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sevskywalker's review against another edition
2.0
Return of the Jedi was my least favorite movie of the original trilogy, while there are some very good moments and some of my favorite too, they were overshadowed by bad things. But I have come to love it over time, but this novelization puts every bad thing on a high pedestal and also I just cannot stand the Ewoks. If you think watching them was bad, reading of them and about them was a lot worse.
Finally, even though some good moments shine through, sadly they cannot overshadow the bad things. But I heard the prequel novelizations are a lot better. Now, that the novelizations are over I can finally dive into the extended universe books and hope that they fare better than this.
Finally, even though some good moments shine through, sadly they cannot overshadow the bad things. But I heard the prequel novelizations are a lot better. Now, that the novelizations are over I can finally dive into the extended universe books and hope that they fare better than this.
bosquedemel's review against another edition
4.0
Well written and added depth to the movie. Loved in particular the passages from Vader's point of view where you can see what he's feeling or thinking and Leia's moments of using the Force.
goodverbsonly's review against another edition
2.0
This is Leia instinctively using the Force rights though.
And Han - he goes through GROWTH in this book love that for him.
HELLO, i have finished the ot novelizations and none of them are well written but at least this one takes some time with Anakin’s death where he thinks about how beautiful he was in his 20’s.
this is certainly the strongest, and also it’s the SHORTEST, which presents a glaring problem: instead of spending any time to flesh out the battles, they’re just transcriptions of the script. also, vader really just switches out of nowhere huh???
also who approved the droid and chewbacca dialogue i do not like it
And Han - he goes through GROWTH in this book love that for him.
HELLO, i have finished the ot novelizations and none of them are well written but at least this one takes some time with Anakin’s death where he thinks about how beautiful he was in his 20’s.
this is certainly the strongest, and also it’s the SHORTEST, which presents a glaring problem: instead of spending any time to flesh out the battles, they’re just transcriptions of the script. also, vader really just switches out of nowhere huh???
also who approved the droid and chewbacca dialogue i do not like it
thurminator's review against another edition
2.0
Well, this was a little rougher than I thought it would be! Overall not bad, but doubt I'll read it again. I picked this one out of all the novelizations since it is my favorite Star Wars movie; I've seen ROTJ dozens of times. There were some entertaining inconsistencies with the prequels, which is understandable since it was written the year the movie came out. I could have done without Han's long speeches about friendship and love, which obviously didn't make it into the final cut. Lando's incessant gambling allegories were a bit much as well. I did enjoy the inclusion of the deleted scenes before and after Jabba's Palace. I mainly read this for further insights from Luke, Vader, and the emperor, and I got a lot of those. Favorite quote, at the very end after the fighting (Spoilers, I guess, if you're reading book reviews of ROTJ without having seen Star Wars?):
"Vader’s own sense of anguish—to his crimes, now, he added guilt at the imagined repugnance of his appearance. But then this brought him to mind of the way he used to look—striking, and grand, with a wry tilt to his brow that hinted of invincibility and took in all of life with a wink. Yes, that was how he’d looked once.
And this memory brought a wave of other memories with it. Memories of brotherhood, and home. His dear wife. The freedom of deep space. Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan, his friend... and how that friendship had turned. Turned, he knew not how—but got injected, nonetheless, with some uncaring virulence that festered, until... hold. These were memories he wanted none of, not now. Memories of molten lava, crawling up his back... no.
This boy had pulled him from that pit—here, now, with this act. This boy was good."
"Vader’s own sense of anguish—to his crimes, now, he added guilt at the imagined repugnance of his appearance. But then this brought him to mind of the way he used to look—striking, and grand, with a wry tilt to his brow that hinted of invincibility and took in all of life with a wink. Yes, that was how he’d looked once.
And this memory brought a wave of other memories with it. Memories of brotherhood, and home. His dear wife. The freedom of deep space. Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan, his friend... and how that friendship had turned. Turned, he knew not how—but got injected, nonetheless, with some uncaring virulence that festered, until... hold. These were memories he wanted none of, not now. Memories of molten lava, crawling up his back... no.
This boy had pulled him from that pit—here, now, with this act. This boy was good."
bandherbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Man, this was not so good for me. I am way to close to the original trilogy films and I could not get over the stilted language and the lack of character development. I'm assuming the ROTJ script got handed to Kahn and he had to write a novel based off of movie he had not even seen? I hope so, because otherwise, woof.
I've read so many EXCELLENT Expanded Universe novels and this did not even come close. Perhaps if I had read this as a kid in 1983 with no other knowledge I would have been OK, because this was a HUGE bestseller in 1983. Huge.
When I read a novelization of a movie, I'm hoping for further insight into the minds of the characters, what they are thinking during moments of action, etc. In this one, the only moments I enjoyed were at the end, when Luke and Vader came to an understanding and we got to see a bit more of what was going through Luke's head during their confrontation. Oddly, Lando Calrissian was the other character I got a little more insight into, which I thought was an odd choice, but ok overall.
The Han/Leia romance was so off. For example:
"Han and Leia turned to each other full of feeling. All they'd struggled for, all they'd dreamed of-gone now...Han had never known love, so enamored of himself was he; Leia had never known love, so wrapped up in social upheaval was she..."
And,
"Han and Leia looked at each other, fixed their gazes deep in each other's eyes, swam there in the wells of their souls for a suspended, eternal moment, during which all was felt, understood, touched, shared."
Where's the charming banter?! Nope. Just too busy staring at each other.
Also, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT do this:
"'Ahrck grah rahr hrowrowhr," Chewbacca agreed.
or
"'Beed doop beep deep,' said Artoo."
Don't do it.
Read for the "year I was born" square on my work Book Bingo Challenge!
I've read so many EXCELLENT Expanded Universe novels and this did not even come close. Perhaps if I had read this as a kid in 1983 with no other knowledge I would have been OK, because this was a HUGE bestseller in 1983. Huge.
When I read a novelization of a movie, I'm hoping for further insight into the minds of the characters, what they are thinking during moments of action, etc. In this one, the only moments I enjoyed were at the end, when Luke and Vader came to an understanding and we got to see a bit more of what was going through Luke's head during their confrontation. Oddly, Lando Calrissian was the other character I got a little more insight into, which I thought was an odd choice, but ok overall.
The Han/Leia romance was so off. For example:
"Han and Leia turned to each other full of feeling. All they'd struggled for, all they'd dreamed of-gone now...Han had never known love, so enamored of himself was he; Leia had never known love, so wrapped up in social upheaval was she..."
And,
"Han and Leia looked at each other, fixed their gazes deep in each other's eyes, swam there in the wells of their souls for a suspended, eternal moment, during which all was felt, understood, touched, shared."
Where's the charming banter?! Nope. Just too busy staring at each other.
Also, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT do this:
"'Ahrck grah rahr hrowrowhr," Chewbacca agreed.
or
"'Beed doop beep deep,' said Artoo."
Don't do it.
Read for the "year I was born" square on my work Book Bingo Challenge!
jaredkwheeler's review against another edition
4.0
Star Wars Legends Project #288
Background: Star Wars: Return of the Jedi was written by [a:James Kahn|20035|James Kahn|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1576107640p2/20035.jpg] (based on the story by [a:George Lucas|3231|George Lucas|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1458677946p2/3231.jpg] and published in May 1983. This is Kahn's only Star Wars credit.
This is, of course, the novelization of the film, and it takes place 4 years after the battle of Yavin and includes the Battle of Endor. The main characters are Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, Yoda, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, R2-D2, C-3PO, Emperor Palpatine etc. The story takes place on Tatooine and on and around the Forest Moon of Endor.
Summary: The Rebellion has suffered major defeats and the Empire's strength continues to grow, particularly as their new superweapon nears completion. The Rebel hope for victory seems slim at best, and Luke is still reeling from Vader's revelation during their last encounter. But most pressing of all is the mission to finally rescue Han Solo from the clutches of the vile crime lord Jabba the Hutt. If our heroes can survive that encounter unscathed, then they might just stand a chance, and after all, they'll need all the help they can get.
Review: As with all of the novelizations of the original trilogy, this one does its job in translating the film to the page as directly as possible. It's not as fun as watching the movie, but it'll do in a pinch. Like the previous episode, this one never lets up its pace. In fact, even with so much to accomplish, it's the shortest of the adaptations. Of course, consequently, that also means I have the least to say about it. I think this is the weakest of the original films, but it's incredibly entertaining. But then, I don't know why I'm telling you that. I guess I can't imagine anyone picking this up without a pretty good idea of what to expect.
B
Background: Star Wars: Return of the Jedi was written by [a:James Kahn|20035|James Kahn|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1576107640p2/20035.jpg] (based on the story by [a:George Lucas|3231|George Lucas|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1458677946p2/3231.jpg] and published in May 1983. This is Kahn's only Star Wars credit.
This is, of course, the novelization of the film, and it takes place 4 years after the battle of Yavin and includes the Battle of Endor. The main characters are Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, Yoda, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, R2-D2, C-3PO, Emperor Palpatine etc. The story takes place on Tatooine and on and around the Forest Moon of Endor.
Summary: The Rebellion has suffered major defeats and the Empire's strength continues to grow, particularly as their new superweapon nears completion. The Rebel hope for victory seems slim at best, and Luke is still reeling from Vader's revelation during their last encounter. But most pressing of all is the mission to finally rescue Han Solo from the clutches of the vile crime lord Jabba the Hutt. If our heroes can survive that encounter unscathed, then they might just stand a chance, and after all, they'll need all the help they can get.
Review: As with all of the novelizations of the original trilogy, this one does its job in translating the film to the page as directly as possible. It's not as fun as watching the movie, but it'll do in a pinch. Like the previous episode, this one never lets up its pace. In fact, even with so much to accomplish, it's the shortest of the adaptations. Of course, consequently, that also means I have the least to say about it. I think this is the weakest of the original films, but it's incredibly entertaining. But then, I don't know why I'm telling you that. I guess I can't imagine anyone picking this up without a pretty good idea of what to expect.
B
jarichan's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
kandicez's review against another edition
3.0
I had to lower my rating. That's the danger of rating a book long after you read it. Upon re-read, it was the story I was awarding five stars, not this book. Lucas' third act is brilliant, Kahn's writing was not.
Max Allan Collins is a supremely better adapter and I wish he could go back and write all of the novelizations.
Biggest complaint: R2D2 makes no sense as Artoodeetoo.
Second biggest complaint: I do not need a transliteration of all of the aforementioned beeps and wheezes. After almost 40 years I can write his dialogue in my head!
Max Allan Collins is a supremely better adapter and I wish he could go back and write all of the novelizations.
Biggest complaint: R2D2 makes no sense as Artoodeetoo.
Second biggest complaint: I do not need a transliteration of all of the aforementioned beeps and wheezes. After almost 40 years I can write his dialogue in my head!