Verily, A New Hope

“A Fan-Fiction with an Old World Twist: William Shakespeare’s Star Wars. They did say Star Wars was was a space opera. So this is a perfect meshing.”

By G. P. Avants

Maybe this was an answer to prayer for Star Wars fans. The door for fan-fiction has swung open again allowing faithful fans to ply their creative trade. I was reminded of this while on vacation in Utah. One of my family’s favorite pastimes is finding old bookstores, the bigger and older, the better.

We found this store in the middle of town. Tons of great books, but one especially caught my eye. It was the Star Wars movie Episode IV A New Hope written in Shakespearian. Yes, you heard me right the story a great blending of the classic space opera with William Shakespeare dramatic pentameter. In my modest opinion, Verily A New Hope by Ian Doesher is a great new edition to Star Wars fandom.

Now, I wasn’t really a fan of Shakespeare growing up. Probably because I didn’t see the point of verbal repertoire. The light did finally brighten when I reached college age. To the be honest with you, I never read this style with as much interest until this adaptation. The author was a genius. The key to helping people crossover into a new genre is to start with the familiar territory.

I love that all the main characters have their own soliloquy even Darth Vader as they ponder their current situation. Even Artoo has dialog that reveals his motives and how much he has insight to the story at large. Could he be the narrator who has a bit of omniscience about the story and its character? The author believes so.

If you love Star Wars and want a deeper read on multiple levels of fan-fiction then Verily, A New Hope might just satisfy that sweet tooth for adventure. After reading this bard’s tale I found myself reaching for William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Of all the books I have ever read I can honestly say I haven’t hankered down to read anything from Shakespeare. I actually enjoyed it. I do want to thank the author for that not-so-sneaky hook with a Star Wars tale attached to get me interested in Shakespeare. Well played, my friend. Well played.

Great stories. Great fan-fiction for the ages. Could it get any better? Yeaaah! I turned to the back few pages and noticed that the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi have both been “Shakespeareified”! I know what I am asking for Christmas. Enjoy this fabulous fan-fiction and share it with those who enjoy two previously unrelated genres. See what happens.

May the force be with thee.