Star Wars Episode II - Attack of the Clones

R.A. Salvatore

This is basically a novelisation of the screen play for the second Star Wars movie. Basic story by George Lucus, screen play by George Lucus and Jonathan Hales.

The Picture above is slightly different to my cover, mine has a metalic red logo, but the metalics colours seem to scan badly so I downloaded this pic instead.

The Novel for Episode one was very similar to the movie, the second movie hasn't been released yet so I don't know how similar this one is, but by some of the dilogue on the trailers I would say that this one matches very closely to the movie as well, probably with some expansion on some of the story line (as was the case in the first novel, incidentally that one was written by a diferent author). For this reason this review will be both a spoiler for the book and the movie

The story is set ten years after the phantom menace, Queen Amidala is now a senator and goes by the name of Padme Amidala (yes there should actually be little thingy over the e meaning it should be pronounced padmay, but thats just too much effort in my current snot filled brain state). If you missed it the monarchs on Naboo are elected.

Padme is trying to stop an act that will see the forming of a Republic army to stop the sepratist movement led by Count Drooku (An Ex-Jedi), attempts are being made on her life and the Jedi Council step in to protect her. Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker arive and are assigned as her body gaurds.

Another attempt is mad on her life by a bounty hunter that has been hired (sub contracted) by Jango Fett (The father of Bobba Fett from the later set/earlier made movies). Obi Wan hitches a lift on a droid that is delivered some poisonous critters to Padme's room and with the help of Anakin tracks down the would be assasin.

In a dramatic moment they catch the bounty hunter and just when she is about to say who she is working for Jango rockets past and puts a poison dart in the othe bounty hunter. Obi Wan gets the job of tracking down who is behind the attempts on the senator's life and Anakin gets guard duty.

Based on the poison dart Obi Wan tracks jango to a planet where a clone army is being produced (all clones of Jango tweaked a bit to make better soldiers). Jango's reward was an exact replica of himself that he raised as a son and called Bobba, training him from an early age to also be a bounty hunter.

Meanwhile Anakin's mother has been kidnapped by Tusken Raiders and is being held captive, they are slowly torturing her to death. He is having nightmares about his mother being in dreadful pain. Earlier in the novel the Moisture farmers went after the Raiders on speader bikes, a large number of them were decapitated when they ran into a wire at neck height, Shmi's husband lot a leg when he tried to jump the wire.

Don't know if that bit will be in the movie, hope it is but it may be left out due to the graphic nature of it and the rating that it will likely be aiming for.

Anakin and Padme fly off to Tattooine too save Shmi. They drop in on Watto to find his mum, eventually he tells Anakin where to find her. When he gets to his mothers new home he gets the bad news and sets out after her on a speeder bike. Anakin finds his mum but she dies in his arms so he goes on a killing spree and kills all the Tuskens in the encampment (Wholesale slaughter, may not make it into the final cut but should because it is a pivotal moment in his journey to the dark side).

He comes back with the body and they have a funeral

Meanwhile Obi Wan has tracked Jango to a planet where they manufacture the droid armys of the trade federation and gets captured, managing somehow to get a distress signal to the Jedi Council Via R2D2. Anakin relays the message and goes to rescue Obi Wan. He and Padme get captured, all three are tried and found guilty of espionage and sentenced to the arena

Heaps of Jedi go to the planet and emergency powers are given to Grand Chancelor Palpatine, the Clone army is deployed. There is then a huge battle that is going to look really cool in the movie.

Anakin loses a hand, Yoda kicks Drooku's arse but he gets away.

Anakin gets a new robotic hand then buggers off to Naboo and Marries Padme. Drooku reports back to Palpatine/ Darth Sidious and gives him the plans for a giant battlestation (the deathstar). Turns out the whole thing (sepratist movement included) was a big conspiricy from the start.

The Clone war begins.