A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

© 2002 Del Rey Books (Ballantine) and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)  Which of the Star Wars books tell the stories of the movies? It depends on what you mean by “the stories of the movies,” and in what context. If you mean the stories, characters, situations, and settings of the films themselves, then you’re probably asking about: Dust jacket of the 1977 hardcover. Art by John Berkey. © 1977 20th Century Fox Film Corp.  Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker,  credited to George Lucas but actually written by Alan Dean Foster. (Del Rey Books, 1976) Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back,  by Donald F. Glut. Story by George Lucas. Based on the screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan. (Del Rey Books, 1980) Star Wars: Return of the Jedi,  by James Kahn. Story by George Lucas. Based on the screenplay by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. (Del Rey Books, 1983) Original 1980 paperback edition of The Empire Strikes Back novelization. Cover a...

(C) 2018 Del Rey Books/Random House and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) On Tuesday, September 4, Random House’s science fiction/fantasy imprint Del Rey Books published Solo: A Star Wars Story – Expanded Edition, a novelization of director Ron Howard’s 2018 film about the early adventures of a young Han Solo, a Wookiee named Chewbacca, and the roguish gambler and starship owner Lando Calrissian in the years before Han’s involvement with the Rebellion against the Empire. Written by author/podcaster Mur Lafferty ( Six Wakes, I Should Be Writing ), Solo: A Star Wars Story is based on the screenplay and screen story by the father-son team of Lawrence Kasdan ( Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark ) and Jon Kasdan ( Indiana Jones V ). It is a relatively faithful adaptation of the Kasdans’ story, but – as with all of the other Star Wars novels based on the Saga Trilogies and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story – Lafferty’s Solo contains material that was left out of th...