A review by bklassen
William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back by Ian Doescher
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
If you liked the first book (Verily, A New Hope), then you know you’re gonna like this. More Iambic pentameter, Shakespeare allusions (like using a slight twist of a famous Shakespeare line or monologue) as well as Star Wars jokes cleverly woven in. This is one my favorite things this year, and once again, I highly recommend the audiobook/audio drama version.
I don’t love the songs, but I understand why they’re in these, much like how there would be songs in Shakespeare plays.
Another quick note – at the end of the book, there’s a note from the author describing his thought process, giving background info and context, and explaining certain choices he made. Everything feels so intentional and so much detail was considered – he chose for Yoda to speak in haiku because his language in the movies is already a bit Shakespearean. Doescher mentioned that he toyed with the idea of having Yoda speak in modern language as a sort of reversal of this, but went with haiku so as to make those section less jarring, and keep in line of the poetry/iambic pentameter rhythm of the rest of the book.
I also just don’t love Empire as much as A New Hope or the Return of the Jedi, so that also lent to the removal of one star.
Bravo! More, please!
I don’t love the songs, but I understand why they’re in these, much like how there would be songs in Shakespeare plays.
Another quick note – at the end of the book, there’s a note from the author describing his thought process, giving background info and context, and explaining certain choices he made. Everything feels so intentional and so much detail was considered – he chose for Yoda to speak in haiku because his language in the movies is already a bit Shakespearean. Doescher mentioned that he toyed with the idea of having Yoda speak in modern language as a sort of reversal of this, but went with haiku so as to make those section less jarring, and keep in line of the poetry/iambic pentameter rhythm of the rest of the book.
I also just don’t love Empire as much as A New Hope or the Return of the Jedi, so that also lent to the removal of one star.
Bravo! More, please!