The Tao of the Force

The Tao of the Force is the name of a reference book by James Luceno that was never published. It was an exploration of the Force that included excerpts from old Jedi texts, which would provide lessons for a new generation of Jedi.

Although Ballantine Books' Del Rey imprint were unsure if there was a future in publishing Star Wars tie-in fiction, they ultimately decided to renew their license to do so, and both James Luceno and Brian Daley were contacted by Ballantine's Risa Kessler. The three had previously worked together, as Kessler had been the one to set them up writing novels in the Robotech franchise. Luceno and Daley began to discuss Star Wars with each other considerably, and Daley conceived of a series about the search for and training of a new generation of Jedi by Luke Skywalker, and the efforts of a clandestine group of Emperor Palpatine's disciples to thwart him. Luceno spent months writing The Tao of the Force, but it was nixed by George Lucas, who did not want the Force to be treated like a religion. The point became moot when an internal political battle at Ballantine erupted, and the license to publish Star Wars literature passed to Bantam Spectra, who contacted Timothy Zahn in 1989 to write Heir to the Empire. Although their books did not see the light of day, Daley continued working in Star Wars on the Return of the Jedi radio drama, and Luceno was brought back into the fold when Del Rey regained the license from Bantam years later.