This Book ROTS!

Or perhaps, more accurately, "this book: ROTS."
I am referring, of course, to the fabulous (if unfortunately acronymed*) novelization by Matthew Stover of the equally unfortunately acronymed, but not quite as fabulous film, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

What's the point of a novelization? You've seen the film, and you aren't one of those "crazies" who argues about the length of Super Star Destroyers on the Jedi Council Forums. You don't have a compulsive urge to soak up everything extant about your favorite fantasy/sci-fi worlds (or galaxies), just the highlights, the best parts; and even then, only once. You don't feel a need to read the Thrawn Trilogy and the graphic novel adaptation. Or maybe you don't even know what that is. Maybe you don't have a favorite fantasy or sci-fi world. Maybe you just enjoy occasionally sitting down on the sofa, relaxing, while lightsabers are swung and familial ties are revealed.
Wherever you fall in this spectrum, you still should pick this book up.
Stover delivers the story in an incredibly unique way. He is willing to use occasional second person, or monologues, and create a depth and richness beyond what the film shows. And it features the most chilling use of the "a long time ago..." opening possible. Seriously, the whole opening segment is pure gold, and ought to be enough to convince you regardless of my praise (see below). And the interludes between each part, describing the Darkness, building towards a climax at the very last page...I won't spoil it for you.
While doing all this, he isn't slavishly devoted to the film's portrayal of events, showing every scene and every line. He follows the story, of course, but in a unique way, focusing mostly on the paths of Obi-Wan and especially Anakin as the galaxy collapses around them. The subplot with Yoda on Kashyyyk, for example, is not present from the novel, falling outside the scope of the events. Stover establishes clearer motivations for the characters, not contradicting the filmic portrayal, but expanding upon it. He brings a power and an emotion to the work, bringing me close to tears at a few points. And he carefully weaves in the tales of the Expanded Universe of books, comics, and games. EU knowledge is totally unnecessary for understanding the book, but as one discovers more in the EU, it enriches the reading experience.
This is the (very) rare novelization (as opposed to a novel adapted for screen) that truly enhances the experience of the films.
If you are interested in learning more about the world outside the Star Wars films, but don't want to jump into the wider EU just yet, this book is a great starting point.

(It should be noted that I am not one of the fans who praises Stover's every Star Wars work, and indeed I am not particularly impressed with his entry in the NJO series.)

Caveat Emptor: Be sure you aren't getting the junior novelization, which fulfills every trope of a standard novelization. (Psst. It's the smaller one which doesn't say Matthew Stover in the byline.)
It's also available in an omnibus form as "The Dark Lord Trilogy," along with two novels by James Luceno, which, though enjoyable, are neither necessary or of quite the same quality as the novelization.


Appended are links to readings of the prelude and introduction. (Blogger's embedding is failing me.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBX4Uatu17Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhO89OtrXOs

*Of course, this fandom also has a novel with the acronym SW:EAR:HAT, so...