Death Star Owner’s Technical Manual by Ryder Windham, Chris Reiff, and Chris Trevas is a fascinating look at the Death Star through the lens of a Haynes manual. For the uninitiated, Haynes manuals feature technical details and information about real vehicles, such as how to repair and maintain them; this manual design concept has been applied to the Star Wars universe. Early last year, Windham and company traversed similar terrain with the Millennium Falcon manual, and the details are no less spectacular here.
Windham (no stranger to Star Wars literature) supplies the textual background of the Death Star, covering the origins of the ultimate space station (largely from the E.U.), and gives a detailed examination of the on board systems, controls, weapons, etc., and manages to look at a certain small thermal exhaust port, right below the main port. It’s a heck of a lot of fun, and the artwork and diagrams provided by Reiff and Trevas are gorgeous and lifelike. There are many photographs as well, and we even get to see a lot of information on Death Star II from Return of the Jedi.
While it’s true that here is no such thing as an actual Death Star (ask Congress) , the attention to detail and technical know-how provided make it feel as though the Death Star actually could exist. If you are into ship design and don’t mind the verisimilitude of the Star Wars universe being slightly stretched, and you love the Death Star, this book was made for you. Casual fans may not find the book as engaging, but you still can’t help peruse the book with curiosity and joy, as the work and effort that went into this manual is evident. Let’s hope that Windham, Reiff, and Trevas tackle the A.T. A.T. for their next project, because the detail provided here certainly would be awesome when focused on these beloved vehicles as well.
Order Star Wars: Death Star Owner’s Technical Manual from Amazon.com
Note: A big thank you to Del Rey and Net Galley for providing an advance copy to review.
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