If you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll know that Star Wars reference books and visual guides are one of my obsessions. It should come as no surprise, then, that I had a copy of Solo: A Star Wars Story - The Official Guide ordered to arrive on its release date. The deal was further sweetened by the fact that Amazon.com had the book listed for a pre-order price of $12.59US ($18.20NZ) - a considerable discount on the New Zealand RRP of $40.99.
Like the Rogue One visual guide, this book is essentially an amalgam of the separate Visual Dictionary and Incredible Cross-Section volumes that accompany each episodic film in the saga. For those of you who have delved into these visual guides before, you'll know what to expect: A cornucopia of trivia and glorious images of characters, locations, vehicles, and props. Pablo Hidalgo returns as author once again, bringing with him his urbane wit and formidable knowledge of the Star Wars mythos. He manages to tease out some fascinating minutiae, as well as draw links (some very surprising) to all manner of elements of the Expanded Universe - both canon and Legends. As an added bonus, there are a few pages at the rear of the book that give us a glimpse behind-the-scenes of Solo, including a look at the design process for some of the more iconic characters and vehicles.
Unfortunately, whereas the Rogue One visual guide included a number of cross-sections, this guide only includes one: the Millennium Falcon. I've been an enormous fan of Richard Chasemore's Star Wars cross-sections ever since the late '90s, so I found this a little disappointing. And it's not like there was any shortage of material to work with - the AT-Hauler, TIE Brute, Conveyex, and First Light all would have benefited from the cross-section treatment, as would smaller vehicles like the AT-DT, Han's Landspeeder, and the Cloudriders' swoop bikes.
Nevertheless, Solo: A Star Wars Story - The Official Guide is an admirable addition to this ongoing series of reference books, and a must-have for all fans of the saga.
