William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return

By: Ian Doescher

Narrated by: Marc Thompson, Jonathan Davis, Daniel Davis, Jeff Gurner, January Lavoy, Ian Doescher

Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Hot on the heels of the New York Times best seller William Shakespeare's Star Wars comes the next two installments of the original trilogy: William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back and William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return. Return to the star-crossed galaxy far, far away as the brooding young hero, a power-mad emperor, and their jesting droids match wits, struggle for power, and soliloquize in elegant and impeccable iambic pentameter.

Something Wookiee this way comes!

©2014 Ian Doescher (P)2014 Random House Audio

a triumph

For everyone who ever wanted to fix the glaring flaws in Star Wars films, this is your series. A genius concept ececuted flawlessly by Doescher.

An immensely fulfilling journey

This may have been my favorite. Again I can't insist enough that the audio book is the superior format. The ending with the author is also charming and cheeky.

Tis a Worthy Conclusion

If you've heard Verily A New Hope and The Empire Striketh Back, you already know what to expect. This falls right in line and completes the trilogy in its greatness. For those who have not yet experienced this... you're in for a treat. Shakespearean puns and mangled quotes run amuck through the galaxy far, far away, accompanied with all the ham-fisted, Monty Python style acting. And yet, there is another level of experience, as one would expect from reading the Bard's original works, so all of the drama and gravitas of the story is there to be had. Add in the familiar sound effects and classic John Williams music you remember, and this most unlikely mashup becomes a few hours of pure fun.

But then, having enjoyed the previous two, I'm already biased. You've not experienced Shakespeare until you've heard him in the original Huttese, and the songs from Jabba's band and the Ewoks just drive this performance over the top. It's a blast.

Star Wars fans should listen to this.

Would you listen to William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return again? Why?

Yes cause the narrators and the end with Commentary from author and Shakespeare worth it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return?

The commentary.

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

Princess Leila Skywalker.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No I workout to it in two days.

Any additional comments?

Book 7 maybe?

More Shakespearian Star Wars!

Would you consider the audio edition of William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return to be better than the print version?

I always prefer to listen to audio of plays rather than reading it.

What other book might you compare William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return to and why?

Obviously, the previous two books in the trilogy!

Which character – as performed by the narrators – was your favorite?

R2-D2

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I can't wait for the new trilogy to come out in audio!

Wonderful!

I love everything about this, the writing, the performances, and especially the story! Definitely worth listening!

The grand finale.

If you could sum up William Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return in three words, what would they be?

I can't think of any I'm afraid.

What did you like best about this story?

The narration and writing.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Acting.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

I wouldn't sence there's already a film

Any additional comments?

I hope the author makes more Shakespeare style stories if he wishes.

Awesome

This story is a great retelling of the Star Wars. A great way of bring classic storytelling into the 21st century

This is Awesome!

The writing is amazing and the narrators are vivid and surprisingly similar to the actual characters. Except for the voice of Han Solo, who somehow sounds like Adam West, but so much the better for it.

NOT a one-trick pony

Unlike other mashups that are nothing more but thinly veiled attempts to make money off of venerable titles (Pride & Prejudice and Zombies, the most obvious example), this trilogy is definitely NOT a one-trick pony. Hard to believe, but each installment actually got better. That is saying a lot, since I thought the first book was amazing, and “Return of the Jedi” was my least favorite movie of the original trilogy. But Doescher clearly took great pains to honor both of the great legacies to which he is beholden. And the production values on the audio versions of these books is among the best I have ever encountered. Music from the actual movie soundtrack is expertly inserted in just the right places, the actors’ voices are very close to those of the original actors, and there is also an afterword read by Doescher in which he explains some of the techniques he used to combine his two inspirations.

One thing I really liked about the whole trilogy which I didn’t mention in my reviews of the other two books is the way Doescher assumes the listener/reader has seen the prequel movies. The sly references to the prequels made me laugh out loud, for instance, in this installment when the ghost of Obi-wan makes a comment about midi-chlorians.

To anyone who is a lover of Star Wars, I cannot recommend these three audiobooks more highly.