''The Empire Strikes Back'' is a
science-fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, sp ...
novelization
A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book, or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent ...
written by
Donald F. Glut and first published by
Del Rey. It is based on the
screenplay
A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...
to the
film of the same name by
Leigh Brackett
Leigh Douglass Brackett (December 7, 1915 – March 24, 1978) was an American author and screenwriter. Nicknamed "the Queen of space opera, Space Opera", she was one of the most prominent female writers during the Golden Age of Science Fiction. ...
and
Lawrence Kasdan
Lawrence Edward Kasdan (born January 14, 1949) is an American filmmaker. He is the co-writer of the ''Star Wars'' films '' The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), '' Return of the Jedi'' (1983), '' The Force Awakens'' (2015), and '' Solo: A Star Wars ...
. Along with the film, it introduces new characters, most notably
Lando Calrissian
Lando Calrissian (; ) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is introduced in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) as a friend of Han Solo and the administrator of Cloud City on the planet Bespin. Prior to the events of the fi ...
and
Boba Fett
Boba Fett ( ) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. First appearing in the '' Star Wars Holiday Special'' (1978), where he was voiced by Don Francks, he is an armored bounty hunter featured in both the original and prequel ...
(though Fett had been seen in the earlier
low-canon ''
Star Wars Holiday Special
''The Star Wars Holiday Special'' is an American television special originally broadcast by CBS on November 17, 1978. It is set in the universe of the sci-fi-based ''Star Wars'' media franchise. Directed by Steve Binder, it was the first ''S ...
'', which was made completely apocryphal in 2014).
The novelization was released on April 12, 1980, over one month before the film's theatrical release on May 21. It was originally released in two forms; a standard edition and a special ''Young Readers' Edition'' that was condensed into 150 pages. Initial printings of both versions contained 8 pages of color photographs in the middle of the book.
Development
The book was written by
Donald F. Glut, who had been originally asked to write the
novelization
A novelization (or novelisation) is a derivative novel that adapts the story of a work created for another medium, such as a film, TV series, stage play, comic book, or video game. Film novelizations were particularly popular before the advent ...
of ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'', but Glut turned down the offer because he wouldn't get paid very much and it would be credited to
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker and philanthropist. He created the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founded Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairman ...
. Glut had a much more negative experience while writing the novel than
Alan Dean Foster
Alan Dean Foster (born November 18, 1946) is an American writer of fantasy and science fiction. He has written several book series, more than 20 standalone novels, and many novelizations of film scripts.
Career ''Star Wars''
Foster was the ghost ...
did when Foster wrote the novelization of ''Star Wars'', as information about the film's production was segmented inside of
Lucasfilm
Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company founded by filmmaker George Lucas in December 10, 1971 in San Rafael, California, and later moved to San Francisco in 2005. It is best known for creating and producing th ...
. On one occasion he asked a Lucasfilm employee if a production sketch depicted
Yoda
Yoda () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force. He first appeared in the 1980 film '' The Empire Strikes Back'', in which he is voiced and puppeteered by F ...
, and the employee replied "Don't tell me! I don't want to know." In addition, Glut did not have access to film footage while writing the book, so his portrayal of
Han Solo
Han Solo () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in the 1977 film ''Star Wars (film), Star Wars'', and later appeared in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), ''Star Wars: The F ...
was more in line with what was portrayed in ''Star Wars'' rather than ''The Empire Strikes Back''. Glut did not give additional insight into the film's characters or events, a fact that can be traced to the paranoia of the film's producers.
Plot
Despite the destruction of the
Death Star
The Death Star is a fictional space station and superweapon featured in the ''Star Wars'' space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire, the Death Star is capable of obliterating entire planets, and serves to enforce ...
in the 1976 novel ''
Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker'', the
Galactic Empire
Galactic empires are a science fiction setting trope, in which most or all of the habitable planets in the setting's galaxy are ruled by a single centralized political entity. Galactic empires most frequently appear in works in the sub-genre ...
stills retains an iron grip on the galaxy. Upon discovering the Rebel Alliance's secret base, the Empire strikes with massive force, sending the rebels scrambling across the galaxy.
Han Solo
Han Solo () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in the 1977 film ''Star Wars (film), Star Wars'', and later appeared in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), ''Star Wars: The F ...
,
Princess Leia
Princess Leia Organa ( or ) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Introduced in the Star Wars (film), original ''Star Wars'' film in 1977, Leia is a princess of the planet Alderaan, a member of the Galactic Empire (Star Wars ...
,
Chewbacca
Chewbacca ( ), nicknamed "Chewie", is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a Wookiee—a tall, hairy, highly intelligent species originating from the planet Kashyyyk. He is tall, and typically wears only a bandolier an ...
("Chewie") and
C-3PO
C-3PO () or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a protocol droid (Star Wars), droid designed to assist in etiquette and translation, and is fluent in over six million forms of communication. The chara ...
are slowed down from escaping with the rest of the group by collapsing ice on
Hoth
Hoth is an ice planet in the ''Star Wars'' fictional universe. It first appeared in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back'' and has also been a setting in ''Star Wars'' books and video games.
Description
Hoth is the sixth planet of a remote ...
. Throughout the story, they remain within the Empire's reach.
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in the original film trilogy as the main protagonist and also appears in the sequel trilogy. Raised as a poor moisture farmer on the desert planet Tat ...
and
R2-D2
R2-D2 () or Artoo-Detoo is a fictional robot character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. He has appeared in ten of the eleven theatrical ''Star Wars'' films to date, including every film in the " Skywalker Saga", which inclu ...
flee to
Dagobah
Dagobah is a fictional planet and eponymous star system appearing in the ''Star Wars'' films ''The Empire Strikes Back'', ''Return of the Jedi'', and ''Revenge of the Sith'', and other media. It is depicted as a world of murky swamps, steaming ...
, but not to regroup with the others. Instead, Luke seeks
Yoda
Yoda () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force. He first appeared in the 1980 film '' The Empire Strikes Back'', in which he is voiced and puppeteered by F ...
in order to be trained as a
Jedi Knight. His development of
Force sensitivity during his training gives him a sensation of the danger shadowing his friends. Subsequently, Luke's friends are captured in
Cloud City. Han is frozen in carbonite and taken to
Jabba the Hutt
Jabba Desilijic Tiure, better known as Jabba the Hutt ( ) is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Initially performed by Declan Mulholland as a human in the original ''Star Wars'' film, Jabba first appeared properly in the 198 ...
. Luke leaves Dagobah to save his friends. But it is a trap, as the unprepared Luke is drawn into an unsuccessful confrontation with the Imperial
Sith Lord
The Sith are the main antagonists in the fictional universe of the ''Star Wars'' franchise. They are the antithesis and ancient enemies of the Jedi. The Sith Order is depicted as an ancient cult of warriors who draw strength from the dark sid ...
Darth Vader
Darth Vader () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was first introduced in the original film trilogy as the primary antagonist and one of the leaders of the Galactic Empire. He has become one of the most iconic villain ...
. He is left with a missing hand, near-death and reeling from the shocking revelation that Vader is his father. However, he is rescued by the ''
Millennium Falcon
The ''Millennium Falcon'' is a fictional starship in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Designed by Joe Johnston for the film ''Star Wars'' (1977), it has subsequently appeared in '' The Star Wars Holiday Special'' (1978), ''The Empire Strikes Back' ...
''.
[Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back]
As in the film, the ending sees Luke, Leia, Chewie, 3PO and R2-D2 reunited, with Luke and Lando finalizing their plan to rescue Han Solo from Jabba's captivity.
Differences from the film
The book has some differences from the film,
such as:
*
Yoda
Yoda () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force. He first appeared in the 1980 film '' The Empire Strikes Back'', in which he is voiced and puppeteered by F ...
has blue skin in the novel, in line with early concept art of the character,
while in all other appearances his skin is greenish.
*
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was introduced in the original film trilogy as the main protagonist and also appears in the sequel trilogy. Raised as a poor moisture farmer on the desert planet Tat ...
's training with Yoda is given more detail than in the film.
*The
Hoth
Hoth is an ice planet in the ''Star Wars'' fictional universe. It first appeared in the 1980 film ''The Empire Strikes Back'' and has also been a setting in ''Star Wars'' books and video games.
Description
Hoth is the sixth planet of a remote ...
battle is extended somewhat, such as when General Veers' AT-AT is destroyed by a
Snowspeeder Snow-speeder, snow speeder, or snowspeeder may refer to:
* ''snow-speeder'', another name for a snowmobile
* ''sno-speeder'', a type of downhill sled/toboggan with a steerable front ski and pair of rear runner
* Snowspeeder, fictional flying vehicl ...
shortly after blowing up the rebels' shield generator.
*
Darth Vader
Darth Vader () is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was first introduced in the original film trilogy as the primary antagonist and one of the leaders of the Galactic Empire. He has become one of the most iconic villain ...
's
lightsaber
A lightsaber is a fictional energy sword featured throughout ''Star Wars''. A typical lightsaber is shown as a luminous laser sword about in length emitted from a metal hilt around in length. First introduced in the original ''Star Wars'' ...
blade is blue in the novel, whereas in the films it is red.
*When Luke is attacked by
Stormtroopers
Stormtrooper or storm trooper may refer to: Military
*Stormtroopers (Imperial Germany), specialist soldier of the German Army in World War I
*''Sturmabteilung'' (SA) or Storm Detachment, a paramilitary organization of the German Nazi Party
* 8th I ...
in
Cloud City, he returns fire with his blaster, unlike in the film, where he does not fire a single shot.
*In the Battle of Hoth, Dack cannot get his harness done, as opposed to 'setting his approach vector'.
Publishing history
The novel was published one week prior to the premiere of the film and three million copies were sold.
Sequel
The book was followed in 1983 by ''
Return of the Jedi
''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas. The sequel to '' The Empire ...
'', written by
James Kahn. It is the third and final novel adaptation of the ''
Star Wars
''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' classic trilogy.
References
External links
Book summaryon Ringshadow
*
Book reviewat
goodreads
Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and readi ...
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire Strikes Back
1980 American novels
1980 science fiction novels
Star Wars novels
American science fiction novels
Del Rey books
Novels based on films
Novel
A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...
Space opera novels