20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of Top Star Wars Novel Released

In 2025, the realization that "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" is now 20 years old might make you ponder your own mortality, but there's a bright side. The film is making a grand return to theaters in May as part of Lucasfilm's anniversary celebration. Moreover, fans of the saga can also look forward to the rerelease of Matthew Stover's acclaimed novelization of the film, which is getting a special 20th anniversary edition. You can preorder it at Amazon.

Collider has revealed that "Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith" is getting a Deluxe Edition hardcover, set for release in October. This edition boasts new cover art, red foil-edged pages, a removable acetate jacket, and over 170 new annotations by Stover himself.

Image Credit: Lucasfilm/Penguin Random House

"We couldn’t be more excited to publish this incredible deluxe edition of the Revenge of the Sith novelization," said Tom Hoeler, Editorial Director of Fiction and Special Projects for Random House World. "It has been thrilling to work with author Matthew Stover and Lucasfilm to create a fully annotated edition that gives readers unprecedented insight into the creation of this masterpiece. Across nearly 50 years of Star Wars books, it stands alone, and even among film novelizations, its approach to adapting characters and story from screen to page is unique. Two decades later, this novelization is as essential, enduring, and influential – on readers and creators – as it has ever been. Bringing the book back to hardcover in a stunning deluxe keepsake edition is a perfect way to celebrate 20 years of Revenge of the Sith."

Out October 14

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: Episode III - Deluxe Edition (Hardcover)

$60.00 at Amazon

For those yet to experience Stover's "Revenge of the Sith" novelization, it is widely regarded as one of the best Star Wars novels and often considered superior to the film. While adhering to George Lucas' screenplay, the book enriches many scenes and subplots, offering a deeper exploration into the psyches of characters such as Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Count Dooku. A distinctive feature of the book is its use of second-person narration, which sets it apart stylistically from other Star Wars literature. Consider this passage, which provides a profoundly different perspective on Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader:

And you rage and scream and reach through the Force to crush the shadow who has destroyed you, but you are so far less now than what you were, you are more than half machine, you are like a painter gone blind, a composer gone deaf, you can remember where the power was but the power you can touch is only a memory, and so with all your world-destroying fury it is only droids around you that implode, and equipment, and the table on which you were strapped shatters, and in the end, you cannot touch the shadow. In the end you don't even want to. In the end, you do not even want to. In the end, the shadow is all you have left. Because the shadow understands you, the shadow forgives you, the shadow gathers you unto itself—And within your furnace heart, you burn in your own flame.

Contrast this with the film's portrayal of the same scene:

This comparison underscores why exploring the book can be immensely rewarding.

The "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" novelization is available in paperback and audiobook formats now, with the Deluxe Edition hardcover scheduled for release on October 14. You can preorder your copy on Amazon.

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