Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back [movie novelization]
by Don Glut
Star Wars: Movie Novelizations (5), Star Wars Novels (3 ABY), Star Wars Universe (3 ABY)
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The further adventures of Luke Skywalker and his friends in their continuing battle against Darth Vader and the evil side of the Force.Tags
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On this second novelization of Star Wars, I am once again left with the same frustrating feeling that I have with most of Star Wars as a whole. A feeling of deep satisfaction, but this feeling almost never culminates into a full climax, leaving me with unfinished emotions so strong that it almost ruins the whole experience, and leaves me very emotionally confused. When I feel this way about a piece of media, it is often a sign that I just experienced something incredibly awful, something new and unique, or something that is emotionally powerful.
In attempting to read the novelizations, I was hoping that I would be able to resolve my complicated emotions about Star Wars. After finishing the Empire Strikes Back novelization, I think it is show more clear that I will not be able to resolve my thoughts about Star Wars, within the original trilogy novelizations. But what I have come away with in reading Star Wars in a written format, is more personal evidence to support my own assumption that it is not a story that should be interpreted in the traditional western lens. Star Wars is not a story written with any internal logical consistency, as most modern storytelling is done, and to interpret it as we would other modern stories often leads you to believe that Star Wars is not a very consistent world at all, which is a totally valid judgement. Skilled authors and film-makers should know how to dress up logical inconsistencies and narrative plot holes in a way so that they don't distract the audience, and I think the film does this well, where the book does not. I am not trying to make some dumb argument about media literacy, saying something along the lines of "Star Wars is good bro, you are just too dumb to understand what makes it a masterpiece". Skilled author's and film-makers should know how to implement literary devices and references to other works or real world ideas without taking the audience out of their immersion in the story, and this is something that I think all of Star Wars struggles to do well. But here is the thing... Obvious references and crudely implemented literary devices persist in almost all of the Star Wars filmography, even after Disney took over. By traditional standards, I look at how Star Wars is written, and I am offended. But the franchise has obviously affected a lot of people, and has become a very important part of the tapestry of modern day culture. So something has to be working right on the literary level for the franchise to have the cultural impact that it has had.
Writing this reflection has been difficult, because what can I say about Star Wars that is interesting, and hasn't been said before? This is what I think I can bring to the table, that I think is an often very overlooked part of Star Wars. George Lucas was a student of anthropology before he was a film-maker, and he has noted on multiple occasions that Star Wars was very inspired by "the Hero's Journey" narrative framework found in Joseph Campbell's "The Hero with a Thousand Faces." As someone who is reading "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" and has studied some anthropology and middle-eastern mythology in an academic setting when I was in school to become a minister, I have a glimpse of George Lucas' unique human perspective. I have merely played with the intellectual toys of anthropology, and it has transformed the entire direction of my life. I can easily imagine how much more transformative and unique your perspective would be if you studied humanity even more as Lucas has. So when I interact with Star Wars, I see something different than most other people. Where most other people see inconsistent worldbuilding, rushed character development, and forced dialogue, I see an intentional tapestry of syncretic mythology, character archetypes, and dialogue emulating ancient styles of storytelling. I see personal flairs that only someone with his background would have, and these personal flairs get even stronger and more pronounced with the prequel trilogy. Do you need to be informed about anthropology to enjoy Star Wars? Absolutely not! Is this interpretation deeper than you think? Yes and no. It is a unique texture applied to the story being told, that highlights certain elements and emotions. It can go deeper than that, but that is basically what I understand is going on.
In the Empire Strikes Back, this mythological metaphor comes into full expressionist display with the words "No, I am your father, search your feelings, you know it to be true." Ch 13 Pg 366. I knew this moment was coming, but when it happened, I was unexpectedly moved. I was reading it through the lens of mythology and spirituality. I did what the text said and searched my feelings, and I was shocked and almost brought to tears as I thought about my difficult relationship with my own family and my father, as well as many thoughts about government, authority, resistance, and power structures. This moment was incredibly therapeutic. With this moment. I fully let go of my want for Star Wars to be a logical... and embraced that Star Wars is a franchise entirely meant to be understood through the lens of empathy. It is a Rorschach, meant to pull out the audience's subjective experience. Everything in the world and story of Star Wars is intentionally designed as an abstracted version of the real world, to help the audience engage with the form of an idea, and not get stuck in it's real world identity. I had a feeling that this empathetic way of interpreting Star Wars was the correct lens to view it through for quite a while, but was just unwilling to accept it until this moment.
To bring things to a conclusion. If a consistent world and logical storytelling is something that you can't get pest when viewing Star Wars. I would say you have a completely valid view of Star Wars. I just have a very niche set of knowledge that leaves me so personally affected that I cannot pretend like I have an objective view. I think it is beautiful and emotionally powerful, based solely on my subjective experience, not by any objective measures.
Title: Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back
Series: Star Wars Movie Novelizations
Order: 7
Author/Editor: Donald F Glut
Note (Accolades):
Genre/Subject: Star Wars Canon
Pages: 165
Owned/Platform: EPUB
Excitement: 7
Rating: 8
How did I hear about it: Star Wars is pop culture
Finished: Yes
Read over the course of: 2 Weeks
Date Finished: Wed, Jul 2, 2025
Reason Finished: I am interested in reading the Star Wars Novelizations.
Reason Dropped:
Expectations: Mixed
Pacing Feel: Too Short
Style: Narrative
Worth My Time: Yes show less
In attempting to read the novelizations, I was hoping that I would be able to resolve my complicated emotions about Star Wars. After finishing the Empire Strikes Back novelization, I think it is show more clear that I will not be able to resolve my thoughts about Star Wars, within the original trilogy novelizations. But what I have come away with in reading Star Wars in a written format, is more personal evidence to support my own assumption that it is not a story that should be interpreted in the traditional western lens. Star Wars is not a story written with any internal logical consistency, as most modern storytelling is done, and to interpret it as we would other modern stories often leads you to believe that Star Wars is not a very consistent world at all, which is a totally valid judgement. Skilled authors and film-makers should know how to dress up logical inconsistencies and narrative plot holes in a way so that they don't distract the audience, and I think the film does this well, where the book does not. I am not trying to make some dumb argument about media literacy, saying something along the lines of "Star Wars is good bro, you are just too dumb to understand what makes it a masterpiece". Skilled author's and film-makers should know how to implement literary devices and references to other works or real world ideas without taking the audience out of their immersion in the story, and this is something that I think all of Star Wars struggles to do well. But here is the thing... Obvious references and crudely implemented literary devices persist in almost all of the Star Wars filmography, even after Disney took over. By traditional standards, I look at how Star Wars is written, and I am offended. But the franchise has obviously affected a lot of people, and has become a very important part of the tapestry of modern day culture. So something has to be working right on the literary level for the franchise to have the cultural impact that it has had.
Writing this reflection has been difficult, because what can I say about Star Wars that is interesting, and hasn't been said before? This is what I think I can bring to the table, that I think is an often very overlooked part of Star Wars. George Lucas was a student of anthropology before he was a film-maker, and he has noted on multiple occasions that Star Wars was very inspired by "the Hero's Journey" narrative framework found in Joseph Campbell's "The Hero with a Thousand Faces." As someone who is reading "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" and has studied some anthropology and middle-eastern mythology in an academic setting when I was in school to become a minister, I have a glimpse of George Lucas' unique human perspective. I have merely played with the intellectual toys of anthropology, and it has transformed the entire direction of my life. I can easily imagine how much more transformative and unique your perspective would be if you studied humanity even more as Lucas has. So when I interact with Star Wars, I see something different than most other people. Where most other people see inconsistent worldbuilding, rushed character development, and forced dialogue, I see an intentional tapestry of syncretic mythology, character archetypes, and dialogue emulating ancient styles of storytelling. I see personal flairs that only someone with his background would have, and these personal flairs get even stronger and more pronounced with the prequel trilogy. Do you need to be informed about anthropology to enjoy Star Wars? Absolutely not! Is this interpretation deeper than you think? Yes and no. It is a unique texture applied to the story being told, that highlights certain elements and emotions. It can go deeper than that, but that is basically what I understand is going on.
In the Empire Strikes Back, this mythological metaphor comes into full expressionist display with the words "No, I am your father, search your feelings, you know it to be true." Ch 13 Pg 366. I knew this moment was coming, but when it happened, I was unexpectedly moved. I was reading it through the lens of mythology and spirituality. I did what the text said and searched my feelings, and I was shocked and almost brought to tears as I thought about my difficult relationship with my own family and my father, as well as many thoughts about government, authority, resistance, and power structures. This moment was incredibly therapeutic. With this moment. I fully let go of my want for Star Wars to be a logical... and embraced that Star Wars is a franchise entirely meant to be understood through the lens of empathy. It is a Rorschach, meant to pull out the audience's subjective experience. Everything in the world and story of Star Wars is intentionally designed as an abstracted version of the real world, to help the audience engage with the form of an idea, and not get stuck in it's real world identity. I had a feeling that this empathetic way of interpreting Star Wars was the correct lens to view it through for quite a while, but was just unwilling to accept it until this moment.
To bring things to a conclusion. If a consistent world and logical storytelling is something that you can't get pest when viewing Star Wars. I would say you have a completely valid view of Star Wars. I just have a very niche set of knowledge that leaves me so personally affected that I cannot pretend like I have an objective view. I think it is beautiful and emotionally powerful, based solely on my subjective experience, not by any objective measures.
Title: Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back
Series: Star Wars Movie Novelizations
Order: 7
Author/Editor: Donald F Glut
Note (Accolades):
Genre/Subject: Star Wars Canon
Pages: 165
Owned/Platform: EPUB
Excitement: 7
Rating: 8
How did I hear about it: Star Wars is pop culture
Finished: Yes
Read over the course of: 2 Weeks
Date Finished: Wed, Jul 2, 2025
Reason Finished: I am interested in reading the Star Wars Novelizations.
Reason Dropped:
Expectations: Mixed
Pacing Feel: Too Short
Style: Narrative
Worth My Time: Yes show less
Yeah, let's be real I would not be giving this five stars if it wasn't Star Wars. The writing isn't very good. All tell, no show. Doesn't really bring much more depth to any of the characters. But hey, it's Star Wars, so I love it. Let's discuss some of the quotes!
Like oh my fucking gods, if this isn't the best example of less is more I've ever seen then I don't know what is. Why was those last lines necessary? Ruined one of the best exchanges in cinematic history with some casual sexism and whatnot. I'm sorry, but this is so not Han!? He shouts "you could use a good kiss" and then runs away because he's piiiiissed that Leia doesn't wanna kiss him, not because she's not woman enough wtf????? Idk, at no point do I ever get the feeling that Han considers himself gods gift to women (that's so fanon) and that Leia should be lucky to have him. At the most he makes jokes about being good-looking, but I doubt he ever gets over that "a princess and a guy like me"-thing. Fuck off with this.
(Yeah, the Leia/Han scenes kept bothering me in this book. Get used to hearing about it.)
Once, again, UGH. Here's some good meta on the scene as it appears in the movie, and having read that this part irks me even more. ESPECIALLY since Han says "I hope you didn't expect more" in the book rather than the excellent "sorry, sweetheart, I don't got time for anything else". Also why would he ruin everything with the "and excited"-line here? Like it's fucking obvious he wants to hold Leia and kiss her and then it's all romantic and then he ruins it for no reason??? Nah, I'm not buying it.
YODA IS FUCKING BLUE.
I'm nitpicking, but I don't like that he draws her to him. I like it in the movie better where they kiss each other, rather than having "this time she didn't resist" pointed out to me. And they're not interupted by 3PO which means they have to end it by themselves and it gets weird. I don't like it.
Darth Vader has a blue light saber!!! I think this is the first time in the novels the color is described on any light saber, and it does make it sound like they are all blue. Was that originally planned?
I've heard that this is how the line originally appeared in the script, but I've also heard - I think - that he was meant to say "I love you too". I know the story of why it was changed, and I can't believe that exchange would've even close to as famous if it had stayed this way. It's cute, in a way, but not as epic as "I know".
Then again some things are exactly as in the movie and those are kinda the best parts. So far. show less
"She began to laugh harder now. "I'd just as soon kiss a Wookiee."show more
"I can arrange that." He moved closer to her, and she looked radiant even in the cold light of the ice chamber. "Believe me, you could use a good kiss. You've been so busy giving orders, you've forgotten how to be a woman. If you'd have let go for a moment, I could have helped you. But it's too late now, sweetheart. Your big opportunity is flying out of here."
[...]
"You're as cold as this planet!"
"And you think
you're the one to apply some heat?"
"Sure, if I were interested. But I don't think it'd be much fun."
Like oh my fucking gods, if this isn't the best example of less is more I've ever seen then I don't know what is. Why was those last lines necessary? Ruined one of the best exchanges in cinematic history with some casual sexism and whatnot. I'm sorry, but this is so not Han!? He shouts "you could use a good kiss" and then runs away because he's piiiiissed that Leia doesn't wanna kiss him, not because she's not woman enough wtf????? Idk, at no point do I ever get the feeling that Han considers himself gods gift to women (that's so fanon) and that Leia should be lucky to have him. At the most he makes jokes about being good-looking, but I doubt he ever gets over that "a princess and a guy like me"-thing. Fuck off with this.
(Yeah, the Leia/Han scenes kept bothering me in this book. Get used to hearing about it.)
[Leia falls into Hans arm while aboard the Millenium Falcon.]
"Why, Princess," he said, pleasantly surprised, "this is so sudden."
At that, she began to pull back. "Let go," she insisted, trying to move out of his arms. "I'm getting angry."
"Han saw the old familiar expression of arrogance beginning to return to her face. "You don't look angry," he lied.
"How do I look?"
"Beautiful," he answered truthfully, with an emotion that surprised him.
Leia felt suddenly, unexpectedly shy. Her cheeks flushed pink and, when she realized she was blushing, she averted her eyes. But she still did not really try to get free.
Han somehow couldn't let the tender moment last. "And excited," he had to add.
Leia became infuriated. once again the angry princess and haughty senator, she quickly moved away from him and drew herself up to her most regal bearing. "Sorry, Captain," she said, her cheeks now reddened in anger, "being held by you isn't enough to get me excited."
"Well, I hope you don't expect more," he grunted, angrier at himself than at her stinging words."
Once, again, UGH. Here's some good meta on the scene as it appears in the movie, and having read that this part irks me even more. ESPECIALLY since Han says "I hope you didn't expect more" in the book rather than the excellent "sorry, sweetheart, I don't got time for anything else". Also why would he ruin everything with the "and excited"-line here? Like it's fucking obvious he wants to hold Leia and kiss her and then it's all romantic and then he ruins it for no reason??? Nah, I'm not buying it.
Long white hair was parted down the middle and hung down on either side of the blue-skinned head.
YODA IS FUCKING BLUE.
[Leia and Han have their "dialogue before their first kiss, v similar to the movie except Han doesn't use Leia hurting herself as an excuse to take her hand, he just does it]
"Before she could finish, Han Solo drew her to him and felt her body tremble as he pressed his lips to hers."
I'm nitpicking, but I don't like that he draws her to him. I like it in the movie better where they kiss each other, rather than having "this time she didn't resist" pointed out to me. And they're not interupted by 3PO which means they have to end it by themselves and it gets weird. I don't like it.
Out of the darkness a light appeared - the blue flame of a just-ignited laser sword. In its illumination Luke saw the looming figure of Darth Vader raise his lighted weapon to attack, and then lunge.
Darth Vader has a blue light saber!!! I think this is the first time in the novels the color is described on any light saber, and it does make it sound like they are all blue. Was that originally planned?
"I love you," she said softly. "I couldn't tell you before, but it's true."
He smiled his familiar cocky smile. "Just remember that, because I'll be back."
I've heard that this is how the line originally appeared in the script, but I've also heard - I think - that he was meant to say "I love you too". I know the story of why it was changed, and I can't believe that exchange would've even close to as famous if it had stayed this way. It's cute, in a way, but not as epic as "I know".
"No," Vader replied calmly. "I am your father."
Then again some things are exactly as in the movie and those are kinda the best parts. So far. show less
Enjoyed this a kid, but as you get older realize that these noveliztions are flat and downright terrible. The book has some good moments. Overall it just fodder for the film. If you want a good star wars book then read splinter of the minds eye. Nothing wrong with this. Just remember to take it for what it is.
It's always a treat diving back into the Star Wars universe, even though I've long since deemed the novels less than completely fulfilling. After the runaway success of the first film (and presumably decent sales of the first novel, penned by George Lucas) they hired a regular author to adapt the Empire Strikes Back for readers. Glut may be a bit easier to read and a touch less awkward than Lucas, but the story still comes off as quite pulpy, driven by the action-filled plot and jumping quickly from storyline to storyline with little grace. The written story does provide audiences with the same behind the characters glimpses as the first novel, though, which definitely works to the book's benefit as without at least some character show more development the story would have been far too choppy. Not sure when I'll get to Return of the Jedi, but it was always my favourite of the film franchise, so maybe it will be sooner rather than later. show less
The best Star Wars film gets a competent and straightforward novelization. As is the case in all novelizations, there are scenes that didn't make it into the movie, especially when Luke is training with Yoda. The book does make it feel like more time is passing in both Luke & Yoda's stories and the Millenium Falcon storyline whereas in the movie it feels as if everything happens in a couple of days. The only startling change is that Yoda is blue instead of green! And Harrison Ford's famous improvised line "I know" is not in the text. It's an entertaining read for fans of the movies.
"No," Vader replied calmly. "I am your father."
My fingers paged quickly through this one. It was engaging from the beginning with small additions that weren't in the movie. The pacing wasn't too much scene by scene.
The characters were fleshed out better with initial thoughts and emotions. They weren't two-dimensional as in Episode 4: A New Hope.
Han and Lelia were so cute with their bantering, and I missed the iconic line of 'I know.'
The moment I felt strongly was the battle between Darth Vader and Luke. Such emotions are on display with the realisation of the bond they share.
One of Obi-wan's statements I do not agree on, but that is a matter of perspective. Who says that darkside is a shortcut or an easy path?
All in all, I enjoyed this show more movie novelization of the classic Star Wars movies. May the force be with you. show less
My fingers paged quickly through this one. It was engaging from the beginning with small additions that weren't in the movie. The pacing wasn't too much scene by scene.
The characters were fleshed out better with initial thoughts and emotions. They weren't two-dimensional as in Episode 4: A New Hope.
Han and Lelia were so cute with their bantering, and I missed the iconic line of 'I know.'
The moment I felt strongly was the battle between Darth Vader and Luke. Such emotions are on display with the realisation of the bond they share.
One of Obi-wan's statements I do not agree on, but that is a matter of perspective. Who says that darkside is a shortcut or an easy path?
All in all, I enjoyed this show more movie novelization of the classic Star Wars movies. May the force be with you. show less
The novelization of Episode III is what happens when a mediocre script meets a good writer: You get a novel with some clunky dialog and not-quite-believable scenes, but at least it's readable. This novelization has the opposite problem: Good script, bad writer. I'll take the bad script/good writer scenario any day.
Among Star Wars fans, The Empire Strikes Back is considered the best movie. Well, this is the worst novelization -- the worst book, perhaps -- that I've ever read. Most of the time it's just that the writing is flat and doesn't go beyond setting and dialog The only reason to bother with a novelization in my opinion is to find out more backstory and more information about the characters' states of mind -- but this doesn't show more happen here. Worse, a climactic scene is written so poorly that you stand an excellent chance of missing a key detail. As much as I hate Kevin Anderson's writing, this guy's writing -- at least as exhibited in this novelization -- is worse. show less
Among Star Wars fans, The Empire Strikes Back is considered the best movie. Well, this is the worst novelization -- the worst book, perhaps -- that I've ever read. Most of the time it's just that the writing is flat and doesn't go beyond setting and dialog The only reason to bother with a novelization in my opinion is to find out more backstory and more information about the characters' states of mind -- but this doesn't show more happen here. Worse, a climactic scene is written so poorly that you stand an excellent chance of missing a key detail. As much as I hate Kevin Anderson's writing, this guy's writing -- at least as exhibited in this novelization -- is worse. show less
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It takes no small talent to start with the best of the Star Wars films and turn it into something boring, but Donald F. Glut's novelization of Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back somehow manages it. Full of bad dialogue and dull narration, the novel adds nothing to the film and lacks most of what made Episode V so enjoyable.
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Author Information
Donald F. Glut is a prolific book and article writer, and movie producer-director
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back [movie novelization]
- Original title
- The Empire Strikes Back
- Original publication date
- 1980-01-01
- People/Characters
- Luke Skywalker; Darth Vader; Han Solo; Leia Organa; Yoda; Chewbacca (show all 16); Boba Fett; Lando Calrissian; Lobot; Bossk; Dengar; 4-LOM; Maximilian Veers; Lorth Needa; Kendal Ozzel; Firmus Piett
- Important places
- Hoth (fictitious planet); Dagobah (fictitious planet); Cloud City
- Important events
- Battle of Hoth
- Related movies
- Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980 | IMDb)
- First words
- "Now this is what I call cold!" Luke Skywalker's voice broke the silence he had observed since leaving the newly established Rebel base hours earlier.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Slowly he put his arm around Leia and together with Threepio and Artoo, they faced the heavens bravely, each of them gazing at the same crimson star.
- Original language
- English
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 813.087625
- Disambiguation notice
- This work is for the novelization, NOT THE MOVIE. If you have a copy of the film that is mixed up in this work, then please edit your catalog record to say "(film) or (dvd)" after the title, and then go to the editions page a... (show all)nd separate your copy out, so it can be combined with the film not the book.
Classifications
- Genres
- Science Fiction, Fiction and Literature
- DDC/MDS
- 813.087625 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American fiction in English By type Genre fiction Adventure fiction Speculative fiction Science fiction Space opera
- LCC
- PS3557 .L87 .E46 — Language and Literature American literature American literature Individual authors 1961-
- BISAC
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- 25