Early Review – The Empire Striketh Back by Ian Doescher (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult (could be all ages)
Genre: Parody/Science Fiction
Length: 176 pages
Publisher: Quirk Books
Release Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN-13: 978-1594747151
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the
Source: Gift
Rating: 5/5 stars

I got a copy of this book from Quirk Books in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed the first book in this series; Verily, A New Hope. This book was even better than that book and it was a ton of fun to read. The final book in the trilogy, The Jedi Doth Return, is scheduled to release in July 2014.

Any Star Wars fan knows the story. Luke, Han Solo, Princess Leia, and crew are on the rebel base on the planet of Hoth. When things go South, Luke flees to get training from Yoda and the rest of the crew flee to seek help from Lando with the Empire hot in pursuit. There is definitely a lot of drama here and it lends itself to Shakespearean style well.

I love Shakespeare and I love Star Wars, so of course I enjoy these books immensely. This book was even better than the first book and even more hilarious. I thought Doescher did a much better job with having the characters use asides to tell their point of view, this adds a lot more depth to the story.

One of the most hilarious parts of this book is that we get to hear from some of the monsters and bad guys. There is a part where the Wampa laments the escape of his meal and how badly he has been treated. The Exogor (space slug that the Millenium Falcon hides in) has a soliloquy where he expounds on the loneliness of being a space slug. We even hear from some overly dramatic AT-ATs (this had me laughing so hard I was nearly in tears).

In addition to the above you get a lot more insight into how people view Darth Vader in a long soliloquy from Admiral Piett. There is also more background on Lando and his past friendship with Han. The numerous soliloquies and asides add a lot more depth to these Star Wars characters we all know and love.

Just as with the last book, the asides from R2-D2 are hilarious and his opinion of C3PO echoes my own. This is also the book where Han and Leia discover their feelings for each other, this storyline lends itself to a lot of wonderfully witty banter between the two and many asides where they discuss their feelings for each other. Again these are very witty and funny.

As with the last book there are a number of well done Elizabethan style illustrations throughout, these are done in an etched sort of style and again add a lot of humor to this parody. Yoda in an Elizabethan collar is definitely a must see.

Overall very, very well done. I really enjoyed this second installment in the Star Wars series retold in a Shakespearean way. There is a lot of witty humor and even parts so funny that I almost laughed until I cried. The illustrations are wonderful. In addition to all of the humor and fun, the asides and soliloquies really do add a lot of depth to the characters and expand on the story some. If you enjoy Star Wars and Shakespeare definitely check this out, if you enjoyed the first book in this Shakespearean Star Wars series definitely check this out. This book is even better than the first one.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– 100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge