I received my very first Star Wars Incredible Cross-Sections and Visual Dictionary books from my grandma all the way back in 1999. They were for The Phantom Menace - and I remember spending hours poring over every detail contained within. At that point, I hadn't had a lot of exposure to the 'Expanded Universe', so those books were my first hint of the much larger universe that existed behind the films. Everything had a story, an explanation - a reason for being there. Fast-forward seventeen years, and I once again find myself savouring every piece of information in the new The Force Awakens editions of each of these books.
As with every other entry in these series, the detail is phenomenal. The beautifully hand-drawn cutaways in Incredible Cross-Sections reveal the painstakingly thought-out engineering behind every vehicle in the new film, as well as a few interesting plot points that add even more depth to the story. The Visual Dictionary builds on this - using Pablo Hidalgo's encyclopedic Star Wars knowledge to flesh-out countless weapons, devices, locations, and character (some of which only appear on-screen for the briefest of moments). There are a couple of characters that are notably omitted - but this is understandable, given the secrets that are being kept for Episodes VIII and IX.
Both volumes are currently available from Whitcoulls or MightyApe for $37.00 each.
