Edited by Rich Handley and Joseph Berenato

Sequart Organization, out now

An insightful look at the wider Star Wars universe from movie novelisations to spin-offs to action figures, written by a squadron of subject matter experts… and never mind the Bollux!

Following on from their A Long Time Ago: Exploring the Star Wars Cinematic Universe and A Galaxy Far Far Away: Exploring Star Wars Comics, this third volume edited by Rich Handley and Joseph F. Berenato is another diverse mixture of articles and essays on different aspects of the Star Wars universe.

Over 348 pages we get to revisit the movie novelisations (Star Wars, as ghost-written by Alan Dean Foster was my first grown-up book), Brian Daley’s Han Solo trilogy – yes we do address why Bollux was changed to Zollux to avoid offending British kids – and L. Neil Smith’s lesser-known Lando Calrissian Adventures. You’ll also find chapters on the roleplaying game, the Star Wars Galaxies MMORPG and 30 years of X-Wing novels and comics.

Not surprisingly there’s also a section on the popular Family Guy parodies, a concise history of the action figures and a chapter on the Shakespearean adaptations, which to this day I fail to ‘get’ in any way – they feel like a single joke stretched to multiple volumes and yet continue to sell enough to justify their continuation.

My favourite chapter is The Canon Question by Mike Beidler, a well-argued piece that covers the controversial move to disavow all but the movies following Lucasfilm’s acquisition by Disney, and wisely comes to the conclusion that really it’s up to each of us to decide what does or doesn’t count – an argument that fans of Star Trek and Doctor Who are very familiar with. Less essential is War and Peace: Star Wars and the Myth of Redemptive Violence, a lengthy and detailed essay that feels less about Star Wars Universe product than wider series themes. It’s a good piece but might sit better in a compendium of similar academia.

Verdict: A glorious, nostalgia-inducing selection from Star Wars aficionados that will resonate for those of us who remember desperately seeking any new content between the films or during the wilderness years. 9/10

Nick Joy