Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

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The mission to Mustafar is depicted somewhat differently in the novel than in the movie. In the film, Nute Gunray greets Vader before the massacre begins. In the novelization, San Hill greets Vader before being killed. He also recognises Vader's true identity as Anakin Skywalker just before being slain. In addition, all those depicted dying in the novel (except Poggle the Lesser, due to a language barrier) speak, whereas only Nute Gunray speaks in the film. Yet it was as though when he had crushed the dragon under his boot, the dragon had sunk venomed fangs into his heel. Pragmatic Adaptation: The novelization is a departure from the other movie novelizations in that it isn't just a prettied-up transcript of the movie. Matt Stover changed parts of the script given to him and expanded on some points while minimizing others, and introduced symbolism and imagery totally original to the text. George Lucas approved all of the changes he made. It is the dark that seeds cruelty into justice, that drips contempt into compassion, that poisons love with grains of doubt.

Of course, this also applies to Dooku's post-war plans re his Separatist allies. In each case, the same rationale is given: "Treachery is the way of the Sith." There’s more focus on Senator Bail Organa and we’re introduced to Mon Mothma. And there are scenes hinting at the beginning of the Rebel Alliance. Prophecy Twist: Anakin sees the end of his duel with Count Dooku before it happens—the count kneeling with two lightsabers at his throat. Anakin assumes this is his blade and Obi-Wan's, subduing Dooku and taking him prisoner. In reality, it's Dooku's saber and Anakin's, both in Anakin's hands, just before Anakin murders the helpless man.And he knows, then, that all has indeed been going according to plan. Sidious's plan, not his own. This had been a Jedi trap indeed, but Jedi were not the quarry. Fake Defector: As per Padmé's suggestion, Bail Organa tells Yoda and Obi-Wan that he's going to be one, appearing to support The Empire while really part of La Résistance. Revenge of the Sith is still the best-selling novel with Stover's name on it – it's fascinating that a tie-in book is so frequently called superior to the movie it's based on, almost two decades later. According to the author, though, he was just tapping into the magic at the heart of Star Wars that was already there. That's what led to Stover dialling in on each character's inner psychology instead. "I decided to focus the book on the interiority of the characters – to try and express how I thought they would feel about what they were going through. And so the idea was that the book would be kind of the interior, the feeling of it, and the movie would be the visual parts. That was more or less my plan – to try and make a story that would expand on and complement the film rather than just retell it." The book will definitely please Star Wars diehards more than regular viewers – that's why I think I've gotten so much out of it. I'm fascinated by younger pop culture writers who go to bat for the prequel movies, which are so firmly disliked by my generation, and it speaks to a divide on the merits of these films. The prose helps to calcify those themes that felt barely examined in Episode III.

And there is one blazing moment in which you finally understand that there was no dragon. That there was no Vader. That there was only you. Only Anakin Skywalker. Got Volunteered: During a council meeting, Obi-Wan asks which Jedi is to lead the hunt for General Grievous. Everyone else looks straight at him. In the film, Obi-Wan overhears Grievous briefing the Separatist Council about their new hideaway on Mustafar before they depart in front of Kenobi's eyes. In the book, the Council departs days before Kenobi's arrival. Grievous witnesses them frightfully scurry onto their starship. From its publication in 2005 until the canon reboot in 2014, this book, like all other novelizations, was considered part of the Expanded Universe and classified as C-canon. However, Matthew Stover stated in 2006 that George Lucas was closely involved in its editing: As the combat escalates across the galaxy, the stage is set for an explosive endgame: Obi-Wan undertakes a perilous mission to destroy the dreaded Separatist military leader General Grievous. Palpatine, eager to secure even greater control, subtly influences public opinion to turn against the Jedi. And a conflicted Anakin—tormented by unspeakable visions—edges dangerously closer to the brink of a galaxy-shaping decision. It remains only for Darth Sidious, whose shadow looms ever larger, to strike the final staggering blow against the Republic…and to ordain a fearsome new Sith Lord: Darth Vader.

Stover makes frequent use of second-person narrative when describing a character's emotions ("The first dawn of light in your universe brings pain") and often introduces and describes characters with simple declarative statements ("This is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker", "This is Obi-Wan Kenobi", etc.). These literary devices are repeated at key points in the story. Leave No Witnesses: When Bail witnesses the clone troopers kill a Padawan, they try to kill him too, and he barely escapes. This is in contrast to the film, where they let him go without much of a fuss. This is a short dialogue not featured in the film, foreshadowing in metaphor Anakin's fall to the dark side due to his lust for power. Padme? Are you here? Are you all right? you try to say, but another voice speaks for you, out from the vocabulator that serves you for burned-away lips and tongue and throat.

The book expands on Anakin's fear for Padmé's life as a driving motivation for his desire to become a Jedi Master and be given access to resources allowing him to learn about the Sith. His frustration over his slow promotion is more directly connected to his need to protect his wife from the occurrences predicted in his visions. Rule of Symbolism: After he begins his seduction of Anakin in earnest, Darth Sidious is treated more like a walking shadow than a living being. Likewise, during their duel, Yoda is portrayed as an "avatar of light" set against the shadow—until he realizes that he is incapable of winning. The Force could keep him upright, keep him moving, keep him thinking, but it could not give him rest. Not that he wanted rest. Rest might bring sleep. From the beginning of the Clone Wars, the phrase Kenobi and Skywalker has become a single word. They are everywhere. HoloNet features of their operations against the Separatist enemy have made them the most famous Jedi in the galaxy.

He’s terrified of losing those he loves like he lost his mother. There was nothing he could do stop that, and he’s afraid that even though he’s so powerful, he will fail again and lose again. If anything, I would say people tend to give me more credit than I actually deserve," he admits. "There are people who seem to think that I brought something to Star Wars it didn't have before. And I don't agree. Whatever virtues that novelization has are just the result of just pointing out the things that I and a lot of other people always loved about it." Centipede's Dilemma: At one point during the duel, Dooku taunts Anakin over the anger in his heart and his fear of said anger. This causes Anakin to worry about controlling his anger, ruining his ability to fight. He's even compared to the Corellian multipede. Unusually for a novelization, it frequently references other Legends works, such as the events of Labyrinth of Evil, Star Wars: Clone Wars, and Stover's own Shatterpoint. The book also introduces new subplots as part of actions seen in the film and restores deleted scenes. This, combined with Stover's rich writing and the book's insights into the characters and their motivations, means that many fans consider the book a superior work to the film; it's earned praise even from known detractors of the prequel trilogy. However, like the other novelizations of the Star Wars films, any material expanding upon the events of the film or contradicting the film is considered to be in the Alternate Continuity of Star Wars Legends following the Continuity Reboot of 2014. Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Okay, "loved one" is stretching it a bit, but Dooku seriously entertains the thought of turning Obi-Wan to the Sith; since Obi-Wan was the apprentice of Dooku's own Padawan, Dooku considers him " practically my grandson." He later dismisses this, however, as "the product of a certain misplaced sentimentality."