While I have some serious issues with The Phantom Menace as a film, I found that this novelization of the story was amazing. Much better than the movie, in fact. Brooks did an excellent job of giving the reader an insight into the thoughts and personality of the characters. For me, I think, being able to read and formulate images in my mind was much preferable to the over-used CGI of the film, and the conversations felt much more natural without the poor acting that also plagues the movie. I was pleasantly surprised by this novel, and very glad that Terry Brooks was able to take the story of The Phantom Menace and expand upon it in a phenomenal way.