Star Wars Episode I : The Phantom Menace ( novel ) The " Star Wars Episode I : The Phantom Menace " novelization was written by Terry Brooks and published on April 21 , 1999 by Del Rey . It is based on the script of the . Narration for the abridged audio version was performed by Michael Cumpsty . The unabridged version was performed by Alexander Adams . On January 31 , 2012 , a new paperback edition was released with a new short story , " End Game " , by James Luceno featured inside . Publisher ' s summary . Hardcover . A long time ago in a galaxy far , far away , an evil legacy long believed dead is stirring . Even the Jedi are caught by surprise , their attentions focused on the political unrest between the Trade Federation and the Republic . Now the dark side of the Force threatens to overwhelm the light , and only an ancient Jedi prophecy stands between hope and doom for the entire galaxy . " On the desert world of Tatooine , far from the concerns for the Republic , a slave boy works by day and dreams by night — of being a Jedi Knight and one day traveling the stars to worlds he ' s only heard of in stories … of finding a way to win freedom from enslavement for himself and his beloved mother . His only hope lies in his extraordinary instincts and his strange gift for understanding the " rightness " of things , talents that allow him to be one of the best Podracers on the planet . " " In another part of the galaxy , the Jedi Knight Qui - Gon Jinn and his apprentice , young Obi - Wan Kenobi , are charged with the protection of the Amidala , the young Queen of Naboo , as she seeks to end the siege of her planet by Trade Federation warships . It is this quest that brings Qui - Gon , Obi - Wan , and the Queen ' s beautiful young handmaiden to the sand - swept streets of Tatooine and the shop where the slave boy Anakin Skywalker toils and dreams . And it is this unexpected meeting that marks the beginning of the drama that will become legend … " Paperback . A long time ago in a galaxy far , far away , an evil legacy long believed dead is stirring . Now the dark side of the Force threatens to overwhelm the light , and only an ancient Jedi prophecy stands between hope and doom for the entire galaxy . " The Jedi Knight Qui - Gon Jinn and his apprentice , young Obi - Wan Kenobi , are charged with the protection of Amidala , the young Queen of Naboo , as she seeks to end the siege of her planet by Trade Federation warships . This quest brings Qui - Gon , Obi - Wan , and one of the Queen ' s young handmaidens to the sand - swept streets of Tatooine and the shop where the slave boy Anakin Skywalker toils and dreams of finding a way to win freedom from enslavement for himself and his beloved mother . His only hope lies in his extraordinary instincts and his strange gift for understanding the " rightness " of things . It is this unexpected meeting that marks the beginning of the drama that will become legend . " Plot summary . Two Jedi knights , Qui - Gon Jinn and a young Obi - Wan Kenobi , along with a Gungan outcast named Jar Jar Binks , must help Queen Amidala save her world from the greedy Trade Federation . Along the way , they discover a young boy , named Anakin Skywalker , who has the potential to be a powerful Jedi himself . Jedi Knight Qui - Gon Jinn and his apprentice , Obi - Wan Kenobi , are dispatched to the planet of Naboo to settle a dispute between the Trade Federation and Queen Amidala . The Federation has blockaded Naboo in order to force them into signing an unfavorable trade agreement . Unknown to the galactic senate , the Federation has formed an alliance with Darth Sidious , a Lord of the Sith whose Order the Jedi thought to have been extinct for a millennia . Before negotiations even have a chance to start , the viceroy attempts to assassinate Qui - Gon and Obi - Wan , but the two Jedi manage to thwart this attempt . On board the Federation ' s main ship , they discover a droid invasion army . After escaping to the planet ' s surface , the two plan to warn Amidala of the approaching army . With the help of Jar Jar Binks , an outcast Gungan , they make their way to Queen Amidala ' s palace in the capital city of Theed . To avoid signing the treaty , Amidala escapes with Qui - Gon , Obi - Wan , Captain Panaka and Jar Jar Binks and heads to Coruscant , the galactic seat of government . Amidala intends to present her case to the Galactic senate . En route , they divert to the desert planet Tatooine for repairs to their damaged ship . At a salvage shop , Qui - Gon , Padmé ( Amidala in disguise ) , and Jar Jar meet Anakin Skywalker , a young slave boy . Watto , Anakin ' s master , refuses to sell the part Qui - Gon needs for Republic credits , and Qui - Gon must somehow raise money . As a sudden desert storm approaches , Anakin offers the group refuge at his home . Qui - Gon discovers Anakin possesses undeveloped Jedi abilities and believes he may be the Chosen One destined to return balance to the Force . He ' s further convinced when Anakin ' s mother , Shmi , says Anakin was conceived without a biological father . To help Qui - Gon get the part for the spaceship , Anakin offers to enter his own racer in a dangerous pod race . Qui - Gon bets Watto the Queen ' s space ship and the entire winner ' s purse against the part for the ship and Anakin ' s freedom . Greedy Watto accepts the bet , certain that Anakin will lose . Anakin wins and Watto reluctantly frees him . Wanting a better life for her son , Shmi allows Anakin to leave with Qui - Gon to become a Jedi . Qui - Gon and Obi - Wan are unaware they have been tracked to Tatooine by Darth Maul , a Sith Lord and Darth Sidious ' s apprentice . Maul attacks the group as they are about to take off , but they escape . On Coruscant , Qui - Gon reports the reemergence of the Sith to a skeptical Jedi Council . The council denies Qui - Gon ' s request to train Anakin as a Jedi , claiming he ' s too old , but Master Yoda has sensed something dangerous in him . Defiant , Qui - Gon says Anakin will be his padawan ( apprentice ) with or without the Council ' s approval . Meanwhile , Queen Amidala presents her case to the Senate . Senator Palpatine persuades her that Supreme Chancellor Valorum is a weak and ineffective leader . In fact , Valorum is attempting to aid Amidala but is stymied by a bureaucratic and increasingly corrupt senate . Urged by Palpatine , Amidala calls for a vote of no confidence against Valorum , and he is removed from office . Palpatine is nominated to replace him . Frustrated by the Senate ' s inaction , Amidala returns to Naboo accompanied by Qui - Gon , Panaka , Obi - Wan , Anakin , and Jar Jar . Once there , they meet with the remainder of the Gungans in their sacred place , after Jar Jar has searched Otoh Gunga . There , Padmé reveals herself as the true Amidala ( Sabé is her double ) and convinces the Gungans to fight with them against the Trade Federation . The Gungans create a diversionary battle in order for the Naboo underground movement to gain entry to the palace . They gain entry and attempt to reach the viceroy , who has taken cover in the throne room . On the way , the party is ambushed by Darth Maul , and the two Jedi engage in a battle , while Anakin and R2 - D2 take cover in a starfighter . He attempts to help Padmé by firing at droids that have also ambushed them . He inadvertently presses the power switch , which activates the autopilot to take him to the space battle to knock out the droid control ship . There is a heated battle in space which ends with Anakin destroying the control ship . Padmé reaches the viceroy in the throne room , but her party is captured by droidekas . Sabé arrives with a diversion , and the viceroy sends all troops after her , thinking that Padmé is a decoy . Padmé gets two blasters out of her throne and captures the viceroy . Meanwhile , the Jedi continue their duel with Maul , and go through many rooms and walkways , until they are separated by laser walls . Qui Gon and Maul get through and continue their duel , while Kenobi watches helplessly . Qui - Gon is eventually slain by Maul , and Kenobi continues the fight and almost defeats Maul before he is knocked into a plasma input chute . There , Maul attempts to knock him down , but Kenobi performs a Force jump out of the pit , summoning his master ' s lightsaber with his last remaining strength . He lands and cuts Maul in half . Qui - Gon ' s last wish is for Kenobi to train Anakin as a jedi . This wish is granted by Yoda at Qui - Gon ' s funeral , as well as making Kenobi a Jedi knight , seeing his killing of Darth Maul , a Sith lord , as a sufficient trial . Behind the scenes . This novelization , unlike those from the original trilogy , contains much that is not in the movie . It includes three entire chapters of material created by Terry Brooks and unique to the novel . The first two chapters of the book concern Anakin ' s next - to - last podrace and its aftermath , while a later chapter describes an encounter between Anakin and a wounded Tusken Raider in the desert . Brooks met with George Lucas before writing the book and received his approval and guidance , including information about developments to come in and . This can be seen in such passages as the Tusken Raider scene , which ironically foreshadows the death of Anakin ' s mother in Episode II , and the passage leading up to Anakin ' s fight with the Rodian child ( Greedo ) , indicating that Anakin ' s anger derives from his anguish at Padmé ' s impending departure ( foreshadowing the plot of Episode III ) . The novelization is especially well - known for a passage describing the history of the Sith , including Darth Bane . According to Terry Brooks ' memoir , " Sometimes the Magic Works : Lessons from a Writing Life " , Lucas spent an hour on the with him discussing the history of the Jedi and the Sith . Therefore , the information on this subject provided in Brooks ' novelization might derive from Lucas himself . Brooks devotes the entire fourteenth chapter of " Sometimes the Magic Works " to the writing of the Episode I novelization , which was an extremely happy and fulfilling experience for him . Cover gallery . This is a gallery of the different cover variations of " Star Wars Episode I : The Phantom Menace " novelization .