Review: “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith” by Matthew Stover

The war between the Republic and the Separatists has been raging for several years now, and while the clone troopers have been doing the bulk of the fighting, the ranks of the Jedi, who’ve frequently acted as their field generals in battle, have fallen precipitously, and the remaining full Jedi are spread thin across the galaxy.

Tales of the heroic exploits of the team of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker have become legend around the Galactic Core, and when a surprise Separatist strike on Coruscant results in the kidnapping of Chancellor Palpatine by General Grievous — the Separatists most ruthless tactician — all of the Republic’s hopes lie in the abilities of those two remarkable Jedi to rescue the Chancellor from the grasp of the most accomplished Jedi-killer at large… or the Republic will be lost.

The opening of the final chapter of the Star Wars Saga begins on a fast-paced note, and rarely slows down until the very end. All of us old-time Star Wars fans know exactly how things turn out, but what we’ve never known was how events progressed in that direction; until Episode II, we never knew just how much of the bigger picture was manipulated by Darth Sidious.

In this story, we learn how much has been manipulated, how long the pieces have been in play, and how they all come together in the end.

We find out how the Senate is led into doing everything against their own best interests; we see the planting of the seeds that would grow into the Rebellion; and we learn a great deal more about Sith Master and Apprentice.

We find out a few things about the tunnel vision that has blinded the Jedi for some time, and while we see only hints of how far Anakin has gone for a friend in the past, and how many Jedi rules he would break out of loyalty and love for a friend, we finally see how that particular pattern of choices leads him to choose to follow the Dark Side, and how that choice ultimately backfires against every reason he had for making that choice.

Matthew Stover has written a wonderful adaptation of George Lucas’ screenplay for Episode III, and Stover’s previous deft handling of darker themed stories, both in the Star Wars Universe and in his own original fiction, carries over beautifully to the telling of Anakin Skywalker’s descent into darkness. The end result is a treat for Star Wars fans and fantasy readers in general.

I truly hope that most of the richly spun imagery and subtexts in the book translate just as beautifully to the screen on May 19, 2005.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Author’s Blog: mattstover.blogspot.com