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Has anyone got this book? Is it any good, or is it crap? I have every DK SW (i.e. the three Visual Dictionaries and the three ICS) book except for the ITW series (I missed my chance to buy the AOTC ITW), purchasing all of them back in 2002, when they release them all for purchase everytime a new film comes out. I'll definitely get the OT ITW, AOTC ITW and ROTS ITW, but should I bother with TPM?

Of course. Think of how much valuable information is contained within TPM, and knowledge about the Gungan cities is incredibly insightful. Who wouldn't want a piece of it?

If you despise TPM, I suppose you might not want to bother. Personally, I find that the more virulent hatred for TPM tends to correlate closely with childless fanboys who want it to be a more "macho" film and less geared toward kids.

I just thought the writing and a lot of the acting wasn't too hot. But it was still interesting.

Darth Wong wrote:If you despise TPM, I suppose you might not want to bother. Personally, I find that the more virulent hatred for TPM tends to correlate closely with childless fanboys who want it to be a more "macho" film and less geared toward kids.

Well, I did get the TPM VD and ICS (too bad the latter was before Dr Saxton was on board, but D W Reynolds did a fine job on the OT ICS anyway, except for "Imperial-class") and they were interesting enough, but is the information in the ITW interesting/ accurate/ well-thought out?

A good example would be those force-fields in the duel scene. How do they explain that one?

I have the TPM ITW. The art is on par with all of the other DK releases. However, the text is another matter entirely. The book was written before Saxton became involved with the series, so a lot of the explanations for phenomena and technology is nonsensical. For example, it claims that Naboo's underground caverns are the result of "movements of unstable plasmic energy". But, technical inaccuracies are unsurprising when the author was someone with a BA in philosophy and theater.

Another problem for myself was that I didn't find many of the locations in TPM all that interesting. I bought the TPM ITW simply because I'm a completist.

It's an OK book but IMO, nowhere as interesting as the other ICS and ITW books.

It's pretty cool, but obviously not as good as the Saxton books.

As for the force fields, this is the explanation:

ItWoEI wrote:Laser doors lock into position in response to potentially lethal power outputs that occur intermittently during plasma activation process

It also says:

Attesting to the Naboo respect for tradition, the number of laser doors is a deliberate reference to an ancient Naboo legend, in which Chaos is held back by six impenetrable gates

So yeah, the technical stuff is mostly garbled and retarded, but it's got some great pics, with some interesting things such as offices in the Republic Senate, an overview of the Naboo plains battle, overview of the city of Theed, and my favorite, a map of the Boonta Eve Classic podrace (incl. times and average speeds of the finishers - Anakin had an avg. speed of 858 kph).

I'm thinking of ordering this one online to complete my ITW collection. Could someone with the book post the index, just so I have an idea of what is detailed within the book?

Contents

The Galaxy - 5
Naboo - 6
Naboo Locations - 8
Otoh Gunga - 10
Droid Control Ship - 12
Theed Hangar - 14
Tatooine - 16
Mos Espa - 18
Watto's Junkshop - 20
Anakin's Hovel - 22
Mos Espa Arena - 24
Mos Espa Circuit - 28
Coruscant - 30
Galactic City - 32
Galactic Senate - 34
Jedi Temple - 36
The Invasion of Naboo - 38
Defense of Naboo - 40
Grass Plains Battle - 42
Generator Battle - 44
The City of THeed - 46
Acknowledgements - 48

I also own it. It's rather nice, but like others have said, isn't as good as the AotC ITW.

*snip index*

The Mos Espa Arena is the gatefold.

EDIT: Damn you, Robert. And damn my slow typing, too...

Wow, beat you by a matter of seconds.

Oh, and a nitpick from a nitpicking nerd: this is a table of contents, rather than an index. None of the SW ITW or ICS books have indices.

Darth Wong wrote:If you despise TPM, I suppose you might not want to bother. Personally, I find that the more virulent hatred for TPM tends to correlate closely with childless fanboys who want it to be a more "macho" film and less geared toward kids.

Wait, isn't that all SW fans then who aren't either kids themselves or who have "in the spirit of joyful youth embraced my inner child and accept what Lucas gives me with happiness"?


PS: A guy can love macho films and also like "kid films" if he's nostalgic about them or likes to watch them with his offspring. I don't see a contradiction there.

I rather enjoy TPM quite a bit. I'm not much a fan of Jake Lloyd, though, and I think he does the most damage to it.

Hell, I even like Jar Jar...

Spanky The Dolphin wrote: Hell, I even like Jar Jar...

Travesty! Quick, someone hold him down, it's not too late to save him from the LFL brainwashing!

I don't want a macho SW film, I want a film that neither panders to children nor is unwatchable for children. Like ANH or ESB.

[edit]And I just used a big fat double negative!