The Illustrated Star Wars Universe (Star Wars) (Paperback)

by Kevin J. Anderson (Author), Ralph Mcquarrie (Illustrator) "Two suns burn down on the planet Tatooine, rising and setting over the harsh desert landscape..." (more)
Key Phrases: swamp slug, moisture farmers, grass paintings, Cloud City, Dr'uun Unnh, Sand People (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In trade paper for the first time, this spectacular book takes readers to eight imaginative locales in the Star Wars universe, including the desert planet of Tatooine; Coruscant, the center of the Empire; Hoth, the ice world; Dagobah, swampy home of Yoda; the forest moon of Endor; and Alderaan, home world of Princess Leia. Illustrations, many in color. BDD ONLINE feature.

From the Publisher
A stunning journey, in words and pictures, to eight of the fantastic worlds in the Star Wars(r) universe.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (September 2, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553374842
• ISBN-13: 978-0553374841
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #540,581 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining travel guide to the Star Wars galaxy....., April 12, 2004

By	Alex Diaz-Granados "fardreaming writer" (Miami, FL United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Take the artistic talents of acclaimed production artist Ralph McQuarrie and the writing skills of prolific author Kevin J. Anderson (The Jedi Academy Trilogy) and you get The Illustrated Star Wars Universe, a coffee table book that gives readers a glimpse of the various planets showcased in George Lucas' original Star Wars Trilogy (1977-83).

Using McQuarrie's production sketches and paintings for A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and other Lucasfilm projects (including the Endor-based television specials of the mid-1980s plus preliminary sketches for the 1997 Special Edition updates), Anderson takes readers on a grand tour of the most important planets seen in the Luke Skywalker/Darth Vader half of the Star Wars Saga. Starting with Tatooine, the desert world that is the home world to both Anakin Skywalker and his son Luke and ending with Alderaan, the planet where Princess Leia was hidden from her father and was doomed to be destroyed by the Death Star, eight planets are described in individual chapters, each told not by one omniscient narrator but by eight different observers, each with his or her point of view and/or political agenda.

For instance, while the chapter on Tatooine is an anthropologist's dispassionate and scientific report on the desert planet's hostile environment and its hardy inhabitants (ranging from the nomadic and hostile Tusken Raiders and scavenging Jawas to the resilient human moisture farmers and their homesteads), the description of Coruscant, the massive city-planet which was once the seat of power of the Old Republic and is the capital of Emperor Palpatine's Galactic Empire, is a pro-Imperial propaganda article authored by Pollus Hax, the Emperor's chief public relations expert and "spin doctor."

Although much of the artwork featured in The Illustrated Star Wars Universe has been published elsewhere (either in the various Art of Star Wars books relating to the Classic Trilogy or in McQuarrie's Star Wars Portfolios), this combination of production paintings and Anderson's vivid and imaginative text works wonderfully and adds detail and background to both the movies and the post-Episode VI Expanded Universe novels, including Anderson's own JedI Academy trilogy and Darksaber.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The writing is fogetable but the art is amazing, October 6, 2000

By	Patrick Garone (Chicago, il United States) - See all my reviews

This book really showcases the beautiful artwork of Ralph McQuarrie, who helped establish the look of the Star Wars films way back at the dawn of the story as we know it. In this book we see fascinating early visual drafts of things that we would later see in the movies. Most of it was impossibly fantastic to ever get filmed at the time but maybe we'll see some of it in the next two movies.

The chapters on Alderan and Bespin are particular fascinating and beautiful.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool, March 28, 2000

By	Mike (San Ramon, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This is one of the must haves for a true Star Wars fan. It is a coffee table book, like Dinotopia. Its stunning illustrations follow the reader through the Star Wars Universe, earning points for believability, and romanticism along the way. Though not a true novel, the text is good for guiding one through the drawings on the book. You have to know that you are not getting a novel, but for a Star Wars fan it hardly matters.