The Rise of Skywalker: The Galactic Guide by Matt Jones
The Rise of Skywalker: The Galactic Guide by Matt Jones
As the junior version of the Visual Dictionary, I was quite surprised to find this book jam-packed with goodies!!There are great up-close images from the film and there is tons of information to soak in. I highly recommend it for younger fans for whom the Visual Dictionary is a bit too much to handle. Of course, it's also just a nice refresher between viewings of the film to get a better handle on what's going on and can easily be finished in less than an hour.
In an odd twist, there are a couple of quizzes (Which hero are you most like? and Which planet would you like to visit?) that take the form of branching off questions in a map format, a random T/F question, and a glossary. It's like they thought about making this book interactive but the plan fell through. Regardless, all the images and the layout of the information is vastly engaging and I flew through this, eating up all that it gave me. Now my challenge is to set aside time to deeply dig into the adult Visual Dictionary...it's a beast because they combined the Cross-Sections book with the Visual Dictionary this time around so it's gonna take some good time to read through.
But for now, I'll be content with all the knowledge I've gained from this junior version!! Note: Everything below is presented in the order it can be found in the book which is a slightly off-kilter order when compared to the movie itself.
So what did we learn??
-Ajan Kloss is the jungle planet that holds the Resistance base. "This beautiful world is full of wildlife so it is strong in the Force and an ideal place for Rey to train to be a Jedi." We don't really see much in the way of Ajan Kloss wildlife in the movie so now I'm curious...
-Leia managed to reinvigorate the Tantive IV and that famous ship actually is the CR-90 Corvette that we see. Don't ask me how she got it back from the Empire, I'll just chalk it up to Star Wars magic...
-Rey welded the two pieces of Anakin's saber back together and lo and behold, it still works! Guess the kyber crystal remained intact... See welding scar in the image below:
-The Colossus is mentioned as justification for BB-8 not being with Poe during the opening of the film. In other words, Poe has sent him on other missions before, so why not again? "Nowadays he mainly keeps Rey company on Ajan Kloss."
-Chewie lending the Falcon to Hondo is mentioned...I still don't quite get that timeline. I want to know more!!...or maybe I just want more Hondo...
-Rose is now in charge of the Resistance's engineers! Glad to see that her hard work, commitment, loyalty, heart, and cleverness are being rewarded.
-Beaumont Kin (one of the new Resistance characters--played by Dominic Monaghan) was a professor who "enjoyed studying the history of the Sith and the Jedi. Now, Beaumont helps Rey translate her ancient Jedi books."
-Aftab Ackbar (Admiral Gial Ackbar's son) is the Mon Calamari who Poe calls "Junior." So sweet, I love that off-hand moment! Read the "Allegiance" comic short-run series for more info.
-LGBTQ rep!!!! Larma D'acy (the Resistance Commander who announced Holdo's in-statement as leader during The Last Jedi) has a wife named Tyce who is a starfighter pilot!! It is a lesbian kiss during the celebration at the end!!!! Too bad we didn't get StormPilot, but i'll remain content with this.
-Kylo Ren flies a modified TIE whisper starfighter...I need this LEGO set!!
-The Knights of Ren DO have names!! And each one of them is a very unique individual.
*Vicrul "Without realizing he is even doing it, Vicrul uses the Force to make his foes more terrified of him"
*Cardo "Customized arm cannon has a built-in flamethrower."
*Ushar "Ushar's mask has special breathing filters, which suggests he might be an alien."
*Trudgen "a keen collector [who] has many trophies from past missions"
*Kuruk "a bit of a loner. He prefers ranged weapons, and is the pilot of the team's ship."
*Ap'lek "a sneaky Knight who prefers to trap his targets."
-Apparently Kylo had to pass a test given by Snoke before he could become the leader of the Knights of Ren... I'm curious to see if we'll get more about this in the "Rise of Kylo Ren" short run comic series (the first issue of which was phenomenal)!
-The table surrounded by First Order leadership is the Supreme Council. "Hux has been demoted [...] and lacks any real authority." Yet he's still a general...weird. Allegiant General Pryde commands a Star Destroyer called the Steadfast.
-A new walker!!!! The UA-TT (Urban Assault Triped Transport) patrolling Kijimi has a central arm it uses to tear into buildings...yikes!! Another awesome potential LEGO set!!
-The fiery red planet at the beginning of the film is Mustafar!!!! As the planet has started cooling down, some new residents have shown up, including the Alazmec cultists, devoted followers to Darth Vader. "They have settled on Mustafar where they protect and nurture the Corvax Fen--a marshy area that survives in the middle of the lava." From what I can gather from the Visual Dictionary mixed with this book, the Corvax Fen is part of the grounds of Vader's castle. Very intriguing...
-So the Sith fleet and Sith army are made up of loyalists to the Sith that survived in secret after all the Sith Lords were wiped out. I CANNOT wait to find out more about these guys!! Are any of them Force-sensitive or are they just cultists? Is this referring to the people in the arena as well or just the people that become the troopers, commanders, and technicians?
-"For more than 1,000 years [Exegol] was a power base for the Sith Lords." I wonder if this was before or after the downfall of the Sith Empire (which the Visual Dictionary makes quite clear is canon now!!!). Like are they including Maul, Tyranus, and Vader in this??? Or just pre-Prequel Sith Lords...
-"The very best of [the Sith] troopers are named Sovereign Protectors."
-TIE daggers are the Sith pilots' awesome looking new ships! Again, I need this LEGO set!! And my tattoo idea with the TIE interceptor shooting laser bolts might become a TIE dagger shooting laser bolts...
-"Lando] was a loving father to his daughter, until she was kidnapped by the First Order." What with their interaction at the end of the movie, I have a feeling that this indicates Jannah is Lando's daughter and I'm surprisingly good with that. Now I really want a novel or comic series about the adventures of Jannah and Lando!!
-The giant, snakey, wormy creature under the quick sand on Pasaana is called a Vexis. "The vexis' skin releases oils that strengthen the tunnels that it creates."
-"Kijimi City used to be a former Dai Bendu monastery." ...Bendu?!? What?!? I MUST know more about these guys!!
-Kef Bir is the ocean moon of Endor where part of the Death Star II wreckage lands. It is named this by the Ewoks! "the waters surrounding the wreckage have suffered from toxic pollution." Yikes! Didn't think about those kinds of effects.
-Jannah's stormtrooper group was Company 77.
*Phew* That's a TON of information for a junior reference book! I am very pleased with all the new content and my understanding of the movie has deepened...can't wait to see the movie for a fourth time tonight with all this knowledge in my back pocket!
In an odd twist, there are a couple of quizzes (Which hero are you most like? and Which planet would you like to visit?) that take the form of branching off questions in a map format, a random T/F question, and a glossary. It's like they thought about making this book interactive but the plan fell through. Regardless, all the images and the layout of the information is vastly engaging and I flew through this, eating up all that it gave me. Now my challenge is to set aside time to deeply dig into the adult Visual Dictionary...it's a beast because they combined the Cross-Sections book with the Visual Dictionary this time around so it's gonna take some good time to read through.
But for now, I'll be content with all the knowledge I've gained from this junior version!! Note: Everything below is presented in the order it can be found in the book which is a slightly off-kilter order when compared to the movie itself.
So what did we learn??
-Ajan Kloss is the jungle planet that holds the Resistance base. "This beautiful world is full of wildlife so it is strong in the Force and an ideal place for Rey to train to be a Jedi." We don't really see much in the way of Ajan Kloss wildlife in the movie so now I'm curious...
-Leia managed to reinvigorate the Tantive IV and that famous ship actually is the CR-90 Corvette that we see. Don't ask me how she got it back from the Empire, I'll just chalk it up to Star Wars magic...
-Rey welded the two pieces of Anakin's saber back together and lo and behold, it still works! Guess the kyber crystal remained intact... See welding scar in the image below:
-Chewie lending the Falcon to Hondo is mentioned...I still don't quite get that timeline. I want to know more!!...or maybe I just want more Hondo...
-Rose is now in charge of the Resistance's engineers! Glad to see that her hard work, commitment, loyalty, heart, and cleverness are being rewarded.
-Beaumont Kin (one of the new Resistance characters--played by Dominic Monaghan) was a professor who "enjoyed studying the history of the Sith and the Jedi. Now, Beaumont helps Rey translate her ancient Jedi books."
-Aftab Ackbar (Admiral Gial Ackbar's son) is the Mon Calamari who Poe calls "Junior." So sweet, I love that off-hand moment! Read the "Allegiance" comic short-run series for more info.
-LGBTQ rep!!!! Larma D'acy (the Resistance Commander who announced Holdo's in-statement as leader during The Last Jedi) has a wife named Tyce who is a starfighter pilot!! It is a lesbian kiss during the celebration at the end!!!! Too bad we didn't get StormPilot, but i'll remain content with this.
-Kylo Ren flies a modified TIE whisper starfighter...I need this LEGO set!!
-The Knights of Ren DO have names!! And each one of them is a very unique individual.
*Vicrul "Without realizing he is even doing it, Vicrul uses the Force to make his foes more terrified of him"
*Cardo "Customized arm cannon has a built-in flamethrower."
*Ushar "Ushar's mask has special breathing filters, which suggests he might be an alien."
*Trudgen "a keen collector [who] has many trophies from past missions"
*Kuruk "a bit of a loner. He prefers ranged weapons, and is the pilot of the team's ship."
*Ap'lek "a sneaky Knight who prefers to trap his targets."
-Apparently Kylo had to pass a test given by Snoke before he could become the leader of the Knights of Ren... I'm curious to see if we'll get more about this in the "Rise of Kylo Ren" short run comic series (the first issue of which was phenomenal)!
-The table surrounded by First Order leadership is the Supreme Council. "Hux has been demoted [...] and lacks any real authority." Yet he's still a general...weird. Allegiant General Pryde commands a Star Destroyer called the Steadfast.
-A new walker!!!! The UA-TT (Urban Assault Triped Transport) patrolling Kijimi has a central arm it uses to tear into buildings...yikes!! Another awesome potential LEGO set!!
-"For more than 1,000 years [Exegol] was a power base for the Sith Lords." I wonder if this was before or after the downfall of the Sith Empire (which the Visual Dictionary makes quite clear is canon now!!!). Like are they including Maul, Tyranus, and Vader in this??? Or just pre-Prequel Sith Lords...
-"The very best of [the Sith] troopers are named Sovereign Protectors."
-TIE daggers are the Sith pilots' awesome looking new ships! Again, I need this LEGO set!! And my tattoo idea with the TIE interceptor shooting laser bolts might become a TIE dagger shooting laser bolts...
-The giant, snakey, wormy creature under the quick sand on Pasaana is called a Vexis. "The vexis' skin releases oils that strengthen the tunnels that it creates."
-"Kijimi City used to be a former Dai Bendu monastery." ...Bendu?!? What?!? I MUST know more about these guys!!
-Kef Bir is the ocean moon of Endor where part of the Death Star II wreckage lands. It is named this by the Ewoks! "the waters surrounding the wreckage have suffered from toxic pollution." Yikes! Didn't think about those kinds of effects.
-Jannah's stormtrooper group was Company 77.
*Phew* That's a TON of information for a junior reference book! I am very pleased with all the new content and my understanding of the movie has deepened...can't wait to see the movie for a fourth time tonight with all this knowledge in my back pocket!
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