Bandoman

I figured this discussion belonged in this forum as opposed to the book forum.

I picked up the Ep. III novelization at my local library, and reading it allowed me to get into the characters' heads better. I also liked the explanation of how the Force is used during combat, and the psychological changes/mental fatigue going on with Anakin. Stuff that really can't be fleshed out in the movie. It made me appreciate the movie more.

For example, what appears in the movie to be fairly sudden move in Anakin from being a Jedi to embracing the Dark Side with comparatively little provocation is shown to be a deliberate, years-long process of doubt and confusion perpetrated by Palpatine, a brilliant strategy which anticipated and dovetailed in with the Jedi's distrust of Palpatine and their plans to check his power.

For those of you who read the book, did it enhance or detract from your enjoyment of the movie?

This is the first SW novel I've read, and it made me want to get into the EU. There are a lot of books out there, though, and I'm not sure where to start. I'd like to read bothy pre- and post-OT stories (I'm interested in the clone wars as well as the New Jedi Order started after the fall of the Empire in RofJ). Any suggestions for where I should start and in what order I should get them?

Thanks in advance.

Josh H

I'd start with Zahn trilogy, it's the best of all of them and was the first. Takes place a few years after ROTJ.

The first book is Heir to the Empire, the other two titles are eluding me.

Goldberg74

The Zahn Trilogy is comprised of Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command.

I would also suggest the floofy The Courtship of Princess Leia. It takes place inbetween the the OT and the ZT and is a fun read.

I'm currently reading Rogue Planet which takes place between TPM and AOTC. It's pretty good so far and does a pretty good job of fleshing out Mof Tarkin.

Bandoman

Thanks.

Groucho

It's interesting to read the novels of the original trilogy and compare it to the eventual prequels.

For example, in the Star Wars novel the Emperor is portrayed as a hapless stooge who is controlled by his lackeys and has no real power.

And in the Return of the Jedi novel, it says that Anakin fell into a molten pit and managed to crawl out before dying. Close to the eventual movie, but not exactly the same.

Flynn

Bandoman,

The books have always helped to make these films better for me. Instead of an annoying animal with a silly shriek - I actually found myself loving 'Boga' (Obi-Wan's mount), because of the way Stover described her as such a loyal companion. The book definitely help flesh out the characters and the backstory. I would recommed "Labyrinth of Evil" by James Luceno as the next book you read as it describes the events RIGHT UP to Episode III.

The Zahn Trilogy is fantastic, and really captures the spirit of the Original Trilogy. If you like the Original Characters, you'll love these books!

beatccr

one thing i always found interesting in the Return of the Jedi novelization was the part when luke asks leia about her mom.

"The question took her totally by surprise. She'd always felt so close to her adoptive parents, it was as if they were her real parents. She almost never thought of her real mother- that was a dream.
Yet now Luke's question made her start. Flashes from her infancy assulted her- distorted visions of running...a beautiful woman...hiding in a trunk."

interesting.

and then right before Anakin dies he remebers things yet he has no idea who Yoda was.

Fok

I have been quite disapointed with some of the novels based on the events after ROTJ. I haven't read Zahn Trilogy, but will give it a go.

Michael Corvin

I'd put the New Jedi Order on the bottom of your list. That isn't to say it is bad, but there are lots of prominent characters that orininated in other EU books and you would be missing out on some of the better stories.

I'd start with Zahn. I also second the nod to "Courtship." that was a good one.

On a scale of 1-10:

Zahn Trilogy: 10
Courtship: 9
I, Jedi: 8 (centered around a MC from the X-wing novels)
Hand of Thrawn Duology: 8
Darksaber: 7
first 5 X-wing novels: 7
The New Rebellion: 7
Jedi Academy Trilogy: 6.5
Correllian trilogy: 6
Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy: 5
Planet of Twilight: 5-6

and the real stinkers
Crystal Star
Truce at Bakura
Children of the Jedi

And then you have the New Jedi Order which is pretty entertaining for the most part, but with 20 books it is hard to rank them all at one rating. They get very repetitive and you can tell the exact moment when the publishers decided to cut the story by 10 novels (originally planned 30).

There is a lot of repetition with a lot of the novels. The most annoying of which is the number of kidnapping attempts on the Solo children's lives.

I probably enjoyed them more than most, but some of them are very entertaining.

Class316

Labyrinth of Evil is not canon as it conflicts with the clone wars cartoon.

Bandoman

Thanks for the suggestions.

BassDude

The novel enhanced my movie experience. The Boga stuff mentioned earlier, and the way the Emperor fooled the Senate into believing the "Jedi uprising." (Recording part of the office confrontation.) Also the early stuff where Anakin and Obi Wan were heroes from all their adventures on the 'Holo-Net." Just made them a bit more interesting to me.

The only downside is that I got bummed that others who saw it with me (mainly my kids) didn't get these insights and such. Maybe my oldest will read the book this summer.

Dr. DVD

Who said the Clone Wars cartoon was the "official" canon? Last I checked, GL commissioned both that and LOE to serve as a bridge. If you look at it all sorts of stuff in it conflicts with the way people are portrayed in the movie. The Jedi are superhumans who can take out a droid army with a single hand wave, yet Sidious dispatches them with ease. And Grievous, don't even get me started on how he was in the toon and then in the movie. FWIW, I seriously doubt a force push could do that much damage.
Also, Cato Nemoidia is mentioned in both the movie and the novelization, yet it is not in the Clone Wars cartoon to my knowledge.

Getting back on topic, yes. The novelization really helped my enjoy the movie more. It also gave a lot of secondary characters depth and actually got deeper into the politicial aspect of everything, including the early stages of the rebellion. I suggest reading LOE as it seems to fit with the novelization as one big story.

Nuff

Personally I disliked the Zahn novels a *lot*. I know I am in the minority here but they just did not feel like the same characters from the movies, it was like they were new characters acting totally differently with the same names if that makes sense.

I would recommend the clone wars comic book tps, they are quite good IMO.

KnightLerxst

I loved the Zahn novels, those books and then the Dark Empire comics are what triggered a new interest in Star Wars. Anyway if you can still find them I suggest picking up the audio books of the Zahn Trilogy read by Denis Lawson, and then Anthony Daniels, they both did a superb job IMO.

resinrats

Read "Shadows of the Empire". It takes place between ESB & ROTJ and is an great fun read. Could definatly have been a movie. It answers some questions that you might have had about ROTJ.

Other books I recommend:
Zahn Trilogy
Darksaber
Jedi Academy trilogy
New Rebellion

bboisvert

LoE is not canon, but not because it conflicts with Clone Wars (which is not canon either). Both are elements of the Expanded Universe, which conflict a bit.

Dr. DVD

My thoughts exactly. I like the EU but some of it is so bad I could never fathom it happening in a SW universe (though TPM had plenty of that and it is canon). I see EU as something that is made for the fans and it is ultimately up to the ones who read/watch it as to whether or not accept it as part of the story.

Houstondon

The book greatly assisted my enjoyment of the movie as it fleshed out characters, their motivations, and the surrounding details. I know some will argue that the differences are not canon in the Lucas vision but it sure made a difference in showing Anakin's conversion, his abilities, and so much more. The fights between Windo & Palpatine and Anakin & Dooku were made a lot better for me but they were only the tip of the iceberg.

In short, READ THE BOOK.

aukevin

I really enjoy the books after the movies. When I started reading them , I started with the books immediately after ROTJ, Truce at Bakura and then I went from there. I've read pretty much all of them through the New Jedi Order which I am halfway through. I have the ROTS audio books ordered from eBay, hopefully it will come in soon.

naitram

read Splinter of the Mind's Eye!

harpo787

Has anyone read the comic books (sorry...GRAPHIC NOVELS (c...of which I can't remember the name of...but the ones that would appear to be just alternate versions of the original trilogy?

Hell, how would you rank the comics of it all? I know just from flipping through that I enjoy the more modern comic art then the original Star Wars comic art from oh quite a few years (decades?) ago.

Alvis

Hopefully, some of the scenes in the book that did not make it into the movie were filmed and will be included in the dvd.

There are a few lines here and there that would mostly just provide extensions to some scenes.

cruzness

I'm hooked on both the novelizations and on the EU stories I have recently purchased. I recently read TPM, AOTC, The Approaching Storm (Pretty good IMHO), Rogue Planet (Interesting but I did not care for the author's style) and I am in the middle of The Cestus Deception (good). and I just ordered Cloak of Deception and Jedi Trial. I really like how they flesh out the characters more than in the films.