Reddit reviews The New Essential Guide to Characters (Star Wars)

I'm also a (straight) woman and have had a major lady crush on her ever since my parents bought me the The New Essential Guide to Characters in 5th grade. Her page was one of the few I had my dad photocopy, laminate, and compile for frequent reference...

They're somewhere between semi-canon and non-canon, then you have the complicated issue of whether the prequels are on the same level of canon.

(G)ospel Canon = AKA (G)eorge Lucas Canon - the six original films, and direct novelizations penned by George Lucas or ghostwritten for him.

2nd - Television shows like the Clone Wars and Star Wars rebels as well as the radio dramas. - still high canon.

3rd - Continuity Canon = expanded universe stories published under the "star wars" label = sort of semi-canon - considered to have authority if not contradicted by either of the two above. Within this there's different levels. Some books such as The essential guide to characters are more directly connected to Lucas than some of the other expanded universe works. The prequels throw a wrench into this because they patently contradicted much of prior expanded universe stuff, so much of it was revised. But much of the EU is sort of "semi-canon."

The category above includes all the Timothy Zahn, AC Crispin and other Expanded universe books, which are sort of assigned varying degrees of canon piecemeal. For example the "han solo adventures" by Brian Daley published in 1978 and the Han Solo Trilogy published in 1992 are seen as pretty much the story for Han Solo's youth, but as the expanded universe books multiplied, some of them go farther and farther afield.


4th - Secondary canon such as card games, video games etc.

non-canon material - anything not published under the star wars brand, or patent 'what if" material.

Try playing Knights of the old Republic 1 and 2, it tells you a lot about the Second Sith War and the Mandalorian Wars. Also I would highly recommend all the new Essential guides, found in any Chapters store or Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Jedi-vs-Sith-Essential-Guide/dp/0345493346

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-The-Essential-Atlas/dp/0345477642/ref=pd_sim_b_1/184-0640685-6358056

http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Guide-Warfare-Star-Wars/dp/0345477626/ref=pd_sim_b_1

http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Guide-Vehicles-Vessels-Star/dp/0345449029/ref=pd_sim_b_4

http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Weapons-Technology-Revised-Edition/dp/0345449037/ref=pd_sim_b_1

http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Guide-Alien-Species-Star/dp/034547760X/ref=pd_sim_b_3

http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Guide-Droids-Star-Wars/dp/0345477596/ref=pd_sim_b_1

http://www.amazon.com/The-Essential-Chronology-Star-Wars/dp/0345449010/ref=pd_sim_b_4

http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Guide-Characters-Star-Wars/dp/0345449002/ref=pd_sim_b_4

This one is good for books.

http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Readers-Companion-Star-Wars/dp/0345511190/ref=pd_sim_b_1

That's the art that was used in 'The New Essential Guide to Characters' released back in 2002.

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https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Guide-Characters-Star-Wars/dp/0345449002