Star Wars, Episode 7: The Force Awakens

Short & Sweet Review:

No spoilers for the movie, I promise.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is, as you guessed, a novelization of the latest Star Wars movie set some years after Return of the Jedi. As with most movie to book adaptations much of the dialogue and scenes are recognizable from the movie. There are a few scenes that play out a bit differently than the movie. In some cases I would have liked to have watched these scenes on the big screen such as [REDACTED] rather than what we got in the movie, but the differences weren't so pronounced that I can really raise a complaint about them. Some scene differences in the book might've even been necessary to make the scenes make more sense in writing than on the screen where the viewers might be more forgiving of some errors, omissions, and improbable events.

While this book certainly added some meat to some of the scenes in the movie, it is sparse. I'd dare say it's a bit more sparse than most adaptations I've read in some places. I think this might be the case because they don't want to give away too much that might spoil or give readers too much insight into subsequent movies in the series. However, I do feel there would've been no harm in expanding more on many scenes in ways that wouldn't have spoiled the readers for the next movies. This was a straightforward book that follows the story pretty much line for line. If you're looking for an adaptation that'll answer questions you are sure to have after watching the movie, this is not your book. It was enjoyable, but not something I'd call a "must read." I'd only really recommend this to the most hardcore Star Wars fans whose sole mission is to read everything about the universe. However, it can be fun for those of you who want to relive the movie without having to go back to the theater.

Yays!

- Gives some scenes in the movie more context and expands them a bit more, gives some thoughts from characters than the main ones

- Not terribly written for a movie adaptation book

- A fun, quick read that'll have you reliving the movie in your head

Nays!

- Doesn't give as much context as some people are probably searching for, none of your conspiracy theories will be confirmed or denied or even entertained

- Very sparse in some places even for an adaptation that follows its movie almost scene for scene