Escape from Darth Vader

"Inside the ship were two droids. One droid was short, and the other was tall."

- Description of R2-D2 and C-3PO from Escape from Darth Vader

Escape from Darth Vader is a young readers' story from Disney–Lucasfilm Press, released on September 16, 2014. Written by Michael Siglain, it tells the story of the opening events of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, from the Rebel vessel Tantive IV being pursued by the Galactic Empire's Imperial-class Star Destroyer Devastator to the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO escaping and landing on Tatooine, R2-D2 carrying secret plans that could be the key to bringing down the Empire's feared planet-destroying Death Star.

Publisher summary
C-3PO and R2D2 [sic]'' must keep Darth Vader from discovering the Rebels' secret plans! This fully-illustrated level 1 reader retells the classic scenes from A New Hope where the droids crash land on the desert planet of Tatooine and meet a young farmer named Luke.''

Plot summary
The Tantive IV, a Rebel vessel carrying Princess Leia Organa, is hotly pursued by the Galactic Empire's Imperial Star Destroyer Devastator; Organa is in possession of plans for the Death Star, the Empire's deep space mobile battle station, which the Empire intends to reclaim. The astromech droid R2-D2 desperately seeks the Princess, who moves swiftly to evade boarding parties sent by the Empire. Meanwhile the protocol droid C-3PO worries that everyone on-board the vessel is doomed. Leia evades pursuing stormtroopers and provides R2-D2 with the secret plans to keep them from falling into the hands of the "mean and scary" Darth Vader. She then hides, but is soon discovered and captured by the pursuing troops and taken to Vader, whom she refuses to provide with any information. R2-D2 is found by C-3PO and together the two board an escape pod, which lands on Tatooine. There, they begin a new journey that will bring them into contact with several individuals who have an important role to play in the fate of the galaxy, including Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, and Chewbacca. The first major strike has been made in events that will be key to the future of the Rebel Alliance, beginning with the Death Star's destruction at the Battle of Yavin.

Development
On April 25, 2014, Lucasfilm announced that a new structure of canon continuity was being put in in place for the Star Wars franchise, with most past titles considered part of the Expanded Universe being rebranded as Star Wars Legends and the vast majority of future releases being part of a new continuity of canon. Escape from Darth Vader, a 32-page fully-illustrated book, written by Michael Siglain and illustrated by Stéphane Roux, was published on September 16, 2014, making it part of the new canon continuity, though the title was merely a retelling of situations and events already depicted in full in the original Star Wars film. An electronic edition was released on October 7, 2014 and a U.K. edition by Egmont was issued on June 4, 2015.

Continuity
Escape from Darth Vader is part of a series of Star Wars titles under the World of Reading banner that retell events from the original trilogy in a format suitable for the youngest audiences. Other titles in series include Use the Force!, Escape from Jabba's Palace, and AT-AT Attack!, all of which were published in 2015.

Reception
"This is a book that I think will suck kids in as they flip through the pages of cool artwork. As a first introduction to the story of Star Wars this could be a great introduction to children who may not be ready for the full film."

- Reviewer at Lightsaber Rattling fansite

Overall reception to Escape from Darth Vader by reviewers has been positive. As of July 22, 2015, the title had received 24 reviews at Amazon.com, with an overall rating of 4.8/5 stars and no reviews under 3 stars. Reviewers described the story variously as a "well-written recounting" and "a story that has lured my young daughters away from helpless princesses." Another reviewer, at the fansite Lightsaber Rattling, received a free copy of the title for review and stated "What sells this book is the art by Stephane Roux. I love the cartoon style that is taken with Leia." Mundie Kids, a book review site written by a mother, also featured a positive review, which stated "This is a book I wish I had, had for my son when he was learning how to read."

Editions

 * ISBN 1484705009; Disney–Lucasfilm Press, September 16, 2014, 32-page paperback
 * ISBN 9781484718148 Disney–Lucasfilm Press, October 7, 2014, 32-page digital reader with audio
 * ISBN 1405277777; Egmont UK Ltd, June 4, 2015, 32-page paperback