Rating: 
Summary: Wow! And it gets 5 stars from me
Review: ...the “Essential Guide to Alien Species” is, by a fair margin, the best of the “Essential Guides” to date, except for maybe “Vehicles & Vessels”. It covers more than 150 aliens and creatures, Amanin to Zeltrons, from Dugs to Verpine, each with a neat little capsule that details some biology, planets, and societies, if any. Each capsule is also accompanied by reports filed by all and sundry, like Luke Skywalker and Boba Fett, about encounters with these creatures. Some races and creatures are really interesting, like the Gand, whome authors like Michael Stackpole have done an excellent job in detailing. While others, like the Gank, are in my opinion, are dead wrong. I and others had always assumed that the ‘gank’ in ‘gank killer’ simply meant ‘bounty’ or ‘trophy’, thus anyone could be a gank killer, like Boba Fett or 4-LOM, but instead they’ve made it a creature.Every picture that accompanies each entry is wonderful! R.K. Frost, the Illustrator, has done a marvelous job with each. Lines are neat and tight, and given the narrowness of limbs, etc. I am given to wonder if Frost’s usual artwork is a little more akin to the stuff that came out of Hellraiser the art of Brom- the Drovian on pp. 31, has a big-time Cenobite influence to it. Ultimately though, it doesn’t matter, because Frost’s work is superb cover to cover, vastly superior to the cartoony art in the “Essential Guides to Planets & Moons”. The are is clear and clean when it needs to be, dirty and gritty when it needs to be that as well. I have all of the “Essential Guides”, and every one of them would earn at least 3 stars in a review by me at Amazon-dot-com. This one gets 5, because it’s that good...
Rating:
Summary: Just like the title says- Essential
Review: Ann Margaret Lewis has captured the essence of Star Wars, with it's plethora of odd, and often loveable aliens in this softcover volume. Although she does not document every species created for the Star Wars universe, she does cover those most heavily featured. And not just from the films: there are species here such as the Zeltrons, Noghri, and Mimbanites, from the Star Wars novels and comics as well. Each alien is described in detail- their physical appearance, their culture, and their involvement in the rich pseudo-history of Star Wars. And each species listing is accompanied by a detailed illustration. There are also "quoted passages" from members of each species, detailing some fact about themselves, or some important event in their history. And, finally, it is all done from the point of view of a New Republic anthropoligist, so there is a real vivid feel to the whole book. Whether you're just a casual fan and are dying to know who the "green guy with the long snout" is, or you're into Star Wars role playing, or the writing and publishing of on-line fan fiction, this book is a treasure trove of information, and a must to own.
Rating:
Summary: Blood and Chocolate
Review: Blood and Chocalate by Annette Curtis Klause was a amazing book. This was the first time I have ever read one of her books and I really like her writing. She kept me in suspense so that I could not put the book down, I just had to know what was going to happen next. I really liked how she descibed Vivian's change into a werewolf, she made it sound so real and exciting. The Ordeal (the fight males do for who becomes the leader) was very exciting. The description she gave of the biting and throwing each other was so good I felt like I was actually there watching it. I really liked this part of the book. So all together I found the book very good and would recommend it for other teenagers my age.
Rating: 
Summary: Who the jack are these people!?
Review: I have but two frustrating questions - who are these unknowns writing a very important Star Wars Guide? and who are these people giving this book good reviews. I am a huge Star Wars fan. I've read all the books. I play the roleplaying game. I study the Star Wars universe for fun, so you can imagine my excitement when I saw this book appear on the shelf at Hastings. I immediately thought, "Oh, wouldn't this be great for my Star Wars Roleplaying group; I can finally show the players pictures of what these species look like. No more vague individual perceptions over who they are talking to. Everything one could ever want to know about the species of the Star Wars galaxy . . ." But then I opened the book. Every alien species in the book looked like they had been drawn without ever consulting any Star Wars writer or artist . . . yes, there are many well-known Star Wars artists. On top of this entirely innacurate conception, each example alien appears to be . . . dancing? If you've never seen a Rodian do 'the robot,' then you should go to the bookstore and look at it. Picking a species in particular to rib on, the Togorian section made me ill. I happen to play a Togorian character in the RPGs I actually get to play in, and I chose a Togorian because I thought they looked very cool. My mental image of these huge felinoids comes from the cover of A. C. Crispin's novel The Paradise Snare (cover art by Drew Struzan). This image depicts a tall, lean, tiger-like being with short hair; however, the artist in Essential Guide to Alien Species chose to make the Togorian a stout, thick, lion-like being with a large fluffy mane. This makes Togorians look really freakish, with its barrel chest and frog-like legs. I honestly think that the artist really has never even seen any other Star Wars art, which makes me sad. To summarise, the text over each species seems alright (the thing that gives this book its one star), but the terrible artwork really disappoints. My advice - take your firends to the bookstore; sit down and laugh at the stupid pictures, and then put it right back on the shelf never to be opened again.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I recently got a copy of the Essential Guide to Alien Species ... and my fears came true. From the moment I heard about this book, I feared the worst. I do want to point out that I own all 3 West End Games Alien Books (Galaxy Guide 4 & 12 + Alien Encounters). This book is only good for people who don't have any previous Alien Books. I consider this volume a wasted opportunity to give the +/- 35 species from the movies, that have not yet gotten their background (like Lutrillian, Sakiyan, Phuii, Xexto, Lannik, etc...), a decent place in the Universe. There are +/- 65 Species and Creatures from the movies and +/- 73 from the Expanded Universe in this book, so you can hardly call this book Essential, since we've all seen the movies, but not all of us have read the books / comics. What's bad about this book: *Hardly contains any real new information, most info is copied from previous books and it seems there wasn't any real interest (enough knowledge of Star Wars lore) to write new information. *Episode I species are ignored. Only Toydarians, Dugs, Neimoidians and Gungans appear in this book. So don't expect to see species of the Jedi Council, Senate or Podracers. *Way too much Expanded Universe ! Even (many) Marvel Aliens show up in this book ! *Mixing Aliens with Creatures is not a good idea. The results are clear. There are missing creatures from the movies (not even one creature from Episode I is in this book!) and there are missing many Species as well. I bought this book because I really like the alien species from the movies and because I thought they would finally give some species a proper background ... I wonder if the writer has actually seen the movies more than once. I think she has never heard of Lutrillians, Wol Cabashhite, Yam'rii, Iktotchi or Morseerian. I think it's a pity that when you're allowed to write a Star Wars Sourcebook that you don't grab the opportunity to write new information instead rehearsing old info. And that she was allowed to add new info was proved because there is a little bit new info though (H'Nemthe - Kowakian Monkey Lizards - Gundarks and Yarkora). I think when you write a new book, the purpose is to include new information ... I found it not easy to rate this book. Many fans will think most info is new, but it is not. Still, this book can be useful to fans who don't own any previous alien books, but it's pretty useless for the fans that do. I wonder when these aliens are finally getting their backgrounds ...
Rating: 
Summary: A cool, funny reference book
Review: I've read several of the Essential Guides, and I've gotta say that this is not only the most informative of the series that I've read, but also the most entertaining. The book is organized very well, so finding what you're looking for is not difficult, and in each entry, after at least several long paragraphs describing what this particuler species eats, where it lives, breeding habits, etc, there is a short narrative from the point of view of a certain character (ranging anywhere from Luke Skywalker, to Bria Tharen, to Anakin Solo) describing a first hand experience with a member of the specified species. This is the most unique (and hilarious) aspect of the book. However, I would recommend this book mostly to highly experienced, (and highly devoted) Star Wars fans, though that is not to say that those of you who are not so "into it" couldn't pick it up for idle amusement. Anyway, all in all I would say that this book is among the best Star Wars reference books I've read in a while, and one I would recommend to all major Star Wars fans.
Rating:
Summary: A cool, funny reference book
Review: I've read several of the Essential Guides, and I've gotta say that this is not only the most informative of the series that I've read, but also the most entertaining. The book is organized very well, so finding what you're looking for is not difficult, and in each entry, after at least several long paragraphs describing what this particuler species eats, where it lives, breeding habits, etc, there is a short narrative from the point of view of a certain character (ranging anywhere from Luke Skywalker, to Bria Tharen, to Anakin Solo) describing a first hand experience with a member of the specified species. This is the most unique (and hilarious) aspect of the book. However, I would recommend this book mostly to highly experienced, (and highly devoted) Star Wars fans, though that is not to say that those of you who are not so "into it" couldn't pick it up for idle amusement. Anyway, all in all I would say that this book is among the best Star Wars reference books I've read in a while, and one I would recommend to all major Star Wars fans.
Rating:
Summary: At long last, a visual guide to the aliens of the EU...
Review: It is about time that this essential guide came out! This is the one I think I have been waiting for the longest (except maybe the Essential Chronology). Most of the time I could care less about the history of Droids or Weapons, but the aliens of the Star Wars universe have always been of interest to me. Finally, here they are in this essential guide. This book was apparently "written" in-universe by Shi'ido anthropologist Hoole - yes, the same Hoole who wrote an entry for the Illustrated Star Wars Universe, and the same Hoole who was a character in the Galaxy of Fear novels. So what do you get? For each of more than 100 species, you get at least one full page. There is an illustration of a member of the species, a little box giving the planet of origin, average height, and whether or not it is sentient. Then there is a bunch of text outlining the culture and history of the species, and finally a little in-universe anecdote, usually in the form of a journal entry, from someone who has had contact with members of that species. Then, for a bunch of other species that were not important enough to merit a full page, there is an appendix of "other notable species" which each get around a paragraph. Granted, there are a few illustrations that look a little...off, and a couple that do not correspond with previous illustrations of that species, but overall the art is really good. In fact, that's what I use this book for - visual reference. The notes are nifty, but I got it for the pictures. In addition, there is a long awaited pronunciation guide at the end - THANK YOU! This book covers everything from the common species, to the Chiss, the Yuuzhan Vong, Falleen, even such obscure species as the "Assemblers," of which Ku'dar Mu'bat from the Bounty Hunter Wars was a member. Definitely buy this book if you like Star Wars. Highly Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining but not "Essential" or "Comprehensive"
Review: Let me say this, this book is fun to read, they follow the spirit of the Star Wars Galaxy but the problem is that it's more of an "Essential Guide to Monsters" rather than Alien Species.
Yes; it has a lot of interesting creatures, but it ignores a lot of important races. For example, these races are ignored:
- Kaminoans (those long-necked guys from Episode II)
- Yoda's race (come on!)
- Iridonians (Darth Maul)
- all the different races of the Jedi knights (from Episode I)
----- and these are just what I remember off-hand.
Also, the book ignores a lot of new information in video games (such as Knights of the Old Republic, where they reveal the Lucas-approved origin of The Sand People/Tuskan Raiders).
I don't understand why they skipped the above races only to put other Episode I races such as the Gungans, annoying flying blue Toydarians, etc.
It has a lot of interesting information but not enough that made me read the whole book. (The Essential Guide to Characters was something I read over and over and used as a reference manual).
If a friend told me he/she bought this, I'd be "yeah, it's cool." But if he/she asked me first, I'd say, "Nah. It's not that great. Get it from the library or borrow mine."
Rating:
Summary: Best of this series
Review: Of all the "essential guides," the original artwork and the approach to the entries in this one make it the best of the lot - I should know, I have them all. The alien species are described as if they really existed, and the approach to the book is that it was written by a traveling anthropologist rather than from an editor who is just summarizing their appearances in Star Wars movies and books. Each entry also includes a short story or description "written" by familiar and unfamiliar characters in the Star Wars pantheon. Luke Skywalker talks about his friend Windy's bantha, Wedge Antilles relates his experiences with the frustratingly thorough Slussi, and so on. It adds to the book, and makes it much more enjoyable.
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