Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace (novelization)

Star Wars, Episode I - The Phantom Menace

by Terry Brooks

Books tend to be better than their movie versions, and in this case, though the movie was released first, the book is still better. I’m not a big sci-fi/fantasy lit. fan (except for Star Wars obviously, and Harry Potter I suppose), so I’m unfamiliar with Terry Brooks’s work, but it’s clear he’s an excellent writer. I just don’t like his writing style.

Brooks wrote in scenes and in some places, entire chapters, but The Phantom Menace isn’t his story. If I read one of his own novels, I may have a different opinion. I realize that what bothers me about his writing style is nitpicky. For example, he often refers to Obi-Wan as Qui-Gon’s protégé, which he is, but I don’t believe that word exists in Basic (the predominant language in the Star Wars universe). “Padawan” and “apprentice” are more appropriate. At one point, Brooks uses the word glass, but in SW, this is called “transparisteel,” just as paper is “flimsiplast” or “flimsi” for short, and concrete is “permacrete.”

As mentioned earlier, TPM novelization is an improvement over the movie. One reason, and this is certainly true for most books-to-movies, is because the storyline is expanded. Brooks’s additions provide more insight into the characters’ qualities and relationships with one another, along with their intentions and motivations. He achieves this even in chapters directly from the screenplay by cutting a bit here and writing in something there, which results in more fully developed characters. The author also allows readers into the characters’ heads, successfully transforming Jar Jar from an annoying fool into a tolerable being with intelligent thoughts and sincere feelings but without the capacity to express them.

If not for the special effects and Darth Maul’s gratifyingly menacing face, all of which are described well, I’d recommend the book over the movie. Without a doubt.

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