“The Star Wars Heresies” by Paul F. McDonald

Anakin as baby Jesus?

Like many Star Wars fans, I used to dislike the Prequel Trilogy. Unlike most of those fans, I’ve read The Star Wars Heresies.

The Original Trilogy rightly receives considerable praise for the ways in which it echoes Campbellian “hero’s journey” and other mythological themes. Paul F. McDonald, librarian and consummate Star Wars fan, applies the same thoughtful analysis to The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. While I was aware of some of the parallels between the Prequels and real-world mythology, this book showed me that I had barely scratched the surface.

“The Star Wars” by J.W. Rinzler

The Star Wars is not the Star Wars we’ve all grown to know and love. Instead, this comic is an adaptation of George Lucas’s first draft for the film that eventually became Star Wars. This is an alternative take on the story, a great “what if?” Some of the characters and places have names similar to those in the final films, but in a completely different context. Luke Skywalker isn’t an optimistic young kid, but rather a grizzled old Jedi general.

First Impressions of The Last Jedi through other Sci-Fi

One of my biggest critiques of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was that it relied too much on nostalgia. At times, it seemed like a soft reboot of A New Hope. Naturally, this led me to worry that Disney was too reluctant, too concerned with profits to take risks with the franchise. When promotional images for The Last Jedi included vehicles that looked suspiciously like AT-AT walkers, I worried that Director Rian Johnson’s new Star Wars film would again play it safe by retreading the plot of The Empire Strikes Back.

I was wrong. I am glad.

“George Lucas” by Brian Jay Jones

I read Brian Jay Jones’ biography of Jim Henson when it first came out and found myself captivated. Jones conveyed Henson’s passion for his work and his joie de vivre. When I saw that Jones had written a book about George Lucas, I was cautiously optimistic. I was interested to see what somebody with Jones’ talent could do with one of the most influential filmmakers in history. On the other hand, I wondered if the world really needed another biography of George Lucas.