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Star Wars Disney Canon Reference Books

Ultimate Star Wars: Characters, Creatures, Locations, Technology, Vehicles

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"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..."

Ultimate Star Wars is a comprehensive, wonderfully detailed encyclopedia of the entire Star Wars galaxy that explores characters, creatures, locations, vehicles, technology, and more.

Reflecting the saga's epic scope, Ultimate Star Wars is structured chronologically from Episode I: The Phantom Menace to Episode VI: Return the Jedi, including Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels. The book also highlights key events from the saga and provides fascinating insights into the making of the Star Wars movies.

319 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2015

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1028 people want to read

About the author

Tricia Barr

7 books28 followers
Tricia Barr is a writer and professional fan of science fiction. Her FANgirl Blog is a prominent genre-focused website with an emphasis on analyzing strong female characters and the heroine's journey. She contributes to numerous geek websites, including Lucasfilm's Star Wars Blog and Random House's science fiction and fantasy blog Suvudu, and co-hosts the podcast Fangirls Going Rogue for RebelForce Radio. Barr also has conducted interviews and written articles for the print magazine Star Wars Insider, including two cover features on Padmé Amidala (Issue #142) and Princess Leia (Issue #144), and she provided editorial services on Del Rey's Star Wars: The Essential Reader's Companion.
For updates on all things FANgirl follow @FANgirlcantina on Twitter or like Fireheart Series on Facebook. At times she tries the Tumblr.

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5 stars
463 (54%)
4 stars
262 (30%)
3 stars
98 (11%)
2 stars
22 (2%)
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12 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
Profile Image for Will M..
335 reviews668 followers
September 10, 2016
This is an amazing book if you want to know more about Star Wars. It's full of pictures and descriptions about Star Wars in general. I've been a fan since I was a kid but even though I watched the movies a lot of times already, I still forget some details about the star wars universe. Also there's a bigger story than the movies. There are a lot of novels that tackle on different characters before, between, and after the movies. You could also try the tv shows and graphic novels to further explore.
Profile Image for H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov.
2,135 reviews825 followers
March 28, 2022
What those who love the Star Wars Universe know is that anything that is published is almost immediately out of date because content is continually added from various sources besides major motion pictures. So something that was created over years and finally published in 2019 is already incomplete. Within that caveat, I am inclined to agree with the publishers that here is: “Every significant Star Wars character, creature, location, battle, droid and vehicle: one ultimate encyclopedia.”

In addition, it has a very useful timeline and the electronic version, as usual, allows the reader to zoom in on the tiniest visual details. Very nice and frequently value-priced.
Profile Image for Marcos GM.
436 reviews289 followers
December 23, 2021
Aviso sobre la reseña:

Esta reseña debería ser sobre el evento de los cómics de Star Wars "La guerra de los cazarrecompensas", pero como no hay un recopilatorio único y me he pegado una lectura seguida de 35 números no quería que quedase sin constancia (son más de 800 páginas)

Ahora sí, reseña de este tomo enciclopédico:

Lo primero que hay que decir de este libro es que solo lo puedes apreciar si eres fan de la saga. Si no lo eres, algo puedes sacar pero no es más que una enciclopedia sobre esa galaxia muy muy lejana.

Este tomo en concreto solo está actualizado hasta el episodio VIII y todo lo que va detrás, pero lo que se incluye es muy completo. En 4 secciones distintas (personajes y criaturas, localizaciones, vehículos y tecnología) veremos reseñado todo lo que uno pueda imaginarse sobre las películas, series de animación o cómics sobre esos aspectos. Como pega, y muy gorda para mí al menos, al ser revisado tras las secuelas, cambian cosas para adecuarse a ellas que no deberían cambiarse (el tiempo se mide en años anteriores y posteriores a la destrucción de la base starkiller en lugar de la batalla de Yavin, o se refiere al sable de luz de Rey y no al de Luke o de Anakin, que no deja de ser el constructor original y por tanto dueño del mismo)

No es un libro para leer de seguido, y no es algo que dejes una vez y no toques más, porque siempre acabas volviendo a mirar esto o aquello. Un imprescindible para los fans de la saga
Profile Image for Lena's Version.
1,199 reviews546 followers
November 16, 2017
Fue mi autorregalo de Navidad del año pasado y es una absoluta maravilla. La cantidad de datos e imágenes que tiene es abrumadora. Incluye las 2 trilogías originales, así como las series de animación, en apartados como personajes, lugares, líneas temporales, naves y equipamiento...
Indispensable para todo fan. Aún no he podido leerlo entero T_T pero así se disfruta incluso más. Poco a poco, cuando pica la curiosidad por conocer más.
104 reviews3 followers
April 28, 2015
DK Books’ Ultimate Star Wars is a rather interesting book. This isn’t just an updated ultimate visual guide to Star Wars. Instead, this is like five essential guides all rolled up into one. There’s a section covering characters and creatures, a section for locations, a section for technology, and a section for vehicles. There are also timelines, and in general, the whole book is sorted in chronological order. So if you’re looking for a character whose name you don’t know, you can quickly flip to where they appeared in the films/tv shows. Yet the real objective of this book is a bit more bold than that. With the division between Legends and canon, this is the first guide to gather everything that is canon under one cover. In a way, it’s the essential guide for the new era.

At 319 pages, Ultimate Star Wars covers a lot of material. For fans new to the franchise or not that steeped in the material, this will be a book that will help you dig deeper into the galaxy far, far away regardless of your age. Each section starts off with a timeline to help you sort through the material. There are lots of pictures to help you identify the element you’re looking for. And buried within all those pages is a lot of detail pulled from the canon material. Keep in mind that everything in this book counts. It’s all canon. However, for some fans, the lack of expanded universe material may be a drawback.

As a long time Star Wars reader and a big fan of the EU, one thing I noticed when reading this book was how limited the knowledge was of the various characters. Quite simply, it’s because the only things we know now are from the movies and the television shows. As of yet, we only have a handful of canon comic and books to draw upon for extra material. As Dan Wallace said, we have to unlearn what we have learned. The EU was a massive wealth of obscure, humorous and detailed background information, but now that it’s all Legends, we have to be aware of what is actually canon. In that regard, Ultimate Star Wars is a very valuable resource as it can remind us of exactly that. What is Jango Fett’s official backstory? Is Mace Windu still from Haruun Kal? Who is Darth Maul’s mom? All of those questions and more are answered in this book, definitively.

Reading through the early parts of the book, I did find myself going over a lot of stuff I already knew. With the big characters, and with the book sticking to canon, there’s not much for well versed readers to learn. However, I did keep finding things as I went along. For instance, I didn’t realize that the Gungans have two subspecies, the Otolla Gungans (Jar Jar) and the Ankura Gungans (Boss Nass). I didn’t know that Ben Quadinaros went on to become Sebulba’s greatest rival, or that Gasgano came in second place in the big podrace in The Phantom Menace. I learned that the name of the Tusken Raider who attacked Luke in A New Hope is named URoRRuR’R’R (which is hilarious). Another thing I didn’t know is that Yarael Poof, the extremely long necked Jedi Master on the council, had two brains and an extra set of arms (which are hidden under his robes). A few cool things to see set in stone was that Lando is still from Socorro, the Sandtrooper’s pauldron ranking is laid out, and Obi-Wan really is from a planet called Stewjon.

There are some errors in the book, though. Even Piell is accidentally listed as a Zabrak from Nar Shaddaa, the clone trooper’s affiliation is Separatists, and Savage Opress species is Dathomirian. Still, with a book this size, there are going to be some errors, and there really aren’t that many. What’s more interesting are the things that are left unstated. For example, the book does not say that Boba Fett died in the sarlacc. Perhaps a hint that we may be seeing the armored bounty hunter once again?

Overall, the book is pretty neat and definitely serves a purpose no matter how knowledgeable of a Star Wars fan you are. While the timelines aren’t going to be very useful for those steeped in the universe, and the character entries might be hit and miss, you will finds things of interest. Personally, I really enjoyed the obscure characters from the Prequels, like the podracers. I got a lot out of the Star Wars Rebels characters as there were things there I didn’t know or hadn’t put together. There were a lot of fun things for the Original Trilogy characters, and the locations, technology and ship sections are all very cool. Whether it’s a close-up shot of a lightsaber hilt or new stats for a starship, there is something to catch your attention. For the ship nuts out there, the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer is now 1,600 meters with 72 TIE fighters, 8 Lambda-class Imperial shuttles, 20 AT-ATs, 30 AT-STs or AT-DPs, 15 Imperial troop transports, 60 Taim & Bak XX-9 heavy turbolaser batteries, 60 Borstel NK-7 ion cannons, a contingent of 9,700 stormtroopers and crew of 27,850 enlisted officers and 9,235 officers. So yeah, they don’t skimp on the stats, however, they do dodge them on the Super Star Destroyer so we’ll still have to guess on how big that thing really is.

In comparison to all of the guide books that have come before it, Ultimate Star Wars has a rich field of competition. Visually, it’s hard to beat the Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary as the layout of that book puts all the cool visual elements right next to each other for easy reference. However, it does combine everything into one book, which is very handy. Need to look up a blaster? The name of an Ewok? Or do you need to know what sector Cato Neimodia is in? Now you can get all those answers in one book without pulling up Wookieepedia and wondering if this is canon or Legends. In the end, that is the big draw of the book. This is the first guide to canon. Our knowledge is now limited to the first six films, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and a small but growing handful of books and comics. At the kickoff point, this is a good book to get everyone started on the same page. As such, I give Ultimate Star Wars a four out of five metal bikinis. While not perfect, it still provides a lot of fun and useful content for Star Wars fans of all types.
Profile Image for El lector de l'antifaç.
110 reviews24 followers
November 21, 2020
Excelente volumen con no menos excelente recopilacion de datos, toda una enciclopedia del universo Star Wars (valga la expresión y una magnífica profusión de imágenes. Para verdaderos fans de la saga.
Profile Image for Mangrii.
1,142 reviews487 followers
April 23, 2020
Tras cuatro meses picoteando poco a poco en la guía, por fin he terminado esta misma mañana. Dividida en Personajes, Lugares, Tecnología y Vehículos, resulta una guía muy completa en cuanto al número, pero escueta en cuanto a la información, más allá de un breve resumen que a veces no abarca ni siquiera todo el canon establecido.

Puede funcionar como mero recordatorio, si te interesa repasar algún nombre o artilugio en concreto de la saga, o para pasar un rato mirando personajes e imágenes a buen tamaño y resolución de la saga, pero no aporta nada más.
Profile Image for RumBelle.
2,079 reviews19 followers
March 15, 2020
This is an up to date, to a point, guide to Star Wars. It includes the TV shows, through Resistance, and a little bit of info from Rise of Skywalker, some smaller characters and few references here and there. If you look at the timelines for the major characters though, none of them include data on the Rise of Skywalker, with the exception of Lando.

The book is divided up into five sections: characters, creatures, locations, vehicles, and technology. Each section is very in depth, with a wealth of photos, charts, graphs and more. Key moments relating to character, or technology are explored and we get a sense of how each person, place or thing fits into the wider saga. There is also several behind the scenes sections.

There is a loose chronology to the book, but in some areas that chronology sort of falls apart. The art, photos and movie stills are gorgeous, and really bring the text to life.

A wonderful book for any fan!
Profile Image for Lois Merritt.
406 reviews39 followers
October 19, 2019
Definitely a good one - this is basically an encyclopedia for anything on screen with Star Wars, though, there are bits of stuff from the novels mentioned too. Just do wish it was larger with more stuff in the entries, but then it would have been far too expensive, and this was a doable price that I got it for. The downside is of course since episode 9 isn't out yet, this will need to be updated yet again, but we don't have to worry about that for a little while anyway. :)
Profile Image for Tim.
96 reviews3 followers
July 31, 2020
Great encyclopedia. Of course Episode IX and The Mandalorian are absent. Contains new info from time to time.
2,728 reviews
October 30, 2022
F's review: I really liked about how much the bad guys were talked about, but this is a little too big for a 7 year old.
Profile Image for Chad.
1,256 reviews1,036 followers
June 24, 2023
A comprehensive encyclopedia of characters, creatures, locations, technology, and vehicles in Star Wars Episodes 1-6, The Clone Wars, and Rebels. For each character it tells appearances (movies, shows), species, homeworld, and affiliation. For major characters, it gives a timeline of the character's life. Even minor characters are included in the book.

I would've preferred that the book only cover the Episodes, not The Clone Wars and Rebels. In some cases an odd image is chosen for a character; for example, for Tarkin there's an image from Episode 3 rather than 4.

Notes
Profile Image for Marta Duda-Gryc.
592 reviews43 followers
January 13, 2018
I won't be finishing it; nostalgia will probably make me return to it now and then, just to look through the photos and pictures. But the book is not what I wanted it to be: it's mostly a very simplified rehashing of films and not an encyclopedic compendium I needed. Chapters about guns, vehicles, and technology in general are the most interesting and this is why I give the book 2,5 stars (well, that and it looks nice on the shelf). It's not bad, but it's not what I imagined and, simply, it's not for me.
Profile Image for Tim.
96 reviews3 followers
June 16, 2015
Though 'Ultimate Star Wars' mostly copies old info from previously released books, it's a good 'next generation' sourcebook and perfect for beginners. It does have some new bits and pieces (finally some weapons get their model) and it offers a fresh look with elements from TCW and Rebels. Too bad it contains some mistakes, then again it's a book with more than 300 pages.
Profile Image for Bryan Young.
Author 121 books157 followers
August 13, 2015
Notice a few random errors in the book, other than that, it's a fantastic reference.
Profile Image for Emma.
343 reviews
May 1, 2021
A pretty comprehensive guide to the entire Star Wars universe, covering all the movies from Episode I until Episode VIII (plus Solo and Rogue One), and many of the TV series, including Clone Wars, Rebels, and even Resistance (skipped that stuff lol). Sadly, it was published before The Mandalorian and Clone Wars S7 were released.

I liked how detailed it was, yet easy to read and had lots of pictures, so not to overwhelming or bogged down with text (imo). I liked how thoroughly it covered the tv shows and not just the movies, and it even referenced books and graphic novel material.

There was some stuff I'd never read/heard of before, but overall, as a relatively big Star Wars fan since my childhood, there wasn't much "new" information for me. It was a good and interesting readthrough nonetheless!
Profile Image for Rocky Sunico.
2,277 reviews25 followers
May 29, 2021
I've always been a sucker for these DK reference books and I figured it would be worth an experiment to pick up one when it came up on sale on Amazon. This is not the best material to view digitally, but the Kindle Cloud Reader makes it a bit more palatable - I didn't even attempt to read this on my actual Kindle Paperwhite.

This is a pretty comprehensive volume that includes information from most of the recent movies and even some of the animated TV projects. It's a great cross-section of character profiles, key locations, technology, and vehicles that feels like a best-of catalog of stuff we've seen examined in more detail in other visual dictionaries and amazing cross-section books. It's like a Wookiepedia clip show but it's quite comprehensive in the amount of material it covers.
Profile Image for RumBelle.
2,079 reviews19 followers
August 18, 2021
I have read various versions of this book, each more updated and including more information than the last. This particular book begins with the prequels and covers through Star Wars Rebels.

Sections such as Character, Locations and Technology go in-depth into their topics. Within each section there is not always a firm chronology, but for the most part information is presented in order. Characters and Locations were my two favorite sections. I enjoyed reading about people and the places where the adventures took place.

The illustrations were a mixture of screen caps, art, photos and drawings. It was a wide variety, that represented the topics in great detail.

A highly enjoyable book, and it's interesting to see how each new incarnation is different, with new information.
Profile Image for Camilo Guerra.
1,223 reviews20 followers
March 20, 2019
Una cronología de toda la saga Star Wars, desde la trilogia original, los capitulos posteriores hasta las Gerras Clon ( en 3 d) y Rebels, que te cuentan cositas interesantes aunque nada extraordinario que se salga de lo normal, todo muy correcto,con un buen trabajo fotografico, aunque en ocasiones, me sentía leyendo Wikipedia y te repetian datos uno tras otro...que de fue con la duda, ¿La serie animada de Cartoon Network, no es canon?, ¿porque no hay ninguna mención aqui?, siendo un trabajo muy potente y que empatizaba y te marcaba momentos geniales de toda la saga. Grievous se veia jodidamente poderoso, el bautizo de Anakin como Cabllero Jedi...todo eso y mas, esta perdido.
Profile Image for Dee.
182 reviews
August 18, 2021
I loved all the information that you could find here, covering all the movies, the tv shows, and even some of the books. I could've done a little less with the technology section, and had more of the Star Wars animals, dang it XD I always forget a name of a specific animal! Was it a bantha? An eopie? What was the creature the Mandalorian rode in the series? XD Other than that, though, it really covered everything, and it was informative and entertaining!
Profile Image for Brighton.
67 reviews
July 7, 2022
Obviously, it's not nearly as comprehensive as Wookiepedia, but it's still pretty handy. It's easier to just discover something cool in this book than on Wookiepedia (which makes sense considering WP has over 176k pages). There are a lot of cool ships I had never heard of, and now I need to go watch Resistance to see my new favorites 😅 Black Ace anyone?
Profile Image for Aleeha Alaoui.
12 reviews
September 2, 2020
It is HUGE, HEAVY, AND BEAUTIFUL! ❤️ I absolutely love Star Wars and this is a really, really cool book. It has multiple sections, is very detailed, and worth collecting! It looks absolutely incredible on my shelf as well❤️

It is also visually very pleasing 💛

Go for it!
37 reviews
December 21, 2020
This book isn't to read page after page, as it is an encyclopedia but, it has every tiny detail about every character and event, I love the fact that the characters are placed in the order they appear in the movies, the encyclopedia is perfect if you are a star wars fan.
Profile Image for ᥫ᭡ .
315 reviews6 followers
January 24, 2021
This book is exactly what any new Star Wars fan needs. Filled with a ton of helpful information to all the updated characters, and so much more. It is indefinitely the ULTIMATE guide to the Star Wars fandom. And I cannot wait to own this, someday!

EDIT: Bought on Apple 🍎
Profile Image for Mati.
1,033 reviews1 follower
December 25, 2016
I got this as a gift and I would probably not buy it on my own. The graphics are amazing, but some description made me laugh pretty hard.
6 reviews3 followers
November 17, 2017
A good book, but could have more details on lightsabers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews

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