The Star Wars Trilogy

September 1, 2002
The three novelizations of the original Star Wars trilogy each sold millions of copies. In honor of Star Wars'-or technically Episode IV: A New Hope-silver anniversary, Ballantine has released this handsome three-in-one hardcover edition sporting a cover by conceptual artist Ralph McQuarrie, who greatly influenced the look of the films, e.g., Vader's mask was his idea. Though Star Wars might seem like geek fan boy stuff, creator Lucas (all the novels are based on his initial treatments for the scripts) does use proven literary motifs: a coming-of-age story as well as a search for a father figure, with a talisman (daddy Darth's lightsaber) linking the generations, it is most importantly about redemption. Each of the novels also includes an introduction by Lucas. A quarter-century later, millions of fans worldwide remain ravenous for all things from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away; the new films rake in zillions, and print titles in the "expanded universe" (characters/plots not covered on-screen) are widely read. This volume should do well.

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.