Matthew Woodring Stover

Second Review - Audiobook: 13 May 2024

I heard the Star Wars audiobooks are entertaining AF. So, I thought, I would try one with a novel I enjoyed reading. I was not disappointed. The soundtrack from the movies is included, even the droid sounds - the narrator is an excellent voice actor, capturing the characters closely.

The Audiobook transferred me to the galaxy far, far away . . . I was all the characters. I do recommend the audiobook a try or any other Star Wars Audiobook.


First review - Novel: 15 January 2024
"This is a story of love and loss, brotherhood and betrayal, courage and sacrifice, and the death of dreams."

This is my 3rd movie novelization of Star Wars. I liked episode 1 and episode 2, but oooh boy . . . This was magnificent.

The novel is written in 3rd person narrative view. Many descriptions are set in everything, fights, thoughts, and emotions.

This is the fall of Anakin Skywalker and the birth of Darth Vader. The story tells a tragedy with so much drama and intrigue . . . I felt so connected to the universe, and this novel helped me understand the prequel trilogy with answered questions.

Anakin and Padme's tale are that of Romeo and Juliet - their love ignited the stars. I am satisfied with the characters in this prequel trilogy. The authors: Terry Brooks, R.A Salvatore, and Matthew Stover, understood how important it was.

This is also the tale of Sith, who had been forgotten for years. The Jedi became too confident that they would never return, but, without darkness, light cannot survive.

The debate remains - was it the Jedi's fault that Anakin became what he is?

I, who recently became a fan of this universe (to my husband's delight), can agree that this is a must-read for any die-hard Star Wars fan.

Onwards to the next novelization.… (more)

I've been a fan of Stover's since reading his Revenge of the Sith novelization.

Unencumbered from playing within a franchise, Stover's writing goes into some very interesting places. His action scenes are often the thing most people praise, and I'd agree, but the the intensity of the violence, coupled with the ideas at play in this book, create some very potent character moments that stick with you after reading. Moments shift from politics, to philosophy, to straight action, and it's all interesting.

Not to mention the overarching concept: people in a futuristic Earth travelling to an alternate dimension as 'actors' having fantasy adventures that are recorded from their first person perspective, for the entertainment of people at home. This creates a fascinating frame and continuous concept on the nature of fiction and reality, how things can be crafted as a story, and our own fascinations with violence and drama.

Stover's ability to both utilize the recursive nature of this concept and allow his characters to recognize and transcend these frameworks is possibly the most powerful and useful idea in the whole book.

… (more)

After an intriguing start where Mace learns that his former padawan, Depa, has possibly committed a mass murder on civilians, he sets out to find her. She hides in the jungles on a planet whose inhabitants have been at war long before there were galactic war. Even if Mace won’t face it, his beloved Republic is not perfect. Yet he tries his best to honor Jedi principles and help the helpless, no matter the odds:

“There had never been light bright enough to drive back darkness like this; Mace could only hope to make of himself a light bright enough to cut through it.” (p. 152)

And the odds just get worse and worse.

I didn’t always find Mace sympathetic, but he was interesting. The world and characters likewise. The humor sometimes seemed forced. And of course, there were lots of long descriptions of fights and battles. I found them a bit boring, but I knew that was what I went into with this book. My main gripe is with Depa. It felt to me like Mace’ thoughts about her took up a lot of space, but she never really got enough space as a character in her own right.… (more)