Lit Star Wars Lightsabers: A Guide to Weapons of the Force

I'm just curious if anyone has picked this up yet and if it has any new info in it?

 

Its on my list to get but I have not yet. I too would be interested in feedback.

 

Never heard of it until now.

 

It was written by Pablo Hidalgo, so it's probably pretty good. I've been wanting to pick this one up, but have yet to come across it in the wild. If I can't find it in within a few week's time, I'll have to just buy it online

 

I havent seen it around anywhere near me. Probably better chance of online purchasing.

 

I haven't been able to find the book yet, but I'm curious on the details in it. So, I checked Wookieepedia's page for the book, and guess who is back in canon according to the wook - Roron Corobb! http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Roron_Corobb/Canon#cite_ref-Atlas_0-0



Has anyone picked the book and is there anything interesting in it? How does it compare to the older version?

 

Its not a bad book but its too Jedi/Light side-centric which is more and more typical of Lucas/film canon. I kinda suspect their big thing is is basically that Dark Siders are dumb in the Force. Always at a distinct disadvantage since Jedi's are connected/bonded to their living kyber crystals which gives them and their lightsaber some kinda balancing and musical rhythm effect where they act as one - and somehow the Jedi way of using the Force is just overall better than the Dark Side to where its just good guys always have to win plot stuff.

- Darth Maul based the design of his double-bladed lightsaber on ancient plans found deep within a Sith holocron owned by Darth Sidious. Eager to destroy the Jedi, Darth Maul felt a single-bladed weapon was far too limiting.

- Standard lightsabers and water don't mix. Igniting a lightsaber underwater can be a problem. The weapon may boil the surrounding water, spinning turbulence and making it difficult to control. Should a Jedi become submerged in water during the course of an assignment, they need to best make sure the lightsaber is prepared with special protective measures like for example flashback waterseals.


- Count Dooku departed from the Jedi tradition in his curved hilt design, but he transformed the original kyber crystal into a red gem when he took the Sith title Darth Tyranus.

-Anakin had visions of the dark side while in his trace-like state in the sacred caverns of Ilum, where he meditated on the construction his (AOTC) lightsaber(* Was this a reference to Anakin's visions of Maul apparition from the classic "Jedi Quest: Path to Truth" book/ comic?) which was built for maximum power.

- During the rematch duel over Coruscant (ROTS) Dooku was familiar with Obi-Wan's fighting style which allowed him once again to get the better of him.

- Maul fighting Jinn on Tatooine, had it prolonged for any longer, Maul would've overtaken the Jedi Master with his relentless attacks.

- Maul did deliberately separate the two Jedi on Naboo to destroy them one on one. Obi Wan only by centering himself in the Force allowed him to outleap the Sith Lord and surprise him with the midsection blow.

-When Mace Windu led a team of Jedi Masters to apprehend Darth Sidious, none of them expected to face the power of the Sit Lord. His innocent appearence as Chancellor Palpatine, along with an application of a concentrated dark side confusion haze, enabled Darth Sidious t take down Agen Kolar, Kit Fisto, and Saesee Tiin. But WIndu nearly overpowered Darth Sidious, forcing him into a corner and holding him at blade point. It was Anakin who severed Mace's arm, allowing Sidious to win the fight with a blast of Force lightning.

- Despite being evenly matched during their Mustafar duel, it was eventually Anakin's overconfidence, fueled by the Dark Side which led to his defeat. A mistimed leap over Obi Wan allowed him to swiftly cut Anakin, leaving him disabled.

- During the Death Star duel between Obi Wan and Vader, Obi Wan primarily focused on buying time for his friends, namely Luke. While Vader wanted revenge. This duel was more careful than their previous one on Mustafar. It was careful and measured. Obi Wan's movements were slowed by age and lack of practice; Darth Vader- recalling the grievous injuries he suffered during Mustafar fought his former Master with apprehension while his cybernetic body reduced his actions. Ultimately, Obi Wan deliberately dropped his defenses and Vader cut through him.

- A Sith lightsaber is constructed using similar methods to a Jedi but a Sith cannot establish a mutual bond with a kyber crystal like Jedi do. Because Sith have dark emotions like hate and fear. Instead a Sith imposes their angry will,"bleeding" it. Some believe the proper method to gain a crystal involves bleeding one captured from a Jedi lightsaber- though in truth, any inert kyber shard can be bled and forcefully weaponized for use in a red-bladed lightsaber.

- The Inquisitors are a now defunct group of Imperial Jedi hunters according to this book, so it seems confirmed the last ones died on Malachor. Their lightsaber had repulsorlift propeller which created the rotating and spinning effect of their lightsaber blades.

- Jedi Temple Guard lightsabers are unlike traditional Jedi lightsabers, used double-bladed weapons and were not personally bonded to their users. They were simply assigned in order to make those on guard duty as anonymous as possible.

- The implication is the micro-series Grievous personally capturing of Palpatine is apparently overall canonized since not only was Roron Corobb killed but so were other Jedi protectors killed(although they went unnamed in the book). Also, as the last line of defense for Chancellor Palpatine Master Shaak Ti fought Grievous during the final battle of the Clone Wars, where Grievious ensnared Shaak Ti with electrified cables which knocked her out.

This Sith symbol is of course canon:

 

Very cool. I guess that fixes the plot hole of why Saesse Tiin and Agen Kolar just stood their to get stabbed. They were stunned.

 

Yeah, and a Dark Side Sith Force technique was implemented by Sidious to temporarily weaken the Jedi, "confusion haze".

Dooku made quick work of Kenobi during AOTC because Tyranus used an elegant use of Form II combat that allowed him to slip past Obi Wan's defenses and badly wounded him.

This book as far as I know is the first to (re)canonized the name of Kolar's deceased battle arena apprentice from AOTC, Tan Yuster.

 

I did buy thus book, and to be perfectly frank, I found it rather underwhelming. Surprisingly, they did not include some of the unique lightsabers from TCW or Rebels, which means that it's movie-only. Why is that a problem? Because apart from the main characters (who all had their unique weapon), most Jedi in AOTC and ROTS wield the same 3 hilts: the Plo Koon/Luminara Unduli, the Kit Fisto/Adi Gallia, and the Saesee Tiin/Aala Secura/Ki-Adi-Mundi.

At least, the Legends version of the book partially explained that by introducing new lore, namely that Koon and Unduli both built their lightsabers to resemble that of legendary master Lacunas Subartuk. I was sad to see the reference to Subartuk gone. They could've explained the other two models as well.