Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (novelization)

The Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novelization was written by Matthew Stover and published on April 2, 2005 by Del Rey. It is based on the script of the movie of the same name.

Matthew Stover's darkly epic work more than lives up to the Star Wars name. Showing the same skill that won fan acclaim for Traitor and  Shatterpoint, Stover weaves brilliant character descriptions and moving interpersonal dynamics to give the novelization of Revenge of the Sith even more emotional weight than the movie. Plot-wise, the book corresponds almost exactly to the movie, beginning and ending at the same points. There are several elements added not seen in the film (Lorth Needa as commander of the RSS Integrity at the Battle of Coruscant, for example), while several sections of the plot (most notably the Kashyyyk sequence) are removed for pacing. All of the deleted scenes with the founders of the Rebel Alliance are included, along with several references to Garm bel Iblis that will delight Expanded Universe fans. Continuing the tradition of EU tidbits is also a reference to the "Five Brothers" of the Corellian system, and more tie-ins to Labyrinth of Evil. The Clone Wars cartoon is also referenced, as Asajj Ventress is mentioned on more than one occasion in the novel.

Duel with Count Dooku
It is not an exaggeration to say that this duel is the longest duel in the novelization, at least how long it is described. During the duel, Dooku also smashes chairs and particles to the Jedi, which is left out from the movie. In the movie, this duel is relatively short, especially after Obi-Wan Kenobi was knocked to the floor.

Before the duel itself, there is a short conversation between Palpatine and Dooku, revealing the plan Palpatine used to lure Dooku into a confrontation with his new candidate for apprenticeship.

After Dooku is disarmed and Palpatine urges Anakin to kill him, it becomes obvious for Dooku that he had been used as a pawn and a decoy, who never possessed the true powers of a Sith. His last thought was "Treachery is the way of the Sith".

Palpatine tests Anakin's thirst for power
This is a short dialogue which was not filmed, but has importance.

Palpatine offers to give Anakin anything he wants. At first, Anakin wonders if the Chancellor is only playing a childish game with him. He wishes for a new speeder, then Palpatine asks if this is all he wishes. The 'game' culminates when the word comes to Corellia. Sidious asks him if he wishes only the planet or the entire system. Anakin told him he wanted the whole system. The point of this game is to further tempt Anakin towards the dark side and present Palpatine as the gateway to the power denied to Anakin by the Jedi.

The arrest of the Chancellor
In the novelization, Saesee Tiin was beheaded when Sidious tricked him and caught him off guard. Second, Agen Kolar had Palpatine's lightsaber pierced through his head when he turned back, to run towards Mace Windu and Kit Fisto.

Anakin Skywalker, recognizing the consequences of what he did by revealing Palpatine, rushed to the Chancellor's office. Shaak Ti stands in his way and tried to convince Anakin not to go. Anakin rudely refused to obey the Jedi Master.

When he arrived, he witnessed the battle between Kit Fisto, Windu and Palpatine. He did not see who the combatants were yet, only their lightsabers. When the green blade disappeared, he rushed into the office. There, he found the dead body of Kolar and the heads of Saesee Tiin and Kit Fisto and heard the lightsaber duel between Windu and Palpatine. He arrived just in time when the Jedi knocked down Sidious on the floor. The subsequent events happened as it was seen in the movie.

Whether it is an intentional trick from the part of Palpatine or Windu truly outsparred the Sith Lord is not confirmed in neither the movie, nor the novel.

Order 66
Order 66 was described in a few short sentences, with not mentioning any Jedi's death by name. Only Obi-Wan's scene was the same as seen in the movie. Yoda's case was not described either. He appears next when he meets Obi-Wan on the Tantive IV.

When Darth Vader arrives in the Jedi Temple with the clone troopers, it is described how he kills some Jedi, including the gatemaster Jurokk.

The return to the Temple
In the novel, it is better described how Obi-Wan and Yoda avoided attention in the Temple. Cin Drallig is mentioned as Obi-Wan's fencing instructor, after seeing his corpse lying on the ground.

Emperor Palpatine vs. Yoda duel
In the novel, it becomes clearer that Sidious was superior to Yoda. Yoda also comes to the realization that the Jedi Order had been focused on fighting the old Sith rather than the new, evolved, Sith of Darth Bane's order.

Obi-Wan vs. Darth Vader duel
The duel is shorter than it is in the movie. The novel focuses on the dueler's feelings not the battle itself. The fight itself is different in many other ways as well. The way Anakin loses his limbs is not identical to how it happens in the move, although the dialogues are identical.

What we know from the novel

 * Detailed descriptions of the character's feelings in particular cases
 * Exact words that confirm Darth Sidious' apprenticeship to Darth Plagueis
 * How Anakin became superior to Dooku in the duel on-board the Invisible Hand: He was empowered by anger
 * Saesee Tiin was a noteworthy telepath
 * Saesee Tiin suffered an injury early in the war (as seen earlier in the Clone Wars cartoon and comics) involving the loss of part of a horn. Before the revelation of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine being Darth Sidious, the horn had regrown.
 * It is mentioned that the four Jedi who attempted to arrest Palpatine were the best Jedi swordsmen available on Coruscant at the time, a fact less obvious in the film
 * Names and detail are given for the lightsaber techniques the characters used in their respective duels
 * Anakin wanted to enter the files of the Archives to know more about Darth Plagueis. Only masters had the privilege of doing so, hence he became outraged when Mace Windu did not grant him the title of Master.