last exit for the lost

It's pretty amazing that a movie series begun in 1977 and effectively ended in 1983 could find a renewed relavence in the 21st century. Though the first two installments of the prequel trilogy fell short of some fans' expectations, they did, nevertheless, supply the necessary background for Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. For many of us long-time Star Wars fans, the forthcoming conclusion to the prequel trilogy is the moment we have been waiting for, for over twenty years. It holds the answer to the question that has been in our minds ever since we learned who Darth Vader actually was - "How did Anakin Skywalker turn to the dark side and become Darth Vader?" - a question that will be answered definitively on May 19, 2005. Well, one fan has taken it upon himself to write a novel based upon spoilers from LucasFilms, rumors, and his own insight and speculation. This man (?) goes by the screen name of JW Titus on theforce.net's message board. It is also on that board that he has been publishing the chapters of his novel since June. Excepting minor typographical errors, the work is remarkably professional. His ability to depict moods, scenery, action, and meaningful dialog, in addition to his mastery of the characters' personality traits, is extraordinary. I highly recommend this work to all serious fans (unless, of course, you want to be completely surprised next May). Many of his readers agree that if the movie is half as good as his novelization, we should be in for a real treat. Below are links to all chapters to date, including tonight's update. Chapters 1-16 MS Word format (The chapter numbering in the Word file doesn't match exactly with the numbering in the forum. Thus, chapter sixteen in the the .doc file actually corresponds to chapter fifteen in the forum. So, the following "chapter 16" is not included in the file.) Chapter 16 part 1 Chapter 16 part 2 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 part 1 Chapter 18 part 2 Chapter 19 part 1 Chapter 19 part 2 Chapter 19 part 3 Chapter 20 part 1 Chapter 20 part 2 Chapter 20 part 3 Chapter 21 part 1 Chapter 21 part 2 Chapter 21 part 3