Star Wars, Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi (1983) - Plot & Excerpts
I wanted to do 4.5 stars, but I had to round up. This was a surprisingly enjoyable book. I didn't expect it to be bad, mind you - I was just pleasantly surprised by a lot of details in Kahn's book that aren't in the movie. At times Kahn does go a bit overboard: there's a few "from the depths of this" and "the uttermost that" and some more superlatives that detract more than they add, but they can be easily forgiven and excused. There aren't any new scenes like in the first book, and not a lot of rather drastic differences such like Yoda's description in the second book, but as I said Kahn does add quite a few character description scenes that flesh out the characters quite a bit in a very impressive and enjoyable way. In the Yoda and Luke scene, Kahn's additional dialogue clarified how foolish and wrong Luke was to leave Dagobah and try to save his friends in TESB. Thinking about it, Luke doesn't do anyone any good. It's exactly as Yoda says: he didn't save anyone, they had to save him; he wasn't ready to hear Vader was his father, he wasn't ready for that burden, and having left Yoda and gotten caught up in rescuing Han before completing his training, he couldn't complete his training the best way and instead had to carry that burden alone. Having seen the movies so many times growing up, before I started being what some people would call a "thinking person," it never occurred to me Luke was wrong at the end of TESB. He was totally wrong and suffered grievously for it. Kahn gives us a good deal of Luke's internal struggles throughout the book that don't always come out as well in the movie - Kahn has him dally with the Dark Side a lot more than he appears to in the movie, which makes sense while reading it (and also gives some credence to Dark Empire I and II).Han also gets a great character treatment here. In just a few pages, Kahn clearly lays out the path Han has gone through from the beginning of episode IV to the middle and end of episode VI: looking back at the movies, it's there, but the rapid pace of RotJ doesn't always allow for the internal perspectives Kahn presents, and thus the book is a great supplement, especially for fans of Han. One key scene that gets an extended treatment is the Ewok conference. Instead of just listening to C-3PO and welcoming them in, the Ewoks at first reject them (sort of like a bizarre reversal of the novel/movie version of the Ents in the Two Towers). Han then gives a passionate speech about how he used to be only for himself, and now the friends he has in the rebellion have awaken him to more important things beyond himself. Leia also gives a brief request - she also gets some fine character development, explaining her growing awareness of the Force and her connection to people, nature, and the universe in general. Wicket also gets to make a rousing speech about their necessity for joining the Rebellion. It's a fine scene and not nearly as corny as I've made it out to be (though some wastrels out there will no doubt disparage it, showing us more about their personal mediocrity than about the book itself).Kahn manages to streamline big battle scenes on the moon and in the sky rather well: with rapid dialogue and brief descriptions, we get all the key points of the conflicts without an inundation of details, while still bringing out emotional losses of the Ewoks and fighters. The Ewoks as a whole are treated rather well in the book. Far from being furry little nothings to please only 4-year-olds, Kahn treats the Ewoks will great respect, a very pleasing aspect of the book. They are brave, intelligent, sacrificial, and courageous.Darth Vader also gets important character elaboration in the book. Kahn's paragraphs about the mental workings of Vader are almost essential in understanding the movie (or rather, the whole story of Return of the Jedi). Here's another incident of me not thinking enough about the events and dialogues in the movies. If Vader really wants Luke to help him overthrow the Emperor at the end of ESB, why does he stop Luke from striking him down in RotJ? Kahn explains Vader does want Luke to kill the Emperor, but not until he is fully seduced by the Dark Side. If he kills him too soon, Luke could still return to his friends: Vader needs Luke to wait until he is fully Dark. Makes sense now, really. The final goodbye scene between Luke and Anakin is remarkable. Kahn gives us a great look into the mind of Anakin returning to control for a few brief moments: we experience with him genuine memories, both good and bad, pleasing and heartbreaking. Kahn even tells us about the lava that destroyed Anakin (one of the few continuity bits that makes sense ... unlike Leia's feelings/images about her real mother who apparently died four seconds after she was born). It's a great scene. Anakin feels genuine regret and love for Obi-Wan and his family. It's a remarkable scene, all together: neither Luke nor Anakin says "I love you," which is what you'd expect. Instead, the crux of their resolution is saving Anakin - and now that it is accomplished, and Anakin's good side returns even for a brief moment, Luke was truly right about him: there was still some good in him. Nothing else needs to be said between these two. Kahn humanizes Vader remarkably well in such a short space.A couple of two disappointments, though: 1) Luke does not say "Father, please, help me!" when he is being tortured by Palpatine, which I miss, since it helps cement the relational aspect of Vader's break from the Dark Side (fortunately there isn't Darth Vader shouting "NO!" so it is an aggregate win; 2) instead of seeing Yoda, Ben, and Anakin in their Force images at the end, Luke only imagines he sees them in the firelight at the Ewok celebration. This was more disappointing, but the movie did it right (and by "the movie" I refer, of course, to the original theatrical release with Sebastian Shaw).Despite these two bits, I really enjoyed this book. It moves quickly, just like the movie, but it is a good experience. The characters get fleshed out - even Jerjerrod gets more time, and Lando gets more attention than he does in the film - and generally things make a lot more sense. Even if you are a casual Star Wars fan, you should read this book. You'll be glad you did.
Return of the Jedi isn't my favourite Star Wars movie, but I can't like it any less than the others. It just wouldn't feel right. It's the same thing with the novelization. Not that this was completely unreadable: like the movie, it just had a few aspects that could have been better thought out. Still, it's Star Wars, and all said and done, it has the elements that make the trilogy so great - honesty, courage and lightsabers.My first thought was that James Kahn's writing was possibly the best out of the three. The prologue invoked the majesty of space - "aging orange embers" has such a nice ring to it. Maybe he overestimated what was basically half a Death Star but it could have been worse (*cough*night-stalking ferret*cough*). Then I read this - "Poot-wEEt beDOO gung ooble DEEp!". Kahn feels the need to supply not just Artoo, but Chewbacca, the Ewoks and even Nien Nunb with dialogue. It breaks up the flow of the narrative and is simply a bad idea. Referring to the Emperor as "the Evil One" is campy and unnecessary - it has been obvious he's evil right from the time his 10 foot tall head ordered Vader to hunt down Luke - does this need any clarification? There's another line about the Emperor selling the Rebels real estate which is somehow analogous to the Star Destroyers' attack plan but I haven't figured it out yet.These are minor nitpicks though, because it's the movie itself that fell short. Reusing the Death Star as a plot device was lazy and unimaginative. Ewoks are everyone's number one complaint but the problem is the way they were dealt with, rather than the creatures themselves. I understand that Lucas wanted to show the toppling of an empire by a "primitive" race and the Wookies weren't savage enough so a few letters were changed around and we got Ewoks instead. But Chewbacca, for all his howling commands respect, whether because of his skills or his courage. The Ewoks, on the other hand, think C3PO is a god. Skipping over the fact that any race that thinks Threepio is divine automatically loses my respect, hasn't this been overused? Why do all tribal societies in fiction deify the first stranger off the boat? Besides, attempts to show them as a brave enough to take on the most powerful entity in the galaxy, despite the latter's superior technology might have succeeded if they weren't called teddy bears all the time.Still, there's a lot to like in the movie as well as in the book and Kahn gets it right when it comes to emotionally-charged scenes, particularly Luke's second duel with Vader and the latter's last moments. He does a good job of capturing Luke's spiritual turmoil, his brush with temptation and his eventual mastery of it. For the most part, Vader's death is handled with the right touch of drama - "It was a face full of meanings, that Luke would forever recall. Regret, he saw most plainly. And shame. Memories could be seen flashing across it... memories of rich times. And horrors. And love, too. It was a face that hadn’t touched the world in a lifetime." I found his use of Yoda's line on luminous beings particularly powerful; a subtle indication of his final return to the Jedi he used to be and I wish it had been used in the movie.I also loved the bond between Luke and Leia. Their twinning might have been made up on the fly, but it's saved by the spiritual and emotional link they share. Plus, Leia seems stronger in both this book and the movie than she did in the previous two episodes. She may have had to undergo the travesty of being conscripted into fan service in a Hutt-issue slave girl costume but she does get to execute one of the most awesome kills in the series, and I liked the scene describing her awareness of the Force among the forests of Endor. Apart from Leia, Lando also comes into his own here; probably a replacement for Han now that he's mellowed down. But that's what I liked most: the growth of the characters through the series, whether it was Luke learning to be stronger or Han learning to love beyond himself.I've been reading these books and watching the trilogy again at the same time. It's been a great eleven days since I started and I'm thinking of giving the novels another chance. Maybe I'll take another shot at Splinter of the Mind's Eye or The Truce at Bakura. It's comforting to know that I can rediscover the magic of Star Wars again. And most of all, it has been a pleasure discovering the rich narrative. After all, it is an elegant story, from a more civilized age.
What do You think about Star Wars, Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi (1983)?
If you're reading this review, I assume that you've read at least the other two books in the trilogy or seen the movies. While I would rank this book between the first in the trilogy- A New Hope- and the second in the trilogy- The Empire Strikes Back-, I wouldn't say it's any less than any other great ending to an epic trilogy. The book is a great story that's part of an even bigger fantastic story. I love the continuation of the characters and their various personalities into this book, and I also really appreciate the different environments the characters are put into within the book. The widely varied settings of the Star Wars series have always appealed to me. I think that although this book is not as good as it could have been, it ends in a good way that does what it needs to. (view spoiler)[ The Empire was dead.Long live the Alliance. (hide spoiler)]
—Bwool1
This is merely a novelization of the movie. It provides some background information to the archetypal story of the hero's journey and it's one of the ultimate tales of revolution and good versus evil. However, I recommend this only to the biggest Star Wars fans simply because its poorly written. For example nearly every time Lando comes into the scene you get a few sentences related to how he's a gambling man: "This wasn't the right moment, he knew--but it was the right hand. All the cards were here, now--Luke, Han, Leia, Chewbacca...and old Wild Card Lando. He just didn't want Leia revealing the hand before all the bets were out. The stakes were too high." After 5 of these you have to laugh but after 10 I found myself dumbfounded. Additionally you may come across the odd poetic line like: "They made eye contact from light-years and a soul's breath away." It's enough to make you want to start writing in your diary again.
—Modboy
Après avoir lu le livre de l'épisode IV j'ai demander à mon père si son amis avait le livre suivant. Il s'informa et comble du malheur, il ne l'avait pas. Je suis dons aller à la bibliothèque et comme je n'avais pas vue les films depuis longtemps et qu'il ne repasseraient pas avant janvier 1993 (ils les passaient toujours dans ce coin là), j'ai demander à la bibliothèque d'avoir le livre qui était après La Guerre des Étoiles. Le commis me sortie alors Le Retour du Jedi. À cette époque je n'avais pas les films sur cassette (ils étaient rare et j'attendais la prochaine diffusion pour avoir une copie) donc dans ma tête j'avais oublier qu'en fait la suite était L'Empire Contre-Attaque. J'ai donc pris la décision de partir avec le livre et m'empresser de le lire par temps libre.Je commence alors la lecture et mon dieu que je trouvais qu'il manquait de background. Han Solo était emprisonner avec Jabba et Luc allait à sa rescousse. Bien que l'auteur décrivait bien en résumer ce qui s'était passé avant, je trouvais l'écart un peu abrupte. J'ai donc continuer sans poser de question, mais quand je suis arriver à la scène avec Yoda, j'ai tout de suite compris que j'avais passer un livre. Je suis donc aller à la bibliothèque pour me rendre compte que le commis ne connaissait pas la série et qu'il pensait qu'il y avait juste 2 livres et qu'ils n'avaient pas le deuxième livre.J'ai donc mis le livre sur pause le temps de revoir les film et ensuite j'ai terminer de lire le livre, qui est à mon avis à la hauteur du film avec les détails en plus. Le film rend très bien le livre et on voit que le livre fut écrit après le film, mais comme l'oeuvre entière de La Guerre des Étoiles, ce livre est un chef d'oeuvre pour les enfants et les ado. Les adulte y trouve aussi leur compte, mais doivent laisser tomber la logique un peu.Donc recommander à toute personne voulant découvrir la science fiction, n'oubliez pas cependant qu'il y a trois livre dans la série de La Guerre des Étoiles.
—Sebastien
