Star Wars: The Force Awakens

by Alan Dean Foster

[inlibrisveritas]

Star Wars is one of the only exceptions to my “no movie-novelization” rule. Generally, they are the same as the on screen film and don’t offer much in the way of added depth. Star Wars is generally different on that account. They tend to give the unedited script to the authors and we get a few extra scenes, some clarification on background, and some added emotional depth. This one…well it does and it doesn’t.

As the first movie adaptation after the universe reset, I suppose my hopes were high. We’ve been treated to a pretty good line up of books so far, in varying styles, and while a few haven’t been mind-blowing they still have that depth I always look for. I didn’t really see it in this. Now some of you are are probably like, “Duh, Michelle…it’s a movie book.” and yeah..I get that. But when the prequels came out, the books were actually better in some areas. They added in emotion, depth, and fleshed out characters…plus you don’t actually have to hear lines like “Are you an angel?”. This one…well it’s basically the same as the film. A few characters get a bit better treatment in this one like Captain Phasma and I really liked the extra scenes a lot…but actual delivery of the story was flat. It read like I was reading the movie script, there was no added ‘umph’ to make the story stand out and shone next to it’s movie counterpart.

I suppose the big question is, is it worth buying for those who have seen the film? Probably not. For only a few small ‘new’ moments and a few more fleshed out scene, paying for a copy of the book probably isn’t necessary.