Early Review – The Jedi Doth Return (William Shakespeare’s Star Wars, Book 3) by Ian Doescher (5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Teen or Older
Genre: Science Fiction/Parody
Size: 168 pages
Publisher: Quirk Books
Release Date: July 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1594747137
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the William Shakespeare’s Star Wars series
Source: Final Copy from Publisher
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is the final book in the William Shakespeare’s Star Wars series by Doescher. This book was just as fantastically well done as the previous two books in the series have been. I really enjoyed it. If you enjoyed the previous two books in this Shakespeare/Star Wars mash-up I think you will really enjoy this book as well.

If you are a Star Wars fan you already know most of the story. Jabba the Hutt is holding all the cards until Leia shows up to rescue Han Solo. Things turn sour and the majority of our heros are facing imprisonment and/or death until Luke shows up. During all of this Vader has started a new Death Star near Endor. Our intrepid heroes set their sights on destroying the new Death Star and the evil Emperor Palpatine once and for all.

This book, like the previous two, is very well done. Having this movie put into Shakespearean format really allows us to see deeper into the characters’ personalities. In this book we hear a lot more from Lando and what he is thinking. He ends up being a much more major character, with more depth than in the movie.

Vader has some excellent soliloquies throughout which I really enjoyed. We get a lot more insight into his character and what makes him tick. He is a major player in this novel and hearing how he has struggled and more of his history really added a lot to this epic story. Emperor Palpatine also has some soliloquies which add to the depth of his character as well.

In addition to the above there are some very funny parts to the story. These are mainly parts where side characters get a lot more say and visibility. For example I really enjoyed the lament of the Rancor Keeper when Luke slays the Rancor. It was so heartfelt, I really felt bad for the Rancor and his Keeper after he spoke his bit. I also enjoyed when two of the Guard’s in the Death Star have a lengthy discussion about the war on Endor.

There were a couple things in this book that I did not like as much as previous book. The Ewok’s speak gibberish of a sort throughout (Doescher does go into an explanation of this in the Afterward). It was kind of irritating to read, although I really don’t have any idea of how he could have handled this better. Also some of the illustrations in this book were lacking and not as detailed as normal. There is one picture in particular where Chewbacca is standing on an AT-AT where he looks like some kid drew a smiley face on him for facial features. While most of the illustrations were beautiful and detailed, there were a couple that looked almost unfinished. This really stood out because the other drawings were so good.

Doescher goes into a detailed explanation in the Afterward of why he chose the types of prose he did for certain characters. It is all very cleverly done and well explained. This afterward helps you to appreciate what you are reading even more and realize some of the work and thought that went into making this book possible.

Overall this was an excellent continuation of this Shakespreare/Star Wars mash-up. I really enjoyed it. I love the witty and humorous dialogue of the side characters. I love how the long soliloquies add depth to characters that didn’t have a ton of depth in the movie (Lando, Darth Vader, and Emperor Palpatine). Most of the illustrations were unique and beautifully done (there were a few that looked unfinished). I highly recommend this to Star Wars fans, especially Star Wars fans who love Shakespeare.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Series Reading Challenge
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge