Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

By: Sean Williams

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

The overthrow of the Republic is complete. The Separatist forces have been smashed, the Jedi Council nearly decimated, and the rest of the Order all but destroyed. Now absolute power rests in the iron fist of Darth Sidious - the cunning Sith Lord better known as the former Senator, now Emperor, Palpatine.

But more remains to be done. Pockets of resistance in the galaxy must still be defeated and missing Jedi accounted for...and dealt with. These crucial tasks fall to the Emperor's ruthless enforcer, Darth Vader. In turn, the Dark Lord has groomed a lethal apprentice entrusted with a top-secret mission: to comb the galaxy and dispatch the last of his masters' enemies, thereby punctuating the dark side's victory with the Jedi's doom.

Since childhood, Vader's nameless agent has known only the cold, mercenary creed of the Sith. But his future beckons with the ultimate promise: to stand beside the only father he has ever known, with the galaxy at their feet. It is a destiny he can realize only by rising to the greatest challenge of his discipleship: destroying Emperor Palpatine.

The apprentice's journeys will take him across the far reaches of the galaxy. And he will be tested as never before - by shattering revelations that strike at the very heart of all he believes and stir within him long-forgotten hopes of reclaiming his name...and changing his destiny.

©2008 Lucasfilm Ltd. and TM. (P)2008 Lucasfilm Ltd. and TM.

Good, but still many holes

It's a good listen and the narrator does an admirable job. I only had 1 issue with the voice acting and that was of Juno. Obviously a male trying to sound timid and feminine doesn't work well. I almost cringed every time Juno had dialog.

The story had a lot of potential. Yes it abridged and I have not read the book, so maybe there's more to it. Obviously after Episode III and before Episode IV, there's a whole lot missing. This book tries to bridge it and succeeds in some places and fails in others. The premise and story probably should have been a Trilogy itself to sort out the missing pieces and questions between III & IV. But, as is, The Force Unleashed is a decent listen and and intriguing view from the dark side and other Jedi Knights.

Great listen!!!

This was my first audio book and I thought the narrator did an excellant job and the story was very well written.

excellent story and narrative.

I loved the entire story. narration is excellent. great addition to the star Wars universe.

great story and well told!! easy to listen to.

it kept my attention the whole way through! Excited to listen to the next book!

Fun for gamers and non-gamers

This audiobook was a great story to listen to sadly the physical book itself didn't even match with the audio. No joke I would be read along with it perfectly, but then it would skip not only a sentence, but a whole page even. So that was not a good start, but I digress this was a great "read." I will be giving two different reviews one for the non-gamers and two for the gamers because this audiobook is actually based on the video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed now why they did this when you can just play the game I have no idea and strangely I'm kind of glad they did.

For the Non-Gamers:
I would recommend this audiobook because this was a fun little adventure to listen to. The character Starkiller is very interesting because of his calm and collected manner, Juno despite being the love interest even has a pretty big part in the story as well as some interesting moments and doesn't go into that typical stereo-type too much, PROXY the droid is fascinating because of the fact that he actually cares about Starkiller even if his way of showing it is a little different and finally Darth Vader is just plain cool in anything he is in. The fighting scenes are a little awkward at times, but still enjoyable.
Conclusion:
It's a fun time and a great exploration of the Star Wars worlds and characters even though it might not be canon it still an interesting listen.


For the Gamers:
Now those who have the game and played it myself included I still recommend it. Starkiller in the game sounds like a whine annoying teenager while in the audio he sounds cool, calm, levelheaded and tactful on his missions. Juno still maybe the love interest, but there a some points of view from her that are really interesting and explains a lot as to where she has been while Starkiller is out or how she got to where she is. PROXY has a bit more character to him too instead of just wanting to do what he is programmed to do he actually helps around like slicing into systems as well as showing some compassion and companionship with Starkiller. Finally Darth Vader is just plain cool in anything he is in, but in audio he less "silly" then the game, you can take him more seriously and is almost intimidating at times. The fighting scene are really awkward since it feels like you should be "playing" this part of the story, but it's still compelling to know how he fights in the audio.
Conclusion:
Even if you have played this game to death and know every little thing about it I still recommend listening to this audiobook because it gives you some answers that the game didn't have time to explain, the characters sound better then the game, their acting is an improvement and you can take them seriously. The "choice ending" is a nice twist to make sure it's still canon. It maybe word for word, but it's a nice inside look of how thinks worked and came to be with much more detail that you never know was there before.


Final Consultation:
If this audiobook even piques your interest I say give it a chance to perhaps not only to impress, but to also give you a lively experience. Whether you are a gamer who has played this many times or you never played a video game in your life you will still have a great and exciting time hyperspaceing through the stars with The Force Unleashed.

great book

loved the book always have and I'm glad I got her to an audiobook but I've noticed in this book as well as others there are a few mispronunciations, it's a little irritating but it doesn't ruin the book overall

needed to be unabridged

it would have been a lot better if it was unabridged Abridged books always kind of bummed me out

an amazing adaptation of the game

by far the best book I have listened to. very descriptive and an incredible story.

Performance is Great, story can't match it.

Jonathan Davis once again does an excellent job of delivering a story that, despite its creative leaps and potential, falls short of the delivery. Davis proved his talent with the flawless delivery of the Darth Bane trilogy, and fans of his work should focus primarily on those three. This story carries more than the videogame ever could, but it still leaves a listener lacking when compared to other stories narrated by Jonathan Davis.

Pretty good

Really enjoyed the story, characters, music and performance! Now I want to play the games.