As it turns out, my fears were misplaced as "The Empire Striketh Back" turns out to be a solid read in its own right. It should come as no surprise as the source material has plenty of character fodder to work with. There's love, loss, shocking revelations, and betrayals. It gives Doescher a lot more meat to chew on in terms of dialogue and inner turmoil.
As the first "Shakespeare's Star Wars" book did for the first movie, this one follows the plot of "The Empire Strikes Back", but this goes a step further and explores characters who weren't given a whole lot to do. Boba Fett gets lines and is able to showcase his competence (not to mention his ruthlessness) to a greater extent (it will be interesting to see how Doescher reconciles this with what happens in Jedi), Lando's emotions about turning in Han are elaborated upon, and even one off aliens like the Wampa and space slug get some character development as they get a few lines before the plot moves on without them.
Honestly, I think those were the highlight for me. It adds a little extra incentive to those who have seen the movie dozens of times and aren't as pulled in by presenting the dialogue in a different style. It was rather amusing seeing beastly creatures using fancy speech patterns to implore the audience not to hate them too much as they were just looking for food. It gets taken to a rather ridiculous extreme when even the AT-AT walkers speak, but it is still an interesting and amusing addition.
I was a little perplexed at the scene where Vader speaks to the Emperor. It goes along the same lines, with Vader convincing his master that Luke Skywalker would be more valuable as an ally than as a target, but it also shows that Vader had no idea that Luke was his son. I kind of feel like he would have. I guess it depends on how common a name "Skywalker" is in this universe. You'd think that his connection to the force would have clued him in, but that's speculation on my part. It's a nitpick, but it stood out to me.
This book, more than the last, has a lot of soliloquies. The author notes that he did this as a way to convey action without having the chorus do it. It also adds to the aforementioned character development. It is Shakespearean, but can be frustrating at times as you want the characters to just get on with it already.
I also found the lines describing what the characters were doing to be a little odd. Again, it's true to the form that Doescher is emulating, but it doesn't sound natural.
As this is essentially just a script, the movie's major action beats fall flat. There's really nothing that can be done about that, but it does undercut some of the movie's set pieces like the battle on Hoth or the duel between Luke and Vader. The best you can do is imagine the scenes from the movie in your head as you read the lines of dialogue. There are some well done illustrations peppered throughout the book, which helps to some extent, but it still only captures a fraction of what happens.
If you liked the first book, I think you'll enjoy this. It does kick things up a notch and changes things up enough that it doesn't come off like a rehash. If you weren't crazy about the first book, I don't know if this will do enough to sway you. Even if you are of the opinion that "Empire" is the best of the trilogy, if you weren't feeling the bardic style before, than this probably won't change your mind.
I, myself, enjoyed it. It's a quick read and an interesting interpretation of a beloved series of movies. I could see these books as being helpful tools either at home or in school to help get kids into Shakespeare's style. Younger kids who are still new could get something of a primer that would prepare them for when they dive into his own plays. I'm getting ahead of myself, though. Long story short (too late), this was a fun read. If you like Star Wars, Shakespeare, or both; I think you'll get a kick out of this book.
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