The Lightsaber Collection by Daniel Wallace

The Lightsaber Collection written by Daniel Wallace, lightsaber illustrations by Lukasz Liszko, character illustrations by Ryan Valle

This is an affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Well, to be perfectly honest, this book was a major disappointment. I was totally hyped for more in-depth information on different users' lightsabers plus up close and personal renderings, but in reality this just had the really beautiful lightsaber artwork...and that's about it. Each character's saber was gorgeously rendered on one page with the opposite page including a truly bizarre mesh of behind-the-scenes information, actor and crew member quotes, species details, and only a tad about the lightsabers themselves. This is definitely much more a behind-the-scenes, out-of-universe book than a canon in-universe book. And you know me, my thing is the in-universe canon material. So this was a huge let down. If you want a canon in-universe book that really delves deep into lightsaber lore and individual user's sabers and their schematics, history, and unique qualities, check out  Lightsabers: A Guide to Weapons of the Force by Pablo Hidalgo instead. It is a far better reference book than this one. The Lightsaber Collection really does lean so heavily on the renderings of the weapons as opposed to any new or detailed information of import. Don't get me wrong, it's a gorgeous book!!! The text is just severely lacking. And to make matters worse, the back of the book touts, "This book is the galaxy's most comprehensive look at lightsabers, making it a must have resource for your Star Wars collection." Yeah...but no.

Now that I've spent far too much time bashing this beautiful book, I guess I should give you more information so that you can make your own opinion about the necessity of such a tome. The book is divided into 4 parts: 1) a sort of introductory section with a lot of behind-the-scenes quotes and information, 2) Jedi of the Galactic Republic--oddly they include Luke in this, 3) Acolytes of the Dark Side--oddly they include the Darksaber in this..., and 4) A New Jedi Tradition which includes a strange combination of characters including Ezra and Rey. 

Apparently lightsabers can be classed into different groups such as 1) Peace and Justice (silver, black Jedi), 2) Power and Control (dark, angular Sith), 3) Protection and Defense (elegant silver, bronze), 4) Duty and Resolve (rugged, practical), 5) Passion and Strength (subtly sinister), 6) Valor and Wisdom (classic Jedi), and 7) Elemental Nature (wood, bone, other primal elements). The book mentions "Jedi: Fallen Order" and the Disney amusement parks as the source of these categories. But after the introduction of these classes at the beginning of the book, they never get mentioned again...

One enjoyable behind-the-scenes tidbit was: "Stunt coordinator Nick Gillard was impressed by Hayden Christensen's performance as Anakin, stating, 'I've seen hundreds of sword fighters, people who do it for a living, and he leaves them all in his wake.'"!!! This makes me so happy!!

---

I'll admit there were some interesting bits of information about the different sabers. See below for what I found to be the most intriguing:

We learn more about Rey's re-working of the Skywalker Legacy Saber after it's destruction on the Supremacy: "A dark leather band around the middle of the repaired Skywalker saber hides the jagged break and the weld that reseals it, though scorch marks are still visible on the reverse side. The activation controls are replacements. The shattered internal crystal has been fully restored through the use of advanced Force techniques that Rey gleaned from the sacred Jedi texts."

The High Republic makes an appearance with the Jedi Stellan Gios, "During the time of the High Republic, Jedi Master Stellan Gios ascended through the ranks of the Jedi Order as the Padawan of Jedi Master Rana Kant. As a young Padawan learner, he developed a strong connection with fellow Jedi Avar Kriss and Elzar Mann, though they were apprenticed to different masters. Gios is regularly the voice of reason amongst the three, focused on upholding the Jedi tradition." His is the funky blade with the spring-action quillons that was revealed recently (see below). 

Tera Sinube's sabercane can be walked on like a cane, but then quickly be separated into two parts, one that is the saber itself and another that can be used like a bludgeon (haha--can you imagine an old man like him bludgeoning someone...yikes). Note the flat bottom part of his saber below that resembles the rubber stopper on Earthly canes.

Darth Atrius gets a spread!! You'll remember him from the 2015-2019 "Star Wars" comic run when Sana Starros sold one of his two sabers to the highest bidder, only to realize that the sabers are imbued with incredible dark side energy, making their wielders go mad with rage and ferocity. The sabers up close are actually quite cool (see below).

We get a beautiful character illustration of Asajj Ventress as a Padawan holding a green saber (see below)!!

Apparently Maul's Imperial-era saber might have parts from an old Inquisitor saber...note the 1/4 arc piece sticking out near the blade end (see below)...interesting.

---

Unfortunately, there is an incorrect bit of info in the text saying Luminara Unduli was killed on Kashyyyk by Order 66 when in other sources it explicitly states she was taken captive by the Empire and executed by them.

---

I'm going to include a number of super cool saber designs below that were illustrated in this book--my favorite...Dark Side Vision Rey's twin-bladed saber, it has pinkish, rose-gold accents that make it absolutely stunning (actually similar to Leia's)!! Another favorite is Gungi the Wookiee's wooden saber!

Dark Side Vision Rey's Saber:

Gungi's saber:

Leia's saber:

Ahsoka's white sabers from "Rebels":

Rey's own personal yellow saber:

Sifo-Dyas's saber:

The Ren:

---

Trivia:

-Blue sabers: Aayla Secura, Anakin Skywalker, Barriss Offee, Depa Billaba, Jocasta Nu, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Plo Koon, Pong Krell, Shaak Ti, Sifo-Dyas, Ben Solo, Cal Kestis, Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger (saber/blaster)

-Green sabers: Ahsoka Tano (Padawan), Cin Drallig, Even Piell, Gungi, Kit Fisto, Luke Skywalker (Knight), Luminara Unduli, Pong Krell, Qui-Gon Jinn, Quinlan Vos, Yoda, AsajjVentress (Padawan), Ezra Bridger 

-Depa Billaba is from the planet Chalacta.

-It was apparently Even Piell's death on Lola Sayu during the Citadel escape that left a vacancy on the Jedi Council for Anakin to fill in Revenge of the Sith. What a fascinating connection!!

-The Dowutin Ninth Sister's name as a Jedi was Masana Tide. Second Sister Trilla Suduri was Padawan to Cere Junda! Taron Malicos was a Jedi who escaped Order 66 and hid out on Dathomir, the dark side energies of the planet driving him to evil. (again, I really need to finish "Jedi: Fallen Order"...)

---

So I guess there were some good bits of info in this book, but they were few and far between. I just wish they'd stuck with in-canon info rather than oddly mesh it with behind-the-scenes details. It took me out of the immersion the lightsaber renderings set up! Sad. If you're willing to pay $30 just to look at pretty lightsabers then go for it, otherwise buy the other book I linked to in the beginning of this review.