Tragedy of the Sith’s Revenge
(William Shakespeare’s Star Wars’
Part the Third)

In full compliance with FTC Guidelines, I received this book for free in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was in no way compensated for this post as a reviewer, and the thoughts are my own.

Tragedy of the Sith’s Revenge By Ian Doescher Publication Date: September 8, 2015 at Quirk Books Hardcover Exists also as e-book Pages: 168 ISBN: 978-1594748080 Genre: Play / Science Fiction Source: Received from the publisher Goodreads Buy the Book

This book counts for the following Reading Challenge:  

MY THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS BOOK

Having enjoyed so much William Shakespeare’s Star Wars Trilogy, time has come to present the last volume of the prequel: Tragedy of the Sith’s Revenge, which brings the whole series to amazing heights.

As the publishers say it so well, “this final chapter in the Star Wars prequel trilogy [is] presented Shakespeare-style with masterful meter, stirring soliloquies, and intricate Elizabethan illustrations. It’s a perfect melding of classic literature and epic pop culture.”

The Chorus sets right away the grave tone of the situation:

In time so long ago begins our play,
In vengeful galaxy far, far away.
Prologue, p.7

Note that only one word was edited from volume one, where it described the galaxy as “troubl’d” (also on page 7 of The Phantom of Menace).
At the same time, C-3PO and R2-D2 help lighten the tone by their hilarious dialogs, not unlike secondary characters in Shakespeare’s darkest tragedies. I purposely insert all the stage directions.

C-3PO      Come with me, small R2 –thy tale I’d hear.
R2-D2      Beep, meep, squeal, whistle, beep!
C-3PO                                                                 –O, say not so,
‘Twas not as horrible as thou does say.
R2-D2      Meep, beep.
C-3PO                         –On that point strongly I agree;
I’ faith, a tune-up would suit me as well.
Mayhap we two together should retire,
Enjoy an oil bath and a wire massage.
[Exeunt C-3PO and R2-D2.
I,2, p.37

I enjoyed encountering again Rumor as a real character, quite Shakespearean indeed, and which worked fantastically with the plot of the end of the story.
And of course Yoda is here with his precious wisdom:

Train yourself better:
Not to hold on, but let go
What thou fear’st to lose.
p. 52

What really stroke me most in this third and last volume is how the author highlighted the parallels between tragic characters in Star Wars and in Shakespeare’s works. Palatine is a new Iago in the revenge he orchestrates, and Anakin is portrayed as a Macbeth, with this passage that all Shakespeare’s readers can easily recognize:

ANAKIN      When sleep I, anguish-laden, mercy ’tis
To wake and find ’twas but a mare of night
A’riding o’er my sleep with vicious hooves
And trampling any rest I hop’d to find.
II,1 p. 48

In the dramatic turn we know all to well in the story, Anakin eventually becomes so much another that his name is changed. Then he is a new Othello.
This passage gives a good inkling of the way his inner trouble is conveyed:

                       Confusion doth o’erwhelm my troubl’d soul,
O’erpowering my judgment by its fog
And turning dark to light, and light to dark.
III,2 p. 90

It culminates in Darth Sidious’s dreadful and moving soliloquy in IV,1 (pp. 110-111) when he sends death to all.

And this may not be the end actually, as everyone is waiting for the upcoming release (on December 18) of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens! I’m looking forward to seeing what Ian Doscher will do with it.

VERDICT: In Shakespeare-style,  Star Wars comes to a close with this dramatic last book in the series. Its revenge and tragic characters will make you rediscover both works with a new perspective. Masterful.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT

TO THINE OWN SITH BE TRUE!

Lend us your ears and comlinks, good folk, as we share a tale of tragedy, hubris, and doomed romance. Within this Shakespearean retelling of Star Wars: Episode 3, galactic treachery abounds. A once-heroic knight is transformed into the darkest of villains. The Jedi suffer slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. The Republic falls, an Empire rises, and so begins the long wait for a New Hope.

SOMETHING IS ROTTEN IN THE STATE OF CORSUCANT!

Don’t miss this final chapter in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, presented Shakespeare-style with masterful meter, stirring soliloquies, and intricate Elizabethan illustrations. It’s a perfect melding of classic literature and epic pop culture!

[provided by the publisher]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ian is a Portland native, and lives in Portland with his spouse and two children.
He has a B.A. in Music from Yale University,
a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School,
and a Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary.
He is currently the Creative Director at Pivot Group LLC, a full service marketing,
research and web agency in Portland, Oregon.
[FROM HIS WEBSITE].
You can follow him on Twitter @iandoescher

***

HAVE YOU READ THE TRILOGY YET ?
WHAT DO YOU THINK ?
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS  IN A COMMENT PLEASE