"The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels" by Hayden Blackman, Ian Fullwood [Del Rey, 2003]

by Hayden Blackman (Text) and Ian Fullwood (Graphics)

[image=http://www.theforce.net/books/images/vehicle-new.jpg]



Synopsis

From the beat-up landspeeders that whisk travelers between desert towns on Tatooine to Jabba the Hutt?s luxurious sail barge and the elegant Naboo Royal Starship, the vehicles and vessels in the Star Wars universe have captivated millions of delighted fans.

In light of the ever-expanding saga, the New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels features completely updated entries that cover more than 150 ships, along with brand new, full-color illustrations by dazzling artist Ian Fullwood. This new volume encompasses craft from all five movies, the bestselling novels of the New Jedi Order, comics, TV specials, and games. Inside you will find:

? Detailed profiles and vital statistics for each vessel, including data covering the vehicle?s construction, size, maximum speed, and its role in Star Wars history
? A revealing Layman?s Guide to Technology, covering common terms applied to each class of vehicle
? An outline of engine technologies that drive the craft across the Star Wars galaxy, and of the unique weapons they boast
? Schematics for each vehicle, providing the reader with instant visual reference
Discover the modifications Han Solo and Chewbacca made on the Millennium Falcon to make it one of the fastest vessels in the galaxy; the secrets of the Imperial All Terrain Armored Transport Walker, possibly the most formidable military vehicle ever assembled; the reasons the Tribubble Bongo Sub is the chosen way to navigate the watery depths of Naboo; and the unique and lethal properties of the Yuuzhan Vong?s living starship, the Coralskipper.

 

I gave it a 9. Like TNEGTC, the book surpases the previous edition in almost every way.

But if it's so good, why am I giving it a nine? It's mainly minor things, but they can do a great deal of damamge. (Anyone else notice that the A-Wing is listed as being affiliated with the Empire? And why did they choose to disclude the Death Stars, but include the droid starfighter and Confederacy Droid Vehicles? Shouldn't they belong in The New Essential Guide To Droids?)

Overall, though, it is a good book, despite the small flaws.

 

The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels has been eagerly awaited by countless fans, and at $60 Aust dollars, a hefty swallow without Amazon's cheaper alternative. With scores of potential new entries from the prequel movies and dozens of books since the first guide, colour and better spec info add value over the previous EGVV, with a wealth of new and unexpected ships to find out.

The first guide featured an outline schematic and pencilled illustration of each ship or vehicle. The NEGVV has each entry in full colour and textured detail that wonderfully brings them to three-dimensional life. Not all entries have optimal camera angles, and some weren't positioned too well at all. A single standardised view looking down at each ship would have afforded better detail and more to look at.

The entry specs was a welcome improvement over the sparse information the first guide had. Knowing the length of a ship is what these guides are all about, but when applicable, even the height was added. Good stuff. Some quotes were creative, others just bland, while the max speed was initially confusing, as the "G" at the end looks very much like a number, seemingly adding an extra digit to the speed! The NEGVV finally names the Chiss clawcraft and Republic Cruiser, which does have you wondering why no one has bothered to give them a simple name till now.

The guide features a short summary on what looks like every SW manufacturer in the galaxy, complete with their own individual insignia. A nice touch, though Kuat's is reminiscent of Zelda's Triforce because it is. Important ships systems and functions are also explained, in case you aren't aware what turbolasers, navcomputers and hyperdrive are. The inclusion of a speed and hyperdrive rating bar was commendable, which is always pertinent for the true fanatic, though it did have errors. The battle maps were useless. Most buyers are movie fans who already know the major battles of the movies, and a flat map doesn't present anything new.

But hype only excites so far, and beneath the shine and sparkle lurk enough small but serious mistakes to grease a Hutt uphill that have cost this NEGVV the quality it could have had.

Only the most popular and used ships are given entries, so where was the Bothan Assault Cruiser? Its absence was the biggest disappointment of all. A single entry collectively describing the new warships of the Black Fleet Trilogy would have been nice. The A-wing was not developed by the Empire, it's doubtful that the Techno Union's starship would be unarmed, the TIE Defender's tractor beam was still omitted, as was the weapons complement of the Super Star Destroyer, only that it has "over a thousand weapons", and why the hell the Naboo N-1 fighter still has no name is criminal. The XJ3 X-wing with all its new modifications over the original was ignored, and the Naboo Royal Cruisers have no name, as if a monarch would not name their own royal flagship. Still no Golan battle station or Floating Fortress.

The Vong warships of the NJO series has hardly been given any detail in 19 books, and just like their one-dimensional people, here too there is no detail. Readers rarely know how long they are and their armament, but that doesn't change here. The Vong have just four entires, all of them just as light in detail and depth as the books. Many more Vong ships are found in the appendix, equally obscure. The coralskipper was glossed over. If the dovin basal gravity creature controls both propulsion and shielding, how many grav holes can it generate? The fighter has just a single gun? Why no mention of its communications deficiency? Or its unique way of being flown? Or how everything allegedly becomes transparent to the pilot?

Overall, this is still one slick present and well worth getting by any legal or otherwise means. An enjoyable read, just one that could have been sharpened better.

 

6/10

It was okay, but nothing spectacular.

 

Well, I can say that us "Fleet Junkies" were expecting alot more.

For example, we get whole pages on a bounty hunters ship that got one scence or on useless podracers that blew up in a second.

Yet, the author left out many of the ships from the NJO that were extremely common:

1. Bothan Assault cruiser
2. Mon Calamari Star Defender
3. Republic class cruiser

And don't even get me started on the Star Destroyer entry. Why in the name of all that is holy would they lump several types of SD in a single entry. The VSD deserved its own at least. And not even a mention of the often see Corellian gunship. Hell, even the entry on the super common Mon Cal cruiser was less than impressive.

In all, I can say that I would give it a 6. Its one redeeming quality was that it had exceptional artwork.

--Nick

 

Great artwork, and a reasonable amount of information; but the obvious errors and omissions brought the score down.

8/10

 

7

Could have been better in a few key areas. More info, eliminate the mistakes, etc.

 

I gave it a 9 cuz they left the Death Stars out. I mean common there epitome of star wars.

 

Well, considering that it's an optional attachment...

 

gave it a 7. I like the blueprints or whatever in the original EGtoVV and the Vong vessels are dorky looking.

 

9. Not enough information on the hapan crusiers and the A-9! Needs more capital ships and snubfighters... the eclipse star destroyer was goood....

 

Unlocked. Up.

 

6

I liked The New Character guide much better

 

VERY useful! Especially for a fanfic writer!

 

I wished thy would have focused more on EU stuff. That's the things everyone needs help with. And no rebel ground veichles were listed. And they need pictures for the stuff in the back.

Still was very cool.