A must-have for fans of the live action Star Wars saga and its LEGO incarnation alike, it comes with an exclusive new LEGO minifigure, and follows the same format as DK’s LEGO Star Wars The Dark Side and LEGO Star Wars Yoda Chronicles.”
This book is less about LEGO and more about Star Wars and effectively uses DK’s style and lay up, as well as a large number of LEGO Star Wars sets to bring new fans of the Star Wars franchise up to speed with the history and events, characters and personalities, planets, factions and organisations that fill a galaxy far, far away.
The photography is outstanding and in your face – frankly it’s refreshing to see ABS instead of CGI because (in my opinion) there has been all too much of that recently – and I am proud to say that even after 7 years some of the photographs I took for the original LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary still made the cut! A lot of thought has gone into the lay out of each page, and the practical application of LEGO knowledge and some aesthetics has created a book with plenty of interesting text and punchy graphics filling the pages.
The exclusive minifigure – Unkar’s Brute – received a great deal of criticism from the LEGO AFOL collecting community when its inclusion was announced. The debate on its worthiness certainly highlighted the fact that LEGO and AFOLs don’t always see eye-to-eye but being an AFOL and a father of an eight year old boy (the exact demographic that LEGO targets) I get to sit firmly on the fence.
I’ll admit that the choice of figure had me scratching my head – what play value does one of Unkar Plutt’s dim-witted henchmen have on its own? Zilch. But couple with Encounter on Jakku (75148), which came out a week later, it adds an extra minifig and expands the scope of the set.
Over all I was pretty sceptical about this book – what was its purpose, where did it fit in with the rest of DK’s LEGO Star Wars line and was it going to be guilty of adding more non-canon lore to the Star Wars galaxy?
To answer these terribly important questions in order: the book is a great way for kids to catch up with the background stories of our favourite seven-part saga. With its eye-catching photos and poppy layout it doesn’t really match the the other LEGO Star Wars Chronicles books, and sets itself apart from most of the rest of DK’s titles. It comes closest to matching the visuals in both LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary books, but manages to squeeze in a whole lot more. And no, it firmly underlines the mythology that we have come to accept and doesn’t add to the story line in the way that The Freemaker Adventure and The Force Awakens video game recently have.
In my role as the LEGO Star Wars content manager at Rebelscum.com a lot of merchandise comes across my desk; some I like, some I pass on, some makes me think “why?” and occasionally I really get into a new product. This is one of them and I’m very glad that there is a copy of LEGO Star Wars Chronicles Of The Force on my son’s bookshelf. Many thanks to Jo Baker at Penguin Books in Australia for organising a copy for my own little minifig to enjoy.
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Price : $16.99 | |
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Pages : 96
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Pub Date : 7 June, 2016
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Age Range : 6 to 9 years
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Grade Level : 1 to 4
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Format : Paperback
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ISBN : 780241232309/0241232309
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