The most eye-catching, and elegant, weapons from the galaxy far, far away gets the spotlight in Insight Edition’s latest reference book AND is our Geek Pick of the Week!
As the Holiday season approaches, we’re bringing back our Geek Pick of the Week. Each week leading up to Christmas, we’ll be highlighting a cool product we’ve found that we feel would be the perfect gift for geeks of all kinds. Use these to help fill in your own wish list or find the perfect gift for the nerds in your life. Click HERE to read more about previous Picks of the Week!
You know I can’t go too long into our Geek Pick of the Week feature without bringing in something Star Wars related. This week, I’m more than happy to tell you about the awesomeness contained in The Lightsaber Collection (arriving on October 20th).
The Lightsaber Collection is built as a visual guide to the coolest weapons around, pulling from all areas of Star Wars storytelling. More than just the movies and TV shows, The Lightsaber Collection also features blades culled from the video games (Jedi: Fallen Order, Vader Immortal) as well as the books/comics. Hell, we even get a look at a Saber from the upcoming High Republic novel!
On top of offering detailed, close-up looks at the distinctive hilts, they also reveal some fun tidbits of information on those who wield them. Even if you haven’t read the comics, played the games, or even watched some of the animated series, Daniel Wallace fills you in on the pertinent details.
It’s even more impressive considering that each Saber is only given a tiny blurb of information space (maybe three or four paragraphs). The writing is concise, but focused, giving tantalizing details without wasting time. For those who’ve experienced those stories, it’s a nice recap of the important highlights, while feeling comprehensive enough even for those who may have missed those adventures.
Of course, the main highlight of this book is the swanky new artwork included. Since most Lightsabers are seen quickly on the screen—often twirling all around—it’s nice to have highly detailed renderings to feast our eyes on. Those hilts that looked super cool, but were blink-and-miss it moments on screen, get the chance to shine (e.g. Darth Maul’s new Lightsaber from Solo: A Star Wars Story).
The images are sharp, and the layout of the book itself lends perfectly to giving this type of weapon the spotlight. It’s an oddly shaped book (and smaller in stature than I imagined), coming in at 6 inches tall, but 12 inches long (two feet when you open it up to read!). This allows for a spotlight of both hilts and ignited blades, with even a few pages folding out/expanding to accommodate longer designs.
Fans are also treated to some new illustrations of the characters who wield them. These are done in the live-action, realistic style, so we get the chance to see how many game and animated characters would look along with all the other characters we’ve seen on the big screen. The illustrators behind the book, Lukasz Liszko and Ryan Valle, bring the goods with great renderings that capture the vibe of these characters while giving them a look we may not have seen before.
Coming in at 156 pages, The Lightsaber Collection features a wide variety of weapons from across the galaxy far, far away. While it doesn’t feature EVERY Lightsaber (even doubling up on some characters who wielded multiple blades), the selection feels comprehensive and manages to include plenty of surprises. It is laid out in an easy to understand system; breaking things down according to affiliation and era. As such, it works well as a quick reference/resource guide if you’re looking for something specific.
Whether you want a better look at one of your favorite designs/characters, or simply want to learn more about designs from other mediums you might not follow, this has it all. With concise writing and excellent illustrations, this is definitely something Star Wars fans are going to want to get their hands on. If you’re looking for a nerdy gift this year, this is a pretty great choice.
Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection is available on October 20th.
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