Rating: 
Summary: The Greatest story of all time!
Review: Ever story has a begin and this is, the begin of the greatest story of all time, Star Wars. The Queen Rule May 19 the saga begins
Rating: 
Summary: Hope you enjoy
Review: All of my reading fans. Please enjoy The Phantom Menace. It is my first attempt at starting where someone else left off.
Rating: 
Summary: More bland fair than fanfar
Review: A commendable attempt at insubstantial writing, but if you're not used to it by now, the stimcaf needs a higher dose.
The opening chapter is exciting and explains just how the kid busts up his racer, which is about the only good writing you'll see in the book. Once the movie's opening scene kicks in, the parameters of restrictive writing closes in, limiting attention to detail, depth and casual flow till the back cover.
And the simple, easy style of writing certainly doesn't impress. Numerous occasions he'll begin a scene saying "Qui-Gon, Padme, See-Threepio and Jar Jar Binks returned to Watto's shop, or something to that effect. These lists of character names strung out one after another is about as boring as you can get. How about "Qui-Gon was the first to enter Watto's shop, Padme at his back; Jar Jar trailing her wake."
He falls into the same robotic writing that Luceno, Zahn and certain others have; repeating the same descriptive features, repetitive wordage and other annoying facets. While we didn't get Denning's infamous efflux word 30 times a book, I don't want to see Qui-Gon's "leonine" face described as such even half as much, or the kid's "pug face."
It was almost as if you just went through the motions, you didn't quite feel the real emotions and thoughts of the characters. A rather detached style, all too common nowadays with Star Wars. And don't say the book was based off a rigid manuscript and a few available movie shots---you don't need them to deeper decriptive surroundings, emotive thoughts and flow of action. Dialogue was equally stiff and I really don't see why characters just can't speak whatever extra they want, so long as the movie lines are of course used.
And when your career evolved around outright and unpunished LOTR plagurism, it's insurmountably challenging to take Brooksie seriously.
It was rare for a character to actually be wrtitten without their full names; I think saying Bibble instead of Sio Bibble would have sufficed, what do you think? And though Brookes' book had to specially cater to a global audience new to a SW book, having seen the movie, just why was a major name like Obi-Wan write so rigidly and awkwardly? Was he ever not seething with impatience, anger, impetuous?
The final showdown almost saves this light pancake, and it was apparent how awkward it would be if Qui-Gon and McGreggor could only call Maul "dark warrior" or Sith Lord" every time, so he gives in and just says Darth Maul, despite the fact Qui-Gon's pov couldn't know his name.
One of the rare books whose paperback came out mere months after its debut hardcover, but like Cloak of Deception, it's not catering to dedicated fans.
Of course, just how Maulie tracked them to Tatooine is still a mystery.
Rating: 
Summary: A perfectly adequate novelization of the film
Review: With the theatrical release of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith only months away, it seems like a good time to begin preparing myself for the new film. While I did not judge Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace as harshly as many Star Wars fans did, there can be no doubt that the film paled in comparison to the force of the original trilogy. Even as a six-year old child, everything about the first Star Wars film in 1977 seemed seared into my memory, and it somewhat saddens me to know that the children of this generation, after seeing The Phantom Menace for the first time, will never know the power and obsessive joy that the original Star Wars trilogy invoked in the children of my generation. Frankly, after two viewings of Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace a few years ago, only bits and pieces resonate in my memory, and I really do need to review the people and events of this film (as well as Episode Two: Attack of the Clones) before I feel ready to see Episode Three.
The powers that be certainly found an illustrious author to transform George Lucas' screenplay and story into novelized form. I've been a fan of Terry Brooks ever since reading The Sword of Shannara as a child, and Brooks has done a thoroughly professional job with this novel. Everything that happened in the film is described with great discernment, the furious action of intense scenes such as the battle between Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul is vividly rendered, the moments of light humor are translated expertly to the page, and the emotional aspects of the plot, especially those concerning Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, are drawn in tender yet meaningful strokes. This is truly a commendable and faithful novelization of the film.
Unfortunately, the problems of Lucas' story are also faithfully captured in this novelized retelling. These characters just do not fire the imagination in the way Luke, Han, Leia, and Darth Vader did. I consider only two of these characters to be truly strong ones: Anakin and Padme, and unfortunately, events of the future serve to diminish them in different ways. I love Padme, though, and she is every bit the future mother of Luke and Leia, a queen and a fighter who will risk anything for her people. That being said, I must say that Anakin (and I swear I will never get used to the future Darth Vader being referred to as "Annie") isn't everything I thought he should be. He's an extraordinary child, of course, thanks to all those midi-chlorians coursing through his blood, but I do not think his background as we learn it here provides for an acceptable future embrace of the dark side. So much is made here by the Jedi Council - and Yoda in particular - of the dangers represented by the child's anger, but I don't see such anger in a slave boy who loves his mother dearly and seems to get by pretty well indeed on his own. It may be wrong of me to criticize a story based on incongruities I see arising in a later installment, but I just don't think George Lucas (and thus, by implication, Terry Brooks) satisfactorily showed me how this dear, brave boy will soon become the exasperating young man we see in Episode Two.
The only other thing I would say about this perfectly satisfactory novelization is the fact that it really adds nothing to the film itself. Oftentimes, a novelization will add depth or better understanding to the film it is based upon, but that really isn't the case here. Questions I had about the movie (the true essence of Senator Palpatine, for example) were not threshed out in the book. In terms of refreshing my own memory of the story in preparation for the upcoming theatrical release of Revenge of the Sith, I could have saved myself some time and merely watched the film again.
Rating:
Summary: Well written and enjoyable.
Review: For centuries, the Jedi Knights have guarded the Republic and guaranteed its freedom. Now that freedom is threatened by the growing power of the amoral Trade Federation, and by an enemy even the Jedi have cause to fear. The Sith Lords aren't gone from the universe, after all.
As the Trade Federation invades the planet Naboo, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn arrives with his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to rescue Queen Amidala. When their ship suffers damage during their escape, they're forced to land on a remote planet called Tatooine. There a nine-year-old slave boy, Anakin Skywalker, proves their only hope of repairing the ship and getting Amidala to the galactic capital of Coruscant. Young Skywalker may be their only hope for a great deal more than Naboo's future, though. As Master Qui-Gon realizes, when he perceives the boy's Jedi-like gifts and discovers through surreptitious testing that Anakin's midi-chlorian count exceeds that of any Jedi on record. Can this child be the promised one? Who will, according to ancient prophecy, restore balance to the Force?
Well written and enjoyable. Although this story really does work better on the movie screen, the author does a good job of getting inside the characters' heads. Even the often ridiculed Jar Jar Binks - a comic relief figure, only, in the film - gains enough depth to make him interesting.
Rating:
Summary: kind of boring
Review: Author Terry Brooks was given the task to write the book adaptation of the first Star Wars prequel movie: "The Phantom Menace". The novel is based on the screenplay by George Lucas. As with any other book there are good things and bad things about this novel. In this case, the good and the bad are the same thing: Terry Brooks must stay close to George Lucas's screenplay. This is good because Brooks must stay close to what the movie would end up being. This is bad because the screenplay wasn't very good. The story is obviously the same as the movie (though fleshed out a little bit more). Two Jedi are sent to negotiate with the Trade Federation over the Federation's blockade of Naboo. The Neimoidians, under the power of Darth Sidious, try to kill the Jedi (Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi). The Jedi escape and travel down to Naboo where they end up rescuing Queen Amidala and a few select Nubians. To hide from the Trade Federation they land on the planet Tatooine where they meet a boy named Anakin Skywalker. Their ship is damaged and to get the parts they need Anakin helps them win something called a podrace, which Anakin is a driver in (the only human who is able to do so). Qui-Gon believes this boy is strong in the Force and is the one mentioned in a prophecy about a boy who will bring balance to the Force. The novel has two primary focuses: the time spend on Tatooine with Anakin and freeing the Naboo from the Trade Federation. There are some things that this novel does very well. The opening of the novel is different from the movie in that we see Anakin in the podrace where he is wrecked by Sebulba (alluded to in the film). We see how Anakin is able to race the pod so well and this is the hint of how he is able to use the Force even without knowing what it is. Because we have more of Anakin's thoughts, we see his actions in a different light. We also get to see more of the Sith and their origins (though I prefer "Shadow Hunter" for that). Darth Maul does not come off very well in this novel. He is still an excellent fighter, but he doesn't get to speak or think here. The two Jedi come off the strongest as we get to see more interaction between the two and with more explanation of their relationship. There are also some things that do not work very well. While Anakin is better explained as the potential child of prophecy, he is still not very interesting as a character. Also, both Darth Maul and Padme Amidala are given short shrift in characterization. Worse, I was bored throughout the novel. Sure, I knew the story so there were no surprises, but I can re-read a book or watch a movie a second or fifth time and still be entertained. With this novel I felt that I was just dragging myself along and the only benefit was that I did already know the story so I could skim at times. I have long been a fan of Terry Brooks and his Shannara novels, but this one was rather weak.
Rating:
Summary: Go beyond the film with Episode I's novelization......
Review: Every saga, proclaims the tag line for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, has a beginning, and every Star Wars movie has a novelization. Following in the footsteps of Alan Dean Foster, Donald F. Glut and James Kahn is acclaimed fantasy writer Terry Brooks (The Sword of Shannara, among 14 novels), who adapted George Lucas' original screenplay into novel format. Although the Star Wars novels all stick to the basics of their source material, their authors are often able to tack on extra material to set up the situation shortly before the true beginning of the movie. In Brooks' The Phantom Menace, for instance, the first two chapters give the reader more details of young Anakin Skywalker's life in the weeks prior to his fateful meeting with Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. Brooks describes, for instance, the incident when Anakin's archrival, Sebulba the Dug, intentionally flashes young Skywalker's Podracer with his vents and nearly kills the boy in the resulting crash. Afterward, Anakin, his best friend Kittster Banai, and the young Rodian Wald encounter an old spacer in the town of Mos Espa. The grizzled veteran amazes the youngsters with his tales of flying fighters and starships, and of missions involving Jedi Knights. Anakin, even at the age of nine, decides that he will not settle for the life of a slave on Tatooine. "[He] thought about what it would be like to be out there, flying battle cruisers and fighters, traveling to far worlds and strange places. He didn't care what Wald said, he wouldn't be a slave all his life. Just as he wouldn't always be a boy. He would find a way to leave Tatooine. He would find a way to take his mother with him. His dreams whirled through his head as he watched the stars, a kaleidoscope of bright images. He imagined how it would be. He saw it clearly in his mind, and it made him smile. "One day, he thought, seeing the old spacer's face in the darkness before him, the wry smile and strange gray eyes, I'll do everything you've done. Everything. "He took a deep breath and held it. "I'll even fly with Jedi Knights. "Slowly he exhaled, the promise sealed." From the third chapter on, Brooks follows the plot of Lucas' screenplay, starting from the failed attempt by Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi to negotiate an end to the greedy Trade Federation's blockade of Naboo. Despite their reputation for cowardice in the face of a strong challenge, something -- or someone -- is enabling the Neimoidian leaders of the Federation to stand up against the Galactic Republic's attempts to tax the trade routes. Using a fleet of battleships, the Trade Federation's viceroy, Nute Gunray, threatens to interdict all shipping to the small backwater planet of Naboo, home planet of both Queen Amidala and its representative in the Senate, the unassuming man named Palpatine. Confident that turmoil in the Senate will hinder any response by Supreme Chancellor Valorum and knowing they have the support of a Sith Lord named Darth Sidious, the Neimoidians attempt to dispose of the two Jedi ambassadors and boldly invade Naboo. Their goal: to capture the teenaged Amidala and force her to sign a treaty that legalizes Federation control of her planet. Even when the Jedi escape to the planet surface, Gunray and his henchmen don't fret much...until Amidala's cruiser -- with Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Jar Jar Binks, the Queen, and a small group of handmaidens and security personnel aboard -- runs past the Trade Federation blockade. But the cruiser's hyperdrive is damaged during the daring breakout, and the escapees must head to the nearest system not under Trade Federation control. The only one within range is the desert world of Tatooine, a rough-and-tumble planet controlled by the vile Hutts. There, the Republic has no presence and scum and villains live side by side with moisture farmers, jawas, and the nomadic and violent Tusken Raiders. The Phantom Menace fills in some of the blanks in the Star Wars backstory, answering such questions as: What were the roots of Anakin Skywalker's anger? How did Artoo Detoo and See Threepio meet? How did Jedi Knights serve as guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic? How did Palpatine rise from sectoral Senator to Supreme Chancellor? Star Wars fans know, of course, the future fate of the major characters of The Phantom Menace and the changes to come in the galaxy. Palpatine will someday be the Emperor, Obi-Wan Kenobi will end up on Tatooine as one of the last surviving members of the Jedi Order, keeping an eye on Anakin's future son Luke. Anakin Skywalker, of course, is destined to become the Sith Lord named Darth Vader, and young Queen Amidala will grow up to be Anakin's wife and mother of his two children. Yet Brooks focuses on this transitional time in Anakin's life, when he's still a child with good instincts and big dreams, dropping subtle hints here and there that foreshadow the events that will turn a heroic Jedi into one of the most iconic villains in movie history.
Rating:
Summary: A Better Story than the movie. Well-Written movie book!
Review: Episode I had many problems, poor script, poor actors and indifferent direction, but the novel by Terry Brooks was definately a highlight for the movie. A strong adaption of the Lucas screenplay, Brooks gives stunning insight into the world of the Star Wars prequal. His writing about the Sith and about a young Anakin give the reader a much better grasp of the story while providing a dynamic setting. Overall, it's a top notch effort and well worth the readers time. I would like to see Brooks write in the regular expanded universe some time soon.
Rating:
Summary: "Kamylla" formerly of World Trade Center NYC
Review: There is no doubt that Terry Brooks is a talented, intelligent writer to give him less stars than 4 would demean his standing in the best of the STAR WARS writers. Any STAR WARS fan would do himself/herself a disfavor by not adding this book to his/her collection. The "plot" and its characters engage and complement each other's purpose. Although I still favor the "Trilogy, Episode 4/5/6", it is without doubt good to be "educated" about the background leading up to Anakin's growth and fathering two Jedi - Leia and Luke. However, one negative about Terry Brooks - his rude website staff leaves nothing to be desired - not even one "star"; a blooper gong would be more like it. Even the scifi and forcenet site staff (though very nice) have been instructed that if any books get sent to Terry Brooks for autograph, he will immediately dispose of them in the "trash", never mind that a person offers to pay the return postage for the package mailed to him, and never mind that the fan collecting the books for pleasure and no other gain cannot physically "get" to Terry Brooks STAR WARS signing. Who is he to set himself above all other STAR WAR authors, who are cooperative, kind, helpful, friendly, and REALLY appreciate their fans. Terry Brooks does an injustice to the Lucas Film family image in his negativity, passed on to his website staff.
Rating:
Summary: I Spake! therefore I am. 3.5 stars.
Review: This is a review of the unabridged audio book. Alexander Adams is doing much of the reading for the prequel books and does a great job. If you love SW and drive a lot like me, then you'll want to purchase this audio book. Like most people, I grimace at the mention of terms like "chosen one" and "medichlorians". By itself, this was an incomplete and partially unsatisfying movie. But when one reads the books that surround the events in TPM then revisits TPM one developes a greater appreciation of this book and movie. The book has a few things that fill in details left out of the movie, so I strongly recommend reading the book to fans of the movie.
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