Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #70659 in Books
• Published on: 2009-08-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
If you've ever wondered where a Wookie comes from, or had trouble remembering where that hidden Rebel base is located, then look no further. The fourth in the Essential Guides series offers a comprehensive and accessible guide to the exciting and exotic locations of the ever-expanding Star Wars universe.

As well as some of the more familiar planets such as Tatooine, Hoth and Coscurant (The Imperial homeworld), this large-format, illustrated volume gives the low-down on some of the further-flung corners of the galaxy, including planets and moons featured in the comic and paperback spin-offs. Each planet featured has a detailed account of the local terrain, the indigenous natives and their significance and relevance to Star Wars lore in general.

Obi-Wan may have taught you well, young one, but not as well as Daniel Wallace, the author of this edition, whose obsessive enthusiasm for the most famous sci-fi franchise in the universe led to Lucasfilm commissioning him to produce a series of these Essential Guides. Casual Star Wars fans may find some of the entries too obscure to be of interest, but for the army of fanatical aficionados, this is a valuable and informative addition to the growing body of Star Wars literature. --Ed Maidment

Customer Reviews

Simply amazing
This book is quite simply stunning. Dan Wallace and Jason Fry among many other contributers have produced an amazing resource that is interesting to read and provides for long time fans answers to the locations of many planets and sectors. The book is much more than an atlas but it is not simply a retelling of The Essential Chronology and is vastly superior to the old Essential Guide to Planets and Moons in every way. It is split into three main sections the first explains the composition of the galaxy and the various regions contained within it, second is a large section focusing on individual planets and third is a section taking you though chronologicaly the key events in the Star Wars timeline with the aid of highly detailed galaxy maps showing goverments, fleets, character movements etc. The third section is interesting as the events of the six Star Wsrs films are plotted out which was something I had not though of before reading the book. I found it fascinating to see the events of the filsm mapped out like that. The next time I watch them I will have the book open following along.

The art in the book is great especially the amazing detail found in the maps but also in the potraits and depiction of events which are handled by Chris Trevas whose work can be seen in The Essential Guide to the Force. I can not recommend this book highly enough it is without question a must buy for any Star Wars fan.

A massive undertaking ... that just falls short of greatness
Star Wars: The Essential Atlas is a vast undertaking. The sheer ambition required to even sit down and consider writing such a volume is breathtaking. Either that, or the authors didn't know what they were getting themselves into. For me, this is a good book though sadly not a great one. I've been trying to think why it falls short for me.

Well, it's not the maps - these are quite beautiful, actually. If I have one criticism about them it's that they are sometimes a bit too busy. Trying to follow some of the timelines (have a look at The Mandalorian Wars, for example) is really quite difficult. But that aside, I can't complain.

There are two main sections to the text - one discussing the various regions and territories, and the other a history of galactic events. Both are good, but inevitably sketchy. I found myself reading a section and wanting more information. I also found it difficult to follow the events described in the text with the maps, having to constantly look up the index to find a planet on the map. Frustrating. Also frustrating were sections like "A Closer Look: Tatooine, Geonosis and the Arkanis Sector." You would think this would tell you everything you wanted to know about Tatooine and Geonosis. No, it refers you to another page altogether!

The third part of the book is the one most easily recognisable to Role-Playing Gamers, which outlines many of the main planets in the Star Wars universe. I found this the least interesting bit - the summaries of the worlds are brief - but I suppose do contain information that isn't found elsewhere in the book.

All this aside, though, the book is not bad at all. I would forgive all if an index was included that allowed the reader to look up a planet and go straight to the page to read about it.

Here it is. Coruscant.
What can I say. This is a really cool book with all the planets of the Star Wars Universe. From Anoth to the sand waste lands of Tatooine. this is a really cool book. GET IT!