Product Description

In barren desert lands and seedy spaceports . . . in vast underwater cities and in the blackest depths of space . . . unfolds a tale of good and evil, of myth and magic, of innocence and power. At last the saga that captured the imagination of millions turns back in time to reveal its cloaked origins--the start of a legend--the story of STAR WARS. Based on the screenplay by George Lucas, this novel by master storyteller Terry Brooks probes the depths of one of the greatest tales of our time, providing rich detail and insight into the minds and motives of the characters--and shedding bold new light on Lucas' brilliant creation.   A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, an evil legacy long believed dead is stirring. Even the Jedi are caught by surprise, their attentions focused on the political unrest between the Trade Federation and the Republic. Now the dark side of the Force threatens to overwhelm the light, and only an ancient Jedi prophecy stands between hope and doom for the entire galaxy.  On the desert world of Tatooine, far from the concerns of the Republic, a slave boy works by day and dreams by night--of being a Jedi Knight and one day traveling the stars to worlds he's only heard of in stories . . . of finding a way to win freedom from enslavement for himself and his beloved mother. His only hope lies in his extraordinary instincts and his strange gift for understanding the "rightness" of things, talents that allow him to be one of the best pod racers on the planet.   In another part of the galaxy, the Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice, young Obi-Wan Kenobi, are charged with the protection of Amidala, the young Queen of Naboo, as she seeks to end the siege of her planet by Trade Federation warships. It is this quest that brings Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and the Queen's beautiful young handmaiden to the sand-swept streets of Tatooine and the shop where the slave boy Anakin Skywalker toils and dreams. And it is this unexpected meeting that marks the beginning of the drama that will become legend . . . An incredible audio production complete with original Star Wars music and sound effects.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1146143 in Books
• Published on: 1999-04-21
• Released on: 1999-04-21
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Binding: Audio CD

Amazon.ca
Alexander Adams, the actor who reads this full-length novelization of Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace, actually manages to do Jar Jar better than Jar Jar himself. Although he does sound a bit like a well-meaning dad doing an impression of the gangly amphibian for his kids, that added bit of restraint and unaffected goofiness actually works. Likewise, Adams's voice--all earnest and NPR-smooth--does good service to the rest of the cast, especially with Jedi teacher Qui-Gon Jinn and (surprisingly) Queen Amidala. (Only Anakin proves a little hard on the ears at first, perhaps a little too nasal.) The book's narrative receives the same competent treatment as the dialogue, with the added oomph of both John Williams's stirring score--woven in unobtrusively--and short suites of Lucasfilm sound effects that accompany every spike in the action, whether it's R2's beeping or the metallic bang of blaster fire.

Modern marketing has made movie novelizations a necessary evil and hence suspect, but Terry Brooks proves a deft embellisher of Lucas's well-loved epic, skillfully splicing in scenes and dialogue to fill out the breakneck, foreshadowing-filled story line of Phantom Menace. But that shouldn't be surprising: Brooks has long been the equal or better of Lucas when it comes to storytelling, most notably in his long-lived Shannara series, which began with The Sword of Shannara back in 1977, the same year Star Wars hit theaters. (Running time: 9.5 hours over eight discs) --Paul Hughes

From AudioFile
This first installment in the STAR WARS saga is a mixture of action sequences and scenes that layer on the story's mythic elements. Revealing the origins of some familiar characters, the story is set before the war between the Rebellion and the evil Empire. It's a sheer delight. This fine production features clips from John Williams's stirring music and some familiar sound effects. (A futuristic chariot race, in particular, is brilliantly staged.) Narration is by actor Michael Cumpsty, whose range of voices and accents is astonishing. Even listeners so unfamiliar that the name Darth Vader doesn't ring a bell will be enthralled by his performance. Few audiobooks manage to be as exciting as a big-screen movie; this one comes darn close. D.L.P. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Review
"Fans expecting a typical movie novelization--one that simply parrots the screenplay for Episode I--will be pleasantly surprised. Brooks, with Lucas' cooperation, has created something else altogether; a larger story that includes all of what you've seen onscreen, but also delves deeply into the history of the galaxy and the life and mind of Anakin Skywalker."
--The Star Wars Insider

"BREATHLESS . . . FILLED WITH ACTION FROM PAGE ONE."
--The New York Post


From the Paperback edition.

Customer Reviews

Empty and boring
Brooks' writing was dull, empty and flat, tedious to read. Somehow, he made a juvenile and tedious movie even worse in the book. I don't know where the positive reviews are getting their opinions from, the movie was far better than the book as the action scenes were somewhat redeeming. Action in this book was treated with the same bland evenness as the rest of it. Atrocious for its mediocrity. Stopped reading part-way through because it just wasn't worth my time.

A perfectly adequate novelization of the film
While I did not judge Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace as harshly as many Star Wars fans did, there can be no doubt that the film paled in comparison to the force of the original trilogy. Even as a six-year old child, everything about the first Star Wars film in 1977 seemed seared into my memory, and it somewhat saddens me to know that the children of this generation, after seeing The Phantom Menace for the first time, will never know the power and obsessive joy that the original Star Wars trilogy invoked in the children of my generation. Frankly, after two viewings of Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace a few years ago, only bits and pieces resonate in my memory.

The powers that be certainly found an illustrious author to transform George Lucas' screenplay and story into novelized form. I've been a fan of Terry Brooks ever since reading The Sword of Shannara as a child, and Brooks has done a thoroughly professional job with this novel. Everything that happened in the film is described with great discernment, the furious action of intense scenes such as the battle between Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul is vividly rendered, the moments of light humor are translated expertly to the page, and the emotional aspects of the plot, especially those concerning Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala, are drawn in tender yet meaningful strokes. This is truly a commendable and faithful novelization of the film.

Unfortunately, the problems of Lucas' story are also faithfully captured in this novelized retelling. These characters just do not fire the imagination in the way Luke, Han, Leia, and Darth Vader did. I consider only two of these characters to be truly strong ones: Anakin and Padme, and unfortunately, events of the future serve to diminish them in different ways. I love Padme, though, and she is every bit the future mother of Luke and Leia, a queen and a fighter who will risk anything for her people. That being said, I must say that Anakin (and I swear I will never get used to the future Darth Vader being referred to as "Annie") isn't everything I thought he should be. He's an extraordinary child, of course, thanks to all those midi-chlorians coursing through his blood, but I do not think his background as we learn it here provides for an acceptable future embrace of the dark side. So much is made here by the Jedi Council - and Yoda in particular - of the dangers represented by the child's anger, but I don't see such anger in a slave boy who loves his mother dearly and seems to get by pretty well indeed on his own. It may be wrong of me to criticize a story based on incongruities I see arising in a later installment, but I just don't think George Lucas (and thus, by implication, Terry Brooks) satisfactorily showed me how this dear, brave boy will soon become the exasperating young man we see in Episode Two.

The only other thing I would say about this perfectly satisfactory novelization is the fact that it really adds nothing to the film itself. Oftentimes, a novelization will add depth or better understanding to the film it is based upon, but that really isn't the case here. Questions I had about the movie (the true essence of Senator Palpatine, for example) were not threshed out in the book. In terms of refreshing my own memory of the story in preparation for viewing Revenge of the Sith, I could have saved myself some time and merely watched the film again.

kind of boring
Author Terry Brooks was given the task to write the book adaptation of the first Star Wars prequel movie: "The Phantom Menace". The novel is based on the screenplay by George Lucas. As with any other book there are good things and bad things about this novel. In this case, the good and the bad are the same thing: Terry Brooks must stay close to George Lucas's screenplay. This is good because Brooks must stay close to what the movie would end up being. This is bad because the screenplay wasn't very good.

The story is obviously the same as the movie (though fleshed out a little bit more). Two Jedi are sent to negotiate with the Trade Federation over the Federation's blockade of Naboo. The Neimoidians, under the power of Darth Sidious, try to kill the Jedi (Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi). The Jedi escape and travel down to Naboo where they end up rescuing Queen Amidala and a few select Nubians. To hide from the Trade Federation they land on the planet Tatooine where they meet a boy named Anakin Skywalker. Their ship is damaged and to get the parts they need Anakin helps them win something called a podrace, which Anakin is a driver in (the only human who is able to do so). Qui-Gon believes this boy is strong in the Force and is the one mentioned in a prophecy about a boy who will bring balance to the Force. The novel has two primary focuses: the time spend on Tatooine with Anakin and freeing the Naboo from the Trade Federation.

There are some things that this novel does very well. The opening of the novel is different from the movie in that we see Anakin in the podrace where he is wrecked by Sebulba (alluded to in the film). We see how Anakin is able to race the pod so well and this is the hint of how he is able to use the Force even without knowing what it is. Because we have more of Anakin's thoughts, we see his actions in a different light. We also get to see more of the Sith and their origins (though I prefer "Shadow Hunter" for that). Darth Maul does not come off very well in this novel. He is still an excellent fighter, but he doesn't get to speak or think here. The two Jedi come off the strongest as we get to see more interaction between the two and with more explanation of their relationship.

There are also some things that do not work very well. While Anakin is better explained as the potential child of prophecy, he is still not very interesting as a character. Also, both Darth Maul and Padme Amidala are given short shrift in characterization. Worse, I was bored throughout the novel. Sure, I knew the story so there were no surprises, but I can re-read a book or watch a movie a second or fifth time and still be entertained. With this novel I felt that I was just dragging myself along and the only benefit was that I did already know the story so I could skim at times. I have long been a fan of Terry Brooks and his Shannara novels, but this one was rather weak.