Paper Flowers.

It's well-known that the Revenge of the Sith novelization has a lot of Tearjerkers (of course, we can't rule out the original movie itself), but for some reason, there's one exchange that really hurts my heart when I think about it. It's such a simple exchange, between Anakin and Palpatine, after Anakin saves him from certain death at the hands of Mace Windu -- and when Anakin's feeling guilty about killing Mace. Palpatine, meanwhile, is trying to sway him to become Darth Vader, and...I think a lot of people can understand where this goes.

( Breaking it down, bit by bit... )
And I'm done. I hope you were able to follow me -- a bit. Feel free to give feedback. :)

It's really good, but boy, after all the political manuevering by the Jedi, I Need A Freaking Drink.

Listening to the ROTS Audiobook again (yeah, I know. XD). My thoughts:

-Stover's really good at writing action scenes. From the space battle above Coruscant to the fight with Dooku, he does it brilliantly.

-Anakin's a woobie, per usual. Seriously, his reaction to finding Palpatine on the Invisible Hand made me want to hug him. Doubly heartbreaking considering Palpatine exploits his loyalty to create the Galactic Empire (which also makes it a rage-jerker. Didn't Palpatine even realize how much Anakin -- in a way -- loved him, or did he just not care? :/).

-Obi-Wan's awesome, per usual.

-Dooku's a douchenozzle, per usual. (Seriously, his indirect reference to, basically, his hatred of nonhumans kinda sorta pushes him into Asshole Victim territory for me. :/)

-Sidious is awesome. A jackass, but awesome. Especially his -- semi -- sticking up for Anakin. Huh. Maybe he does care for Anakin a bit, but has to play the villain in order to bring peace to the galaxy, twisted as it may be. (I could be wrong, though. :)

-Even though ROTS' novelization is darker than the original movie, bits of humor still sneak through, mostly kind of...British, for lack of a better word. For example, Sidious sarcastically thanking Dooku after Dooku goes on a long rant about why they can't associate themselves with Anakin (mostly regarding how repulsive his mechanical arm is. Did I mention that Stover's Dooku is kind of a walking douchequake? XD No offense to any Dooku fans, BTW).

All in all, great start for Stover, I say. :)

My final thoughts on ROTS. Warning: Stream of consciousness! XD
( Stover you magnificent bastard; I read your BOOK! )

Overall, great stuff. :) *Is sad it's over* :(

(Sorry for spamming your f-list. :)

Came close to tears with Padme's "I don't know I'll live that long". Goddamnit, Stover... :(

And the Separatist massacre...I don't know whether to hide under the table from Vader or be in awe. :/

All I can say is Jonathan Davis' reading of Palpatine's speech is, dare I say it, better than the original. :) Seriously, awesomeness. :) Still, poor Padme. Poor Bail. Poor everyone. *Hugs them*

And damn, the "sector against sector" thing becomes a Funny Aneurysm Moment with the Rebellion. :(

Close to tears when Obi-Wan had his Heroic BSOD regarding Anakin's "death" -- especially what happens later. :( On the other hand, got pleasant chills up my spine -- the "fuck yes, this is awesome" kind -- when  Anakin revealed himself to the Trade Federation. A real Eowyn moment, I say.

And I *always* end up in a fit of giggles every time Yoda and Obi-Wan masquerade as the hunchback and the baby (Obi-Wan as the Hunchback and Yoda as the baby, that is. :) to get into the control center. Also awesomeness. :) And considering what happens later...humor's needed desperately. :(

...and while I love it dearly, boy is it dramatic. This may sound redundant, but Stover really, really likes making Anakin suffer. Seriously, the scene in the Council chamber definitely makes me want to hug him.

Highlights:

-Obi-Wan's duel with Grievous. Especially the giant lizard chase. (Can I say one thing about Boga? I *want* that mount. Seriously. :D)

-Mace Windu's duel with Palpatine. Seriously, just read it. Or better yet, listen to it on the audiobook. It's really one of Stover's best combat scenes. :)

-Anakin and Padme's telepathic conversation. An already lovely scene in the movie, even better in the book. :)

-Shaak Ti. I just like that she tried to comfort Anakin...which makes what happens later a lot worse. :( And Mace Windu's Hope Spot when he sees Anakin makes it...much worse. :( :(

-Mace Windu's reaction to Anakin telling him that Palpatine's Sidious. Seriously...*ouch*. Besides Shaak Ti and Obi-Wan, he's probably one of the only Jedi Masters I really like. :/

Just Bugs Me:

-While Stover does a decent job in explaining how the Senate just...took Palpatine's word for it, I have to wonder about the whole voiceprint thing. Maybe it's just me, but I'm pretty sure voiceprint does not work that way. (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. :) And even if it does, you'd have to assume that the Senate has not only the collective IQ of crab grass, but is also really, really gullible.

...actually, that does make sense. :)

-Anakin starting to turn into a bit of a jackass near the end. But considering what he's gone through, it makes sense.


Honestly, most of the stuff in the ROTS novelization...it's already a good book, but it's even better if you've grown invested in the characters beforehand. :)

...and while it's awesome as usual, there's one section that's really small, but still managed to rip out my heart and stomp on it. Mostly when Anakin's denied mastery. Granted, I think everyone who saw the movie knew that part was coming, but the way Stover wrote Anakin's reaction was, once you got over the High Octane Nightmare Fuel of the psuedo-demonic-possession and everything else, Anakin's Heroic BSOD as he realizes that the entire Jedi Order may be against him (especially when they split up the team, which is Not Cool On So Many Levels), is just heartwrenching. That, and a rage-jerker. I mean, Jesus -- you pretty much exploit Anakin just for the sake of taking down Sidious (something that may be understandable, but there had to have been another way, like...well, wiretapping him or something. Or taking a blood sample. Plinkett was kind enough to point out possible ways of telling that something may be up with Palpatine in his ROTS review. :), and then you have the gall to act surprised/decide to kill him instead of, say, trying to rehabilitate him? Or apologize? Fuck you, Yoda -- and that goes double for everyone else (save Obi-Wan, of course. :).

I...yeah. R. Lee...help a girl out, will you?

R. LEE ERNEY: I bet those goddamn Jedi are the type that would *beep* a person in the *beep* and not even have the goddamn common courtesy to give 'em a reacharound!

Well, that's good to know. Thank you, R. Lee. :)

Just rereading the prequel trilogy novelizations. On Revenge of the Sith, and while I love Stover dearly, I swear, if the Jedi Council keep acting like assholes, I swear by Darth Revan himself that I'll sic Jason Vorhees on their asses.

(Jason Vorhees -- protecting the galaxy from assholes since...well, day one. ;-)

Then again, it may be a testament to Stover's writing skills. I mean, in the movies, Anakin...well, Hayden Christensen had his moments, but most of the time, the character kind of alternated between droning, mechanical delivery and getting all screechy howler monkey whenever he got pissy. Ugh.

But in the books, Anakin just feels like a living, breathing character. You laugh with him, you cry with him, you want to just reach through the pages, give him a hug, and tell him things are going to be all right...and maybe toss Yoda out the nearest five-story window for being such a douchebag.

(Then again, let's say Jedi philosophy in general is pretty flawed. No "thinking", no "why"s...all I can say is, I wouldn't get along well with the Jedi. I ask too many questions. ;-)

And that's me being sentimental. How are you guys doing? ;-)