Lit Books The Star Wars Encyclopedia (subscription series) coming to US market

No, not the Star Wars Encyclopedia you're probably thinking of. I'm talking about this one:


This encyclopedia-subscription-type offering, which has been out in European markets for a while, is coming to the US from Fanhome. Per the article:

If you're familiar with these at all, it's probably from Wookieepedia, where they've popped up as a source on seemingly every canon article despite their highly uncertain canonicity (they're from De Agostini, known for their Build the Millennium Falcon and Helmet Collection series where they freely mix Legends and canon material apparently without Story Group vetting). The Wook's article on the series calls each volume in the series a "booklet," but the video embedded above shows hardcovers that look on par with the Haynes manuals in terms of size and amount of content. So I'm not sure what to tell you there.

The "encyclopedia via weekly/monthly subscription" model isn't new in the US for those fans of "a certain age," but this is the first I've heard of a publishing company trying it in the Internet age. The cost will be a deterrent to many: at $9.99 USD per volume, presumably plus tax and shipping, you're looking at an outlay of over $40 USD a month and over $900 USD for the entire set. Ouch. I'm a canon completist, and the video embedded above makes these look awfully appealing, but in an economy like what we're presently looking at here in the US, that may well be the bridge too far whilst trying to keep up with novels, comics, reference books, Disney+ subscription, and so on. My Star Wars budget is only capable of stretching so far. I'll be thinking hard about whether this is worth the cost for me personally. Your mileage may vary.

Display space for this 90-volume set is also an issue. De Agostini printed a design on the spines, meaning that if you want to display these as intended you basically have to find a bookshelf long enough to accommodate the entire series, assuming a shelf that long and a wall capable of supporting it exists.

If anyone already has this set or is familiar with it, what do you think? Is there enough value in this series to make it worth the price tag and shelf space, or does it just reformat and repackage existing lore and artwork from other sources?

 

Based on my experience of acquiring the Dredd Mega Collection over four years:

- These tend to be repackaging of existing material. I'm not sure there's enough SW reference material for 90 volumes.

- If you already own a good amount of SW material then it's probably not worth it.

- I don't think the Dredd ones charged for postage.

- It's a good chunk of cash for a lot of months and they tend to release in mixed up order to incentivise continuing. You want that spine picture, right?

- Don't even think of trying to display the set on a shelf, break it across several.

Did I consider the Dredd one worth it? Yes. The size and quality of the volumes was a bargain for £9.99. Plus, with 40 years of Dredd material to draw on - there was no shortage of good stuff.

 

This is just like the classic Fact Files and the Starships and Vehicles sets. Just try to get the full set of those nowadays. Within two years of the last book of this series, it will be a very tall and expensive order to get them all. This seems ready made for the online speculators, but trying to sell or purchase the eventual complete set would be a very rough hassle in terms of shipping.