Recommended Books to Pack When You Travel to Star Wars Planets
Photo by Hristo Fidanov from Pexels
While the upcoming William Shakespeare’s The Merry Rise of Skywalker promises an Elizabethan journey to the worlds of Pasaana, Kef Bir, and Exegol, there are countless other planets in a galaxy far, far away. Whether you find yourself in the civilized Core Worlds or the farthest reaches of the Outer Rim, may these books be with you (as well as the Force, of course)…
CORELLIA: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Paradoxically, to compare Han Solo’s childhood in the sewers of this urban industrial world to this Dickens protagonist is to downplay just how Dickensian it was. At least Fagan wasn’t a giant worm creature. That said, if you find yourself in the slums of Coronet City, as seen in Solo: A Star Wars Story, the hope for a better life found in this classic might just come in handy. Still, make sure you have a rock when all else fails.
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CORUSCANT: Girls Resist! by KaeLyn Rich
The center of the galaxy and its government across the eras, Coruscant’s political system is as labyrinthian and confusing as its five thousand levels of planet-wide cityscape. Still, with senators like Padmé Amidala and Mon Mothma speaking up for what’s right in the face of the ultimate unseen evil, this social activism handbook can help the next generation learn to fight back against oppression. And we all know how this story goes; they’ll need it.
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NABOO: William Shakespeare’s The Phantom of Menace by Ian Doescher
Verily and forsooth, this beginning of the Shakespearean saga that will end with The Merry Rise of Skywalker is the perfect way to explore the pastoral artisan world of Naboo. Its flowery language used in telling the tale of good overcoming evil and people coming together at Naboo’s darkest hour is perfectly in line with the planet’s ideals. Plus, decoding Shakespearean wordplay will prepare you for interacting with the linguistically peculiar Gungans.
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KAMINO: Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
The mysterious, storm-ravaged birthplace of the clone army, Kamino is a place that blurs the line between life and technology. This is also true of the world of Ancillary Justice, where Breq navigates a bizarre future dystopia of human bodies controlled by AI. The Kaminoans would tell you that good soldiers follow orders, but this space opera gets into the nuances of how destructive that idea can be.
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MANDALORE: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
An ancient world ravaged by warring factions until only pockets of civilization were left, none of the galaxy’s conflicts seem to spare Mandalore. The illusory utopia of the Capitol in The Hunger Games echoes the New Mandalorians’ attempt to avoid the Clone Wars with pacifist isolationism. After this temporary peace breaks loose into another generation of oppression and conflict, the saga of Katniss’s strength might inspire visitors to Mandalore to fight for a better future.
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ALDERAAN: Princesses Behaving Badly by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie
No one flips the script on the “damsel in distress” quite as well as Princess Leia herself. Should you find yourself heading to Alderaan (hopefully long before the Death Star does, mind you), we advise familiarizing yourself with princesses from our galaxy after Leia’s heart. Should you find yourself at a state dinner with the House of Organa, you’ll want to be prepared for its most fiery, rebellious member.
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ENDOR: Star Wars: How to Not Get Eaten by Ewoks and Other Galactic Survival Skills
This last one speaks for itself. We still advise you have a protocol droid that speaks for you, though, just in case.
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Ryan Miorelli
Ryan Miorelli is from a small Pennsylvania town with more trucks than people and more potholes than trucks. When he’s not working on his first novel, he’s writing about pop culture topics for Quirk, Krypton Radio, and more. You can follow him on Instagram at @rd.mio to see his adventures living in Los Angeles with too many plush porgs.
