Book Review: 'The Illustrated Star Wars Universe'
The cover for the paperback edition. (C) 1998 Bantam Spectra and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Take the artistic talents of the late and acclaimed designer Ralph McQuarrie and the writing skills of prolific author Kevin J. Anderson ( The Jedi Academy Trilogy ) and you get The Illustrated Star Wars Universe , a coffee table book that gives readers a glimpse of the various planets showcased in George Lucas' original Star Wars Trilogy (1977-83). Using McQuarrie's production sketches and paintings for A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and other Lucasfilm projects set “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away” (including the Endor-based television specials of the mid-1980s plus preliminary sketches for the 1997 Special Edition updates), Anderson takes readers on a grand tour of the most important planets seen in the Original Trilogy of the Star Wars Saga. A production painting for Star Wars (1977) is used to illustrate the chapter on Tatooine.