Category: Star Wars

More than twenty-five years after the groundbreaking movie Star Wars: A New Hope first hit the silver screen, Star Wars remains one of the most beloved sagas ever told. Together, the three original Star Wars movies–A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi–told one epic: a heroic tale of innocence lost and wisdom gained, of downfall and redemption, of the never-ending fight between the forces of good and evil. Read the story of the movies–all three in one trade paperback volume–and rediscover the wonder of the legend that begins

Before we start this review I need to point out 2 things here. The first thing is that this book is a collector’s edition which involves novelizations of the original star wars trilogy. And the second thing is that I have already reviewed each of these novelizations separately just to keep things simple and somehow short, instead of reviewing each book in this review which would have easily become 10 pages long if I did everything in this review.

I wanted to read those Novelizations of the original star wars trilogy for a few years now, and when I saw this collector’s edition I immediately knew I had to buy it and read it. And now that I have read it, I need to say that this book is one of the better star wars books I have read so far this year (2026).

I already reviewed each of those novelizations in this book as I’ve said above, so I wont repeat it here. But what I will say is that reading this book and those 3 novelizations of the original trilogy was very fun. I personally were clued to this book and I had a very hard time putting it down because I was sucked into this book and just couldn’t stop reading this book. I personally had a lot of fun reading this book.

All of the Novelizations in this book had different authors of course, each of the books were pretty decently written but I need to admit that Donald F. Glut had done the worst job of all the authors of the novelizations in this book. 

My favorite novelizations in this book was of course the “return of the Jedi” since I always preferred that movie in the original trilogy even though “a new hope” have started my star wars obsession and made me a nerd.

I Give This Book 5 / 5

Han Solo, frozen in carbonite, has been delivered into the hands of the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt. Determined to rescue him, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Lando Calrissian launch a hazardous mission against Jabba’s Tatooine stronghold. Now, in the most exciting chapter of the STAR WARS saga, the Rebel commanders have gathered all the warships of the Rebel fleet into a single giant armada. And Darth Vader, who has ordered construction to begin on a new and even more powerful Death Star, makes his plans to crush the Rebel Alliance once and for all. 

Before I start this review, I need to say something. I’ve read this book in a collector’s edition which involves the original trilogy books in one big book. And I have decided to review each of these original trilogy books for itself because in that way each review will be shorter and easier to read rather than me giving you like 10 pages long review.

Return of the Jedi was always my favorite movie from the original star wars trilogy, so of course I had no other expectations for this novelizations of the return of the Jedi book. I have already reviewed “a new hope” and “the empire strikes back” novelizations of the original trilogy. And between all of those 3 novelizations this one was my favorite.

The plot in this book is the same as in the movie. There was a lot of action in this book as we could see in the movie. There aren’t any big differences between this book and the movie as the previous novelizations had, which wasn’t a big deal for me either way.

The characters in this book are as good and the same as we could see in the movie. But this book gives us their inner monologues and thoughts they had, which in a way this book gives us more insight into those characters which the movie didn’t give us. Which of course made me love this book so much more.

This book gives us also a lot of the Ewoks which made me love this book so much more, because I personally have the opinion of that we should have seen more of the Ewoks in the star wars movies because they are very good characters, and they are very underrated characters in my opinion.

The writing style in this book was more on the simple side of things, but it still was on the star wars theme level. The simple writing style in this book made it very easy and very quick to read this book because this book has around 180 pages which isn’t that long. Overall the writing style in this book was pretty decent, which isn’t a small task to do in a star wars book. 

Even thou this book doesn’t add much to the overall “return of the Jedi” timeline in star wars, I strongly believe that this book as the novelizations of “a new hope” and “the empire strikes back” are a must read for all star wars geeks and nerds as myself. Because those books gives us the inner monologues and thoughts of characters as the various events happen in the original trilogy. Which again gives us a deeper understanding of the characters we all know and love at this point.

I Give This Book 5 / 5

Padawan Iskat Akaris has dedicated her life to traveling the galaxy alongside her master, learning the ways of the Force to become a good Jedi. Despite Iskat’s dedication, peace and control have remained elusive, and with each setback, she feels her fellow Jedi grow more distrustful of her. Already uncertain about her future in the Jedi Order, Iskat faces tragedy when her master is killed and the Clone Wars engulf the galaxy in chaos.

I need to admit here that this book has to be easily one of the best star wars books I have read this year so far at least. 

The main character in this book is very likable and interesting. She takes quiet a big journey throughout this book because she start as a padawan, then she is made to a Jedi knight and ends up being a inquisitor. At the same time she gots a lot of personality to her and she is very clearly a good character which is very under explored, and her whole journey throughout this book is pretty tragic which in my opinion makes her so much more likable and relatable. 

When it comes to the rest of the characters in this book, they are just as good as the main character is. In my opinion each of the characters we get in this book has something that makes them stand out from the rest of the characters and at the same time each character in this book has a lot of personality to them which really makes them very likable no matter if they are Jedi, Sith, Inquisitor or anything else in between.

The plot in this book is very good. Because it is very interesting and very enjoyable. There is a lot of action in this book but also it sets the whole Jedi Council in a bad spot in my opinion because of how the Jedis treat the main character in this book. Which in my opinion brings more depth into the star wars universe, because the plot in this book shows that maybe the Jedis and the Jedi Council isn’t all good as it really hard tries to paint itself to be. At the same time this book gives us a very good origin story to the villain the main character in this book becomes. 

At the same time this book takes place around the time of the Order 66, which makes this book an good addition to the star wars universe around the time of Order 66. Because this book expands the universe so that we can get understanding and enjoyment around the time period of star wars where the Order 66 takes place.

The writing style in this book is very good, because the author uses very star wars appropriate writing style which fits the star wars theme of this book but also makes it unique enough to fit the plot in this book.

I Give This Book 5 / 5

Although they had won a significant battle, the war between the Rebels and the Empire had really just begun. Soon, Luke, Han, the princess and their faithful companions were forced to flee, scattering in all directions—the Dark Lord’s minions in fevered pursuit.

Before I start this review, I need to say something. I’ve read this book in a collector’s edition which involves the original trilogy books in one big book. And I have decided to review each of these original trilogy books for itself because in that way each review will be shorter and easier to read rather than me giving you like 10 pages long review.

This book have some major differences from the movie than the first book had. The major difference between the movie and the book is that in this book Yoda is blue. I don’t know if it was a typo or the author was very ill informed but at least the copy I have says very clearly that he is blue not green. But other than that the differences are very subtle and small which readers who notice unless they are actively looking for those differences and constantly double crossing this book with the movie.

Other than the differences between this book and the movie, this book doesn’t add much to the “The Empire Strikes Back” timeline which we already didn’t know about from the movie. 

This book was very quick read which I read one snowy Sunday, this book has nearly 220 pages in length which makes this book a very short and quick read.

The author of this book focuses more on the action of this book rather than on the characters, which means that we don’t get a lot of the characters’s personalities shining throughout as much as we did in “a new hope” book which I reviewed not so long ago.

The characters in this book are as good as they are in the movies. But in a way the characters in this book felt pretty flashed out and didn’t feel as good as they did in the a new hope book. 

Even thou the characters aren’t as good as they were in the previous book, I need to say that I liked this book better. Because there is much more action happening in this book, because this book focuses more on action and something important happening more often than in the previous book.

The writing style in this book was okay for the most part. But I personally felt like the author just didn’t care enough to give us a good writing in this book as much as he cared about getting the paycheck for publishing this book. From what I have seen the author is more known from writing comic books rather than writing books which has explained a lot to me personally about the poor writing style in this book.

I Give This Book 4 / 5

Luke Skywalker challenged the stormtroopers of a distant galaxy on a daring mission – where a force of life became the power of death! Luke Skywalker was a twenty-year-old who lived and worked on his uncle’s farm on the remote planet of Tatooine … and he was bored beyond belief. He yearned for adventures out among the stars—adventures that would take him beyond the farthest galaxies to distant and alien worlds.But Luke got more than he bargained for when he intercepted a cryptic message from a beautiful princess held captive by a dark and powerful warlord. Luke didn’t know who she was, but he knew he had to save her—and soon, because time was running out.Armed only with courage and with the light saber that had been his father’s, Luke was catapulted into the middle of the most savage space war ever … and he was headed straight for a desperate encounter on the enemy battle station known as the Death Star!

Before I start this review, I need to say 2 things. The first one is that this book wasn’t written by George Lucas himself, instead it was written by a ghostwriter who many of star wars book fans might have heard of, of course I’m talking about Alan Dean Foster. The second thing I need to say is that I’ve read this book in a collector’s edition which involves the original trilogy books in one big book. And I have decided to review each of these original trilogy books for itself because in that way each review will be shorter and easier to read rather than me giving you like 10 pages long review.

The story in this book is more or less what we see in the movie, but there are some differences between this book and the movie. The main difference is that this book provides more inner dialogues of the characters. Which made me enjoy the storyline more in this book rather than the movie’s. Because it gives us a deeper understanding of the characters which all star wars fans love at this point.

The other difference in this book is the political system being a little bit different from the movie and the ending is a little bit different, because it ends sooner than the movie with the purpose of making us as readers to read the “ The Empire Strikes Back” book. Which of course I had. 

The only bad thing I have to say about this book, is that it could have been longer rather than the short 250 pages this book gives us. Am a huge star wars nerd, and I would have had no problems reading this book (or any other star wars book for that part) even if it had 1250 pages in length.

The characters in this book were as amazing as they were in the movie. They were the same characters we get in the movie which doesn’t give me a lot of ability to talk about those characters because we already know and love them (or at least I do as a star wars nerd).

At the same time this book provides some explanation behind the things that happen throughout this book. Which made it easier to love the characters in this book, because we in a way get a look on whats happening in their heads and hear their reasoning and thoughts.

The writing itself in this book, is very on point with star wars theme. But there were a few moment throughout this book where the writing style of this book felt a little bit off. because it felt more fantasy-ish rather than star wars-ish if you understand what am saying here.

Even thou this book has some differences from the movie, it was still a very fun and interesting read because of the fact that we get to hear the inner monologues of the characters we get in the first star wars movie.

I Give This Book 4 / 5

In the war for control of the galaxy between the armies of the dark side and the Republic, former Jedi Master turned ruthless Sith Lord Count Dooku has grown ever more brutal in his tactics. Despite the powers of the Jedi and the military prowess of their clone army, the sheer number of fatalities is taking a terrible toll. And when Dooku orders the massacre of a flotilla of helpless refugees, the Jedi Council feels it has no choice but to take drastic action: targeting the man responsible for so many war atrocities, Count Dooku himself.

I gotta admit that this book was a very average star wars book, not the worst nor the best I have read from the star wars category of books.

This book takes place during the clone wars tv show timeline. And the clone wars is easily my favorite star wars show ever created. Which means I had some high hopes for this book which unfortunately this book didn’t live up to the hopes and expectations I had for this book.

The plot in this book is kind of all over the place and some of the Jedi council members act very out of character. Like Master Yoda sending people to kill count Dooku. Which gave me mixed feelings because the whole theme of being a Jedi is not killing people like the Sith Lords do. 

And the person who gets the tasks to kill count Dooku was no other than Quinlan Vos. Which in my opinion is one of the most underrated characters we should see more of in the star wars universe.

I personally have mixed feelings about the plot of this book, because there were times where this book would drag a bit which would make me bored and uninterested at times which is never a good thing. And to be very honest here I feel like the plot wasn’t as interesting as it could have been if the author of this book would have use a different approach or different perspective in this book.

The characters in this book, all over the place. Because we do get most well known characters in this book like Yoda, Dooku, Obi-Wan and Anakin amongst other but we also get some new characters or characters that we didn’t spend a lot of time with in movies or the star wars books I have read so far in my life.

To be honest I wished that we would get more time in this book with Quinlan Vos or the less known or new characters in this book. But I cant complain about the characters in this book because I still loved them in this book and think they were as good as always in this book.

The writing style in this book is easily the weakest point of this book. Because the writing style didn’t feel like star wars book but rather a young adult fantasy writing style which for me was weird for me personally. 

I Give This Book 3 / 5

The Jedi have always traveled the stars, defending peace and justice across the galaxy. But, the galaxy is changing, and along with it, the Jedi Order. More and more, the Order finds itself focused on the future of the Republic, secluded on Coruscant, where the twelve members of the Jedi Council weigh crises on a galactic scale.

I gotta admit that this star wars books has to be the weakest star wars book I’ve read so far. But of course I’m gonna explain everything in this review, so if you are interested than keep reading.

The storyline in this book takes place in pre-Phantom Menace era, and as we all know by now it means that this book have all the OG star wars characters in it like Obi-wan, Yoda, Mace Windu and Qui-Gon Jinn amongst others. 

I fully expected to love this book because it has a all the characters which I already love. But in reality I found this book to be boring and dragging out the plot for far too long than the plot was made to be.

The storyline in this book was okay for the most part, but there were a lot of times in this book where the plot was going on and on forever without anything happening. Those moments were stretching the plot into forever which really made me very bored and uninterested at times in this book. Because of how the plot seemed to not have an ending in this book.

The characters in this book are pretty solid and just as good as they were in the movies. But there were times where I wished that we got to see more of those characters in this book. We didn’t get to see a lot of them, because this book focused more on the action rather than the characters and developing them further than what the movies did.

But I need to admit here that the characters in this book, was the best part of this book in my opinion. Because I already loved the majority of the characters we get in this book. So of course I would still love them in this book if the author didn’t completely ruin them and thankfully the author didn’t ruin them.

The action in this book is pretty much all over the place because we get different perspectives in this book. And this book doesn’t make it easy for us as readers to keep track of when the perspective changes. So I personally was left kind of confused a lot while reading this book.

The writing style in this book is pretty decent here, its not the best I’ve seen in star wars books in my time. But its neither the worst. I wish that the writing style would have been better because it would have been improved the plot and the entire book.

The opening chapters of this book were very interest, and they have caught my attention. But the longer I got into this book the more it became very stretched thin and became uninteresting. Which really sucked because I have a lot of expectations for star wars books I read because I expect them to love them such as much as I loved star wars movies when I first watched them as a kid.

This book has to easily be the most disappointing book I’ve read in the star wars universe and I really hope this is the last one. 

I Give This Book 2 / 5

Ominous words under any circumstances, but all the more so when uttered by Emperor Palpatine. On Batuu, at the edges of the Unknown Regions, a threat to the Empire is taking root—its existence little more than a glimmer, its consequences as yet unknowable. But it is troubling enough to the Imperial leader to warrant investigation by his most powerful agents: ruthless enforcer Lord Darth Vader and brilliant strategist Grand Admiral Thrawn. Fierce rivals for the emperor’s favor, and outspoken adversaries on Imperial affairs—including the Death Star project—the formidable pair seem unlikely partners for such a crucial mission. But the Emperor knows it’s not the first time Vader and Thrawn have joined forces. And there’s more behind his royal command than either man suspects

I need to admit here that this book is easily the best star wars book I’ve read so far this year. But of course I will explain my thoughts and opinions about this book in this review, so if you are interested then keep reading. 

First of all, I need to admit here that I am such a big fan of Thrawn, because for me he is such an underrated character in the star wars universe. And I would personally love to see him in future star wars movies or shows and not only in books or comic books. 

This book follows two timelines. But both involve Thrawn, the first timeline involves Thrawn and Darth Vader in the present and the second timeline involves Thrawn and Anakin in the past during the clone wars era of star wars. 

To be honest I found the second storyline in this book to be more interesting than the first storyline. Because even thou I’m a huge Darth Vader fan, I find the clone wars period of star wars to be very very interesting. 

But both of these storylines in this book are very interesting, enjoyable and engaging. Which really made me give this book some extra points for doing. 

The biggest thing which I loved about this book is that it has the 1970s Star Wars feel to it like the original star wars trilogy. Which I remember watching on repeat as a 8 year old kid in 2010, so it was very nostalgic for me and huge aspect why I feel in love with star wars in the first place. 

The writing style in this book is very good, because it plays very well with the storylines of this book and it is very fitting for the star wars universe.

I need to also admit that Timothy Zahn is easily my favorite star wars author so far at least. And just reading his star wars books gives me a huge nostalgia to my first time watching star wars movies. 

The characters in this book are very well written. Because they have the things which makes them unique and they have all those things which made me at least fall in love with them in the movies. Which again made me give this book some extra points for doing. 

We can also very easily feel the tension and the back and forth between Darth Vader and Thrawn which really shows how much these 2 hate each other. But also we see that Darth Vader and Thrawn are in a competition with each other constantly and trying to outdo each other in front of Darth Sidious.

This book a lot of action, suspense, intrigue and character development which really makes it so good in my opinion and is the reason why I said at the beginning of this review that this book is easily the best star wars book I’ve read so far this year. At the same time this book has a lot of backstory because part of this book takes place during the clone wars so it servers as a little extensions of what happened during the clone wars.

I Give This Book 5 / 5

The Republic is decaying, even under the leadership of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who was elected to save the galaxy from collapsing under the forces of discontent. On the tiny but strategic planet of Ansion, a powerful faction is on the verge of joining the growing secessionist movement. At the Chancellor’s request, the Jedi Council sends two Jedi Knights, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luminara Unduli, along with their Padawans Anakin Skywalker and Barriss Offee, to stabilize the planet’s population. To succeed, the Jedi will have to fulfill near-impossible tasks, befriend wary strangers, and influence two great armies, stalked all the while by an enemy sworn to see the negotiations collapse and the mission fail.

Once again we are talking about another Star Wars book, I gotta say I had some high hope for this book. But to be very honest here this book didn’t live up to most of my expectations I had for this book. 

In this book we Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luminara Unduli, Anakin Skywalker and Barriss Offee are send on a mission and we follow the 4 of them in this book. 

I gotta admit that Obi-wan and Anakin don’t feel as developed and well made characters in this book as in the movies. Which really disappointed me a lot in this book. Because as some of you might know, Obi-wan and Anakin are one of my all time favorite characters from the Star Wars universe.

And the new characters we get in this book as Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee don’t leave a lasting impression as the OG character from Star Wars universe. 

Both Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee feel like mediocre characters, with not a lot of personality and depth into them which made it difficult for me to invest in their story.

The writing style in this book lacks the aspect of what makes Star Wars, Star Wars. The writing style is average to be honest. My main problem with the writing style is that it doesn’t have the depth and uniqueness which other Star Wars books have.

The descriptions in this book sometimes feel very generic and drags at times because they feel like they would fit better a fantasy book rather than a star wars book. 

The plot in this book while interesting and enjoyable lacks the immersive quality and the star wars vibe which the majority of star wars books have.  

I Give This Book 2 / 5

Javul Charn is the most famous pop star in the galaxy—and the runaway bride of a violent lieutenant in Black Sun, the crime syndicate commanded by Prince Xizor. Or so Javul says. Soon after Dash Rendar, broke and desperate, agrees to be Javul’s bodyguard, he realizes that openness is not her strong suit—and that murder is stalking her tour. Between the discovery of dead bodies in a cargo hold and an attack by an unidentified warship, Dash and co-pilot Eaden Vrill desperately try to understand who is terrorizing Javul’s tour and why. When Han Solo suddenly joins Javul’s road show, the stakes are raised even higher. Now Dash, who has a history with Han and an even worse history with Prince Xizor, follows his instincts, his discoveries, and Javul herself—straight into a world that may be too dangerous to survive.

I gotta say that this book is far from being one of the best Star Wars books I’ve read. Sure I haven’t read a lot of star wars books yet but after reading some of them I gotta say that this book is okay. 

This book has a very unique premise and plot when it comes to the Star Wars universe. Since the plot in this book follows the biggest pop star in the Star Wars universe. And this premise for a plot is the first book I come across which in the star wars universe which follows a pop star in the universe. 

The plot in this book also involves a fair share of shooting action and spacecraft action which really makes this book fun to read. But the action here isn’t as fun as in some other Star Wars books I’ve read which really didn’t impress me much in the “action” category.

After reading this book I need to say that this book feels more like a Sci-Fi Neo noir rather than a star wars books. Because there is no real star wars politician struggle, lightsaber battles, sith lords, jedi knights and all of the other stuff which makes Star Wars. 

The only connection this book has to star wars other than being part of the Star Wars book universe is that this book mentions the Rebel Alliance once and Han Solo appearance in the story in the second half of this book. Other than that there are no connection indicating that this book is in fact a Star Wars book universe.

The plot in this book feels at times very long and unnecessarily longer than it needed to be. My opinion is that this book could have cut out at least 50 pages or so and it would make this book longer. Because of the fact that this book drags for far too long at times.

The characters here are okay for the most part. We get very few characters in this book but those we get are very average characters. The characters here are okay but there isn’t a lot of depth to them and they don’t have the same feeling like the OG characters from the Star Wars which made us fall in love with them from the moment we saw them. 

The writing style in this book is pretty okay but it has the feeling that it was written by multiple authors which of course is the case in this book. The feeling of this book being written by multiple authors is the duality of this book because during the action moments the writing style feels like being written by a man (Michael Reaves) and during other moments the main character Dash gets very emotions and goes on those 5 pages long monologs like a female would do which makes the writing style feel like it was written by a woman (Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff).

However if you are looking for a stand alone star wars book to read then this book could be a good choice. Since this book is easy to read, its a quick read and it doesn’t have a connection to other books you should have read before reading this book.

I Give This Book 3 / 5