LUCAS, George - FOSTER, Alan Dean (ghostwriter).

£1,250 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

Star Wars. From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker. First hardback edition, signed by the ghostwriter Alan Dean Foster on the title page (which solely credits George Lucas). This novelization of Star Wars: A New Hope was originally published as a paperback five months prior to the release of the film in May 1977 and represented the world's first encounter with a long-form story from the galaxy far, far away. This copy is from the book club edition, published in July 1977 and preceding the first trade hardback edition of November. This copy has the printer's date code "S27" in the gutter of the final page, as required for the first printing. Foster's version is "perhaps most notable for allowing its readers to experience the interiority of characters from the film... Although the film establishes Leia's willingness to shoot the stormtroopers, the novelization allows its readers to imagine the consequences of her act more vividly by narrating the stormtrooper's thoughts and aspirations" (Webster, p. 51). It also includes colour photographs from the film with captioned explanations of the Star Wars universe, presciently described as images that "may become a milestone in the space fantasy genre" (facing p. 42). The front panel of the dust jacket was designed by the lead poster designer for the original trilogy, John Berkey, and the rear panel gives credit for the film. The novelization includes several key details omitted from the finished film, but later retconned into the series

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