Inside Izzy's Bookshelf: Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

molinaizabella875
Sep 20, 2024
5 min read

As it turns out, I really enjoyed writing my post about Sarah Dessen's The Moon and More. Returning to that book was fun; I loved reliving that last summer Emaline had before she went to college, romantic drama and all.

Therefore, because I'm still riding high from that post, I've decided to do another one! Funny how things go, huh?

So for this week, I have an interesting book to discuss, namely because it belongs to one of the most popular and profitable franchises around: Star Wars. Aside from the six iconic movies (I know there are nine, but the sequels don't exist, in my opinion), the series has also spawned a slew of captivating novels that expand upon the already lively Star Wars universe.

But out of all of those novels, only one of them has managed to captivate me completely and keep me coming back for more: the official Revenge of the Sith novel by Matthew Stover.

Story Overview

Say what you will about the Star Wars prequels, but out of all of them, Revenge of the Sith easily tops all of them in terms of action, conflict, and intrigue. Everyone and their mother knows what the film is all about, and the book mostly follows the film nearly to a T. But for the uninitiated, allow me to provide a quick summary.

Revenge of the Sith starts with the famous Jedi duo Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker on a mission to rescue Chancellor Palpatine. After doing so, however, Anakin begins to fall into an intense pool of brewing conflicts, both personal (fearing that his secret wife Padme Amidala will die in childbirth) to political (acting as a spy to Palpatine to catch the hidden Sith Lord Darth Sidious).

However, when Palpatine finally reveals himself to be Darth Sidious, everything falls apart. The Jedi Order falls victim to Order 66, the Galactic Empire is born, and Anakin succumbs to the Dark Side and becomes the infamous Sith Lord Darth Vader.

The Clone Wars conflict needs no introduction, but it's not between the two factions you think it is. As Obi-Wan succinctly puts it in Chapter 20:

"The War was never the Republic against the Separatists. It was Palpatine against the Jedi."

So Why Do You Like This Book, Izzy?

There are so many answers to this question that this post would be the Izzy Insider's longest post if I listed all the reasons. As a result, I'll just stick to the main reasons, the ones that got me hooked on the novel in the first place.

Easily one of the biggest reasons why I love this novel so much is the writing itself. Matthew Stover has a way of writing characters and events in a very witty and entertaining fashion as if the reader is truly peering into the minds of the characters.

Of course, this iconic scene comes to mind whenever I think of wittiness in Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. I swear, nothing tops this scene.

Anyway, this sort of writing style is present throughout the novel, but here are some of my favorites:

"Anakin let his chin sink once more to his chest, and his eyelids scraped shut. It seemed like he was always somebody's last hope. Why did everyone always have to make their problems into his problems? Why couldn't people just leave him be?"
"Padme hated hoi-broth. And Obi-Wan was allergic to it--once on a diplomatic mission to Ando, his violent reaction to a ceremonial toast had nearly triggered an intersystem incident."
"When constructing an effective Jedi trap--as opposed to the sort that results in nothing more than an embarrassingly brief entry in the Temple archives--there are several design features that one should include for best results."
"Dooku sighed and gestured, and the opalescent wreckage of the door silently slid itself out of the way. He certainly did not intend to fight two Jedi with his pants on fire."

So right off the bat, the writing made me feel like I was watching a more detailed version of the Revenge of the Sith movie, which is already a good sign.

Another thing--the biggest thing, in fact--that makes the Revenge of the Sith novel so amazing is how certain moments are either completely original or expanded upon. From Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Mace Windu discussing how to catch Darth Sidious to Anakin and Padme discussing the gender of their baby, these moments serve to add more depth to the characters.

The scene in which Anakin and Padme are discussing their baby was a particular standout for me. While it might seem out of place for a story about an intergalactic war, it shows how much Anakin cares for Padme and his baby. Combine this with his constant fear of Padme dying in childbirth, and suddenly it makes perfect sense that he would choose the Dark Side and Sidious over the Jedi--because they're the only things supposedly capable of preventing Padme's death.

The Message of the Story and Recommendations

Compared to The Moon and More, Revenge of the Sith doesn't have too much of a clear-cut message. Readers might have to read the novel a few times before they're able to see it.

Personally, the way I see it is that this novel is a perfect representation of the phrase: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

After all, the Jedi Order didn't fall solely because of Darth Sidious, though he was a major orchestrator of its downfall. It also fell because of Anakin's desperation to save Padme's life, something that Sidious shamelessly takes advantage of with his many interactions with Anakin as Palpatine.

But okay, Anakin turns to the Dark Side and becomes Darth Vader, so everything turns out okay, right? Nope! His own fear gets the best of him yet again when he sees Obi-Wan with Padme on Mustafar, resulting in him attacking Padme in a fit of rage.

This brings to mind a quote from one of the last chapters in the book:

"It is in this blazing moment that you finally understand the trap of the dark side, the final cruelty of the Sith-- Because now your self is all you will ever have."

From that quote, I can extract another moral: "if you want everything, you will end up with nothing."

Throughout the novel, the reader sees Anakin wanting several things to go right in his life, from preventing Padme's death to preserving his loyalties to Palpatine and Obi-Wan. Unfortunately, he becomes so overwhelmed and consumed by his fear that he sabotages his relationship with Obi-Wan, makes Padme's death come to fruition, and ultimately becomes Palpatine's cyborg lap dog.

So in short, yes, Anakin's fear essentially became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

So, there you have it: my thoughts on Matthew Stover's Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. To say this is my writing bible is an understatement; no matter what book I'm reading, I always find myself returning to this novel.

I'm telling you, it's that writing style! It's so witty!

But now that I've laid bare my writing bible for all to see, I open the floor to all of you dear readers: are you a Star Wars fan, or is there another sci-fi series you love? Have you read any of the Star Wars novels and which one was your favorite? And how do you feel about the movies, be it the prequels, sequels, or the original trilogy?

As always, thank you for reading another post from the Izzy Insider! If you wish to support my work, feel free to continue reading my work and follow my social media: Instagram and Twitter.

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But until next week, stay tuned in to the Izzy Insider! You definitely won't regret it!