Novelizations of movies are not the easiest thing to write contrary to what some might think. An author’s hands are tied by what happens on screen or in the script. Writers have to walk a fine balance between a straight retelling of the script in narrative form, and putting their own spin on things. For Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side author Tom Angleberger opted for an almost straight retelling of the movie infused with a bit of humor.
In writing, a common rule is to show, not tell. This book breaks that rule. Written in a third person omniscient perspective it “head hops” between characters often, another writing rule broken. With how Star Wars movies hop around in any scene this is almost unavoidable, but not entirely. The last two Star Wars retelling books tended to focus on a single character at a time to avoid “head hopping.” This had mixed results, with the New Hope retelling this left out much of the story, and in the Empire Strikes Back retelling, well, let’s not talk about that.
The book also breaks the fourth wall on many occasions with the narrator talking directly to the reader/listener. This comes across very much like someone telling the story around a campfire, which does offer a certain appeal, but does not offer a truly immersive reading experience.
It was obvious that Angleberger intended to use the head hopping omniscient POV to give some new perspective on the story. To an extent he does just that. In the middle of a fight he will jump into the head of a minor named character to explain some of their motivations. These are usually just a couple sentences, but after that, they’re gone, and while it helps to paint a larger picture of the universe it distracts from the action. The battle over the Pit of Carkoon comes to mind here and as I was listening I could help but think how I would have written that scene, keeping in one POV and still detailing all of the action.
That scene primarily revolves around Luke. A Luke is almost at the height of his Jedi power and ability. This scene could have explained how a Jedi can deflect blaster shots (other than the fact that they are moving slower than normal bullets, at least according to the Mythbusters), and why Luke almost seemed oblivious to some of the dangers around him, yet still managed to disarm Boba Fett. Luke could have used Jedi “Battle Meditation” to keep apprised of the whole situation, and this could explain how he was shot better, but I digress.
The scenes on the surface of Endor are some of the best in the book. Here we get into the Ewok’s heads a bit and discover that while small, and cute looking, that these were actually vicious, if primitive warriors. This is the best thing that Angleberger adds to the story.
Overall the book doesn’t add much to the story, and is an almost straight retelling of the movie but does add new links to the prequel trilogy and also describes a far more desperate rebel fleet then other media has portrayed. In fact the battle over Endor is sparse in description, whereas the original novelization greatly expanded on it.
My biggest gripe with the book were the chapter titles. “In Which…” every one begins like that. Sometimes these play directly into the narrative, but with the book separated into many short chapters, the constant repetition can be annoying. Looking at his Angleberger’s Origami Yoda books, I see that this is his normal style, which boys do seem to enjoy, so it works for a younger pre-teen demographic.
The audiobook is quite good and the choice of music good as well, though I would have preferred if they didn’t use the Ewok theme as much. Given that this book tried to portray them as warriors so much more, hearing the jaunty theme from the movie here actually did them a disservice.
Final Score, Book: 3.5 out 5. The book does not add much to the movie, and is a straight retelling but does add just enough new information to make it interesting.
Final Score, Audiobook: 4 out of 5, the music and sound effects distracted at time.
“Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Beware the Power of the Dark Side!” by Tom Angleberger audiobook | hardcover
Age Range: 8 – 12 years
Grade Level: 3 – 7
Series: Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Disney Lucasfilm Press (September 22, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1484709136
ISBN-13: 978-1484709139
Author
"Star Wars: Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side!" by Tom Angleberger
Summary
Overall the book doesn’t add much to the story, and is an almost straight retelling of the movie but does add new links to the prequel trilogy and also describes a far more desperate rebel fleet then other media has portrayed.
The audiobook is quite good and the choice of music good as well, though I would have preferred if they didn’t use the Ewok theme as much. Given that this book tried to portray them as warriors so much more, hearing the jaunty theme from the movie here actually did them a disservice.
[…] over to the new trilogy. I have a feeling that the described size of the rebellion and its fleet in Beware the Power of the Dark Side will play a role in the coming movies, but we will […]