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Star Wars Junior Novelizations #1
Episode 1: the Phantom Menace
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
A world is threatened.
A young queen must save her people.
A dark evil rises again.
A young Jedi is discovered.
The journey begins.
A world is threatened.
A young queen must save her people.
A dark evil rises again.
A young Jedi is discovered.
The journey begins.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
151 people are currently reading
1010 people want to read
About the author
Patricia C. Wrede
67 books3,999 followersPatricia Collins Wrede was born in Chicago, Illinois and is the eldest of five children. She started writing in seventh grade. She attended Carleton College in Minnesota, where she majored in Biology and managed to avoid taking any English courses at all. She began work on her first novel, Shadow Magic, just after graduating from college in 1974. She finished it five years later and started her second book at once, having become permanently hooked on writing by this time.
Patricia received her M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1977.
She worked for several years as a financial analyst and accountant, first with the Minnesota Hospital Association, then with B. Dalton Booksellers, and finally at the Dayton Hudson Corporation headquarters.
Patricia finished her first novel in late 1978. In January, 1980, Pamela Dean, Emma Bull, Will Shetterly, Steven Brust, Nate Bucklin, and Patricia Wrede -- all, at that point, hopeful but unpublished -- formed the writer's group that later became known as "The Scribblies." Several years later, they were joined by Kara Dalkey. In April of 1980, Patricia's first novel sold to Ace Books. It came out at last in 1982, which is the year she met Lillian Stewart Carl (who introduced her to Lois McMaster Bujold by mail).
In 1985, shortly before the publication of her fifth book, she left the world of the gainfully employed to try winging it on her own.
Her interests include sewing, embroidery, desultory attempts at gardening, chocolate, not mowing the lawn, High Tea, and, of course, reading.
She is a vegetarian, and currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her cat Karma. She has no children.
Patricia received her M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota in 1977.
She worked for several years as a financial analyst and accountant, first with the Minnesota Hospital Association, then with B. Dalton Booksellers, and finally at the Dayton Hudson Corporation headquarters.
Patricia finished her first novel in late 1978. In January, 1980, Pamela Dean, Emma Bull, Will Shetterly, Steven Brust, Nate Bucklin, and Patricia Wrede -- all, at that point, hopeful but unpublished -- formed the writer's group that later became known as "The Scribblies." Several years later, they were joined by Kara Dalkey. In April of 1980, Patricia's first novel sold to Ace Books. It came out at last in 1982, which is the year she met Lillian Stewart Carl (who introduced her to Lois McMaster Bujold by mail).
In 1985, shortly before the publication of her fifth book, she left the world of the gainfully employed to try winging it on her own.
Her interests include sewing, embroidery, desultory attempts at gardening, chocolate, not mowing the lawn, High Tea, and, of course, reading.
She is a vegetarian, and currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her cat Karma. She has no children.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 132 reviews
May 31, 2020
One of the best things about books based on movies--or television shows, for that matter--is the extra details that you don't see in the original production. With a narrator present, you can find out what the characters are thinking, or previous events in the characters' lives. Sometimes, movie novelizations can have entire scenes that weren't present in the film; one of the first Star Wars books I ever read, R. A. Salvatore's adaptation of Attack of the Clones, had just that and then some.
While this junior version of The Phantom Menace isn't quite as chock-full of bonus content, there's still an amazing amount of detail, and an extra scene or two. Rather than just simply tell the events of the film, the author draws back the curtain by telling us Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's personal thoughts, and even mentioned a character who I'd never heard of, despite seeing both the prequels and the original trilogy in their entirety multiple times.
Now, I'm curious to see how she adapts Attack of the Clones, aka the one that was widely considered to be the worst of the franchise; at least, until Disney took over. If she can give it the right treatment, like Mr. Salvatore did, it should make for great reading!
While this junior version of The Phantom Menace isn't quite as chock-full of bonus content, there's still an amazing amount of detail, and an extra scene or two. Rather than just simply tell the events of the film, the author draws back the curtain by telling us Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan's personal thoughts, and even mentioned a character who I'd never heard of, despite seeing both the prequels and the original trilogy in their entirety multiple times.
Now, I'm curious to see how she adapts Attack of the Clones, aka the one that was widely considered to be the worst of the franchise; at least, until Disney took over. If she can give it the right treatment, like Mr. Salvatore did, it should make for great reading!
March 19, 2017
The book really does improve the movie, which I barely remembered while we were reading. I like how there're a lot of thoughts that fill in the blanks of the movie. One thing: in the book, Anakin tells Padmé that he's going to marry her, because he saw it in a dream. This never occurs in the movie! ?!? It also comes up subsequently a time or two and it does sense. I just wonder why the author would put it in unless she wrote the novelization based on scenes that eventually got cut.
December 3, 2011
I didn't even enjoy reading this adaptation as a kid.
January 19, 2018
4 out of 5 stars.
All I can say is I really enjoyed this book. Okay, thanks and bye.
All I can say is I really enjoyed this book. Okay, thanks and bye.
August 30, 2017
There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.
Oke. Saya baca buku ini versi Bahasa Indonesia, sih. Selama ini juga kan saya selalu menikmati Star Wars versi film, nah kali ini saya mencoba menikmati SW versi novel.
Dan waw. Seru juga. Deskripsinya pas, begitu juga dengan penjabaran aksinya. Narasinya tidak meluber-luber (bahasa apa ini xD) dan saya langsung klop dengan gaya kepenulisan Patricia C. Wrede.
Bagian favorit? Podracer! <3 (btw saya sempat nangis di bagian perpisahan Anakin dan ibunya, hiks).
Sama sekali nggak nyesel deh, baca ini~
Pedang laser saling beradu, memercik dan membakar. Kemudian memisah. Udara terasa lebih tebal, tersumbat oleh energi pertarungan.hlm- 171
Amarah adalah musuh kalian yang sesungguhnya.
hlm-172
June 3, 2017
This book was very interesting and descriptive. It includes all the details from the movie and is overall well written. It tells you one of the first Star Wars stories and is a really good book to introduce you to the series.
June 26, 2022
Wow, what an amazing book!
January 13, 2016
Star Wars the Phantom Menace is a great book and is actually almost like the movie.it has lots of detail and also it includes most moments. Sometimes it'll include some extra parts but as stated earlier it also leaves out parts.. It's a book that will get you into the series and also Star Wars it self.
I would recommend this book to people who are interested in star wars and star trek.
I would recommend this book to people who are interested in star wars and star trek.
May 3, 2021
Read it with my 8 year old. Good for watered down, kid version of star wars.
June 23, 2021
It’s a book based on a movie, so there is that. Jar Jar Binks is in it. If you’re reading aloud you have to read aloud in the voice of Jar Jar Binks. I love most things Star Wars and I did not love this. The kids loved it.
January 19, 2021
For a small movie book which did not really add much to the movie this book was still fun and good and I enjoyed it a lot.
January 21, 2023
Watch Star wars the Phantom menaces movie
September 22, 2023
je nieco lepsie nez myslou pozerat star wars film v skole bez toho aby som ho pozerala a mala ten anakin a obi wan kontent stale pri sebe?!
October 7, 2019
I love star wars but I hated this book it was all out of order because they did character's point of view and it was not good. If you love star wars don't read this book. If you don't like star wars then it does not matter it is not that quick there is quicker, but if you have never watched or read anything star wars watch the MOVIES FIRST.
February 12, 2016
The First Star Wars Episode, The Phantom Menace was a great book, and very similar to the movies.
First of all, this book is just amazing because this series introduced, soon to be Darth Vader AKA Anakin Skywalker (The Chosen One). First off all, his midi chlorians were all times high, this predicted that Anakin was very strong with the force, and ad to be trained. It was a shocking moment when Master Yoda to Qui Gonn Join not to train Anakin, he may turn to the dark side.
But Qui Gon Jin did train him anyways, but the feared Darth Maul killed Qui Gon, resulting with Maul dying too. So, in the end the most amazing part I ever had is that Padawan Obi Wan Kenobi had became the Master of Anakin Skywalker. I love this story, to find out Anakin's and Obi wans's story, read the whole series, will Anakin turn to the Dark or will Ob Wan save him from trying?
First of all, this book is just amazing because this series introduced, soon to be Darth Vader AKA Anakin Skywalker (The Chosen One). First off all, his midi chlorians were all times high, this predicted that Anakin was very strong with the force, and ad to be trained. It was a shocking moment when Master Yoda to Qui Gonn Join not to train Anakin, he may turn to the dark side.
But Qui Gon Jin did train him anyways, but the feared Darth Maul killed Qui Gon, resulting with Maul dying too. So, in the end the most amazing part I ever had is that Padawan Obi Wan Kenobi had became the Master of Anakin Skywalker. I love this story, to find out Anakin's and Obi wans's story, read the whole series, will Anakin turn to the Dark or will Ob Wan save him from trying?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 30, 2015
I think that this book is great! This book is one of the best books that I have read and I have read a lot of books! I think the book is better than the movie and I have all of them.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes Star Wars and books in a series.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes Star Wars and books in a series.
April 2, 2024
I know it's meant to be like. seeing the future through the force but baby Anakin staring deeply into padmes eyes and declaring he KNOWS they'll be married was SOOOO creepy 😭😭
nothing special about this but it also wasn't bad, definitely worth the $1.50 I paid at goodwill
nothing special about this but it also wasn't bad, definitely worth the $1.50 I paid at goodwill
April 16, 2021
3.5 stars
A fun little novel version of the Fantom Menace that I read a long time ago.
A fun little novel version of the Fantom Menace that I read a long time ago.
September 2, 2019
What I think of the overall book
I was impressed not only by how accurate and verbatim it was to the movie, but also by the added details such as the characters' thoughts. And surprisingly, it also didn't feel too dumbed down/simplified that only kids could enjoy it - I feel like adults could also read and enjoy this as well. And overall this book could just help people understand more aspects of the movie. (I mean, I'm currently 22 and I received the Star Wars box set when I was 9, so when I decided to pick this book up again I was expecting something really simplified but when it wasn't, it was
)
------
What I think in terms of connecting this to the sequel trilogy
(This is gonna be a really long ramble because I'm just very passionate about the sequel trilogy; SPOILERS so be warned)
1. Anakin's beginnings vs. Rey's beginnings
In anticipation for The Rise of Skywalker, I'm also reading these books through a lense of defending the ST, which I am a huge fan of.
One of the critiques of the ST is that Rey is a "mary sue" because she can fight, pilot ships, and use the Force "without any training" (apparently). But she grew up alone as a scavenger in a desert planet where she had to learn to defend herself from others, especially thugs and other competing scavengers, so of course she would know how to fight (whether with a staff or a lightsaber, which is just another weapon). She can pilot ships because she practiced in a flight simulator that she has in her AT-AT home (however this detail wasn't shown in the movie but mentioned in books). And she found out how to use the Force when Kylo Ren tried to Force-probe her mind and she countered it and ended up reading his instead.
Now we have little 9-year-old Anakin, a slave, who apparently is the only human who can Podrace, which is known to be a very dangerous game (and if we were to apply a similar logic from Rey to him: who taught him how to do this?) And in this book, when Anakin first meets Padme, he also claims that he's going to marry her, which freaks Padme out a little (but who wouldn't be freaked out about that?) And apparently it's a Jedi trait to be able to see the future like that. And at the end, Anakin flies a Naboo starfighter and ACCIDENTALLY (NOT PURPOSEFULLY) blows up the Droid Control Ship which helped the Gungans win against the droids. And Anakin isn't a "mary sue" (or "gary stu", in this case)?
Of course, they're just setting Anakin up to be the "Chosen One"/Darth Vader, the most powerful Force-users of all time. But from a defending-the-ST point of view, most of the critiques towards Rey are mainly sexist.
2. Flaws of the Jedi Order
One of the main critiques about The Last Jedi that I know of is Luke's character and his belief that the Jedi were corrupt and had to end. We see this in The Phantom Menace -- the Jedi did not want to train Anakin because he was considered "too old", and by "too old" they meant he had already grown attached to his mother, and feels emotions such as fear and anger. Ideally, the Jedi wanted to train younglings by taking them away from their families before they get too old form attachments and thus start training them early to prevent them from feeling such negative emotions.
It's pretty messed up if you think about it.
And then in The Force Awakens with the First Order stormtroopers, we learn (via Finn) that these aren't clones, but children taken away from their families at a young age and "programmed" to fight.
^ does that help put things in perspective?
And of course, with all the solitude (and meditation), Luke would eventually come to realize how corrupt the system of the Jedi Order was.And now it's time for that Jedi system to end and have a new Jedi rise...???
I was impressed not only by how accurate and verbatim it was to the movie, but also by the added details such as the characters' thoughts. And surprisingly, it also didn't feel too dumbed down/simplified that only kids could enjoy it - I feel like adults could also read and enjoy this as well. And overall this book could just help people understand more aspects of the movie. (I mean, I'm currently 22 and I received the Star Wars box set when I was 9, so when I decided to pick this book up again I was expecting something really simplified but when it wasn't, it was
)------
What I think in terms of connecting this to the sequel trilogy
(This is gonna be a really long ramble because I'm just very passionate about the sequel trilogy; SPOILERS so be warned)
1. Anakin's beginnings vs. Rey's beginnings
In anticipation for The Rise of Skywalker, I'm also reading these books through a lense of defending the ST, which I am a huge fan of.
One of the critiques of the ST is that Rey is a "mary sue" because she can fight, pilot ships, and use the Force "without any training" (apparently). But she grew up alone as a scavenger in a desert planet where she had to learn to defend herself from others, especially thugs and other competing scavengers, so of course she would know how to fight (whether with a staff or a lightsaber, which is just another weapon). She can pilot ships because she practiced in a flight simulator that she has in her AT-AT home (however this detail wasn't shown in the movie but mentioned in books). And she found out how to use the Force when Kylo Ren tried to Force-probe her mind and she countered it and ended up reading his instead.
Now we have little 9-year-old Anakin, a slave, who apparently is the only human who can Podrace, which is known to be a very dangerous game (and if we were to apply a similar logic from Rey to him: who taught him how to do this?) And in this book, when Anakin first meets Padme, he also claims that he's going to marry her, which freaks Padme out a little (but who wouldn't be freaked out about that?) And apparently it's a Jedi trait to be able to see the future like that. And at the end, Anakin flies a Naboo starfighter and ACCIDENTALLY (NOT PURPOSEFULLY) blows up the Droid Control Ship which helped the Gungans win against the droids. And Anakin isn't a "mary sue" (or "gary stu", in this case)?
Of course, they're just setting Anakin up to be the "Chosen One"/Darth Vader, the most powerful Force-users of all time. But from a defending-the-ST point of view, most of the critiques towards Rey are mainly sexist.
2. Flaws of the Jedi Order
One of the main critiques about The Last Jedi that I know of is Luke's character and his belief that the Jedi were corrupt and had to end. We see this in The Phantom Menace -- the Jedi did not want to train Anakin because he was considered "too old", and by "too old" they meant he had already grown attached to his mother, and feels emotions such as fear and anger. Ideally, the Jedi wanted to train younglings by taking them away from their families before they get too old form attachments and thus start training them early to prevent them from feeling such negative emotions.
It's pretty messed up if you think about it.
And then in The Force Awakens with the First Order stormtroopers, we learn (via Finn) that these aren't clones, but children taken away from their families at a young age and "programmed" to fight.
"My men are exceptionally trained, programmed from birth." --Hux (TFA)
"I'm a Stormtrooper. Like all of them, I was taken from a family I'll never know. And raised to do one thing..." --Finn (TFA)
^ does that help put things in perspective?
And of course, with all the solitude (and meditation), Luke would eventually come to realize how corrupt the system of the Jedi Order was.
"The droid will soon be delivered to the Resistance... leading them to the last Jedi. If Skywalker returns, the new Jedi will rise." --Snoke (TFA)"
January 5, 2018
Patricia Wrede did an excellent job with this book. At least, that's what I remember from when I read it, back when it first came out.
There's just one major drawback, in my opinion; it's Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. That's why it's no longer in my collection; I wasn't ever going to reread it.
No matter how well she wrote the juvenile novelization, it was doomed from the beginning; if the first layer of bricks is set wrong, your house will be crooked.
This says much more about my perception of the Star Wars Episodes 1-3 trilogy than it does about her writing ability, unfortunately. Or perhaps fortunately; I can wholeheartedly recommend her other works of original fiction. And state that she can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, in her novelizations.
If you like that film trilogy, do check this, and her other juvenile novelizations of those films, out. While, as others have said, some things are cut, what she includes is very well fleshed out, and much more coherant than the movie. I preferred it to the "Adult" novelization.
Jar-Jar, unfortunately, is still there; he's far too pervasive to be able to cut. Midiclorians, still there, too. Anakin is still a whiny ass; Patricia did her best, but had to stay true to the story as presented to her.
There's just one major drawback, in my opinion; it's Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. That's why it's no longer in my collection; I wasn't ever going to reread it.
No matter how well she wrote the juvenile novelization, it was doomed from the beginning; if the first layer of bricks is set wrong, your house will be crooked.
This says much more about my perception of the Star Wars Episodes 1-3 trilogy than it does about her writing ability, unfortunately. Or perhaps fortunately; I can wholeheartedly recommend her other works of original fiction. And state that she can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, in her novelizations.
If you like that film trilogy, do check this, and her other juvenile novelizations of those films, out. While, as others have said, some things are cut, what she includes is very well fleshed out, and much more coherant than the movie. I preferred it to the "Adult" novelization.
Jar-Jar, unfortunately, is still there; he's far too pervasive to be able to cut. Midiclorians, still there, too. Anakin is still a whiny ass; Patricia did her best, but had to stay true to the story as presented to her.
January 20, 2017
An 8 year old me bought this book. An 8 year old me would have loved the movie over this book. I am not 8 years anymore.
Bought this at a book stall at some school festival. (Should have realized i would turn out to be a geek.) Never even tried reading it until recently. I thought, now that I am caught up with all the movies maybe it's a good time to see how the book goes.
Heavily based on the screenplay, the book lacks the stellar description about the podrace, the amazing lightsaber duels and most important, Artoo's various conversive beeps, pretty much what the moview was famous for. But, it does something that the movie fail to do by a huge margin, develop characters. Living the story through character's perspectives is much more powerful than just great visuals. Even Jar Jar doesn't seem that annoying in the book.
The way Obi-Wan and Anakin's characters grow because of Qui-Gon is inspiring. The movie surely missed on showing how the characters really felt about each other.
Its a good read if you wanna re-live the movie without Jar Jar annoying you every few minutes.
Bought this at a book stall at some school festival. (Should have realized i would turn out to be a geek.) Never even tried reading it until recently. I thought, now that I am caught up with all the movies maybe it's a good time to see how the book goes.
Heavily based on the screenplay, the book lacks the stellar description about the podrace, the amazing lightsaber duels and most important, Artoo's various conversive beeps, pretty much what the moview was famous for. But, it does something that the movie fail to do by a huge margin, develop characters. Living the story through character's perspectives is much more powerful than just great visuals. Even Jar Jar doesn't seem that annoying in the book.
The way Obi-Wan and Anakin's characters grow because of Qui-Gon is inspiring. The movie surely missed on showing how the characters really felt about each other.
Its a good read if you wanna re-live the movie without Jar Jar annoying you every few minutes.
May 22, 2022
3.5 Pretty average Good book.
It's limited mainly in that it has to follow descriptions and scenes from the movie, but Wrede manages to add lots of internal thoughts for the characters in place of longer establishing scenes.
The writing is consistent with a young/early reader. There's little to no "flair" added in terms of descriptions or overly complex sentence structure and such. It's very straight to the point only keeping the bare necessities of the movie needed to get the major plot along; a number of scenes are skimmed over with barely sentence recognition or explanation leading to the super condensed 180 page version of the Star Wars Phantom Menace story. Also, descriptions are just enough to give the basic idea of the setting and characters which can be good or bad depending on the reader's preference.
A quick easy read for 'experienced' readers; I started this about a little over halfway through the day (around 1-2ish) and managed to finish it before the end of the night (10pm) with periodic interruptions and long 30 minute pauses throughout that time.
It's limited mainly in that it has to follow descriptions and scenes from the movie, but Wrede manages to add lots of internal thoughts for the characters in place of longer establishing scenes.
The writing is consistent with a young/early reader. There's little to no "flair" added in terms of descriptions or overly complex sentence structure and such. It's very straight to the point only keeping the bare necessities of the movie needed to get the major plot along; a number of scenes are skimmed over with barely sentence recognition or explanation leading to the super condensed 180 page version of the Star Wars Phantom Menace story. Also, descriptions are just enough to give the basic idea of the setting and characters which can be good or bad depending on the reader's preference.
A quick easy read for 'experienced' readers; I started this about a little over halfway through the day (around 1-2ish) and managed to finish it before the end of the night (10pm) with periodic interruptions and long 30 minute pauses throughout that time.
August 21, 2017
So I usually read the adult version of any Star Wars movie release books but this one was there and I was curious. I really like that Qui-Gon was like "Oh my God Obi-Wan why you got such weird humor during battle? You so snarky" and then what does Obi-wan teach Anakin and they become super famous for especially in the TV show Clone Wars? Snark, pure and utter snark. It was interesting to read from the character's POV as usual as opposed to watching a film and knowing none of their inner monologue (although my Obi-Wan feels made me biased). Although this book only furthers my one burning, seething question that makes me scream at George Lucas. Why in the seven hells would Padme be interested AT ALL in annoying, pint sized Anakin when she has super handsome, hella cool Jedi padawan Obi-Wan freakin' Kenobi around kicking Sith butt and saving her planet? I mean come on, what the hell Lucas. If ever there was a moment to bang your head on the desk and cry it was that one.
May 15, 2017
I was pleasantly surprised by this book.
I know the bare minimum about the Star Wars universe. It's something I've always been interested in, but the whole timeline of things really throws me off so I've never really been able to fully get into it.
This book was very well written. Good descriptions and fast paced, it is a great fit for young readers. Wrede doesn't bog down the narration with descriptions of scenery and characters. She gives basic characteristics, then carries on with the plot. This worked wonderfully.
I also really liked how Wrede shifted the focus of the narration between characters. By writing the novel in this way, she really expanded on the movie. It was great being able to get inside each character's head and see how they perceived the world.
This is a fantastic book, especially for young readers interested in Star Wars. Great read.
I know the bare minimum about the Star Wars universe. It's something I've always been interested in, but the whole timeline of things really throws me off so I've never really been able to fully get into it.
This book was very well written. Good descriptions and fast paced, it is a great fit for young readers. Wrede doesn't bog down the narration with descriptions of scenery and characters. She gives basic characteristics, then carries on with the plot. This worked wonderfully.
I also really liked how Wrede shifted the focus of the narration between characters. By writing the novel in this way, she really expanded on the movie. It was great being able to get inside each character's head and see how they perceived the world.
This is a fantastic book, especially for young readers interested in Star Wars. Great read.
August 5, 2021
100% mirror image of the movie. Straight up copy/paste to the max.
The only two things I gained outside of the movie, which I did watch in conjunction with this read, was:
1 - The age gap between Padme (14) and Anakin (9) which wasn't provided in the film.
2 - Darth Maul is a Dathomirian Zabrak Nightbrother. For those who have played the videogame Jedi Fallen Order, that will make more sense and makes me like Darth Maul even more as a villain, .
5/5 based off of how incredible the movie/story is overall for the Phantom Menace, despite he book and the movie have practically zero differences.
The only two things I gained outside of the movie, which I did watch in conjunction with this read, was:
1 - The age gap between Padme (14) and Anakin (9) which wasn't provided in the film.
2 - Darth Maul is a Dathomirian Zabrak Nightbrother. For those who have played the videogame Jedi Fallen Order, that will make more sense and makes me like Darth Maul even more as a villain, .
5/5 based off of how incredible the movie/story is overall for the Phantom Menace, despite he book and the movie have practically zero differences.
October 16, 2021
Surprisingly quite fun. In some areas better than the adult novelization.
Jar Jar and the Gungans are portrayed much better (i.e. not as imbeciles, especially Jar Jar while clumsy is quite observant and has some interesting thoughts). What's interesting is the different approach to Padmé/Sabé twist. Wrede reveals it the first time Sabé is disguised as the Queen. Also Qui-Gon is suspicious of Padmé very early on, albeit he only suspects that Padmé has way too much influence on the Queen, but at least he's on the right track. ;) Obi-Wan overall got more attention than in the adult novelization (where he was as flat as a cardboard cutout) and was portrayed as more sympathetic. Padmé/Anakin is still creepy. I bet that Shakespeare couldn't have made a plausible lovestory out of that mess.
Jar Jar and the Gungans are portrayed much better (i.e. not as imbeciles, especially Jar Jar while clumsy is quite observant and has some interesting thoughts). What's interesting is the different approach to Padmé/Sabé twist. Wrede reveals it the first time Sabé is disguised as the Queen. Also Qui-Gon is suspicious of Padmé very early on, albeit he only suspects that Padmé has way too much influence on the Queen, but at least he's on the right track. ;) Obi-Wan overall got more attention than in the adult novelization (where he was as flat as a cardboard cutout) and was portrayed as more sympathetic. Padmé/Anakin is still creepy. I bet that Shakespeare couldn't have made a plausible lovestory out of that mess.
June 24, 2024
Enjoyed reading through this book, which closely follows the movie scenes of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. There are a few additional details that are added in this book that go beyond what is revealed in the movie. The writing style was engaging and flowed well - making for a quick read. Liberty has been taken to look into the thoughts and feelings of Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Padme, and Anakin. In the middle of the book, there are stills from the movie. They are not the best quality and have simple captions.
There is quite a lot of Jar-Jar Binks jargon in this book, but I personally don't mind his character. I was caught off guard by Anakin straight up telling Padme he was going to marry her at their first meeting in Watto's shop.
There is quite a lot of Jar-Jar Binks jargon in this book, but I personally don't mind his character. I was caught off guard by Anakin straight up telling Padme he was going to marry her at their first meeting in Watto's shop.
July 11, 2018
A good fun read, even if a lot of it is just reiterating the plot of the movie (which it's supposed to do!) with lots of good character bits (especially around Obi-Wan) and also get some stuff that didn't make it into the movie (like Anakin saying he was going to marry Padme 5 minutes after meeting her BLESS YOU STAR WARS IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE.)
There are also some things that get countered by later canon, like somehow divorcing "Padme" from "Amidala" which was sort of funny and a little distracting.
This book is good for kids, probably, in the way books like this are good for kids, and for fans who are interested in a moment of Star Wars history.
There are also some things that get countered by later canon, like somehow divorcing "Padme" from "Amidala" which was sort of funny and a little distracting.
This book is good for kids, probably, in the way books like this are good for kids, and for fans who are interested in a moment of Star Wars history.
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May 13, 2020*Disclaimer
*This review is going to, more or less, be a copy and paste review for the other books in this series because my thoughts are roughly the same for each of them.*
I read these books ages ago and I recently found my copies from about ten years ago, and, because it was May the Fourth I decided to read them. They aren't bad, in fact they do something that the films could not, which is to tell us the inner thoughts and motivations of characters in cases when the audience might perhaps not be able to get that from the actor's performance alone.
In all, these books are great for kids, but overall the movies are far better.
*This review is going to, more or less, be a copy and paste review for the other books in this series because my thoughts are roughly the same for each of them.*
I read these books ages ago and I recently found my copies from about ten years ago, and, because it was May the Fourth I decided to read them. They aren't bad, in fact they do something that the films could not, which is to tell us the inner thoughts and motivations of characters in cases when the audience might perhaps not be able to get that from the actor's performance alone.
In all, these books are great for kids, but overall the movies are far better.
October 25, 2021
3.5 stars. I loved this book as a kid, and honestly it still holds up pretty well. The prose is solid, and Patricia does a good job of having the characters sound like their ages. I believe Padme is a talented 14 year old doing her best as Queen of a planet. Anakin reads like a 9 year old. Their dynamic still makes no sense to me, but her it reads like a one sided crush and Padme feeling more like an older sister. The problems ths book has are problems the movie has. Ons problem this book fixed was Jar Jar. He is actually not all that annoying and a surprisingly compelling character in this book.
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