Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide Hardcover – December 16, 2016

Aloha! My family loves this beautiful hardcover book! It is absolutely packed with interesting information that is missing from the film Star Wars: Rogue One. I purchased this coffee table book two months ago and my family still has not read the entire guide, which is a whopping 200 pages long. A perfect companion to the film, its pages are crammed with backstories and tidbits about the characters, places, landscapes and starfighters seen in the movie. For example, during the movie, I noticed a random detail about Jyn Erso's mechanic vest: in her chest pocket, she has a couple of those metal pen things that Imperial officers typically wear on their own chests. Those metal pens appear in all of the Star Wars films. What are they? According to Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide, these metal cylinders are simple and effective communications devices commonly used by the rebels. (In Rogue One, it seems like almost every character, both Rebel or Imperial, has one.) Finally, after so many decades, I know what those blasted things are. You can tell that Pablo Hidalgo and his team really care about the details. I love that.Here are some other burning questions that are answered in this hefty guidebook:* Exactly how big and strong is the unwittingly funny K-2SO?* Why exactly is K-2SO so brutally honest?* Does Chirrut Imwe have Jedi powers and reflexes?* Is Chirrut Imwe’s lightbow related to Chewbacca’s iconic bow caster?* How did Jyn Erso become a child soldier for Saw Gerrera’s roving band of insurgents?* If Saw Gerrera is a rebel, why do Rebel Alliance leaders dislike him so much?* What is the backstory on all the X-wing pilots?* How many female X-wing pilots appear in the film?* What do the various insignia, logos and symbols on rebel starfighter helmets represent?* Are shoretroopers just glorified lifeguards on Scarif?* What makes deathtroopers the deadliest soldiers of the Empire?* How big is an Imperial Star Destroyer compared to Cassian Andor’s cute, little U-wing starfighter?THE BOTTOM LINEMy family is very happy with this book. As I grew up with the original Star Wars trilogy, I think I am the happiest of all. When "Han Solo: A Star Wars Story" is released, I probably will buy the visual companion to that film. In fact, I am also looking forward to purchasing the visual companions to "The Force Awakens" and the previous six Star Wars movies. There is lots of material in these books to keep us entertained. Thumbs up!

This is by far, the best Visual Dictionary to ever be released!The team wisely abandons the old format of white pages with a few pictures and completely revamps the format, separating it into chapters and totally changing the layout of each page, focusing on factions and locations.This is the most "Visual" of all the Visual Dictionaries, containing massive pictures and close ups of props, characters, costumes and screenshots from the film that highlight the detail of the amazing production design.This new format should totally be adopted for all future Visual Dictionaries and in the inclusion of the Cross Sections is by far my favorite feature. You don't have to buy a second book just to see a few (cool) drawings of vehicle cutouts. It's all in here!Unlike The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi Visual Dictionaries, this actually feels like a guide to the film and expands on everything you see in it. It connects to the larger universe and each page has something entertaining about it, whether it's the little stories Pablo writes about a random extra, or the great photos of the various aspects of costumes and production design.If you are a fan of the Star Wars Visual Dictionaries and/or Rogue One pick this up cause it's by far the best one ever!

This is a comprehensive guide to the characters, creatures, droids, planets, and designs of "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story". There are a lot of new elements in the film which expand the Star Wars universe, but there are also many connections to the saga films, namely "A New Hope". The book discusses the many aspects of the film, both old and new. Of course, being an Ultimate Visual Guide, the book centers around high-resolution photos that fans will love. The book maintains the high editorial standards, as well as quality printing and layout, that fans have come to expect from DK Publishing and the previous Star Wars visual guides.All of the visual elements of the film are included here (with the exception of a few that are meant to be surprises).- Characters: Jyn Erso, Saw Gerrera, K2-SO, Director Krennic, Darth Vader, etc- Rebel and Empire forces, as well as their costumes- Props such as weapons, survival kits, and other gear- The various ships and transports such as the X-Wing, TIE Striker, and AT-ACT.- The Death Star plans and the datatape cartridge that contains them.- The various planets in the film and their environments, local populations, and landmarks.The book includes a nice foreword from John Knoll, as well as a galactic map which includes the new planets in Rogue One, and a size comparison chart (so you can see the relative scale of the film's combat vessels in relation to each other). There are also a few pages at the end of the book that go behind the scenes with photographs of the film's production, a very welcome addition for those curious about the filmmaking process.If you are more interested in conceptual artwork, then the book to get is The Art of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. I'd highly recommend both books if you enjoyed the film.