My answer would probably be the 1983 Return of the Jedi novel by James Kahn. I like how much it talks about the backstory of Anakin and Ben. To be honest, I love anything that talks about the events of the prequels before the prequels existed.
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I guess i would say Return of the Jedi. Where you learn it wan Obi Wan’s pride and hubris that led to the creation of Darth Vader. How he had tried to persuade Anakin back to the good side. None of that was in the prequel films.
Nor was Owen Lars Obi Wan’s brother, and Leia’s real mom did not live beyond the birth of Darth Vader.
I kind of wanted to see Anakin as a good friend, a great starpilot and a cunning warrior. That he wanted to have a son and leave him his lightsaber. But i don’t want to rehash the problems i have with the prequels.
To be honest, I love anything that talks about the events of the prequels before the prequels existed.
Me too. I’ve read what backstory is hinted at in Kahn’s Return of the Jedi but I don’t think I know many other pre-prequel sources that talk about the events before the original trilogy. Could you recommend me some?
“Remember, the Force will be with you. Always.”
I liked the prologue to Star Wars From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker. How it described the Emperor how he was President and destroyed the Jedi and subverted democracy. It was not at all how the Emperor was portrayed later in Empire or Jedi. He was a politician controlled by the very boot lickers who elevated him to high office.
I love the back cover of the 1976 edition. Luke Skywalker Challenged the Stormtroopers of a Distant Galaxy on a Daring Mission- Where a Force of Life Became the Power of Death! The McQuarrie cover almost promises a Flash Gordon/Edgar Rice Burroughs style pulp adventure.
for me it’s a toss up between Star Wars and Return Of The Jedi …Star Wars has great world building and alternate descriptions of things and events and I love the part in Return Of The Jedi when Vader’s mask comes off and his thoughts are described …that scene in the novel is beautiful and poetic . While Empire is my favorite film in the whole saga , the novel is a pretty straight forward adaptation , though I do like that description of Boba Fett wearing the armor of a group of evil warriors who were defeated by the Jedi Knights during the clone wars .I took that as gospel growing up and thought we would one day see that in the prequels when they got made . The Death Watch in The Clone Wars animated series are close to how I pictured the Mandalorians of that era would look though .
I always read them back to back in my trusty old Trilogy paperback so I have a hard time separating them out in my mind. Each adds wonderful background details and interesting tidbits that I couldn’t be without.
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