Although no novel can capture the images so vividly portrayed on the screen of unimaginable visual concepts and aliens never before seen, a novel can do what a movie can not. It can take the reader into the heart of the characters and provide the mythic history that there is no way to depict without weighing down a movie.

By now, you surely know that Revenge of the Sith is the story of how Anakin completed his journey to the Dark Side, so unlike many reviews, this is not so much to tell you about the story of the book, but why it is important to read this book if you see the movie anyway. Although there are not quite as many "deleted scenes" in the novel of Episode III as there are in the novelization of Episode IV, A New Hope, there are still quite a few insights that will enhance the movie viewing experience.

Things that are murky or ambigous on screen gain clarity if you have read the book. The two are a perfect complement to one another, and you will get more for your movie buck if you have the knowledge the book provides paired with it.

So, here it is--the end of the story. At least that's what Master Lucas would have us believe. And the funny thing is, no matter how greatly anticipated the upcoming third installment of this second Star Wars Trilogy might be, we all pretty much know exactly where it all ends up. I guess that makes it all the more fun--to learn exactly what leads up to the story that we already know all too well.

That's where the book comes in--finding myself itching to find out what it's all about, and with more than a month to go before the theatrical release, I broke down and ordered the hardcover from my very old and faithful friend: The Science Fiction Book Club. As usual, the book arrived within about a week and a half and I tore the cardboard wrapping off as soon as I got the thing inside my humble abode.

No sooner had I turned to page one than I was hooked. From the opening scene, the pages fly by, the action bursting brightly within my imagination as the words poured into my brain. Several times within the first fifty pages I had to simply put the book down and catch my breath...Matthew Stover's writing fairly leaps off the pages.

An all encompassing feeling of legend and mystery, darkness and light, good vs evil permeates this tale of Anakin's final plunge into the dark side of the Force. All of our old friends are here and some nasty new ones, too. We learn how truly powerful Sidious really is, we learn of the enormous power possessed by the young Skywalker as well and we learn the true emotion of a mentor who loses his prized pupil in the ultimate anguish that befalls Obi Wan Kenobi.

A moving story, to be sure, the plots and twists and meat of such you will not learn here. Suffice it to say that this book was well worth the price, even in hardcover. It moves quickly, it explains a lot, it fills in many blanks and it prepares us all for the birth of the original Man In Black--Darth Vader.

The Sith are coming, the Sith are coming...and not a single one of us can wait. Treat yourself to reading this story, whether before or after you see the movie. I'm sure that this book packs in a lot more story than the movie could ever hope to, especially being that it's over 400 pages in length. That said, a certain date in mid-May could not possibly come fast enough for this Star Wars fan.