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Summary: Star Wars
Review: Star Wars, The Phantom Menace was a good book because there was thrilling and exciting parts of the book. I didn't like the book because some parts are boring & dull. The book is about Robots and people on different sides kill each other in space and on ground & water.
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Summary: The second best novelization I've ever read
Review: Only "Trials and Tribbleations" has put me into the story in a better style. Second best in a bunch of books that tend to be overblown and often lose me in yards of useless exposition.Terry Brooks does a wonderful job describing the characters and their situations. He creeps into the heads of the characters and helps bring them to life further in the way only an author can. Qui-Gon Jinn is especially vibrant. There are some inconsistancies. The end battles and swordfighting in the book is somewhat different, I think, from the movie's version; it includes many lines of dialogue cut from the movie (not that I'm complaining); Jar Jar seems more competent; and Brooks seems to be very vague on Queen Amidala's clothing. None of these significantly detract from enjoyment of this novel. Read it if you've seen the movie! You will not be disappointed.
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Summary: Good book
Review: THIS Star Wars book was very good. I was glad that this was a simple book with the basics, not like some book where some nut is going to put a ring in a volcano(like Tolkin's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings). I was surprised that Terry Brooks did such a good job on this one, and it was good and easy for kids. The only bad part was that it focused on Anakin too much.
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Summary: Good replay of film
Review: How you rate this book depends on what you consider its purpose. If you are looking for new revelations and new story lines, as compared to the movie, you will be somewhat disappointed. But as a simple re-write of the movie, together with some additional insight into the characters' thoughts and motives, this is a pretty good book. I have to confess I was looking for more from the book. Brooks does a good job of explaining each scene, and even adds in a couple scenes that did not appear in the movie. So while his writing is unspectacular, he does do a very good job of concisely--if unexcitingly--describing each scene, piece by piece. I also came away from the book with a greater sense of cohesion to the story. The movie, which I enjoyed immensely, left me slightly confused as to why the various characters did such and such, and what they hoped to accomplish in each scene. Brooks also did a good job of making some sense of the movie's opening: why Naboo was central to the Trade Federation's attention, and why a small out-lying planet would matter much in the grand scheme of the Empire. Overall a good book. I found the last 50 pages or so quite compelling, not wanting to put it down. Considering its purpose, this is a good book.
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Summary: Only for the Star Wars faithful
Review: If you live and die Obi-Wan, Anakin and the rest of the characters of the Star Wars saga, you certainly saw The Phantom Menace. This book is based on Lucas' screenplay, thus is very true to the story you saw on screen, down to the dialogue. In that way, this book is mostly dull and uninteresting. However, it does include many details about the relationship between characters such as Anakin and Padme, Obi-Wan and Qui-Gonn Jinn which you do not see in the film. There are a small handful of"~ 'scenes' that were not present in the film, but so few and far between that it is not worth reading the whole boring book just for those parts. This is one of those rare times where the book is NOT better than the movie. right now, I suggest letting the film speak for itself.
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Summary: Written for 8 year olds.
Review: The movie targeted a very young crowd, as did the book. Just as presumptuous and boring as any other T. Brooks novels.
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Summary: Much better than the movie
Review: I read this book before I went to see the movie. Terry Brooks allows the reader to use his or her imagination. The movie may have had special effects, but Terry Brook's descriptions allow you to picture everything in your head, as though you were really there. He gives us characters which are full of life, unlike the movie. I felt as though the movie rushed the story, and left out important details about the character. The book, on the other hand, allows you to get inside the characters head. The movie makes young Skywalker look like a minor character, while this book allows you to really see why he should be the choosen one.
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Summary: We meet the kid who will be Darth Vader...
Review: ...he's a lot like his son in his inquisitive and anaylytical nature. And he's like his daughter in the way he's too serious for his age. We also meet "old Ben" as a sometimes impatient young guy who needs the steadying influence of experience. I even had one question answered that it never occurred to me to ask--how old is See Threepio? One thing I don't get, though, is all the uproar about Jar Jar Binks--how he's supposedly a negative caricature of African Americans. First off, he isn't human of any race--he's of amphibian stock. His mannerisms remind me of the character Gollum from "Lord Of the Rings, except with a lot less attitude. The nearest Earth equivalent to his speech strikes me as being Carribean, but all of his people talk that way. Evidently it's the syntax of their native tongue applied to an English vocabulary. If his people are supposed to be so unevolved, how come they make a pretty neat light submarine? I guess I'm going to have to wait until I get the flick--until then, maybe I'm just clueless on the issue.
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Summary: Disappointed
Review: Let's face it, all die-hard Star Wars fans are going to buy and read this book, but if we are truly honest with ourselves, the other Star Wars novels leave this one choking in the dust of Tatooine! I saw the movie (multiple times) I didn't really need to read the script, again. I wanted more, and it wasn't there. Maul came off so completely un-menacing in this novel, the descriptions were non-existent, and the action was completely boring. I had no emotions while reading this book at all. One saving grace, I did enjoy some of the fleshing out of Anaking and his dreams, but everyone else was left as 2-dimensional as a walking movie-character cut-out! Go back and see the film again, the book certainly doesnt add to the experience.
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Summary: Great Book
Review: It was great, Obi Wan actually had some sort of personality in the book. It also had all of the cut scenes, and a lot of little details that you miss in the movie.
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