Star Wars Episode I

The Phantom Menace

By: Terry Brooks

Narrated by: Alexander Adams

Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

In barren desert lands and seedy spaceports...in vast underwater cities and in the blackest depths of space...unfolds a tale of good and evil, of myth and magic, of innocence and power. At last the saga that captures the imagination of millions turns back in time to reveal its cloaked origins, the start of a legend, the story of Star Wars. Based on the screenplay by George Lucas, this novel by master storyteller Terry Brooks probes the depths of one of the greatest tales of our time, providing rich detail and insight into the minds and motives of the characters and shedding bold new light on Lucas' brilliant creation.

©2000 Terry Brooks (P)1999 Lucasfilm LTD. & TM.

More Insight

Like all books, the big advantage over the movie is the additional insight that you get. While the action does closely mirror the movie the book lets you get inside the minds of the main characters and understand them better. They also discuss the history of the Jedi and Sith, which is not discussed in the movie. There are also a number of scenes that didn't make it into the movie. I could have done without the sound effects though. They add nothing.

Better than the movie

Although the movie isn’t the strongest of the prequels, I found this story to be better as a book. Don’t love everything about this chapter in the Star Wars story, but overall I’m glad I listened to this audiobook. It gave me more appreciation for the characters and this part of the lore.

it's like the movie but with better details.

first of yes I do love this movie and so in turn I love this book. it went into better details into some key characters and made things make more sense. great looking forward to the others.

Better than the movie

There were so many more details than they showed in the movie and it gave back round knowledge of Anakin S

Same As Movie

The phrase, "The book is so much better than the movie" cannot be said for this book. I was hoping there would be more story and development, but it was very inconsequential. Skip this - watch the movie - they're the same.

Great Overall!

Great story, really expands on the movie. My one flaw with the performance is it with the sound effects. I can’t stand them and wish they were not a part of this audiobook.

vary similare to the movie, a few extra scenes

the voices aren't quite right the most jarring is anakin, the young boys exuberance and youth lost in a dry monotone
the story is a good one and the extra scenes are very interesting

Nice, but the narrator sucks

Will give you more background story and story details from the movie. It's really a nice story, but I guess they hired the narrator only for jar jar binks, but the way he pronounced palpatine gives me cringed. All in all its a good book.

Great story, with mildly distracting sound effects

(Potential spoilers!) I liked this book! I listened to it on Audible while I commuted to and from work, and just like the EK Johnston audiobooks, this one has music and sound effects. There were many instances where the music and effects were too loud and you had to strain to hear the narrator, and the narrator himself mispronounced a few names( its Pal-pa-TEEN, not Pal-pa-tien), but the story itself was a great read, especially if you’re looking for more background on the main prequel players.

Anakin is a more complex character in the story, and you can see his fear and worry at losing those that he loves. He grows quickly attached to others, and so even though he fears next to nothing for himself, he is absolutely terrified of losing people. Qui-Gon offered stability when Anakin left Tatooine but when he dies, it’s another reminder to Anakin that he can’t control death and that it’s possible the people that he loves will, at some point, leave. Obi-wan is also a more developed padawan and you can see the ways that his views clash with Qui-Gon the same way that children sometimes disagree with their parents.

Another thing that I liked about this book is that you can see how close the Jedi order is to falling, even at this early stage. The fact that so many Jedi can be surrounded by Sith and not notice is a huge testament to their separation from the living force, and their focus on Ani’s fear and inability to work with him through it is another example of the flaws of the Order’s rules and regulations. At the end of the book, Obi-Wan tells Anakin that he will see his mother again when he is a Jedi Knight and for a second you can almost see the future that could have been. If the Order embraced attachments, they would be even more connected to the Force, especially in a way that the Sith could never hope to. But since love and family are, in a way, rejected by the Order then the Sith are able to exploit the fear and worry that plagues Jedi like Anakin since too often they are told to sweep their feelings under the rug and “be mindful of their thoughts”. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Even Jar-Jar-Binks is a more rounded character in the book. Granted, he doesn’t necessarily become more likable, but you see more of the Clone Wars Jar-Jar in the novelization than we do in the movie. He is scared and clumsy, but he also loved fiercely and does put himself at risk to help others.

I’m extremely biased since I love Padmè so much, but I do wish we had gotten more information about her and her handmaidens. That’s what EK Johnston’s books are for, but I do wish that more time was spent developing their characters and seeing how they interact with each other, if only to have a female character speak with another female character for more than a few lines.

Overall I think this book is a great accompaniment to the movie, and Star Wars fans will greatly enjoy it!

If you love the film- you'll love this audio!

I am incredibly biased, as the Star Wars prequel films are some of my all time favorite films, and feature my favorite character of all time- Anakin Skywalker! I'm currently reading through some of the Star Wars books and the novelizations of the films in particular and I feel as there is no way I'm going to rate (most of) these books less than 4 stars if they 1) follow the script of my favorite films and 2) feature my favorite character!

I have a particular nostalgia for the Phantom Menace, it came out when I was little and it is one of the Star Wars films I watched most as a kid. The book follows the film exactly and expands on some of the technology and also the internal thinking and logic regarding some of the choice the characters made in the films that perhaps we didn't get to see on screen. We also got a few more scenes with Anakin that display his purity as a character and a child of the force, which I really, really loved.

I listened to the audiobook which I also do think really enhanced my experience. The audiobook has sound effects and music taken from the film (or re-created in the studio, which was well done!). The only thing is that I am someone who speeds up the time for books, so I was constantly switching between speeding up the speed of the audiobook and then slowing down so I can properly hear the sound effects because I really did enjoy it.

I think if you're a die-hard Star Wars fan and really enjoy the Phantom Menace, this is for sure worth a read. If you're not a fan of Star Wars and aren't familiar with the characters, or don't like the characters- I don't know why you would read this book.

I am in a BIG Star Wars mood right now- and I am so glad I finally picked this up! I am very excited to start delving into the other books and some of the Legends series- I have been wanting to so this for so long!!