Star Wars episode I The phantom menace

by Terry Brooks

Paper Book, 1999

Collection

Description

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, an evil legacy long believed dead is stirring. 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 green, unspoiled world of Naboo, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice, Obi-Wan Kenobi, arrive to protect the realm's young queen as she seeks a diplomatic solution to end the siege of her planet by Trade Federation warships. At the same time, on desert-swept Tatooine, a slave boy named Anakin Skywalker, who possesses a strange ability for understanding the "rightness" of things, toils by day and dreams by night--of becoming  a Jedi Knight and finding a way to win freedom for himself and his beloved mother. It will be the unexpected meeting of Jedi, Queen, and a gifted boy that will mark the start of a drama that will become legend. This special edition features a brand-new Darth Maul short story by New York Times bestselling author James Luceno!… (more)

Rating

(408 ratings; 3.2)

Awards

Audie Award (Finalist — 2000)

Media reviews

The novelization of Episode I: The Phantom Menace was written by Terry Brooks, best known for his Shannara fantasy series. While Brooks, for the most part, follows the script very closely, he also adds several new scenes which cast the story in a different light, making this novelization a very
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interesting read.
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User reviews

LibraryThing member jamesorr
Obviously, an adaptation of the script. As such it does give details on a few more scenes that never made it into the movie, the biggest improvement though was Obi Wan's dislike for Jar Jar which I don't think came across in the movie. It was good to know that at least one of the characters hated
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him too!
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LibraryThing member Karlstar
This book is pretty much exactly what you'd expect, the print version of the movie. As it was written after the screenplay, it deviates very little from the movie plot. Its basically the movie without the pictures, so it does not add a lot new to the story.
LibraryThing member mbach
This books is the novelization of a horrible movie. Has tarnished the star wars mythos. Only for the die hard fanboy|girl.
LibraryThing member ElnEm
Better than the movie, it covers territory not in the movie including material that is before the movie picks up.
LibraryThing member Daniel.Estes
This novelization is better than the movie, but it's still a shoddy book. Author Terry Brooks did the best he could with the cartoonish schlock he was given.
LibraryThing member benjamin.duffy
Well, the novelization improved slightly on a truly horrible, one-star movie, so that sounds like two stars to me.
LibraryThing member codewitch
It explains some things left out of the movie. I enjoyed it but would probably read it before watching the movie
LibraryThing member Revan97
Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace is an absolute must for any Star Wars fan. The story of how Anakin Skywalker won his freedom from slavery and began his quest as a Jedi that would eventually lead to his becoming the galaxy conquering Darth Vader is simply amazing.

Terry Brooks has
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successfully adapted a gripping masterpiece and made a book that is a fun and easy read. I could read an entire novel just about Anakin Skywalker going about his life as a slave on Tatooine.

Perhaps the very best quality of this novel is that it includes several chapters of great material that wasn't included in the movie. This makes for an interesting read because you never know when something new that you have never before seen might jump out at you from among the familiar.

Overall, it's highly enjoyable and pretty easy to read too. I recommend this book to any person who likes Star Wars.
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LibraryThing member mainrun
When the movie came out and even a few years after, I caught a lot of thoughts about the movie, mostly negative. Jar Jar Binks was not well liked. The actor who played young Anakin Skywalker was compared to cardboard. And also the way the force went from a mystical concept to a medical condition
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that can be measured by a blood test. None of those things bothered me about the movie or the book. Some of Jar Jar Binks moments made me laugh.
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LibraryThing member Michael_Rose
Well, it's better than the movie. Usually you can say that about books, but normally the book comes first. It's not great, but it's an improvement.
LibraryThing member john257hopper
The Phantom Menace is generally reckoned to be the weakest of the Star Wars films, and I would agree with that. Nevertheless, this is a good novelisation, that expands on characters' background and motivations convincingly to give depth and colour to the backdrop of events, as befits a novel
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written by a celebrated author of best selling fantasy novels over a period of several decades. Events take place in the same order as they do in the film, with the exception of an initial two chapters covering young Anakin's life immediately before the Jedi knights and their party come to Tatooine. Unfortunately, the film's worst element, the cringingly awful Jar Jar Binks is still here. Without him, and a few of the more cartoonish moments, this would have been a much better film.
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LibraryThing member dasam
Fun story, true to the movie, but the writing is at time clumsy and the gushing tone often that of the children's novel.
LibraryThing member mrdoan72
This book really answers some of the questions about the beginnings of darth vader. Star wars fans will love it. I highly recommend this book
LibraryThing member Daumari
I don't remember if I actually read this or did it based on the movie. Thinking I read this since the AR score report says I got 10/10 on it...
LibraryThing member Othemts
My daughter is really getting into Star Wars now, and I told her we should read some of the books together. She decided she wants to read the novelizations of the films in episode order. I remember liking the novelizations when I was a kid too. Back in 1999, after being disappointed by the movie, a
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friend recommended this book to me because it was written by a well-regarded fantasy writer, Terry Brooks.

Then, as now, I enjoy the novel more than the movie. Maybe it's because it has time for scenes that provide greater depth to the characters and their relationships than seen on screen. Maybe because Brooks does a good job of providing the thoughts and points of views of several characters. Maybe it's because Jar Jar is so much less annoying in print. At any rate, reading a Star Wars book is fun.
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LibraryThing member mattries37315
The novelization of The Phantom Menace, the first in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, was written based off the script of film by famed fantasy author Terry Brooks.

Brooks generally follows the script of the film, but importantly adds several scenes that help give background to several key characters.
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The chief beneficiary of the added scenes was Anakin Skywalker, who unknowingly has been using the Force his entire life to do amazing things as a 9-year-old especially as a podracer. Unlike the film where the identity of Darth Sidious is quickly known, Brooks effectively hides Padme Amidala’s dual identity through there clues are subtle enough for someone who has never watched the film. Though Jar Jar Binks can get on the reader’s nerves, Brooks is able to write him to be not so annoying as in the film and seeing things from his perspective is interesting. While Brooks can’t completely change the dialogue from the screenplay, he’s able to make it more palatable.

The Phantom Menace is a novelization that improves upon the film in various ways, which says something about the film itself and the quality of writing by Terry Brooks.
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Publication

New York Ballantine 1999

Original publication date

1999-04-21

Pages

324

ISBN

0345427653 / 9780345427656

Language

Page: 2.7499 seconds