A New Hope; The Empire Striketh Back; The Jedi Doth Return; and an 8-by-34-inch full-color poster

There's been a lot of (justified) criticism of George Lucas' cheesy writing style, and there's some trepidation about how JJ Abrams will handle the new sequel. So who could produce a Star Wars script that exceeds expectations?

How about Shakespeare?

That seems to be the idea behind Ian Doescher's "William Shakespeare's Star Wars Trilogy," a deliciously witty reimagining of the Star Wars saga in glorious iambic pentameter. While obviously a very funny spoof ("Now is the summer of our happiness/made winter by this sudden, fierce attack"), it's also a very well-written and eloquent experiment in pseudo-Elizabethan verse.

Anyone who has paid attention to pop culture in the last fifty years knows the main story already -- two droids land on Tattooine, give a message to old Ben Kenobi, he trains the plucky hero Luke Skywalker to be a Jedi, there's a guy in a dark helmet who (spoiler) turns out to be Luke's dad, Luke snogs his sister by accident, a few Death Stars blow up, and so on. If you know none of this, then please join the rest of the world.

A lot of people don't realize that, pre-copyright laws, Shakespeare actually was the master of taking preexisting stories (some fictional, some not) and sculpting them into the classic stories we know and love today. Yes, Shakespeare was the original producer of remakes, reboots, and "re-imaginings." Wrap your brain around that.

So the idea of him writing a somewhat less awkward Star Wars screenplay isn't actually that hard to imagine. And Ian Doescher... well, he does a really, really good job of bridging parody and actual sort-of-kind-of Shakespearean verse in this. He's clearly studied Shakespeare's writing, and rather than just adding a few prithees and "eths" to the preexisting screenplay, he actually reworks almost every line in it. Well, except for Chewie and R2D2. There's only so many ways you can translate "Auugh!" or "Beep."

One example? Like Shakespeare in his time, he includes the stage directions in the actual text ("I turn to thee, thou rebel. Aye, I lift/Thy head above my own") and asides to the audience ("O news that fills my heart with utter dread!").

And he writes whole swaths of dialogue that have no parallel in the original, but are the kind of things that Shakespeare would probably have done in his own time ("How strange this hand, which feeleth like my flesh/Yet is such stuff as droids are made of"). It has lots of witty little moments and fun in-jokes that make it even funnier (ghostly Obi-Wan reflects that "’Twas well I spoke/Not of the midi-chlorians to Luke,/For then he would have endless questions still"), as well as some fun moments (R2D2 is very eloquent when he's not talking to other characters).

While fun as a novelty, "William Shakespeare's Star Wars Trilogy" is also a very cleverly-written reworking of a classic space opera.... in the style of a classic playwright. Clever, witty and funny, and of interest to even casual Shakespeare nerds.

I have loved Star Wars since I was little! When I heard these books were coming out I thought I was brilliant! The box set is awesome! The case is very cool and the books are beautiful! Take the dust jackets off and the books look warn and old! The illustrations are great! The poster that comes with the box set is so cool and I'm thinking about getting it framed to hang in my living room! If you know a Star Wars fan, reader or not, get them this!

I bought this as a present for a friend because the concept tickled me. When I got it home I started flicking through it … and before I knew it, I’d read the entire thing. (Sorry, Peter!)

Though I do love episode seven, I’d otherwise describe myself as a casual fan of the Star Wars franchise -- I don’t own any of the DVDs and the only book I’ve read is Chuck Wendig’s Aftermath, because I’m a fan of his writing. Likewise, I’ve read some Shakespeare, but probably not since my university days.

Still, I’m familiar enough with each to recognise the famous quotes, which is fortunate, because I got a lot of joy from seeing Star Wars rendered in iambic pentameter, and from seeing Shakespeare quotes adapted to a Star Wars plot. (There was also a cheeky reference to Star Trek’s “boldly go” statement, which made me snigger.) Doescher has clearly taken a lot of care in adding these sorts of in-jokes for the reader, which take this book from a straight retelling to something both beautiful and slyly amusing.

The other thing I really liked about the adaptation is the Shakespearean use of the soliloquy to give glimpses into the true nature of each of the major characters. We hear C3PO talk about his true feelings for R2-D2 (despite his constant, snark-filled badgering), R2-D2 in turn reveal his disdain for C3PO, Darth Vader give a glimpse into the darkness in his soul, and Han reveal that he’s not just a scruffy criminal but something more. Luke’s starry-eyed desire for adventure and realisation it’s not all it’s cracked up to be makes me like his character than his whining in the movie did.

The language is a lot easier to follow than genuine Shakespeare too, because -- although Doescher has used the rhythm and basic linguistic trappings -- I didn’t have to look up any of the words to see what they meant. YMMV. As I said, I haven’t read Shakespeare for a long time!

I strongly recommend this for fans of the movies who also love a bit of Shakespeare. 4.5 stars.

These are great i just love them you already know the story but dost thou know it in Shakespeare. These are a great addition to anyone's star wars collection.
It is your familiar for me childhood favorite star-wars re-imagined and brought back with a new twist. I was taking a Shakespeare class when i heard about these not really knowing what to expect i bought the set. And boy oh boy i am glad i did.
I was a tab bit nervous that it would just blow over my head and i wouldn't have a clue what was going on but they are really simple to understand and make for a really fun read.
The Shakespeare language/English is superb it is amazing how much time Doescher must have put into it. These always get a conversation started when people see them by now i think i have loaned the set out at least 5 times and only heard great things.

To sum everything up these are great i loved the story( i mean who doesn't) but the fact that you already know the story and context make the Shakespeare that much easier to understand. These would be a perfect gift for yourself or anyone who is a fan of Shakespeare or Star wars it might just give a Star wars fan the want to go learn Shakespeare.

I don't like the fact the writer took liberties on the internal monolouge for the characters. It's something I can't over look. Didn't get too far into the book before I got fed up and couldn't read anymore.

I bought this as a Christmas gift for my 12 year old grandson. Moments after opening it, he and my son were taking turns reading paragraphs from the first volume. They were also talking about how much fun reading this might be as a shared out loud reading/acting/costume project for his church youth group. That would be well within "Fair Use", free from any of the draconian constraints typically claimed by the copyright industry.
All in all, I think it was a big hit!

This set is phenomenal. It is easy to follow even though it is written in Shakespearean style. It is going through all of my children with joy. We bought a few for birthday parties as well. Can't wait for books I, II and III to come out. I would highly recommend the audio version as well. So amazingly done. All actors match the voices of the movie so it's oodles of entertainment. So grateful to Mr. Doescher for his work.

There are no negatives. The box, poster and books are gorgeous and high quality. The stories are fantastic and the writing is beautiful. I enjoyed every moment spent reading it. For me, these books are as enjoyable as the movies. At times, more so. And that is saying a lot.

Fantastic series. Recommend to anyone who enjoys Shakespeare's comedies. Or Star Wars. Or pretty much anything Victorian. Or sci-fi-ish stuff. Or words written in the English language. It's wonderful. Just read it...