Name: New Hope (Star Wars)
Rating: 3.75 (60 reviews)
ISBN: 9781857239409

George Lucas

New Hope (Star Wars)

Sarah Sammis

Why did I even read this? I don't like the movies.

James Luceno

Cloak of Deception

Dimitris Papastergiou

Set in 32BBY

As much as I liked Darth Plagueis from Luceno, this one started out good and had its moments, which I liked, and they were mostly the moments that had to do with politics, the rest fell flat, and I really didn't care about the main plot here at all. 

Unfortunately the characters were just talking as if the plot weren't already written and you knew where it was going, and of course you know, because of the rest of the media after this one, and mainly the films, but still, you knew were the Plagueis novel was going and how it was gonna end but it was magnificent. 

This one sadly, was just an ok read.

“Open your eyes to what is not evident.” - Qui-Gon Jinn

While this is not the sort of Star Wars book I really like, I can definitely appreciate what it did for making sense of the taxation dispute that happened in The Phantom Menace. The entire blockade of Naboo and it's justification has always befuddled me, so having a book that gets into the background of tax legislation in the Galactic Senate and Palpatine's role in all that is helpful. Not super fun for me, because I've never been all that interested in political thrillers, but still a solid addition to the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Seeing how extremely convoluted the plan to make Palpatine chancellor - and eventually emperor - was was a little mind blowing because it almost felt like he was just adding extra layers because he wanted to prove to himself how clever he was, and not because it was actually essential to achieve his goals. Which fits with Palpatine's egotism, to be sure. Bit of a headache to puzzle out, though. 

I will say, though, that the way Palpatine's thoughts were portrayed in the book was very strange. It was like our third-person omniscient narrator didn't know that Palpatine and Sideous were the same person? I actually had a small crisis wondering if I had somehow misremembered if the audience was supposed to know the connection at the point this book was published or not. But, everyone definitely knew. So the fact that Palpatine is kind of portrayed as a little oblivious at times and not obviously plotting as Sideous as we know very well he is, was disconcerting and a very strange narrative choice. Luceno wouldn't have been giving anything away if he had more explicitly portrayed Palpatine plotting behind the scenes, so it felt weird that he abstained for doing that.

R. A. Salvatore

Dominick Salvatore

Star Wars

Ten years after they met, Anakin and Padmâe are reunited when an attempt on her life shortly before a crucial vote brings the faltering Republic one step closer to chaos.

Attack of the Clones

Man I just love novelizations. They can give you so much more of the little details that time constraints keep out of the movies. Like it took 40 pages to get to the opening scene of the movie! That said, I still don't like the actual story of Attack of the Clones, hence the middle of the road rating. Liked the way the story was told here, but the story itself (and everything about Padme/Anakin) is not my cup of tea.

When I started reading this book, I wondered why no one ever told me that Star Wars had books. I was never a big fan of the movies, mainly because I find them long and rather boring, but that falls away in the books.

The intrinsic thoughts that you can't necessarily express in movie form are some gems, and help alleviate the simple writing. That said, the writing leaves a lot to be desired technically, but it was a quick, fun read none-the-less. I did get a little lost in the end with the battle scenes, as they were repetitive and hard to follow.

Not a bad read, definitely a way to get readers into Star Wars, because I didn't think much of the story until I read this.

Matthew Woodring Stover

Follows Anakin Skywalker as he struggles with his duty as a Jedi Knight and his role as the secret husband of Senator Padme Amidala, and chronicles the creation of Darth Vader and the birth of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa.

Revenge of the Sith

Star Wars, Episode III.

Kireth Sandhu

WHY: I recently finished the heartbreaking Clone Wars TV series which naturally leads in to Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith, but did not want to rewatch the film - instead opting for a novelisation and my first Legends material due to the stellar reviews.
DIFFERENCES: I really liked some of the additional story material and artistic vision presented here, especially in the first half of the novel. There’s a deeper introspection into Anakin’s thinking and character through his perspective, as well as masterful manipulation from Palpatine in both the condensed timeline and manoeuvring of key players. Further, I really enjoyed the image of Coruscant bathed in blood-red flames and smoke due to the opening battle, and wish this detail was more relevant in the canon - it fits the story’s themes of darkness and subterfuge.
WRITING: The writing overall was good, but unfortunately I had a few issues with the exploration of the dark and light theme. At times it was very cool, especially in regards to Yoda and Sidious, but also had me confused with its concluding message after being prominently interweaving itself through the plot. Also, some Star Wars action just can’t be translated to page - whilst it was interesting to learn about different droid thinking and different lightsaber forms, it is much more captivating to watch a space battle or Jedi and Sith duel.
WHO: Really, really for the hardcore Star Wars prequel trilogy and Legends fans. Otherwise, this novelisation is very much skippable for the rest of the reader base. The film and its visuals not just cover the story better but add more perspectives and emotion.

Luke Skywalker joins the rebellion, defeats Darth Vader of the Empire, and wins Princess Leia Organa's hand.

From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker : a Novel

Lorien O'Brien

Really well done, it's a little obvious this book was written before the movie came out. The word droid isn't there very much at all, and certain scenes run very differently. But it's the same great story, and there's more backstory to Luke and Biggs relationship that ends so violently. Beautifully written, it's a must have for Star Wars fans!

** spoiler alert **
           Dude, this book is amazing. It really is. It's heartbreaking and hard to read because Anakin's fall is so much more twisted and yet makes a thousand times more sense than the movie could ever show. After growing up on the old movies, I can see the biggest difference between Luke and Anakin is one thing-Anakin always felt controlled, but didn't really try to stop it. Luke was never controlled. Not by his aunt and uncle, not by "Ben", not by his fear or anger. He refused to be controlled.

And that last PAGE! Oh man!

Oh man, this honors the movie and yet transcends it. It's dark, it's sad, it's a tragedy. But it's amazing. Purely amazing.

Rachel

Some background, I never seen the Star War movies but I've heard tidbits over the years on what they were about and some of the big things that happen in them as well about characters. With that in mind I thought I would read the original trilogy before watching the movies, especially when I saw Barnes & Noble's leather-bound version. I was surprised how short each story was, but especially A New Hope. How is this a movie that started a cult following a huge fandom? This should be like a 30 minute episode of some tv show. It moves at a snails pace yet things are happening that start off this huge battle and Luke gets pulled in by fucking chance. Out of the three I read I disliked A New Hope the most. I'm glad I read it though to get into the other 2 but wow was it painful to get through. Not enough detail, too coincidental.

Tess Letasz

Sergio

Luke, Mara, and Jacen fight a losing battle against the Yuuzhan Vong and vanish into unknown space, while the resistance prepares for an ultimate showdown.

New Hope (Star Wars)

Reviews

Highlights