Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (novel)

The Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope novelization, originally entitled Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker, was the official novel adaptation of the film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, published in 1976 by Del Rey. It was ghost written by Alan Dean Foster, but credited to George Lucas. It contains many scenes and important notes cut from the film, along with sixteen pages of full-color photos from the motion picture. This version of A New Hope was later collected in The Star Wars Trilogy novelization.

Editions

 * ISBN 2403; 1976 Book Club Ed., Ballantine Publishing, Hardcover 183 Pages
 * ISBN 0-345-27476-8;October 1977, Ballantine Publishing, Hardcover 183 Pages Gold Cover
 * ISBN 0-345-40077-1; September 1995, Ballantine Publishing, Hardcover 260 Page
 * ISBN 0-316-88203-8; 1996, British Ed. Little Brown, Hardcover 248 Pages
 * ISBN 1-85723-945-8; 1999, British Ed. Orbit, Hardcover 248 Pages
 * ISBN 978-954-528-812-8; 2008, Trud, 236-page Bulgarian paperback (Нова Надежда)

Publisher's summary

 * This summary refers to the original version of the novel.

Luke Skywalker Challenged the Stormtroopers of a Distant Galaxy on a Daring Mission—Where a Force of Life Became the Power of Death!

''Luke Skywalker was a twenty-year-old who lived and worked on his uncle's farm on the remote planet of Tatooine...and he was bored beyond belief. He yearned for adventures out among the stars—adventures that would take him beyond the farthest galaxies to distant and alien worlds.''

''But Luke got more than he bargained for when he intercepted a cryptic message from a beautiful princess held captive by a dark and powerful warlord. Luke didn't know who she was, but he knew he had to save her—and soon, because time was running out.''

Armed only with courage and with the light saber that had been his father's, Luke was catapulted into the middle of the most savage space war ever...and he was headed straight for a desperate encounter on the enemy battle station known as the Death Star!


 * This summary refers to the pre-theatrical version of the novel.

Luke Skywalker challenges the stormtroopers of a distant galaxy on a daring mission—where a force of life became the power of death!

''Luke Skywalker was a twenty-year-old who lived and worked on his uncle's farm on the remote planet of Tatooine&hellip;and he was bored beyond belief. He yearned for adventures out among the stars—adventures that would take him beyond the farthest galaxies to distant and alien worlds.''

''But Luke got more than he bargained for when he intercepted a cryptic message from a beautiful princess being held captive by a dark and powerful warlord. Luke didn't know who she was, but he had to save her—and soon, because time was running out.''

Armed only with courage and with the light saber that had been his father's, Luke was catapulted into the middle of the most savage space war ever&hellip;and he was headed straight for a desperate encounter on the enemy battle station known as the Death Star!

Summary
The book is the same as the film with only a few differences that are listed below, the main contribution it gives to the overall story is the character's emotions at a certain time, it illustrates what the characters were thinking when they were under pressure, and sometimes it gives back stories to minor characters where the film could not.

Differences from the film

 * The novel starts off with the words: ANOTHER galaxy, another time, rather then the famous opening words of: A long   time ago in a galaxy far,far away


 * Darth Vader's eyes are red.


 * C-3PO is described as bronze, not gold.


 * The prologue quotes from the Journal of the Whills, and implies that Emperor Palpatine is merely a figurehead controlled by the Imperial bureaucracy. A brief description is given of the transition from Republic to Empire, when Palpatine became President, not Chancellor.


 * During the battle aboard the Tantive IV, the stormtroopers dropped through the ceiling, rather than charging through an entryway.


 * When Leia Organa is captured, she kills two stormtroopers, instead of only one in the film. The first stormtrooper shot also doesn't finish his sentence. Upon sighting the Princess the stormtroopers says, "Here she is. Set for stun forc--" and is shot.


 * Luke is introduced right after the battle aboard the Tantive IV after seeing the battle through his binoculars. The section also introduces Luke's friends: Camie, Fixer, Deak, Windy and Biggs (although this was filmed for the movie it was later cut in post-production).


 * Luke is derogatorily referred to as "Wormie" by some of his friends.


 * Droids are often referred to as mechanicals throughout the novelization. The term "droids" is implied to be a slang term for the word "androids."


 * General Cassio Tagge is described as "one of the youngest" officers in the room during the conference scene. Also, Admiral Conan Antonio Motti is referred to as "Romodi," who has deeply entrenched facial scars.


 * Luke's landspeeder has an enclosed cockpit unlike the open cockpit seen in the film. Also it is more clear that the landspeeder is piloted by C-3PO during the search for R2-D2 instead of Luke.


 * Ben Kenobi's hut is a cave rather than a hut. The differences between Luke's father and his uncle is described more deeply than in the film.


 * TK-421 is referred to as "THX-1138", another reference to one of Lucas's other films,


 * Luke gets much more emotional when Wedge tells him that Biggs was killed, it tells us that Luke's eyes began to water: "'We're a couple of shooting stars Biggs' he whispered huskily, 'and we'll never be stopped.'"


 * In the publisher's summary it says that Luke is twenty years old, yet he was born in 19 BBY and the film (and book) takes place in 0 BBY, he must be 19 (to see how this works go here). The Empire came into power in the year zero in the Imperial Calendar, and this would add a year to Luke's age. So twenty is an accurate assessment. It is also possible the publisher's summary is not intended to provide an exact measure of time and is instead colloquially putting Luke's approximate age at twenty. It should be noted of course that the novel was published long before the scripts for Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Revenge of the Sith were written, which would create the mythology that Luke and Leia were the twin children of Darth Vader, and establish them as being born 19 years prior. In the novel for Empire Strikes Back which takes place three years later, it is stated that Luke is 23.


 * When Greedo confronts Han in the cantina, he is speaking through an electronic translator. The infamous scene that follows is left very vague in the novel, it only says that "light and noise filled the little corner of the cantina," it never says who shot first. It should be noted of course that the idea of Greedo being shot without himself firing was already present in the 1976 versions of the script, contemporary with the novel.


 * When the gang dives in the garbage chute, Han dives in before Luke does. Whereas in the film, Leia goes first, then Chewie, Luke goes next, then Han.


 * The garbage chamber's number is "366-17891" instead of "3263827".


 * During the Battle of Yavin, Luke, Biggs, and Wedge are both on the Blue Squadron (Rebel Alliance) whereas in the movie they are a part of the Red Squadron (Rebel Alliance). Luke also makes two runs through the trench of the Death Star.


 * Darth Vader is referred to as a "Sith Lord" and other Sith Lords before him are briefly mentioned though not in detail (the Emperor is never implied to have Force abilities at all as he later would have in Empire Strikes Back).


 * Ben Kenobi mentions in passing how lightsabers used to enjoy widespread use in the galaxy, and are still used in some areas (there's a bit of controversy over the original spelling as well, since the first publication spelled it "lightsabre" according to British spelling). The saber is said to have jewels on the hilt.


 * Kenobi cuts a smaller alien in half as well as hacking off the arm of another in the cantina, in defense of Luke. Instead of just two bullies (Ponda Baba and Dr. Evazan), there were three in the novel (those two, plus the aforementioned alien).


 * Jabba is referred to as "Jabba the Hut" (note the one "t") and described as if he is a fat, bipedal being (rather than the familiar slug monster he would later become in Return of the Jedi) with an ugly, "shaggy skull" and "jowels" that shook with his head. His scars are said to be a sign of his ferocious reputation in combat. This differs from the many interpretations of Jabba over the years, prior to Return of the Jedi (in early test footage with a large actor in fur, a familiar alien in a flight suit in Marvel Comics, the large headed razor toothed monster in early sketches, or a slavering creature with "eyes on stalks" in the scripts). When Jabba says "for an extra 20 percent", Han Solo doesn't say "15 Jabba, don't push it."


 * Wookiee is spelled "Wookie" throughout some publications of the novelization.


 * Chewbacca is described as having bright, yellow eyes.


 * The Death Star's destruction of Alderaan is not described, just the preparations to fire and the Millennium Falcon's arrival in the debris field following the blast.


 * In the novel, Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn't feel the destruction of Alderaan through the Force.


 * In the novel, Darth Vader kills Obi-Wan on his own, cutting him in half, whereas in the film Obi-Wan allows Vader to strike him down through decapitation.


 * The entire Death Star sequence is extended with more detail given than the movie.
 * At the novel's end, Leia does give Chewbacca a medal, but she has to strain to do so.

Cover gallery
This is a gallery of the different cover variations of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

Behind the scenes
As it was published six months before the release of the film, this was the first Star Wars item ever produced.

In some versions the name of the Wookiee species is written as "Wookie". In some versions the name of Jabba the Hutt is written as "Jabba the Hut".

The design of Darth Vader on the top-right corner of many LEGO Star Wars sets for the Prequel Trilogy looks remarkably similar to his design on the original cover of this novel. Both have a red light source shining on the left side of Vader. Both versions also have a more complex, robotic design to them, more prominent on the novel's rendition.

Collected in

 * Star Wars Trilogy