The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (Hardcover)

by Stephen J. Sansweet (Author), Pablo Hidalgo (Author), Bob Vitas (Author), Daniel Wallace (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best of the Month, December 2008: Updated for the first time in 10 years, The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia is the closest fans will come to having access to the great Holocron from the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. Housed in a sturdy slipcase, the illustrated, three-volume hardcover set holds an A-Z overview of all things Star Wars--from the original trilogy and the prequels to the expanded universe of novels, comics, cartoons, and video games. Most entries on the three-column pages garner a few sentences while core characters and fan favorites like the family Fett spill over to multiple pages of data. As fans know, nearly everyone who appeared onscreen in the films has gone on to receive an entire backstory, but even die-hard fans will delight in the discoveries found on every page. Random, Magic 8 Ball-style browsing brought up head-scratchers like Malarian Alliance, Traest Kre'fey, Rybet, Lieutenant Colf, Guun Han Saresh, bruise-leech crawler, and Ion Alley. And did you know that the bug-eyed alien "dog" in Jabba's palace on Tatooine had a name--"Bubo"--and was in fact a spy and an assassin? According to Yoda, "size matters not," but this 10-pound box set will make a welcome addition to the serious Star Wars fan's bookshelf. --Brad Thomas Parsons

Product Description
THE DEFINITIVE REFERENCE GUIDE TO A SPACE FANTASY PHENOMENON


The Star Wars universe, much like our own, is constantly expanding. In the ten years since the publication of the Star Wars Encyclopedia, a lot has happened in that galaxy far, far away: four new feature films, a host of official original novels, comics, video games, and more. Now, thirty years of information on all things Star Wars–ranging from science and technology to history and geography, culture and biography to ecology and cosmology–has been supplemented with an entire decade’s worth of all-new material. Abundantly illustrated with full-color artwork and photos, and now in a new three-volume edition to accommodate its wealth of detailed entries, the Star Wars Encyclopedia encompasses the full measure of George Lucas’s creation.

Here’s just a sampling of what’s inside:
• character portraits of both the renowned (Luke Skywalker, Queen Amidala, Darth Vader) and the obscure (Tnun Bdu, Tycho Celchu, Bib Fortuna)
• the natives and customs of planets as diverse as Tatooine and Hoth, Dagobah and Kashyyyk
• the rituals, secrets, and traditions of Jedi Knights and Sith Lords
• a timeline of major events in Star Wars history, from the Clone Wars and the inception of the Empire to the rise and fall of Anakin Skywalker and the invasion of the monstrous Yuuzhan Vong

Scrupulously researched and written by leading authorities Stephen J. Sansweet, Pablo Hidalgo, Bob Vitas, and Daniel Wallace, this landmark work is the must-have centerpiece of every Star Wars library.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1224 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; Updated edition (December 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345477634
• ISBN-13: 978-0345477637
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 9 x 3.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,280 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rather Up To Date though a few gripes, December 9, 2008

By	Brian Pletcher (Indiana) - See all my reviews

Just got this today First opinion is that it's nearly on par with the previous edition. The book covers All 6 movies gives a general overview of the Clone Wars. Then goes up to the last Legacy book Revelation along with a general overview of the Legacy era happening in the Dark Horse Comics that's still ongoing.

At 1200+ pages the information is amazing though some of the pictures they included are recycled images from the previous edition of the Encyclopedia. My main gripe is the fact they'll give a entry but unlike the last edition there are no refrences in the Enclyclopedia tracing back to the orginal source like the previous version did.

Other than that very impressed at the price from Amazon and compared to what we paid for the orginal the book was well worth it and a great addition to the refrence people who want a physical book to go back to. Otherwise I'd refrence to the online encyclopedia that theforce.net hosts.

This being an add on to my review now that I've had the opportunity to give the books a solid look through. All the above I hold to. Though this refrence runs into the same issue that you'd expect from a series that is ever expanding. You can get the hint at what point in the series where the authors got there sources on things that are ongoing.

A few of the entries seemed to go on and just abrubtly hit the brakes and end right there while other entries don't go into enough detail. The most notable locations of history and character development that are glossed over that I wish would have got more of an explanation are the Legacy (Dark Horse Comics current ongoing series based 130 aby) and the Force Unleashed storyline.

The Force Unleashed seemed to be lacking the most. Character acomplishments of Galen (The Apprentice) seemed to have been thrown in just so the authors could say they covered all up to date Star Wars info. The history behind PROXY, Galen, and Juno seemed to be very lacking. The largest missing peice would be these character's parts in forming the Rebel Alliance. While it's mentioned breifly here and there no details are really explored. Galen's family crest being the symbol of the Rebel Alliance for example. Mentioned in a short sentence in an odd ball refrence but nothing about Galen's part in the history ofthe Rebel Alliance.

But still overall I have to say I like this. The books are worthy of the rating I gave of 4 stars. My gripes are probably little details but I guess you can say I have a deep love for Star Wars.

The book does have alot of odd entries little items you'd not think of and if you know someone that loves the Star Wars Expanded Universe this is worth picking up.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal Star Wars resource, December 31, 2008

By	Filimon Teodor-Mihai "http://teodorfilimon.com" (Romania) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I'm a big Star Wars fan; i'm only at the letter F right now (looking at the pictures and some of the interesting entries) and i already found out so many cool things i didn't know about. There was obviously a great amount of work that went into this. Illustrations are everywhere, and there are also maps, timelines and more... Btw, i found the quality of the print exceptional. No doubt, if i had to choose i'd definitely buy it again.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Finding your way around the Star Wars universe..., January 26, 2009

By	Lewis P. Morley "robofan" (Sydney Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It seems Star Wars has been with us almost forever.
I saw the first film while still at college and dreaming of a career as a visual effects model maker.
Eventually I suceeded, inspired strongly by the imagination of George Lucas and the technicians who visualised his visions.
As a fanboy made good, some of my personal dreams were realised when, almost twenty years on, I finally worked as a props maker on the last two Star Wars movies.
However, as keen as I was about these films, I knew almost nothing about the expanded universe of novels, comics and other media that has grown up in the same period.

That is where this book becomes really useful. There is a lot more to Star Wars than just the movies and this encyclopedia provides easy to find information and lots of illustrations, photos and art that all help to explain the imagined worlds of a Galaxy far far away.

Handsomely bound in three volumes inside a robust slipcase that feels like it will last for years, this will become my essential reference for all future forays into that galaxy far, far away...

My only complaint is the gloss orange and matte black book covers, which although graphically stunning, show even the faintest fingerprint!
This is one edition you may want to read while wearing gloves!