The Star Wars books leading into the release of Episode VIII are a varied bunch, but a fascinating crop to be sure. Find out what Del Rey has revealed about their newest tales…
Entertainment Weekly has the scoop on the upcoming books, and the details give fans plenty to get excited over….
First up is The Legends of Luke Skywalker, written by Ken Liu. It turns out that this book is going for a Canterbury Tales vibe, where six strangers meet and all swap tales about the mysterious Jedi. But which of these stories are real and which are heresay… and which are plumb made up? Who knows….
The creative director of Lucasfilm Publishing Michael Siglain had a few words on how the book plays into notions about the Jedi Master that were brought up in The Force Awakens:
“For kids coming out of that movie, for casual fans coming out of that movie, you hear about Luke Skywalker for that whole film, but you only see him for two seconds at the end. He doesn’t even say anythingThis book is a book that goes into some of those stories that were told, some of those legends of Luke Skywalker. Are they true? Well, maybe. Maybe not.”
Next up is Leia: Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray. Fans of Gray’s Bloodline will know that she’s already shown us a different side of Leia Organa, and Princess of Alderaan will be no different; the YA novel aims to show us what started Leia’s journey toward becoming the Rebel general that we know and love.
This book will deal with Leia’s difficulty around the secretive nature of her parents, before she learns of their activities against the Empire, as well as her ties to friends and the world she grew up in. Set on her sixteenth birthday, fans will likely learn how Leia first discovered her family’s involvement in the Rebel Alliance and how she too became involved in their fight.
Siglain also claims that “there’s a very strong connection to some things from The Last Jedi, which, again, once you see the film will make sense.”
Delilah S. Dawson’s Phasma is going to introduce us to the silver stormtrooper in a whole new light–we will learn much more about her background and the secrets that she keeps.
According to Siglain, “She is a ruthless and a cunning character. This takes that to the next level. You will be afraid of this character. You will know why she is a captain in the First Order.” The book has been likened in tone to House of Cards, meaning that fans are likely to root for Phasma while still deploring her actions. In short, she will be frightening as ever, but we’ll understand why a little bit better.
The novel will cut back and forth between past and present, and will detail how Phasma came to be a part of the First Order. (It would seem that she wasn’t “recruited” at birth like all the rest of the stormtroopers…)
And finally, Del Rey’s big San Diego Comic Con announcement comes in the form of Star Wars: Canto Bight. The book is in fact four novellas from Saladin Ahmed, Rae Carson, Mira Grant, and John Jackson Miller, and it will hit shelves on December 5th.
Canto Bight is the brand new “Casino World” that has been developed for The Last Jedi, a whole new level of luxury and wealth being seeded into the Star Wars universe.
Siglain mentioned that the idea for the book came from all the interesting new aliens and creatures that fans will see in Episode VIII. “The effects team had a lot of ideas about the characters that they were creating, even just some of the background aliens. ‘I think this is his backstory or this is her backstory.’ And we’ve been able to take those and run with them. We looked at this as Casablanca and Rick’s Café by way of Monte Carlo.”
That’s four excellent titles to look forward to! More than enough to keep us all busy until we can finally pour into theater for The Last Jedi.
