Return of the Jedi Review

ALL TIMELINES


	Click for larger image	RETURN OF THE JEDI A novel by James Kahn (1983, 1995, Ballentine Books) Book 3 of the Star Wars Trilogy 4 years after Star Wars: A New Hope Luke and Leia attempt to rescue Han, and then join the Rebel Alliance as it attacks the Emperor's latest super-weapon at Endor.

		Read March 12th to 17th, 1997 for the second time
		The writing in this book was far better than in the first two. Characters were finally given depth. Satisfying tidbits of information that were not given in the movies, as well. The battle scenes were like reading a movie, same as in the both Star Wars and Empire books. But this was more an independent novel than a novelization. Characters could think and feel, and there was more background.

		GRAPHICAL ADAPTATION A graphic novel by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson (1995, Dark Horse Comics)
		Read May 9th to 13th, 1997
		The story was so compressed. They could have easily doubled the number of pages and made the story still only mostly complete! I don't know what happened here, but unless the story was known before reading this, as, of course it is to almost everybody, I'd have been very confused about what was happening.

		NPR RADIO DRAMATIZATION A radio adaptation by Brian Daley (1996, Ballantine Books)
		Read July 14th to 16th, 1997
		Good for an intermittent read, I suppose. The essentials were there, but it lacked lots of feeling. A lot of characters just didn't feel like themselves. It made good use of the other Star Wars incarnations, though, especially in referencing Shadows of the Empire.