Rating: 
Summary: Terrific
Review: I bought this book after seeing the movie twice. I have only recently become a Star Wars fanatic, but despite this condition, my opinion on the quality of the movie and book is totally unbiased. :) The movie was very good, but some parts felt missing--in many parts of Episode II, Attack of the Clones, it felt as if scenes had been truncated, or as if they could have been extended. I also didn't quite grasp the plot completely after the first viewing. But the novel fills in the gaps admirably; it was a terrific read, and I absolutely could not put it down. Salvatore's style is extremely engaging, and he goes far deeper with Shmi Skywalker, Padme Amidala, Anakin, and many of the other characters than the movie could ever hope to. It accomplishes what a cinematic feature never could--a full-length tale complete with twists and turns and intrigue of every sort. The movie also makes more sense--the characters become deeper, more complex, and the manner in which Salvatore presents them is very intimate and warm. With the book, we dive deeper into Padme's conflicting emotions concerning the budding romance between her and Anakin, and we also get a chance to experience some of her family life. We get a closer look at Shmi Skywalker, Anakin's mother, and see how profoundly she loves her son, and how much she misses her once little, but now grown Anakin. We also experience Anakin on a deeper level; Anakin's metamorphisis from boy to young man is clearly shown, as is the massive grief that he experiences because of the separation from his mother; his frustration at Obi-Wan, yet also his deep love for his Jedi Master, are thoughtfully and expertly written as well. We are thrown headlong into his thoughts and his feelings, and get a good look at his dark side--he feels everything so deeply, so profoundly, and it is easy to see how he could become the evil Darth Vader. His temper is quick to rise, yet quick to subside as well, and he is often remorseful. There are ominous hints concerning the dark future of the doomed galaxy. Yet on a lighter note, the romance between Padme and Anakin is beautifully written. Their interactions and dialouge are captivating. Their intense love for one another is heartrending, and Anakin's fierce devotion to Padme and the confession of his deep, unyielding love for her is moving. Padme Amidala, as a senator for the people of Naboo, is afraid to mix romance with affairs of the state. Her conflicting feelings are very real and wonderfully written. It is easy to see how their passionate love for each other could end up destroying them both. (So much for the lighter note.) I feel that anyone who has seen this movie should read this book in order to gain a clearer understanding of the film, and in turn, a better grasp of the epic story that George Lucas has so masterfully woven. If not to become more involved and aware of the fathomless Star Wars universe, read it to enjoy a really great novel. (The cover is beautiful!) --In addition, the print is relatively large and well-spaced, and therefore easy on the eyes. It is relatively short, but if the thickness of the novel daunts you, here's a reminder that the novel is jam-packed with action, from a breath-taking, thrilling chase on a speeder in Coruscant, to a good old-fashioned fight between space craft against a classic landscape of stars, to a light-sabre battle involving a certain green, diminutive Jedi Master. Read this novel, one must.
Rating: 
Summary: Will always be a Star Wars fan, but do have a few compliants
Review: First of all, I will read just about anything SW,but so far have not been overly impressed with Mr. Salvatore's work. Ifeel as though I'm reading a children's book with adult topics. Jude Watson writes young reader books that are perfectly readable for adults. Please let Timothy Zahn write EpIII or anything else for SW. I enjoyed the new info on all the characters, but didn't feel as though I got more understanding of their thoughts from the book than the movie like I usually do. After seeing the movie I was so excited to read the book, but was disapointed. I agree with other reviewers that Lucas etal. should pay attention to previous books. Obi'wan use to love flying,now he hates it? Part of the fun of SW is the continuity and "history". A good SW book should let us into the characters minds so we feel what they feel & understand their point of view. We don't have to understand everything that's going on - that's what makes for great cliffhangers. I also didn't like that all those Jedi were killed on Genosis, without letting us know who any of them were. I expected this in the movie, but thought the book would flesh this out more, so we would see how much of a loss the Jedi are taking. Overall, I liked the story line, but felt more heart was needed.
Rating: 
Summary: Batting less than 1.000.....
Review: I think I've read just about everything Mr Salvatore has written. Demon Wars, Drizzt and Wulfgar, Vector Prime... Salvatore is simply amazing. His detail with weapons, fighting techiniques, strategies, character development, story telling. This guy CAN do it all. Terry Brooks did an excellent job with Episode I, he really made the movie/story enjoyable for me. I was so excited when I read that Salvatore would be writing what was to be potentially the darkest chapter of Star Wars.... ... then I read the book. I'm sorry, Bob, but this novel was terrible. You had a few good parts, but you rushed the entire 2nd half of the book. All of the fighting scenes, Force battles, military strategy... what happened? This was not Salvatore's normal writing style. I was very dissapointed with the Episode II novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Extension of the movie.
Review: I watched "Attack of the Clones" with an open mind. The movie held new ground in Star Wars while keeping earnest with the spirit of the tale. There are some minor conflicts between the prequel and the original trilogy -storywise, but we can overlook the trivalities. I will say this, if Anakin Skywalker created Threepio and knew R2-D2, why is it that they don't recognize his son - has there memory been erased since the prequel days? In Empire, Obi-Wan claimed he was taught by Master Yoda - in prequel storyline, Qui-Gon Jinn trained him. Hmmm...right? Episode III we'll find out. All I can say about the book by R.A. Salvatore is this -simply written for any age, not as heavy as Lucas' 3 in 1 trilogy set. To understand what you have seen in the movie, to it's full extent, you need to read this book and remember the movie. When you combine the movie and the book - you've got the full story. reviewed by ROBERT ELDRIDGE
Rating: 
Summary: Is everyone rating Star Wars, or the book?
Review: Reading some of these reviews, I get the impression that people are giving good reviews only because they were looking forward to the movie. It's as if they had their eyes shut. The problem with this book is repetition. In chapter 12, Salvatore STILL feels the need to tell us things like - Padme Amidala, former Queen of the Naboo, but now senator - geez, I think I read that 20 times in this book. If this and similar ideas that were repeated over and over were reduced to one mention, or even three or four mentions, this book would flow better and probably be at least 10 pages shorter. The action sequences are also poorly done. I know it must be tough to describe, but it was an exercize in frustration to understanding just how the battles went down. People, if you like the movie rate the movie well, but this book was not nearly as well written as the Heir to the Empire trilogy. There was simply nothing grabbing ahold of my interest to pull me through. The only redeeming thing in this book was the ending, only then do you get a taste of wanting to continue with the story.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the movie?
Review: Yes! Then again most books are! But if your a big Star wars fan then this is a must read. This book will take you deeper into the story of the man/machine Anakin. As Salvatore wrote me when he signed my book refering to this story, "A glimpse into the shadows of his soul." Indeed!
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Adaptation Worthy of Star Wars.......
Review: R.A. Salvatore, author of several New Jedi Order novels (including the series' first entry, Vector Prime) became the first Star Wars author to write a film's novelization when he was assigned to adapt Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Released in hardcover a few weeks before the film's release, Salvatore's novelization of the screenplay by George Lucas and Jonathan Hales not only tells the story contained in the final film, but also adds three chapters of backstory establishing Anakin's emotional turmoil and Padme Amidala's inner struggle to find balance between her official duties as Senior Senator from Naboo and her growing awareness of a need for a more personal life. Set 10 years after Anakin Skywalker's departure from Tatooine with Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, Attack of the Clones begins with a prologue in which Anakin has a nightmare. It begins with images of something the young Jedi Padawan longs for...the presence of family and friends...and especially the company of his mother, who he has not seen in a decade. But the dream -- or is it a Force-vision? -- quickly turns ghastly when his mother's image turns into a garish crystaline figure and shatters. When he wakes up, sweaty and out of breath, he's forced to focus on his current assignment with his Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, which is to settle a dispute on the planet Ansion (which is described in full in Alan Dean Foster's The Approaching Storm, a prequel to Episode II). Anxious and unsettled, he wants to complete this mission quickly so he can go back to Coruscant and seek guidance, but not from his Master or any of the Masters at the Jedi Temple...but from Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Meanwhile, Anakin's mother Shmi is now no longer Watto's slave and happily married to moisture farmer Cliegg Lars. Although she is now free and loves both her husband and stepson Owen, she misses Anakin and wonders if he did, at last, become a Jedi. The chapter describing her new life on the Lars homestead sets up both the relationship between Owen and his girlfriend Beru Whitesun (who, of course, will be Shmi's grandson Luke's guardians in the future). Salvatore's expository chapter gives both depth and context to the later scenes involving Shmi and Anakin. After another brief chapter of backstory, from Chapter Four on Attack of the Clones focuses on the events at the heart of the film. Ten years have passed since Senator Palpatine's election to the Supreme Chancellorship, but despite his promises to reduce corruption and restore confidence in the Republic, things have become worse. The Trade Federation and various other special-interest groups have joined a secessionist movement that has enticed several thousand systems to leave the Republic. Led by the charismatic Count Dooku, a former Jedi Master, this movement is gathering more momentum with each passing day, and Palpatine's negotiations are going nowhere. As the secessionists grow stronger and bolder, hawks in the Senate are pushing for the Military Creation Act, which will, for the first time since the founding of the Republic, set up a centralized army to assist the limited numbers of Jedi Knights. However, moderates such as Bail Organa of Alderaan and Padme Amidala of Naboo believe that such a move will result in open civil war. When Amidala rushes back to Coruscant to vote against the Military Creation Act, her official starship is destroyed by an unknown assailant and her decoy Corde is killed. Alarmed by this incident (or so it seems), Palpatine urges the young senator to accept tighter security. When Amidala tries to object, Palpatine insists that she be guarded and suggests to the Jedi Council that she be placed under the protection of the Jedi...and he knows exactly who to assign: "Perhaps someone you may be familar with...an old friend...like Master Kenobi." For Obi-Wan Kenobi, the unexpected assignment is simply limited to the protection of the Senator. For Anakin, however, it becomes the catalyst for both renewing his relationship with the woman he loves and to yet again defy his Jedi Master. They openly argue, bringing to the fore the restlessness and impetuousness of the young Padawan. Then a second attempt is made on Amidala's life, and both Jedi Master and apprentice head off in desperate pursuit of the deadly bounty hunter Zam Wessel...a chase that will only be the first phase of a long and perilous search for clues that will reveal who is behind the attempts on Amidala's life. Episode II is a return to the classic Star Wars format, with its exotic locations (the cloners' watery world of Kamino, the hostile desert environment of Tatooine, the factory planet of Geonosis with its huge termite-mounds, and the dizzying cityscape of Coruscant), chases, spaceship fights, romance, and, of course, a climactic lightsaber duel. Attack of the Clones features both familiar characters from The Phantom Menace, including a reduced yet crucial (if rather unexpected) role for Jar Jar Binks, and such new characters as Count Dooku, Cliegg Lars, and the fearsome bounty hunter Jango Fett, whose genetic material is being used to make the clones that will become the Grand Army of the Republic. Boba Fett, the equally ruthless bounty hunter seen in the Classic Star Wars trilogy, is introduced in Episode II as Jango's only unaltered clone. The novel format has the advantage that expository material can be inserted without the constrains of "running time." Readers can for instance, learn why Palpatine manages to serve despite having passed his term limit in office, or "meet" Padme's family in a sequence that was written and filmed but deleted from the final film. Salvatore has the advantage of having written Star Wars material before, and his skillful melding of backstory, use of deleted scenes, and great story-telling abilities make this adaptation work.
Rating:
Summary: Decent if Uninspired Adaption
Review: The book adaptation for Episode II has some very good qualities. The back story and inclusion of scenes not from the movie add a more complete understanding to the reader. Anakin far from being a whining spoiled brat seems much more likable and self-depracating, a view NOT given in the movie. Overall, though its just a standard adaption and I am not a big fan of Salvatore's writing style. Unlike Brooks, who wrote the Episode I adaption, he is very uninspiring and not the least dynamic. Overall, it is a superior adaption to most books that are written nowadays.
Rating:
Summary: The clone wars
Review: The fighting in the book is more enthusieasing than any other George Lucas book I have ever read. It has more action in the book than there is in the freaking movie, so if you like the movie you will like the book even better.
When Anakin first met Padme for the first time in a long while. It discribes for a page and a half how beautiful she was to him. Like in the place where the droides were makeing the droides Anakin was more interested in what Padme was doing then what was happening to himself. Im not going to tell you the hole story because i don't want to give away any of the good parts in the
book. I rated this book with a four stars because I think it could of been alot better but it has great detail. Take it from me it needs more action, but if I had to read it again I would.
Rating:
Summary: Just Like The Movie.......
Review: ....but a little better. ( Whithout all the CGI, HEH HEH, get it....) Very well done, one of the best Star Wars books i have read.
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