[.ca] Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (ISBN 0375406379)

Amazon.ca:
If you've seen The Phantom Menace in a theater--and, judging from the 1999 box-office figures, who hasn't?--you've probably been a bit frustrated by the speed with which the fantastic images and creatures fly past. There's no such problem with this audiobook. All the excitement of the Star Wars prequel is there, but this time there's breathing room, a chance to meet the characters, let them walk around in your imagination, hear their thoughts. Actor Alexander Adams's reading of fantasy master Terry Brooks's novelization is brisk but never rushed, punctuated at chapter breaks by snippets of John Williams's movie score. Unfortunately, those who hate amphibian pest Jar Jar Binks's voice probably won't find Adams's approximation any less obnoxious than the movie's. (Running time: 9.5 hours, 6 cassettes) --Lou Schuler

kind of boring:
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.

Go beyond the film with Episode I's novelization......:
Every saga, proclaims the tag line for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, has a beginning, and every Star Wars movie has a novelization. Following in the footsteps of Alan Dean Foster, Donald F. Glut and James Kahn is acclaimed fantasy writer Terry Brooks (The Sword of Shannara, among 14 novels), who adapted George Lucas' original screenplay into novel format. Although the Star Wars novels all stick to the basics of their source material, their authors are often able to tack on extra material to set up the situation shortly before the true beginning of the movie. In Brooks' The Phantom Menace, for instance, the first two chapters give the reader more details of young Anakin Skywalker's life in the weeks prior to his fateful meeting with Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. Brooks describes, for instance, the incident when Anakin's archrival, Sebulba the Dug, intentionally flashes young Skywalker's Podracer with his vents and nearly kills the boy in the resulting crash. Afterward, Anakin, his best friend Kittster Banai, and the young Rodian Wald encounter an old spacer in the town of Mos Espa. The grizzled veteran amazes the youngsters with his tales of flying fighters and starships, and of missions involving Jedi Knights. Anakin, even at the age of nine, decides that he will not settle for the life of a slave on Tatooine. "\oHe\c thought about what it would be like to be out there, flying battle cruisers and fighters, traveling to far worlds and strange places. He didn't care what Wald said, he wouldn't be a slave all his life. Just as he wouldn't always be a boy. He would find a way to leave Tatooine. He would find a way to take his mother with him. His dreams whirled through his head as he watched the stars, a kaleidoscope of bright images. He imagined how it would be. He saw it clearly in his mind, and it made him smile. "One day, he thought, seeing the old spacer's face in the darkness before him, the wry smile and strange gray eyes, I'll do everything you've done. Everything. "He took a deep breath and held it. "I'll even fly with Jedi Knights. "Slowly he exhaled, the promise sealed." From the third chapter on, Brooks follows the plot of Lucas' screenplay, starting from the failed attempt by Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi to negotiate an end to the greedy Trade Federation's blockade of Naboo. Despite their reputation for cowardice in the face of a strong challenge, something -- or someone -- is enabling the Neimoidian leaders of the Federation to stand up against the Galactic Republic's attempts to tax the trade routes. Using a fleet of battleships, the Trade Federation's viceroy, Nute Gunray, threatens to interdict all shipping to the small backwater planet of Naboo, home planet of both Queen Amidala and its representative in the Senate, the unassuming man named Palpatine. Confident that turmoil in the Senate will hinder any response by Supreme Chancellor Valorum and knowing they have the support of a Sith Lord named Darth Sidious, the Neimoidians attempt to dispose of the two Jedi ambassadors and boldly invade Naboo. Their goal: to capture the teenaged Amidala and force her to sign a treaty that legalizes Federation control of her planet. Even when the Jedi escape to the planet surface, Gunray and his henchmen don't fret much...until Amidala's cruiser -- with Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Jar Jar Binks, the Queen, and a small group of handmaidens and security personnel aboard -- runs past the Trade Federation blockade. But the cruiser's hyperdrive is damaged during the daring breakout, and the escapees must head to the nearest system not under Trade Federation control. The only one within range is the desert world of Tatooine, a rough-and-tumble planet controlled by the vile Hutts. There, the Republic has no presence and scum and villains live side by side with moisture farmers, jawas, and the nomadic and violent Tusken Raiders. The Phantom Menace fills in some of the blanks in the Star Wars backstory, answering such questions as: What were the roots of Anakin Skywalker's anger? How did Artoo Detoo and See Threepio meet? How did Jedi Knights serve as guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic? How did Palpatine rise from sectoral Senator to Supreme Chancellor? Star Wars fans know, of course, the future fate of the major characters of The Phantom Menace and the changes to come in the galaxy. Palpatine will someday be the Emperor, Obi-Wan Kenobi will end up on Tatooine as one of the last surviving members of the Jedi Order, keeping an eye on Anakin's future son Luke. Anakin Skywalker, of course, is destined to become the Sith Lord named Darth Vader, and young Queen Amidala will grow up to be Anakin's wife and mother of his two children. Yet Brooks focuses on this transitional time in Anakin's life, when he's still a child with good instincts and big dreams, dropping subtle hints here and there that foreshadow the events that will turn a heroic Jedi into one of the most iconic villains in movie history.

Empty and boring:
Brooks' writing was dull, empty and flat, tedious to read. Somehow, he made a juvenile and tedious movie even worse in the book. I don't know where the positive reviews are getting their opinions from, the movie was far better than the book as the action scenes were somewhat redeeming. Action in this book was treated with the same bland evenness as the rest of it. Atrocious for its mediocrity. Stopped reading part-way through because it just wasn't worth my time.

A perfectly adequate novelization of the film:
While I did not judge Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace as harshly as many Star Wars fans did, there can be no doubt that the film paled in comparison to the force of the original trilogy. Even as a six-year old child, everything about the first Star Wars film in 1977 seemed seared into my memory, and it somewhat saddens me to know that the children of this generation, after seeing The Phantom Menace for the first time, will never know the power and obsessive joy that the original Star Wars trilogy invoked in the children of my generation. Frankly, after two viewings of Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace a few years ago, only bits and pieces resonate in my memory. The powers that be certainly found an illustrious author to transform George Lucas' screenplay and story into novelized form. I've been a fan of Terry Brooks ever since reading The Sword of Shannara as a child, and Brooks has done a thoroughly professional job with this novel. Everything that happened in the film is described with great discernment, the furious action of intense scenes such as the battle between Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul is vividly rendered, the moments of light humor are translated expertly to the page, and the emotional aspects of the plot, especially those concerning Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, are drawn in tender yet meaningful strokes. This is truly a commendable and faithful novelization of the film. Unfortunately, the problems of Lucas' story are also faithfully captured in this novelized retelling. These characters just do not fire the imagination in the way Luke, Han, Leia, and Darth Vader did. I consider only two of these characters to be truly strong ones: Anakin and Padme, and unfortunately, events of the future serve to diminish them in different ways. I love Padme, though, and she is every bit the future mother of Luke and Leia, a queen and a fighter who will risk anything for her people. That being said, I must say that Anakin (and I swear I will never get used to the future Darth Vader being referred to as "Annie") isn't everything I thought he should be. He's an extraordinary child, of course, thanks to all those midi-chlorians coursing through his blood, but I do not think his background as we learn it here provides for an acceptable future embrace of the dark side. So much is made here by the Jedi Council - and Yoda in particular - of the dangers represented by the child's anger, but I don't see such anger in a slave boy who loves his mother dearly and seems to get by pretty well indeed on his own. It may be wrong of me to criticize a story based on incongruities I see arising in a later installment, but I just don't think George Lucas (and thus, by implication, Terry Brooks) satisfactorily showed me how this dear, brave boy will soon become the exasperating young man we see in Episode Two. The only other thing I would say about this perfectly satisfactory novelization is the fact that it really adds nothing to the film itself. Oftentimes, a novelization will add depth or better understanding to the film it is based upon, but that really isn't the case here. Questions I had about the movie (the true essence of Senator Palpatine, for example) were not threshed out in the book. In terms of refreshing my own memory of the story in preparation for viewing Revenge of the Sith, I could have saved myself some time and merely watched the film again.

"Clouded This Boy's Future Remains...":
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.