The New Essential Guide to Characters (Star Wars)

Rating:
Summary: I'm waiting for post-Episode III edition
Review: New edition of Guide to Characters is no doubt better than previous but still it has too many defects. Pictures are OK but what really annoys me is completely lack of key SW characters
both from Prequels and Expanded Universe. It just looks like authors choose accidental heroes and forgot about others. NJO fan will be enraged that there's no real description of Tenel Ka, Zekk, Raynar Thul etc. Ancient Era fan will be enraged that great Nomi Sunrider is barely mentioned. KOTOR fan will quickly notice the absence of Bastila Shan and so on. Besides what sense is publishing (after 6 years) new edition of Character's Guide shortly before the premiere of final Star Wars film - Revenge of the Sith? After 2005 newer edition will be needed anyway and let's hope that this time it will live up to our expectations

Rating:
Summary: A great Star Wars background book
Review: Not only does this book go into depth about the backgrounds of familiar characters (i.e. Luke Skywalker), but it describes the people that play lesser roles in the original trilogy and Episodes I and II. It's a good value for the quality of material you receive.

Rating:
Summary: Overall A Great Read
Review: The New Essential Guide To Characters was worth paying almost $40Cdn for. It gives the reader great insight into the character's life and personalities and allows you to get to know that character better. I really liked the pictures, they were colorful and well-drawn. The only drawback I have is the lack of certain charcters. For example, Elan from the New Jedi Order should have been included in this book, she was important to the Vong. Also I noticed that the two charcters shown in Star Wars Insider were not even in the book, except for Poggle the Lesser, who is only mentioned briefly in the appendices.

Rating:
Summary: Worth buying if you are a sw nerd, but not a sw super nerd
Review: The title says it all! I am a star wars nerd and I loved the book. It had everything a sw nerd would want: detailed info,descriptive pictures, and most importantly : A short Jar-Jar Binks bio!The only reason I took off a star was because the guide just didn't have enough bios. I was expecting more lengthy bios of the jedi council, not just a few paragraphs, like a sw super nerd would expect. Oh well, there is always 6 other essential guides.

Rating:
Summary: a good book but missing essential characters
Review: This book was very good except that it was missing some good characters. The characters that where missing (or crammed in a tiny appendix) are Tenel Ka, Lowbacca, Zekk, The Dark Women, Rayner Thul, Tionne, Nomi Sunrider, Siri Tachi, Xanatos and Tahari. The Jedi council (besides Master Windu & Yoda ) are barely mentoined, I wish that Adi Gallia, Ki-Adi-Mundi (especially), Plo Koon, Even Piell, Saesee Tiin, Eeth Koth, Depa Billaba and Yaddle would be given at least a page each. Also there are many boring people like Ric Olie, Panaka, the Lars, Nute Gunray, and Watto should get less pages. Their are also people that should get more then one page such is Count Dooku (especcially), Exar Kun, Ulic Qel-Droma and Sedriss. But overall it is a fun read. The Solos, the Skywalkers, Chewwie, Obi-Kenobi are well written. Palpitine, Isard, Daala, Pestage and Tarkin are also well written.Kyle Katarn and Corran Horn are good. It is a pretty good book.

Rating:
Summary: a good book but missing essential characters
Review: This is the second edition of the Essential Guide to Characters. This book has been updated to include characters from Attack of the Clones as well as the New Jedi Order Series. The art is awesome and was great to get a refresher from Star Wars novels I've read in the past. There are spoilers from Attack of the Clones, so if you haven't read the book or seen the movie yet, you may want to hold off on reading this book first ;-). I've been reading the New Jedi Order Series and the character illustrations weren't far from how I pictured each character. If you know a Star Wars fan they'll love this book as a gift :-).

Rating:
Summary: Great Addition to Any Star Wars Collection
Review: This is the second edition of the Essential Guide to Characters. This book has been updated to include characters from Attack of the Clones as well as the New Jedi Order Series. The art is awesome and was great to get a refresher from Star Wars novels I've read in the past. There are spoilers from Attack of the Clones, so if you haven't read the book or seen the movie yet, you may want to hold off on reading this book first ;-). I've been reading the New Jedi Order Series and the character illustrations weren't far from how I pictured each character. If you know a Star Wars fan they'll love this book as a gift :-).

Rating:
Summary: An excellent expansion!
Review: Truly essential! Doubtless any Star Wars fan will find this book as fun, informative and entertaining as I did. I have the earlier edition as well, and while it was good in it's time, it became hideousely out of date quickly, and a new edition was definitely needed. I'd definitely say that this fantastic book is the best of the Essential Guides period; the author's clear, straightford, and unbiased tone are what really gives the book it's charm. Many of the minor inconsistensies between the novels are easily explained away here as well. And of course the illustrations. WOW!!! They certainly picked the right guy for this job; everyone is perfect, just how I imagined them. Among my favorites were Mara (deadly yet beautiful), Jacen (Wow, who ever guessed he'd be that cute), and Tsavong Lah (delightfully hideous). My only minor gripe is that a few characters, such as Callista for example, who hasn't even been MENTIONED in eight or nine years, kept a spot in the actual book, whereas a key character in the New Jedi Order such as Tenel Ka, or Jagged Fel were reduced to the "other persons of note" section in the back. Being that I despise Callista (always have always will) and adore Tenel Ka this irritated me enough that I took off a star for it. Desipite this however, I definitely recommend this book for any Star Wars fan, young or old. It would probably help if you have a fairly well read backround in the Expanded Universe, but this one promises to be entertaining even to amateur fans. Oh, also worthy of note, major AOTC spoilers in this one.