Star Wars Episode III : Revenge of the Sith ( novel ) The " Star Wars Episode III : Revenge of the Sith " novelization was written by Matthew Stover and published on April 2 , 2005 by Del Rey . It is based on the script of the . Narration for the audio version was performed by Jonathan Davis . The book ' s plot corresponds almost exactly to that of the movie , though there are several added elements not seen in the film ( the appearance of Lorth Needa as commander of the " Integrity " during the Battle of Coruscant , for example ) , while several sections of the movie ' s plot ( most notably the Kashyyyk sequence ) have been removed for the sake of the story ' s pacing . All of the deleted scenes with the founders of the Rebel Alliance are included , and Stover heavily references the previous chronological novel , James Luceno ' s " Labyrinth of Evil " , something uncommon in film novelizations . Events from other Expanded Universe publications are also referenced , including the " " comic book series , the " " animated series , and the novels " The Approaching Storm " , " Shatterpoint " , " The Cestus Deception " , and " " . Publisher ' s summary . Hardcover . Back cover . " The Force grows dark , Anakin . … Be wary of your feelings . " Inside flap . The turning point for the entire " Star Wars " saga is at hand … " After years of civil war , the Separatists have battered the already faltering Republic nearly to the point of collapse . On Coruscant , the Senate watches anxiously as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine aggressively strips away more and more constitutional liberties in the name of safeguarding the Republic . Yoda , Mace Windu , and their fellow Masters grapple with the Chancellor ' s disturbing move to assume control of the Jedi Council . And Anakin Skywalker , the prophesied Chosen One , destined to bring balance to the Force , is increasingly consumed by his fear that his secret love , Senator Padmé Amidala , will die . " " As the combat escalates across the galaxy , the stage is set for an explosive endgame : Obi - Wan undertakes a perilous mission to destroy the dreaded Separatist military leader General Grievous . Palpatine , eager to secure even greater control , subtly influences public opinion to turn against the Jedi . And a conflicted Anakin — tormented by unspeakable visions — edges dangerously closer to the brink of a galaxy - shaping decision . It remains only for Darth Sidious , whose shadow looms ever larger , to strike the final staggering blow against the Republic … and to ordain a fearsome new Sith Lord : Darth Vader . " Paperback . The turning point for the entire " Star Wars " saga is at hand … " As combat escalates across the galaxy , the stage is set for an explosive endgame : Obi - Wan undertakes a perilous mission to destroy the dreaded Separatist military leader , General Grievous . Supreme Chancellor Palpatine continues to strip away constitutional liberties in the name of security while influencing public opinion to turn against the Jedi . And a conflicted Anakin fears that his secret love , Senator Padmé Amidala , will die . Tormented by unspeakable visions , Anakin edges closer to the brink of a galaxy - shaping decision . It remains only for Darth Sidious to strike the final staggering blow against the Republic — and to ordain a fearsome new Sith Lord : Darth Vader . " Notable differences between the movie and the novel . Battle of Coruscant . The battle sequence is expanded in the book , and detailed descriptions of a small number of maneuvers are included , such as the Slip Jaws maneuver . Also , the damage caused to Obi - Wan ' s fighter by the Buzz Droids is much more severe , to the point where his ship has lost all maneuverability . Also , Obi - Wan ' s on - board astromech droid , R4 - P17 , is mistakenly listed as male , when , in fact , the droid has feminine programming . Duel with Count Dooku . While the duel between Anakin , Obi - Wan , and Count Dooku is relatively short in the movie , its appearance in the novelization depicts it as the longest one in the story . Added elements include Dooku using the Force to fling chairs and tables against the two Jedi . Before the duel , there is a short conversation between Palpatine and Dooku , revealing the plan which Palpatine used to lure Dooku into the confrontation with Anakin , his new candidate for apprenticeship . Palpatine tells Dooku that the objective of the duel is to kill Obi - Wan and surrender to Anakin , thus creating the right public story to allow the three of them to take over the galaxy . This was the first scene ever to appear in the novelizations which confirms that Darth Sidious and Palpatine are the same individual . In the novel , Dooku is depicted as being clearly overpowered by the Jedi , with both Obi - Wan and Anakin being nearly as powerful as he is . He panics and spends most of his energy to take out Obi - Wan before Anakin kills him . After Dooku is disarmed and Palpatine urges Anakin to kill him , it becomes obvious for Dooku that he had been used as a pawn and a decoy , who never possessed the true powers of a Sith . His last thought was , " Treachery is the way of the Sith . " Anakin ' s guilt at killing Dooku in cold blood lasts much longer than in the movie . Anakin and his lightsaber . When Anakin is carrying Obi - Wan on his back , he drops his lightsaber down the turboshaft . Grievous then sends his bodyguards to get it . Anakin and Padmé . In the novelization , we glimpse more of the tragic couple ' s relationship and how it headed so rapidly toward its downfall . The scene where Padmé tells Anakin she is pregnant with their child is extended : " Today , here in the hallway of the Senate Office Building , she brings him news of a gift they have given each other — a gift of joy , and of terror . This gift is the edge of a knife that has already cut their past from their future . " In another example , the book also includes a scene in which Anakin and Padmé discuss the gender of the child she carries , believing at the time that she was only pregnant with a single child . Anakin is adamant that the baby is a girl , due to its forcible kicks , whereas Padmé is certain it is a boy , due to her motherly intuition . Although this may not seem like a scene that broadened and shortened Anakin ' s path to the dark side , it shows his love and devotion to his family , highlighting the fact that he would do anything for them , including becoming a Sith Lord . The book expands on Anakin ' s fear for Padmé ' s life as a driving motivation for his desire to become a Jedi Master and be given access to resources allowing him to learn about the Sith . His frustration over his slow promotion is more directly connected to his need to protect his wife from the occurrences predicted in his visions . A subplot is used from the original script draft where Anakin is jealous of Obi - Wan and suspects that Padmé is having an affair with him . Palpatine further feeds this fear in him , driving the couple further apart and adding to Anakin ' s confused emotional state , which eventually results in his turning to the dark side . C - 3PO . The book presents more of C - 3PO ' s thoughts regarding events , including a scene of 3PO allowing Obi - Wan into Padmé ' s apartment , though the droid was wary of Kenobi . His talk with R2 - D2 before Anakin left for Mustafar was also expanded , with 3PO telling R2 rumors about what was happening . Additionally , Bail Prestor Organa ' s decision to have C - 3PO ' s mind wiped is given more context , in light of the droid ' s obvious inability to keep sensitive information ( in this case , about the Skywalker twins ' true parentage ) to himself ( in contrast with R2 - D2 ) . General Grievous . In the book , Grievous lacks the sickly cough and is described as virtually unbeatable ( similar to his depiction in " Clone Wars " ) . He is also described as being unable to laugh , which he did in the film . However , he does fear both Anakin and Obi - Wan , who he notices are much deadlier than any other Jedi he has faced . During the duel with Obi - Wan , Grievous finds himself completely outmatched . When Obi - Wan and Grievous fight on the landing platform , Obi - Wan is able to severely damage Grievous ' s limbs simply by using the Force , while in the film , a similar attempt ( though striking Griveous ' s much thicker legs , and without an electrostaff ) only injures Obi - Wan . Grievous ' true emotions about the Neimoidians are also revealed in the novel . He quickly becomes annoyed with them , constantly wishing he could remove their brains . Nute Gunray and Rune Haako are only safe from Grievous ' " grip " due to Darth Sidious ' protection over them . The bridge crew of " Invisible Hand " is not so lucky , though ; Grievous kills all of them . The Neimoidians on General Grievous ' s flagship . General Grievous kills almost all of the Neimoidians on board the Separatist flagship , either because of the annoyance they caused , or because they failed to complete their assigned tasks . The casualties presumably included Lushros Dofine , although none of them are identified by name . Those who were not killed by Grievous absorbed randomly deflected blaster bolts from the Droidekas that had been deployed to kill Anakin and Obi - Wan . This is in direct contrast to the film ' s version of the bridge scene , wherein Grievous simply tells the crew to keep the ship in orbit before leaving the vessel ; during the flagship ' s crash - landing the Neimoidians are shown fleeing the bridge , apparently alive and well . The Jedi ' s Council ruling . The novelization elaborates on the events of the Jedi Council ' s decision to nominate Anakin to spy on Palpatine that were originally only alluded to in the film . Specifically , they discussed the rare opportunity Palpatine unintentionally presented to them to have Anakin keep tabs on the Supreme Chancellor to see his doings . Obi - Wan is shown to explicitly be against the decision , because he knows Anakin is not the type to simply do what he ' s told ( due to his own personal experience with Anakin ) , and because Anakin ' s not the type to hide his emotions ( also citing this is exactly the same reason why the Council ruled against having him promoted to Jedi Master ) , which consequentially also made Anakin very honest and fiercely loyal , also citing that it carried the risk of utterly destroying his and Palpatine ' s friendship throughout the years , which would have been too great especially if it turned out the Supreme Chancellor was confirmed innocent . However , Obi - Wan ended up out - voted and reluctantly submitted to the decision . The scene also implies that the Jedi Council had ulterior motives to their having Anakin specifically spy on the Supreme Chancellor besides simply concern for the Republic ' s well being , as Mace Windu cited that trying to sabotage Anakin ' s friendship with Palpatine to ensure Anakin remained distant from the Supreme Chancellor was the best reason for making Anakin their spy . The sequence also revealed that , at least during Obi - Wan ' s brief time among the Council , the Jedi Council ' s more prone to entering arguments over what to do than actually entering communion with the Force to reach a decision as various Jedi Masters have reportedly done since before the return of the Sith . The departure of the Separatist Council . In the film , Obi - Wan overhears Grievous briefing the Separatist Council about their new hideaway on Mustafar before they depart in front of Kenobi ' s eyes . In the book , the Council departs days before Kenobi ' s arrival . Grievous witnesses them frightfully scurry onto their starship . In addition , Nute Gunray stays behind for a few minutes to discuss the safety of the Council and financial problems of himself and the other Confederacy leaders before departing . Immediately after , Grievous is contacted by Sidious as in the film . The Battle of Kashyyyk . The Battle of Kashyyyk is completely absent from the novel . Luminara Unduli , Quinlan Vos , Chewbacca , Tarfful , and Commander Gree do not appear , nor are they mentioned . The book does explain why Yoda went to Kashyyyk in the first place , however : it was an attempt to lure Darth Sidious out of hiding . Palpatine was allegedly manipulating the Jedi into isolating Anakin from his two closest mentors — Obi - Wan and Yoda — before tempting him with the power of the dark side . Palpatine tests Anakin ' s thirst for power . Palpatine offers to give Anakin anything he wants . At first , Anakin wonders if the Chancellor is only playing a childish game with him . He wishes for a new speeder , although this was probably meant as a test of how serious Palpatine was being at the time . Palpatine asks if this is all he wishes , and the ' game ' escalates until Corellia is mentioned . Sidious asks him if he wishes only the planet or the entire system . Anakin told him he wanted the whole system . The point of this game is to strengthen Palpatine ' s assertion that the Jedi hold Anakin back , and that he must choose for himself ( a Sith idea , as it focuses only on what " he " wants ) what he desires , " letting himself out , " as Palpatine puts it . It also represents the length to which Palpatine is willing to go for his future apprentice ; it is clear that he would , in fact , have given Anakin the entire Corellian sector had he so desired . The arrest of the Chancellor . In the novelization , Mace Windu contacted Yoda once more " after " learning the truth of Palpatine ' s identity , sanctioning his upcoming decision and action with the approval of the Grand Master of the Jedi Order . The novelization stated that Darth Sidious could indeed sense the approach of the four Jedi Masters , as well as the emotional turmoil of Anakin Skywalker , who was still waiting in the Council Chamber . The novel also described Palpatine ' s preparations for the upcoming duel in detail , including how he recovered his Sith lightsaber and prepared an audio recording . The Jedi cornered the Dark Lord , trying to stop his escape . Sidious sprang into action quickly . During the duel , Saesee Tiin was beheaded when Sidious tricked him and caught him off guard . Agen Kolar was then impaled through the head by Sidious ' s lightsaber . In the movie , Kolar dies first ( effectively making him the first victim of the Great Jedi Purge ) , followed by Tiin with a slash at the side , and although both die of different lightsaber markings , Tiin is not beheaded , and Kolar was slain from a chest wound . Kit Fisto and Mace Windu , who survive due to their prowess , take the Chancellor on in a final attempt to make him stand down . Anakin Skywalker , recognizing the consequences of what he did by revealing Palpatine , rushed to the Chancellor ' s office . Shaak Ti stood in his way and tried to convince Anakin not to go , but Anakin rudely refused to obey the Jedi Master . As he arrived , he witnessed the epic battle between Kit Fisto , Mace Windu , and Sidious by hovering his speeder outside Palpatine ' s office window . He could not yet determine who the combatants were , seeing only their lightsabers . Kit Fisto was decapitated shortly after Skywalker caught sight of the duel . When his green blade flickered out , Skywalker smashed the window to Palpatine ' s private office and leaped through . There , he found the dead body of Kolar and the heads of Saesee Tiin and Kit Fisto ( who was also only slashed in the movie ) . Anakin was able to watch the epic lightsaber duel between Windu and Sidious for some time , instead of arriving just in time when the Jedi knocked down Sidious in the movie . Mace Windu could sense the approach of Anakin through the Force before he broke the office window , so it was reasonable for Darth Sidious to have the same experience . When the fight moved to the ledge , Mace described sensing Sidious ' s momentary hesitation as the Sith Lord decreased his speed . Whether it was an intentional trick on the part of Sidious or whether Windu truly out - sparred the Sith Lord is confirmed in neither the movie nor the novel . Mace confessed , however , that Vaapad could not overpower the Sith Lord , and it was his shatterpoint ability which allowed him to gain the upper hand . In the book , Mace Windu did not kick Sidious ' s jaw , and he sliced the Chancellor ' s weapon in half rather than knocking it from his grasp . It should be noted that in actuality , this would be impossible without the shatterpoint ability , as the casing of Palpatine ' s lightsaber is built out of lightsaber - resistant Phrik alloy . When Mace held Sidious at blade point , he explained to the Sith Lord why Darth Sidious and his shadowy order always lose : because they were always defeated by their own fear . Sidious countered by screaming " Fool ! Do you think the fear you feel is mine ? " instead of " No ! No ! ! NO ! ! ! YOU WILL DIE ! ! ! " and blasted the Jedi Master with Force lightning . In the fight , Mace Windu realized that Sidious ' s shatterpoint was Anakin Skywalker himself . When Anakin approached Mace , who was struggling to deflect the lightning blasts , Mace sensed that Sidious did not fear Anakin at all , and that the Sith Lord would make no move to defend himself . Mace concluded that this was the shatterpoint of the Sith , and the absolute shatterpoint of the dark side itself . Ultimately , when Mace was betrayed by Anakin and blasted by Darth Sidious , his last thought before plummeting to his death was the shocking realization that although Anakin Skywalker indeed was the shatterpoint of Darth Sidious , he forgot to look for the shatterpoint of Anakin " himself " : his desire to save his wife at any cost . Order 66 . Order 66 was described in a few short sentences , with no mention being given of any specific Jedi ' s death or identifying any clone commander who executed the order . However , Cody does remark that he wishes he had been told about the order " before " he gave Obi - Wan back his lightsaber . Only Obi - Wan ' s scene was the same as seen in the movie , except for the fact that Cody ordered more than one AT - TE to fire at Kenobi . Yoda ' s case was not described either , and he next appears when he meets Obi - Wan on board the " Tantive IV " . When Darth Vader arrives in the Jedi Temple with the 501st , it is described how he killed some Jedi , including the gatemaster Jurokk . In the book , Matthew Stover provided the reasons why the Clone Wars were being fought in the first place , describing them as " the perfect Jedi trap , " a concept introduced earlier in the novel as Obi - Wan arrives on Utapau . This is the first account of the full extent of Sidious ' s plotting . The return to the Jedi Temple . The novel better described how Obi - Wan and Yoda avoided attention in the Temple . Cin Drallig is mentioned as Obi - Wan ' s fencing instructor ; after seeing his corpse lying on the ground . Obi - Wan is mortified at the fact that Anakin could do such a thing , but he must let go of his attachments . Slaughter of the Separatist Council . The mission to Mustafar is depicted somewhat differently in the novel than in the movie . In the film , Nute Gunray greets Vader before the massacre begins . In the novelization , San Hill greets Vader before being killed . In addition , all those depicted dying in the novel ( except Poggle the Lesser , due to a language barrier ) speak , whereas only Nute Gunray speaks in the film . The leaders also die in a different order from in the film : San Hill , Poggle the Lesser , Shu Mai , Wat Tambor , Rune Haako , and finally a pleading - for - life Nute Gunray , each of which have their last words before dying . Passel Argente and Po Nudo are not depicted dying in the novel , while both are seen running from Vader and being sliced down shortly after in the film . None of the aides beside Rune Haako are mentioned either and neither is Senator Tikkes . Anakin is depicted as enjoying killing the council members in the book and savoring each death , but in the movie Anakin is shown to be cold and full of hate . Emperor Palpatine vs . Yoda duel . In the novel , it became clear that Darth Sidious was indeed superior to Yoda in lightsaber combat . Yoda also realized that the Jedi Order mistakenly focused on fighting the old Sith rather than the new , evolved Sith of Darth Bane ' s order . Yoda described that " he had lost before he started . He had lost before he was born . " However , he was able to learn a new insight " which held the hope of the galaxy " during the battle . In the book , Yoda entered the Chancellor ' s holding office from a different direction , so the Royal Guards did not attempt to stop him and Mas Amedda left the office before any exchange was made . In the novel , Palpatine is happy that Yoda has arrived , because he now has the chance to kill the famed Jedi himself ; he cherishes the chance to battle his foe , and even greets him with a " Happy Empire Day ! " upon Yoda ' s entry . In the film , Palpatine tries to escape and only fights when Yoda allows him no other option . Yoda deflects Palpatine ' s Force lightning to blast the guards into unconsciousness rather than being knocked across the office . But then Sidious increases its power , and Yoda goes unconscious . Yoda knocks Palpatine to the floor with his physical body instead of a Force push . Palpatine and Yoda then move to sabers . They ignite their weapons and have a vicious lightsaber duel . Unlike the film , which had a classic saber duel between the two masters , the novel describes them as trading kicks and blows as well as Palpatine using his lightning . The saber duel is on ground , but then goes on the podium into the Senate , just as the movie shows . The two opponents then hurl Senate pods at each other , just like in the movie . However , in the movie , both Yoda and Palpatine use the Force to hurl the pods , whereas in the novel , one uses the Force and the other uses the controls . Palpatine and Yoda then proceed to have a lightning battle as in the movie . At the end of the battle , the lightning energy ball does not explode . Sidious leaps safely to a nearby podium , and the Grand Master follows . At this point , Yoda is " out " of Force energy . Palpatine turns around and blasts Yoda , who is still in the air , back against another podium ; Yoda then falls to the bottom of the Senate Chamber . Palpatine himself was not knocked over by any blast , but he was described as " a very old , very tired man " after the epic battle . Palpatine could not direct the search for Yoda as he hurried to rescue Darth Vader , but he told the clones to destroy the whole building if they had to . Obi - Wan vs . Darth Vader duel . The duel is shorter than it is in the movie , as the novel focuses more on the duelers ' emotions rather than on the details of the battle itself . The book has addressed the famous " Obi - Wan ' s interchanging lightsaber " issue when he was choked by Vader . The way Vader loses his limbs is the same , but the dialogue is reversed , from " I hate you " followed by " You were my brother Anakin , I loved you " to having Obi - Wan speak first . The feelings of Vader . The book discloses more about Anakin ' s feelings as he is locked into the armor , both about the suit itself and about other recent events : his feelings for certain people ( such as Padmé and Obi - Wan ) , his anger towards Obi - Wan for trying to turn Padmé against him , and his anger at Obi - Wan leaving him to die . While the film gives the audience a glimpse of Anakin / Vader ' s feelings about the death of his wife , the book shows such things in more depth , and shows his regret , his disbelief , and his sorrow at losing not only his wife , but his child . Next generation . Next in the book are the birth of the Skywalkers and other matters . Little was changed in the ending in the novelization , although more was revealed about Yoda ' s thoughts of what went wrong with the Jedi Order and his ability to communicate with a deceased Qui - Gon Jinn . One noteworthy change regards the future of the twins : Bail Organa offers to take Leia not really believing there is any chance of success , and becomes somewhat sheepish when Obi - Wan and Yoda agree to it . Canonicity . From its publication in 2005 until the canon reboot in 2014 , this book , like all other novelizations , was considered part of the Expanded Universe and classified as C - canon . However , Matthew Stover stated in 2006 that George Lucas was closely involved in its editing : Even before the 2014 decision to declare most material from the Expanded Universe ( rebranded as " Star Wars " Legends ) noncanon , later material from " " contradicted certain elements of the novelization . For example , the novelization depicted Yoda speaking with Qui - Gon Jinn seemingly for the first time since Jinn became a Force ghost , whereas an arc in the sixth season of " The Clone Wars " showed Yoda being summoned to Dagobah by Jinn ' s ghost and directed to the Force Priestesses for training . Cover gallery . This is a gallery of the different cover variations of the " Star Wars Episode III : Revenge of the Sith " novelization .