned in a prophecy about a boy who will bring balance to the Force. The novel has two primary focuses: the time spend on Tatooine with Anakin and freeing the Naboo from the Trade Federation.
There are some things that this novel does very well. The opening of the novel is different from the movie in that we see Anakin in the podrace where he is wrecked by Sebulba (alluded to in the film). We see how Anakin is able to race the pod so well and this is the hint of how he is able to use the Force even without knowing what it is. Because we have more of Anakin's thoughts, we see his actions in a different light. We also get to see more of the Sith and their origins (though I prefer "Shadow Hunter" for that). Darth Maul does not come off very well in this novel. He is still an excellent fighter, but he doesn't get to speak or think here. The two Jedi come off the strongest as we get to see more interaction between the two and with more explanation of their relationship.
There are also some things that do not work very well. While Anakin is better explained as the potential child of prophecy, he is still not very interesting as a character. Also, both Darth Maul and Padme Amidala are given short shrift in characterization. Worse, I was bored throughout the novel. Sure, I knew the story so there were no surprises, but I can re-read a book or watch a movie a second or fifth time and still be entertained. With this novel I felt that I was just dragging myself along and the only benefit was that I did already know the story so I could skim at times. I have long been a fan of Terry Brooks and his Shannara novels, but this one was rather weak.
Rating: 3
Summary: "Clouded This Boy's Future Remains..."
Comment: Terry Brook's most famous contribution to bookstores is his "Shannara" series, which I personally found a bit too close to the Tolkien formula to find particularly interesting, much preferring his more original "Running With the Demon" saga. But in novelizing George Lucas's screenplay "The Phantom Menace", Brooks has found the perfect arena to instigate his clear, graceful style of writing.
It seems pointless in relating the plot, since I can't imagine anyone reading this book who isn't a Star Wars fan and hasn't already seen the movie (perhaps several times), but just in case, "The Phantom Menace" begins the Star Wars saga against a backdrop of political manouvering. The planet of Naboo has been invaded by the greedy Trade Federation, but Queen Amidala is able to reach the Republic and its Senate under the protection of two Jedi: Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi in order to seek aid for her home planet. On route to the Republic's base in Coruscant however, the company must make a stop on the desert-planet Tatooine, where they meet with Anakin Skywalker, a young slave with enigmatic origins, the makings of a great Jedi, and an uncertain future. This fateful meeting sows the seeds of all that is to pass...
As mentioned, Terry Brook's style is perfect in order to present the sometimes-complicated subject matter clearly and concisely. Whilst watching the movie for the first time I was often confused at the fast-paced unfolding of events that occured, but on reading Brook's narrative the screenplay became clearer. Likewise, his depictions of the characters are very true to what unfolded on the screen and we can finally get a look inside their heads and see what truly makes them tick. This is especially true of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan and Brook's commentary on their opposition concerning their interpretations of the Force: Qui-Gon is more attuned to the "living-Force" that stresses the importance of each individual, whilst Obi-Wan holds to the "unifying-Force", that tends to look at the bigger picture. It is the two Jedi that benefit the most from Brook's narrative and thus come across as the main protagonists. Unfortunately, Anakin does not fare quite as well, with many similar sections of character insight devoted to boyhood dreaming, and Brooks seemed so determined to keep Amidala's true identity a secret that we never get inside her head at all.
Throughout, Brooks takes the opportunity to add little scenes that weren't on the big screen: either intended and deleted scenes, or from the author's own imagination, it doesn't matter, as they serve to flesh out the story a bit more and slow the pace. Thus the story opens with Anakin in the desert and continues adding little scenes of his life before he meets Qui-Gon (otherwise the reader would not have come across him until chapter nine). One particularly evocative scene that bears more weight after watching Episode II involves Anakin helping an injured Tuskan raider. Recalling Anakin's later involvement with this species in the following movie leads me to believe that Brooks may have had knowledge Lucas's entire story, and so it pays to watch out for other bits of foreshadowing that Brooks sprinkles throughout, such as: Anakin's dream of Padme leading an army, Yoda's doubt at Obi-Wan's ability to properly train Anakin, and a secret smile on a politician that hints he may have a secret adjenda going on *cough*Palpatine*cough*.
Brook's descriptions of scenery, machinery and characters are beautifully done, and since only example can convince you, take a read of: Qui-Gon - "a tall, powerfully built man with prominent, leonine features. His beard and mustache were close cropped and his hair was worn long and tied back." Or of the Jedi Council room: "The room was circular and domed, supported by graceful pillars spaced between broad windows open to the city and the light." See what I mean? It is all very brief, but clearly and simply told. The only weak areas are the action sequences, but whether it's Lucas Jedi matches or Rowling Quidditch games, such things will always be more exciting to watch than to read, and I must confess I skipped over the pages concerning the Pod-Race.
Though it's hardly essential reading, Terry Brook's adaptation is an excellent literary version of the movie, that keeps in the spirit of the Star Wars saga, whilst adding little touches of its own. If you were confused by some of the drama on the screen, this will sort you out, and for veterans there's enough originality to keep you interested: the history of the Sith, the background of the main characters and a look into the workings of the Force that suggest it is more complex than simply a Light and Dark Side.
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