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Reviews
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones by Patricia C. Wrede, George Lucas, Jonathan Hales
amberfinnegan's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
justthatstarwarsbookgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book was an okay read. If I had to choose whether it was a good read or bad read I’d lean more towards the bad. I really loved the Episode 1: The Phantom Menace Junior Novelization as written by this same author, Patricia C. Wrede. However if this is what the rest of the Star Wars Movie Junior Novelizations will be like I’m strapped in to endure a lot of disappointment. I had hope the following books would be as good if not better than Episode 1, but if this sequel is anything to go off of, they definitely won’t be much to hope for any longer. I wouldn’t recommend this book to kids or newer fans of Star Wars due to its inaccuracies and misconceptions, both in spelling and also the confusion and brevity of scenes that deserved more time and expansion. The reason I say not to read this book if you’re a new fan is because this book doesn’t exactly resemble, represent or scream Star Wars or the Star Wars galaxy as a whole to me, it doesn’t do the beloved galaxy or even the Episode 2 movie justice. I’d suggest watching the movie or reading the official novelization to introduce yourself as a fan to this portion of the Star Wars saga and timeline. I also won’t be rereading this book. Here are some of the more particular and in depth things I enjoyed and disliked about this junior novelization, I hope they give you some insight into my opinion about why I did not enjoy the book overall and why it would be better for more simplistic readers rather than lifelong Star Wars fans: I liked how in the beginning of the novelization, when Padmé’s Starship blows up, she does not only address the death of Cordé in this novelization, but also the pilot, the ship’s crew, and her other bodyguards and handmaidens who were killed. I like how she vows to not let their sacrifice be in vain, and how badly it truly affected her being expressed a lot more than it was shown in the movie. I also liked how the Senators who are voting against Amidala are listed by name and their planet, it provides a lot of detail not given in the movie. I didn’t like how the alien species of Twi’lek is misspelled as “Twi’leck” when describing Senator Orn Free Ta in the Senate Chambers. Obi-Wan having to remind Anakin not to focus on negative thoughts again is a direct relation to lines and information in the Junior Novelization of Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, especially near the ending. I honestly can’t believe they misspelled “Mandalorian” into “Mandoralian”, which sounds and looks nothing like the actual term. The term is fairly well known so I’m not sure why the author would have an issue with it. It’s kind of really irksome actually for such a big fan of Mandalorians like myself. I didn’t like that it’s expressly stated by Obi-Wan that particularly Anakin’s senses aren’t that attuned, when in the movie it’s stated a lot more casually and less direct at targeting Anakin. I did like all the extra added details and specific scenes added into the speeder chase with Zam, but I didn’t like how after the crash Anakin states Zam must be “almost as good a pilot as him”. I find it very hard to believe Zam was almost as talented a pilot as Anakin Skywalker himself. When Anakin told Obi-Wan directly “I love you” as they walked into the nightclub, I thought that was too soon and too obvious to be spoken aloud like that as such a tender subject. I noticed the difference and slight change in the line about “Jedi Business” like in the movie to “Official Business” in this junior novelization and I think Jedi Business was the more appropriate and accurate version of the line personally, but either version of the line works overall as a whole. I did like how it was stated explicitly and outright that the Jedi Council sits in a circle to emphasize the equality level of all members. I think that’s the first time in any written works I’ve read so far that that was stated as a fact, even if this book is technically Legends. I wasn’t very fond of the entire scenes with the Council assigned Anakin and Obi-Wan their missions, as well as Anakin and the Chancellor’s praise of the assignment. I’m also not very fond of the scenes overall with Obi-Wan’s doubt of Anakin’s mission and his talk with Yoda and Mace Windu, there are tons of tiny facts and little details I didn’t like from that entire bundle of scenes but I will only put in this review that I wasn’t very fond of these scenes overall as a whole altogether. Padmè bringing up so often how Anakin was an “ex-slave boy” and a child when he met her seems highly unfair and uncalled for, and way out of her character to me, but I really like the overall moments of the goodbye scene before traveling to Naboo with Padmé and Anakin to Dormé, Typho and Obi-Wan. I thought the scene with Dexter Jettster in the Diner on Coruscant in this junior novelization is too short compared to the movie’s version of the scene, and I thought that the Kamino Archive scene was thorough with the basic events and facts presented but not overly or under descriptive. I liked that it was mentioned that the Trade Federation’s droid armies were rumored to not have been reduced (which is correct I believe). It was nice to mention that fact and rumor. The description overall of the scenes of Yoda’s training of the four year old Jedi younglings, including their age, Force abilities and strength, and training lightsabers and helmets are all a very beautiful scene and moment overall. I love the descriptions and little details that are described by Yoda in the junior novelization. Yoda’s acknowledgment of Obi-Wan’s foresight and strength with the Force is super interesting and great to note as knowledge. Obi-Wan’s joking and sarcasm about Kamino’s weather was a nice, lighthearted addition to this junior novelization. In any novelization of a movie, even a junior novelization, you usually expect to see and hear MORE behind the scenes facts, extra descriptions, details and information that isn’t shown in the movie. Here they completely eliminated the scenes of Padmé’s family visit with Anakin, which were deleted scenes in the movie, and were actually included in the official novelization. Quite a few times it is mentioned of Yoda’s ears twitching up and down due to his deep thinking and such, I like this detail because usually in behind the scenes information for Yoda’s species it is mentioned how he is done with the ears as a puppet or animator. I wish the photo inserts of the book were at the back of the book because some of the photos are of events that take place AFTER where the inserts are currently placed that you haven’t read yet in the book. Padmé and Anakin’s romance seems far too simplistic as portrayed in this junior novelization. In other works, it is explained why the romance worked even with it being such a short time they spent together. It is not explained here because the reasons would be far too difficult for young readers to understand. Padmé realizing and having slight fear over the fact that she affects Anakin’s actions and mood so much just with a few short words and actions by her was a really great idea to mention in this junior novelization. In this junior novelization it is stated that C-3PO has coverings as Anakin and Padmé were arriving. That means this book recognizes the explanation that Shmi purchased them and put them on to complete Anakin’s droid for him as an act of love, rather than the other well-known explanation that was almost in the movie itself (the scenes were filmed and it was written as part of the script of Episode 2) where Padmé attaches the coverings she finds “lying around” the Lars homestead while Anakin is away searching for his mother. I liked how it is mentioned as a tiny detail how Anakin’s adjusted to the climates of other worlds vs Tatooine. Twice it is mentioned that “Ardees” is served to drink (first at Dex’s Diner with Obi-Wan, later at the Lars Homestead with Beru and Owen), but it is never explained what exactly this drink is made of, which is an inconsistency in this book and kind of sad we never get to hear what the drink is although it is mentioned so many times throughout the book. Anakin claiming that Owen Lars had a better understanding than the rest of the party (Cliegg, Beru and Padmé) about Shmi and her situation (enough for Owen to lend Anakin his speeder bike) is possibly because in other works I’ve read Shmi talked a lot to Owen about Anakin and how much she hoped he’d come back some day.Obi-Wan exclaiming “Padmé was right!” When he found out that her assassination attempts were by Count Dooku and Nute Gunray doesn’t exactly make sense because he wasn’t there in the scene where she declared she believed Count Dooku was behind the attempts (in the Chancellors office in the Senate). He and Anakin were just getting back from the border dispute on Ansion (as expressed by Mace Windu) so Obi-Wan wouldn’t know Padmé had guessed and expressed this fact to say that she was correct. I think the line “My Anakin killed them all..” as spoken by Padmé shows she already unconsciously thought of him as and referred to him as hers, belonging to her through a romantic relationship not yet consciously acknowledged. I think the line was fitting for the moment and her thoughts, expressions and feelings after hearing that Anakin murdered all of the Tuskens. But it also contradicts something she said about bounty hunters and how she couldn’t understand how they killed intelligent beings for a living. Tuskens may have been of lesser intelligence but were still humanoid intelligent beings by Star Wars galactic standards. Although brief, the mention of Cliegg Lars losing his leg trying to find and save Shmi was a nice inclusion, although described much better in other works it allows us to know the injury was not from something previous. The explanation in Padmé’s mind that Anakin had just lost his mother, and had previously described Obi-Wan as being like a father to him, as a strong motivational reason for her to push so hard for them to go and rescue him for Anakin’s behalf, is a great reason that I wouldn’t have thought of before for why Padmé pushed so hard to go to Geonosis to save Obi-Wan. Anakin’s worrying and desperation to reach Padmé when she is in the vat in the droid factory is expressed very well from the way his lines and thoughts were worded in this junior novelization. Anakin’s negative thinking, which he is so known for (Obi-Wan states in the book he is constantly reminding Anakin about it) is SO apparent in this part of the book, when he claims he “failed to save Obi-Wan, failed to save his Mom, and brought Padmé right to the people who wanted her dead. I’ve failed at everything”. That seems like a really big generalization, especially for a “Jedi”, as Anakin is supposed to be. The use of the word “Groping” when Padmé is searching for words to describe her love for Anakin seems inappropriate in today’s day and age. I like how the scenes of Anakin and Padmé’s trial were included, regardless of their brevity overall. The explanation about how if Padmé chose to join the Separatists as Naboo’s Senator would confine their entire planet and Queen to go along with her decision doesn’t really make sense to me as portrayed in other works of the Star Wars galaxy, with planets, their rulers and Senators, plus the People’s dealings with the Separatists and choosing sides. The Queen definitely should be able to do something if something like that happened, or even the people should be able to vote out the Senator who did that. This seems to make absolutely no sense to me. The Banking Clan being stated as the “Intergalactic Bank Clan” should be stated as the “Intergalactic Banking Clan” as is said many times in the animated 2008 Clone Wars series. That is an inaccuracy in this book. The Geonosians laughing about war and being prepared for it as well as the fact that they were weapons manufacturers doesn’t seem exactly accurate to the way the Geonosians speak and are described in the movie, but I liked this small part and thought it was rather funny. For a lot of the lines and sentences in this book, things are worded or stated incorrectly/inaccurately for their appropriate grammar, such as this line “the other trade and commercial delegates”, to me it should be “the other trade and commerce delegates” if it was worded correctly I believe. This creates a lot of annoyance as I attempt to read this book. Other terms, including terms from the Star Wars universe, such as alien species, are even spelled inaccurately. The acklay being described as a lizard definitely seems incorrect from the way he looks like an insect in the movie. The word “picador” is used to describe the Geonosians who escort the beasts into the arena, but I’m 19 years old and I don’t understand and have never heard of that word (and therefore have no clue of the appropriate definition) so I hardly believe a younger reader (as intended for this book being a junior novelization) would know what that particular word means either to describe those aliens. It hasn’t been portrayed in any works I remember reading so far/I didn’t know that Obi-Wan gave Anakin instructions on what particular beast to take on, and that he knew different facts about the Reek and Acklay that helped him fight the Acklay in particular. I knew from the movie in general that one beast was given to each character (Padmé being the Nexu, Anakin being the Reek, and Obi-Wan being the Acklay) but I never thought it was on purpose or planned as expressed here as an idea. I think it’s fairly brilliant. Of course Obi-Wan would know some facts about the beasts due to his time spent in the archives and training to be a Jedi. Obi-Wan being able to identify Mace Windu in the box from so far away due to his purple lightsaber (being the only one who carries one) is ironic, because the only reason Windu received that special color of lightsaber was due to Samuel Jackson requesting he stand out in the Geonosian arena fight, as is a well-known fact among Star Wars fans Windu’s insistence that “the Geonosians aren’t warriors” is proven completely incorrect by both the movie itself and The Clone Wars animated 2008 TV series, in legitimately every single way. This is an inconsistency and incorrect fact in this book. I like Obi-Wan’s small acknowledgement of Boba Fett after Jango’s death, wondering what would happen to him (it turns out they’ll have to deal with him and his quest for revenge in The Clone Wars animated 2008 series). I like how it’s mentioned that Obi-Wan has understanding in his eyes about Anakin wanting to lower the ship to get Padmé back after she fell, because we later learn that Obi-Wan had a love once too (if we are talking Canon that is Satine Kryze, Duchess of Mandalore who is featured in the animated 2008 Clone Wars series, if we’re talking Legends that is Siri Tachi, fellow Jedi introduced in Legends Chapter Books by author Jude Watson) Anakin claiming that charging early on Dooku kept him from showing his uncontrolled hate and rage (like he felt against the Tusken Raiders) to Obi-Wan seems completely inaccurate and makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. Obi-Wan always seeming to be the one with the plan and the battle strategy, the lectures and instructions all seems very redundant and if I was Anakin I’d be frustrated too, being talked to like a child all the time and being told what to do in everything including battles for your life. The short duel between Anakin, Obi-Wan and Dooku is described swiftly and summarized briefly. I noticed a lot of the scenes in this book were very brief and didn’t add much or even describe the story as accurately as it should’ve, or even come close to the scenes in the movie. I like how Obi-Wan’s skills at the fight are described, but I dislike immensely the change in one of Anakin’s lines of conversation with Dooku. I like the line leading into this conversation but not the conversation’s subject, lines and ending overall. I like the emphasis placed on how Yoda realized Dooku had turned to the Dark Side and how sad he was due to him being his former apprentice, but I also thought that was too long and too far dragged out whereas other scenes should’ve been more emphasized due to being more important to the plot and story overall. Learning that the swing that Dooku performs with his lightsaber before dueling Yoda was a formal salute was awesome as a little detail and highly interesting. It was also very sad to learn Yoda himself had taught him this salute which he now uses against him. I like how in the Queen’s/Padmé Amidala trilogy by E.K. Johnston it is described how Padmé’s dress was made and its significance to the storyline. Here the entire wedding scene is brief, concise and short, with little to no emphasis put on it or any of its details. I didn’t like that very well. Overall, although this Junior Novelization of Episode 2 makes many good points with extra facts and details, a lot of the book was filled with scenes that were too brief, inconsistencies and misspelled words, as well as presenting the feeling that the author was trying to “explain away” too many unexplained events and facts in the book. That is why I have rated this book 2 stars, and the only reason it has received 2 stars instead of 1 is because other, less dedicated fans or simplistic and casual readers who don’t know the real storyline like the back of their hand might enjoy this book and tale as a separate entity than being apart of the Star Wars universe.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Genocide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
hstapp's review against another edition
2.0
A short little novelization of Attack of the clones. It's an accurate rendition of the movie, that adds little or nothing to the story. Completely adequate, but nothing special if you've watched the movie.
pakebrokenshire's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
divadiane's review against another edition
4.0
Great for filling in some motivations and thoughts. Also, the battle scenes were much reduced and the gruesome bits downplayed, so as to be suitable for readers as young as my son (7.5 years).
itskitasai's review against another edition
3.0
Read this as apart of a 24hr Star Wars readathon I'm doing by myself.
Wasn't the best which is sad.
3/5
Wasn't the best which is sad.
3/5
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