The Rise of Skywalker: Expanded Edition (Star Wars)

*Spoilers Ahead-If you've already seen the move, feel free to read on.* I never really cared before about the Star Wars universe until The Force Awakens introduced me to the character of Kylo Ren. Some out there hate him because he's too "emo", but I think that's exactly what makes him so incredibly interesting. He's not the stereotypical Big Baddie sitting on a throne, twirling his mustache and laughing maniacally, being evil just for the sake of being evil (there are already many characters like that). No, he's a real person who feels inner conflict about the things he does, and you feel for him because of that struggle. The whole reason I read all three novels is that I wanted to dive more into his head, but I was disappointed that the first two novels only give rare snippets of insight into Kylo's inner workings and mostly take insight from Rey's perspective. However, this book is fantastic in that while Kylo is questing and engaging with other characters, it gives his inner dialogue, so you can now know his true motivations and thought process throughout. It also does the same for Rey and a bit for the secondary characters as well. Fans will also be glad to know that the novel explains how Palpatine is still alive, how he was able to have a "son", how Kylo survives falling into that crevice, how Kylo is able to get off Kef Bir when Rey steals his TIE, more details about Zorii Bliss, and other things I'm forgetting. There are also added or extended scenes that help flesh out the fast paced movie. Of course, as a Kylo Ren fan, I was incensed watching the movie when Ben Solo found the light and gave up his life force for Rey, only to have Rey look sad for two seconds as he fades into the Force, and then goes on with her life as if he never existed. In the book, it gives a more satisfying conclusion to the scene where Ben loses his life and shows that Rey does acknowledge the pain of his loss, the importance of his life and his place as her other half (dyad). So, if you enjoyed The Rise of Skywalker movie and are looking for more inner dialogue from characters and a few more detailed scenes, this is the book for you! It was my favorite of the three sequel novelizations; my only complaint is at 247 pages, it was too short!

Loving this book so far. It tells so much more of the ROS story that movies leave out. It expands on the knights of Ren and their impact in the movie. Plus each supporting character has additional backstory provided in the readings.

Let's state up front, I liked TROS (Episode IX). I didn't love it, and I wasn't keen about the direction it took amid all options, but since it's what we got, I thought it was a nice, fun theatrical experience and better than the prequels. Novelizations tend to help with flawed movies, and this is no exception. If a movie has dangling plot points or ideas that seem incomplete, they will often find explanation in the pages of the novelization. This is certainly true of this book. Rae Carson shows most of her skill handling the internal struggles of all our key players, Rey, Kylo Ren, Finn, Poe, and Leia and delving into the more 2 dimensional characters from the film such as Palpatine, Pryde, and Hux. Added context is also given to questions such as the all important "How did Palpatine survive?" or even the crucial "What did Finn never tell Rey"? A key addition is the (presumably cut) scene of the Eye of Webbish Bog. It conjures really cool mental images and makes you wish it hadn't been cut. All the improvements are helpful and well presented, but leave the story generally where it was to begin with, meaning a lot of the bigger picture questions will have to be answered in future stories. It is certainly well written, and great for fans of the Star Wars movies. If you're a fan who regularly rewatches the Skywalker Saga, it should definitely enhance your future watching

This is everything I look for in a novelization. If you've seen the movie you will find most, if not all, of the lines and scenes to be matched perfectly. The book keeps the pace quick and doesn't try to explain clothing, meals and the tiny details you might find in a regular novel. Those were wisely kept out of this book. There are extra scenes that makes it worth reading. We find out how the Emperor survived Return of the Jedi for example. We get into Lando's head a little bit. We get some flashbacks to Leia getting trained by Luke. There are pieces of Leia's death being foreshadowed. We even get a deeper understanding of Kylo/Ben and his fate. These are just a few of what's added to the overall story. None of it is wasteful. Is this a top 20 Star Wars book? No. Is this one of the best Star Wars novelizations? Yes, between this and the Revenge of the Sith novelization. The good: Fast read Keeps to the movie's dialogue. Expands on character's thoughts Provides new scenes The not so good: None. I liked the movie. I loved the novelization. It filled in some gaps that I needed to get some questions answered from the movie. I found this to be one of the more enjoyable Star Wars reads since the sale of the franchise. I definitely recommend this book.

While I didn't hate the Rise of Skywalker like some people did, I did find myself a bit disappointed. The reason for this was because of its breakneck storytelling and it neglected to explain key plot points (ex: how the emperor survived). However, I did find the film enjoyable, to say the least. The novelization of the Rise of Skywalker, on the other hand, is fantastic! It explains all the questions I had from the film and makes the story much more enjoyable. I'm not sure if the expanded sections of the book were deleted scenes that were cut from the final film, but they really add to the story. There's a whole section that expands on Zorii Bliss, as well as Lando Calrissian, which were completely absent from the film. Both those side stories are great too! It bugged me how Zorii and Lando were hardly in the film, so it's nice to see their characters get fleshed out in the novelization. My only complaint with the book is that it's too short. It's only 247 pages, which really isn't enough for a two and a half hour movie. Out of all the novelizations for the sequel trilogy, this one is the shortest. The only good thing about its reduced length is that the book rarely drags in regard to storytelling. In reality, the book should have been 300-350 pages long. If you liked the Rise of Skywalker, odds are you'll really enjoy the novelization. Even if you were a bit disappointed in the film, like myself, you may be really surprised at how the novelization makes the whole story much better. In the end, I actually came to enjoy the film more from reading the book.

I’ve read most of the SW tentpole novelisations since 1977. I wanted this expanded edition to see what the movie left on the cutting room floor - all the dialogue or setup to make the plot make better sense. But no matter how the author tried to create a great book, they could only put so much lipstick on this pig. If they’d written an original I’m sure their writing style would have engaged me. But I just couldn’t get into this, and I think it’s the screenwriter’s failure more than the author’s. So my literary adventure will stay on whatever desert planet was doubling as Tatooine or Jaakku this time, in Lando’s transport. I just can’t follow these characters further. Book quality was as expected.

I wish the film was as good as the book. Rae Carson gave me the closure i was looking for when i went to the cinema. The book fills most of the gaps in the film and makes you understand better the ending . But... #bensolodeservedbetter

Never thought I would enjoy reading extended versions of these kind, but I did. Some gaps were filled and I wish some of these were put into the cinematic version.