"Use the Force - Crack a book

From the silver screen to the printed page....

Star Wars wasn't the first space fantasy with astounding effects, but it was the first to make it all look as if it could be real. From the rusty vehicles on Tatooine to the slimy trash compactor on the Death Star, the entire galaxy is based on visual realism. So many of the settings look like real places, and so many of the characters seem like real people, that you don't question the aliens, blasters, lightsabers, and starships when they arrive. Thats' because they're happening in a world you already believe in, so when you witness something magical, it must also be real. Seeing is believing, after all.

So how can Star Wars fiction succeed in printed form, without the benefit of these amazing visuals? There's no question that the fiction does succeed, as legions of fans have proven by putting their favorite novels on bestseller lists time and time again. Why do they keep coming back to a medium that can't do any of the things that movies do best? They can't actually hear the energy pulse of Slave I's lasers from a printed page. They can't really see Obi Wan Kenobi and Jango Fett fighting on the rain-slicked landing platform on Kamino.

At least that's what people who don't read must think.

Readers already know that a well-written book can do all these things and more. Through the power inherent in all good writing, books can make an imagined place even more realistic than a seen location. Like the Force, reading is a talent that touches everyone but which only those trained in its mysteries can fully employ and appreciate. Readers can do far more than see and hear the places and events of the Star Wars galaxy. They can penetrate a character's thoughts, know his feelings, anticipate his choices, sense his pain and triumph.

Come to think of it, readers are alot like Jedi.

In fact, as Stephen King suggests in On Writing, Jedi-like telepathy exists today and has existed for millennia. When you transfer your ideas to paper in the form of words and someone else receives them silently through reading, you've just projected your thoughts...well, from a certain point of view that is.

Since you are reading these words, you obviously don't need any more persuading, but maybe you have a friend who hasn't cracked a book since the last one was assigned for class. If that friend is also a fan of the saga, do him or her a favor and recommend one of your favorite Star Wars novels. If your friend is daunted by the prospect of reading a few hundred pages, point out the short stories in our humble pages. If that doesn't work, try one of your mind tricks. You must be good at them by now.

We wager that you'll successfully set your friend onthe path to becomoing a reader, and it won't diminish the thrill of watching a great movie one iota. Instead, it will open up vast new stretches of the Star Wars galaxy to those who have only watched the movies. Once they've had a taste of the power of this newfound talent, your friends will know the truth:Reading is believing."

Dave Gross, Editor-in-Chief
Star Wars Insider