Bookworms: The Jedi Doth Return (2014) by Ian Doescher
“Oh Rebels, do you hear? Fie, ’tis a trap!” – Admiral Ackbar
Jedi Doth Return
Having lured us with William Shakespeare’s Star Wars and ensnared us with William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back, Ian Doescher springs the trap and catches us entire with William Shakespeare’s The Jedi Doth Return.
Brilliant iambic pentameter marks the way of all three entries into the Star Wars Shakespeare saga, and that is no different with the third entry. To Star Wars fanatics the story is familiar, to Shakespeare lovers the phrasing is familiar, but to both there is a newness and a richness that only Doescher, it seems, can provide.
Along the way we meet new characters Jabba of the Hutt, vile gangster, who speaks in iambic Huttese (truly a unique, if unintelligible language) and the Ewoks, who speak their own brand of Shakespearesqe language, almost a pigin of sorts. The rancor keeper laments most beautifully upon the death of this beloved pet. And Admiral Ackbar laments a trap most nefarious.
Indeed there is much here, as in the last two parts to the galactic saga, to delight and tantalize the reader. If ever there were a space opera most suited to being re-written as Shakespearean drama, it is the saga of Star Wars.
I was so excited to read the final entry of Star Wars Shakespeare trilogy that I eschewed Amazon and hurried to my local Barnes and Noble to buy the hardcover. I was loathe to wait for shipment and indeed, merely an hour or so after returning home, had read the book entire. Now all three entries in the series sit proudly on my shelf, and all have been read at least twice. I look forward to many more enjoyable reads of Shakespeare’s Star Wars. As I’ve said before, in my reviews of Star Wars and The Empire Striketh Back, the fan of either Star Wars or Shakespeare should find something here to love, and the fan of both will find a wealth of enjoyment.
Fly, don’t walk, to your nearest bookstore and pick up William Shakespeare’s Star Wars for yourself and discover anew the wonder and joy of a grand galactic story told in classic style.
