Rating: 
Summary: It's OK...
Review: I generally will not read novels adapted from screenplays. They lack depth. This book is no different. You get a bit more information than what the movie reveals.This is my first Star Wars book. It was not so bad that I have decided never to read another Star Wars book. I am currently working on Rogue Planet which is much better. But hey, it is not based on a screenplay.
Rating: 
Summary: Star Wars -Episode 1- The Phantom Menace (Seafire12)
Review: This book gives more depth to the character of Anakin Skywalker. It tells you more about his abilitys. Like his destruction of the Droid Control Ship. In the novel it makes it clear that that was not an accident instead something tells him to to what he does through the force. It examines his abilitys and anger but doesn't focus on them to much instead it gives you a small understanding and setup for Episode II.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but not perfect
Review: Terry Brooks is a very good author; descriptive and a beautiful writer. One problem with the book is that it strays from the movie a little too much, creating some minor discrepancies. Also, Terry seems to stick to key phrases and cliche terms and uses them too often, creating unnecessary repetition. But a good read if you want to see inside the minds of the characters as the story unfolds. The book also contains some extra foreshadowing to the events of future Star Wars episodes.
Rating:
Summary: Brooks Adaptation is Perfect Companion to Film
Review: Pay no attention to the nit-picky naysayers who seek to criticize G. Lucas at every turn. Terry Brooks was the perfect choice to adapt this FANTASY story to literary form. That's right! "Star Wars" always has and ever will be a fantasy story more thant sci-fi. The spaceships and blasters and lightsabers are incidental props. Fantasy is based on "faith." Faith in magic, monsters and myth--sci-fi is exactly that: SCIENCE. There is NO SCIENCE to Star Wars. More than any previous episode, "Menace" demands your faith--or at least your half-hearted belief that Anakin could be the "chosen one" to bring unity to the Force and ultimately the galaxy. Terry Brooks, being primarily a fantasy writer, has accomplished this and actually exceeded where perhaps Lucas failed in the capturing that "faith" in the film. Brooks' other strength is character development--for which I might add he may have come up short in this story, in comparison to his 'Shanarra' stories. However, that may not be his fault, but rather what he had to work from. Nevertheless I must subtract a star, where it may not have been necessary. Arthur C. Clark or Alan Dean Foster are legendary SF writers, but they would have missed entirely the premise that Lucas wants us to believe for his epic (and future episodes to come)--to be honest, I doubt if they would have "gotten it." This story is very quick and to the point and Brooks is as good as he has ever been--I read it in an afternoon. Brooks has left his fingerprint on the Star Wars universe for further generations and the universe and the Force or better for it.
Rating: 
Summary: Only for Star Wars buffs.
Review: For those who didn't get much satisfaction out of the Episode 1 movie or just didn't get what it was about, this book will give you insights and details of going ons inside the character's minds. I recommend that you watch the movie before reading this book so that you visualise the scenery better. The surrounding background scenes itself alone is difficult to describe, let alone the action scenes. Brooks have done an adequate job in describing the thoughts and feeling of the characters, especially putting Anakin and Amidala in a more human light. In the movie, they seemed rather stiff and emotionless due to their lack of dialogue which is to be blamed on the lack of time. In short, you have to love Star Wars Episode 1 enough to buy this book, otherwise you're just wasting your time.
Rating:
Summary: Overall Good book with limited shortcomings
Review: This book was definetly a good buy. .... The most serious criticism of this book is that the authorhas spouts of childish and low-skill writing. I have found a coupleof examples of these that literally made me laugh out loud. This example in particular made me loose it: He looked from the girl to the droid. Padme smiled some more. R2D2 beeped again. Jar Jar felt pretty good. That was an actual paragraph in the book. I definetly acknowledge that there exists some writing such as this, which reslembles a 3rd grader's scribblings. On the whole, these incidents do not detract from the overall book. The majority of the book is well writen, and crammed with so much action, you won't notice. The other criticism of this book is that it is not descriptive enough. I believe this criticism is deserved if you have not already seen the movie. Most areas are described well in the naration, but key elements of the book will not be understood by someone who has not seen the movie. One example of this is the description of Watto. From the book, you really have no Idea what...he is. These criticisms aside, this book is good because you get an understanding of the characters that you simply can not get from the movie. I happen to like the emphasis on Anakin in the book. In fact, if the movie contained more of the character interaction that is in the book, the reviewers of the movie would have thought it was much better. In short, the book is a great addition to any star-wars fan's collection because it allows you to understand the characters (particularly Anakin, Obi-wan, and Qui-Gon) that you just cannot get from the movie, even if you watch it over and over again. There is much more dialog in the book than there is in the movie, and also many more asides. The book sets up the sequel far better than the movie does.
Rating:
Summary: wow neat awsome
Review: I loved this book a lot. You could almost see the actual movie in your head. I saw the podrace.
Rating: 
Summary: A BAD Movie and even Worse book
Review: A Bad Movie and an EVEN WORSE Novel! First let me say that I AM AHUGE Star Wars fan, and had been looking forward to the release of ThePhantom Menace as much as anyone.... I was disappointed in the movie as it is being shown. I was hopeful that Terry Brooks' novelization would be better, but unfortunately it was worse. I have read over 90% of the Star Wars titles and over 5 of Terry Brooks' novels. They (TB's novels) and TPM are not anywhere near the same level of work. TPM was apparently, like everything else for TPM, aimed at the young kids. I am 28 yrs old and remember seeing SW in the theaters. TPM was written on a 5th grade reading level. It only took me a little over 6 hours to read the entire book. Normal Brooks book paint a lavish portrait of the world he is creating...and maybe that was the problem. This is, and never will be, Terry Brooks' world. His world is Shannarra, his characters live and die there...not in a galaxy far, far away. I am sorry to say that I would not recommend this book to anyone, if they are a Terry Brooks fan, and maybe not if they're a Star Wars fan END
Rating:
Summary: Not as good as the movie.
Review: Before I start trashing Terry Brooks I'll say I know from experience how hard it is to write a book. The style: The worst part of the novel is Mr. Brooks style. It reads like a transformer coloring book. Some of the word choices there were disappointing. It's pedestrian. The content: I don't know if Terry consulted with Lucas on the history of the Sith but it was interesting to hear their history. The Tattoine escape scene is better than the movie. It gives us an early idea of how exhausting Jedi style fighting is. There were a lot of scenes I understand Lucas cut from the final film. Knowing the context of those scenes makes waiting for the DVD special edition (which will have these cut scenes if there is a god) a lot harder to take. I remember rolling my eyes many times throughout the book because of stylistic choices. I'll give you a few examples, taken randomly: "It was scrap metal witin seconds, dissected by Qui-Gon's lightsaber...Obi-Wan Kenobi launched himself at the battle droids...cutting into them with ferocious determination." Ferocious determination? Come on. This looks like a first year journalism student's first attempt at a book. I really expected this to be written better than the other Star Wars books. This is certainly the weakest. I liked some of Mr. Brooks other works - he has written some good stuff. This was not a very good effort. Where were Timothy Zahn, Aaron Alison or Michael Stackpole?
Rating:
Summary: Brooks Grasped the Spirit of the Movie Perfectly
Review: I always have to read the book of the movie. I found this oneperfect. Brooks, while still following the screenplay, takes thestory into his own hands. He includes several scenes of his own that aren't in the movie. These scenes create more motives for the characters. The book is also useful, as it helps to figure out the names of everyone. Admit it, it can be hard to do that must by watching the movie. I now understand the movie better, and I enjoyed learning by the way of Terry Brooks' beautiful prose. Non-Jedis probably won't enjoy it, but for this is a great book to add to the collection of any Star Wars fan.
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