"WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S THE JEDI DOTH RETURN," by Ian Doescher, Quirk Books, $14.95, 165 pages (f)

First there was a new hope. Then the empire struck back. But in the end, the Jedi returned.

Ian Doescher finished his epic retelling of the Star Wars series in Shakespearean style with “The Jedi Doth Return,” which covers the events of the “Return of the Jedi” film. The story moves from Jabba’s palace to Dagobah, to the rebel fleet, to the moon of Endor, to the Death Star and to the story’s concluding moments.

Like in the earlier installments, Doescher accurately turns the Star Wars tale into a Shakespearean epic, showing that there isn’t much difference between George Lucas’ tale and those penned by the English playwright.

But “The Jedi Doth Return” doesn’t take as many risks as its predecessor, “The Empire Striketh Back,” does. While the previous book worked well to give Yoda a new language style, and offered some interesting in-depth emotions for characters that weren’t so deep in the films, “The Jedi Doth Return” is short, to the point and rarely makes an attempt to change the characters.

Though the Ewoks have an interesting language component, the book otherwise follows the movie’s pace and doesn’t introduce anything new. It is more of just a completion of the trilogy than it is a new read.

Readers will be drawn to it because it’s the end of the story, the end of a trilogy — not because it’s going to offer anything new.
Despite this flaw, “The Jedi Doth Return” follows the movie very well and even offers a glimpse into what might be coming next. It doesn’t seem as though it's the end for Doescher’s Shakespearean interpretation of Star Wars. In fact, Doescher hints that this may just be the beginning.

“The Jedi Doth Return” doesn’t contain any cursing or sexual situations, and it has mild violence not unlike what's in the movie.

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