Various Star Wars Backstory Books
If you've hung around here for any amount of time, you have probably learned that I am a Star Wars nerd. I've always been a Star Wars nerd, ever since I was a little girl and my dad took me to see the redone editions in the theater, but it sort of became background for a while there. Then The Force Awakens opened and I spiraled once again into the joyous heavenly heights of "OMG SO MANY STAR WARS BOOKS TO REAAAAAAD." Some of which only nerds would read. Here are four of those, all written by Daniel Wallace.
The Jedi Path: Actually pretty fun! The Jedi Path is essentially a manual for would-be Jedi (presumably at about Padawan age, since before that the prose would be a little impenetrable for little baby Jedi) with personal commentary from various Jedi. It is at its heart an extended, hundred and sixty page piece of worldbuilding, and yet it's compulsively readable with some pretty spectacular illustrations. Plus the commentary is pretty gold, especially Palpatine being hilariously passive-aggressively judgmental. I enjoyed myself quite a bit. I would not recommend it for anyone not already pretty into Star Wars, though. Definitely not a good starting place for anyone.
Book of Sith: Like The Jedi Path, Book of Sith (no the) is an extended piece of worldbuilding, but quite readable and well-illustrated. Unlike The Jedi Path, Book of Sith isn't a single coherent piece of work. This book's conceit is that Palpatine collected a bunch of random Sith archives and bound them together to give to, I believe, Darth Vader. Again, various people comment in the margins; Palpatine's hilariously passive-aggressive judgmental notes are again the best, although Luke "Human Ray of Sunshine" Skywalker also writes little appalled and disappointed notes that make me smile. Still not a good starting place, but a must-read for the Star Wars nerd.
The Bounty Hunter Code: This isn't, strictly speaking, a single text either. Boba Fett has apparently bound the Bounty Hunter's Guild Handbook and a Death Watch recruiting pamphlet his father left him. It's another worldbuilding book, this one rescued somewhat by hilariously snarky text in the Bounty Hunter's Handbook. The commentary is less funny than the others. I think it lacks Palpatine's hilarity. However, Bossk is pretty good, and no one respects Greedo. Entertaining, but not my favorite.
Imperial Handbook: This is my least favorite of the "extended worldbuilding" books. For one thing, there's not a lot of commentary. Some, from various rebel leaders, is pretty hysterical: I especially liked the commentary on the "top ten most wanted" page, where at least one person was ribbing another for not being on the page, and another for being below someone else. The rest of it goes into the organization of the Imperial armed forces in exhausting detail. I mean, if you really enjoy the machines and gadgets of Star Wars, you'll like this book, but if you're more interested in the people and interactions, this is probably not for you.
Anyway. I'm a nerd, these were great, and I had fun. I wouldn't recommend them for anyone who's not actually a Star Wars nerd, but if you are, you'll probably enjoy yourself too.
This entry is crossposted at http://bookblather.dreamwidth.org/391240.html. Please comment over there if possible.
The Jedi Path: Actually pretty fun! The Jedi Path is essentially a manual for would-be Jedi (presumably at about Padawan age, since before that the prose would be a little impenetrable for little baby Jedi) with personal commentary from various Jedi. It is at its heart an extended, hundred and sixty page piece of worldbuilding, and yet it's compulsively readable with some pretty spectacular illustrations. Plus the commentary is pretty gold, especially Palpatine being hilariously passive-aggressively judgmental. I enjoyed myself quite a bit. I would not recommend it for anyone not already pretty into Star Wars, though. Definitely not a good starting place for anyone.
Book of Sith: Like The Jedi Path, Book of Sith (no the) is an extended piece of worldbuilding, but quite readable and well-illustrated. Unlike The Jedi Path, Book of Sith isn't a single coherent piece of work. This book's conceit is that Palpatine collected a bunch of random Sith archives and bound them together to give to, I believe, Darth Vader. Again, various people comment in the margins; Palpatine's hilariously passive-aggressive judgmental notes are again the best, although Luke "Human Ray of Sunshine" Skywalker also writes little appalled and disappointed notes that make me smile. Still not a good starting place, but a must-read for the Star Wars nerd.
The Bounty Hunter Code: This isn't, strictly speaking, a single text either. Boba Fett has apparently bound the Bounty Hunter's Guild Handbook and a Death Watch recruiting pamphlet his father left him. It's another worldbuilding book, this one rescued somewhat by hilariously snarky text in the Bounty Hunter's Handbook. The commentary is less funny than the others. I think it lacks Palpatine's hilarity. However, Bossk is pretty good, and no one respects Greedo. Entertaining, but not my favorite.
Imperial Handbook: This is my least favorite of the "extended worldbuilding" books. For one thing, there's not a lot of commentary. Some, from various rebel leaders, is pretty hysterical: I especially liked the commentary on the "top ten most wanted" page, where at least one person was ribbing another for not being on the page, and another for being below someone else. The rest of it goes into the organization of the Imperial armed forces in exhausting detail. I mean, if you really enjoy the machines and gadgets of Star Wars, you'll like this book, but if you're more interested in the people and interactions, this is probably not for you.
Anyway. I'm a nerd, these were great, and I had fun. I wouldn't recommend them for anyone who's not actually a Star Wars nerd, but if you are, you'll probably enjoy yourself too.
This entry is crossposted at http://bookblather.dreamwidth.org/391240.html. Please comment over there if possible.