Suvudu Universe

On sale today (10/7/14) is Star Wars: The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi Knight by New York Times bestselling author Tony Diterlizzi (The Spiderwick Chronicles) with illustrations by Ralph McQuarrie. This gorgeous 84 page book is filled from 10 x 11.4 x 0.6 inch cover to cover with full color illustrations and sketches by the incredible Star Wars artist Ralph McQuarrie.

Diterlizzi distills the story of Luke Skywalker from the original three Star Wars films, A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi into a tight story focused exclusively as you would expect on the adventures from Luke Skywalker’s experience in those films.

Publisher’s Summary:

The classic tale of good versus evil set in a galaxy far, far away quickly became a cultural phenomenon during its time, inspiring a generation of story lovers and storytellers. Now, the original trilogy of Star Wars shines anew in this remarkable picture book, which pairs the iconic paintings of Ralph McQuarrie the legendary concept artist behind A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi with text by acclaimed New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi.

Collected in a picture book for the first time, McQuarrie’s concept paintings and sketches combined with DiTerlizzi’s expertly distilled retelling of Luke Skywalker’s journey from farm boy on Tatooine to Jedi Knight is a winning combination that will captivate Star Wars fans old and new and delight generations of readers to come.

Click to view slideshow.

As someone that knows the story of Star Wars by heart and has consumed that story in many different formats from the films, to novelizations to radio dramas, I can say that I loved this book. The inclusion of the McQuarrie concept art provides a slightly different point of view than you see in the films because of differences that developed between the concept art and the final product. The quality of the paper and ink used in this book really stands out as I have never seen some of these images look so good in person.

If I have one criticism it is that the inside pages of the cover features some very cool character sketches on blue background, but the sketches are the same for the front and back covers, I wish they had used different art in the front and the back.

The size of the book, vividness of the images and size of the text makes this the perfect book to sit down and read with your child. It is a great size to share while you are reading.

If you have are a fan of Ralph McQuarrie’s art or are either a fan of Star Wars Rebels yourself or have a child that is a fan of that series, this is a great book to purchase. This book will give fans of Rebels more of the McQuarrie visuals to enjoy and would be a terrific gateway into the Original Trilogy for younger fans.

For more on the book and to purchase it you can visit Disney Publishing Worldwide.

Editor’s Note: A review copy was provided by the publisher for the purposes of this review.