The Force Awakens (Star Wars)

by Alan Dean Foster

Overview

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The official novelization of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the blockbuster film directed by J. J. Abrams • Includes two tie-in short stories: “The Perfect Weapon” by Delilah S. Dawson and “Bait” by Alan Dean Foster
 
More than thirty years ago, Star Wars burst onto the big screen and became a cultural phenomenon. Now the next adventures in this blockbuster saga are poised to captivate old and new fans alike—beginning with the highly anticipated Star Wars: The Force Awakens. And alongside the cinematic debut comes the thrilling novel adaptation by New York Times bestselling science fiction master Alan Dean Foster.
 
Set years after Return of the Jedi, this stunning new action-packed adventure rockets us back into the world of Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, and Luke Skywalker, while introducing a host of exciting new characters. Darth Vader may have been redeemed and the Emperor vanquished, but peace can be fleeting, and evil does not easily relent. Yet the simple belief in good can still empower ordinary individuals to rise and meet the greatest challenges.
 
So return to that galaxy far, far away, and prepare yourself for what happens when the Force awakens. . . .

Praise for Star Wars: The Force Awakens
 
“Like all the best novelizations, Alan Dean Foster’s adaptation of Star Wars: The Force Awakens enriches the movie experience. The novel goes beyond simply giving us insight into the characters’ thoughts, with plenty of additional scenes painting a broader picture of the galaxy.”—New York Daily News
 
“Fast-moving, atmospheric and raises goose-bumps at just the right moments. [Foster] not only evokes entire onscreen worlds . . . he also gives us glimpses of an even more vast, unseen universe.”—The Washington Post
 
“Was my experience of the film enriched by the book? Yes. No question. Is the novelization worth reading? Yes. . . . Foster has written a book that captures the spirit of the film, while presenting additional information that helps answer some of the questions that linger.”—Coffee with Kenobi

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101966990
Publisher:	Random House Worlds
Publication date:	09/27/2016
Series:	Star Wars
Edition description:	Media Tie-in
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	173,908
Product dimensions:	4.10(w) x 7.40(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Alan Dean Foster has written in a variety of genres, including hard science fiction, fantasy, horror, detective, western, historical, and contemporary fiction. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Star Wars: The Approaching Storm and the popular Pip & Flinx novels, as well as novelizations of several films, including Transformers, Star Wars, the first three Alien films, and Alien Nation. His novel Cyber Way won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction, the first science fiction work ever to do so. Foster and his wife, JoAnn Oxley, live in Prescott, Arizona.

Read an Excerpt

Poe saw the saber come to life. Saw it start to describe its lethal arc. Time seemed to slow as he watched it descend. Thoughts raced through his mind, half crazed, wholly powerless. He heard himself yelling, sensed himself raising his blaster and firing. Too late, too slow, he told himself despondently even as he continued to fire.
(Continues…)

---

Excerpted from "The Force Awakens (Star Wars)"
by .
Copyright © 2016 Alan Dean Foster.
Excerpted by permission of Random House Publishing Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---

Editorial Reviews

Like all the best novelizations, Alan Dean Foster’s adaptation of Star Wars: The Force Awakens enriches the movie experience. The novel goes beyond simply giving us insight into the characters’ thoughts, with plenty of additional scenes painting a broader picture of the galaxy.”—New York Daily News
 
“Fast-moving, atmospheric and raises goose-bumps at just the right moments. [Foster] not only evokes entire onscreen worlds . . . he also gives us glimpses of an even more vast, unseen universe.”—The Washington Post
 
“Was my experience of the film enriched by the book? Yes. No question. Is the novelization worth reading? Yes. . . . Foster has written a book that captures the spirit of the film, while presenting additional information that helps answer some of the questions that linger.”—Coffee with Kenobi

From the Publisher

Authentic sound effects, the John Williams score, and Marc Thompson’s range of voices and accents make this a true “movie in your mind” audio experience (and even more so if you’ve seen THE FORCE AWAKENS on the big screen). This novelization picks up 30 years or so after the events of the original movie trilogy that concluded with RETURN OF THE JEDI. Thompson goes at it with gusto—he gives individual voices to characters old and new that echo those of the movie actors and ramps up the excitement during pitched battles between TIE fighters and X-wings. And you’ll love BB-8, the little astromech droid whose unique beeps and trills are included. Good listening fun for Star Wars fans. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

JANUARY 2016 - AudioFile

2016-01-21
Sci-fi veteran Foster (Star Trek into Darkness, 2013, etc.) returns for the novelization of the latest Star Wars blockbuster. For those readers who've been living in a galaxy far, far away, the Star Wars franchise has returned with a new film, the first since 2005's Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. As novelized here, Rey is a scavenger eking out a solitary existence. Finn, a stormtrooper who's fled his post, crosses paths with her when he crash-lands on her desert homeworld, Jakku. When he realizes that she's in possession of a droid containing a sought-after map, they team up to return the droid to a rebel base, gaining some unwanted attention from what remains of the Empire, now known as the First Order. As with any novelization, what's sure to attract readers is what isn't in the movie. For example, the book opens with a look at the ruminations of Gen. Leia Organa, and, even though it's a brief scene, it handily delineates where the Empire and the rebellion currently stand—perhaps better than the actual film manages to do. However, some fans may be disappointed to find their favorite scenes offer little additional insight about characters' thoughts, and it's never clear why some moments receive additional detail or flourishes that didn't appear in the film, and others don't. Rey, in particular, comes across as somewhat more emotional than portrayed on screen. Foster keeps the prose steady if a bit workmanlike throughout, but there are a few nose dives into questionably florid prose; in the middle of one sentence, for instance, First Order baddie Kylo Ren is described as "saturnine of aspect, lithe of build, tortured of mien, and troubled of eye." Ultimately, it's the original story and characters from the film that make the book worth reading rather than Foster's contributions. The Force is adequate with this one.

Kirkus Reviews