Things come to those who wait 'almost (almost)' good

In the space above the blue hemisphere of an unknown planet hangs a huge space station, swarmed by imperial hunters and Shuttle (s), and refueled at least a dozen no less impressive battleships' Star Destroyer 'Dreadnoughts'. Perfectly designed and razor sharp, this is a scene that probably captured the imagination of every Star Wars fan. The image becomes independent, is set in motion: stormtroopers march on the decks of ships, zealous imperial officers operate controls.
The picture described is a (much more 'The Essential Atlas'.) Of many of the new 'Essential Guide to Warfare' by Jason Fry and Paul Urquhart. After the project for the first time in 2008 under the name of 'The Essential Guide to the Star Wars Military' by Karen Traviss ('Republic Commando') was announced, witnessed the third Essential Guide third generation countless postponements, an author and title change and still a and even a postponement. But what was a long time has now at last good ', the long wait was worth? My answer: yes, but '

What could be expected '
'Or should' and what I expected: one follows remarks especially younger members of fandom are encountered frequently in a certain 'rarely contented' need for measurability and hard facts. Fleet sizes, hyperdrive classes, command structures, technical specifications' is exactly what would be allowed to safely expect from Karen Traviss. By Jason Fry could, however, be honest, hardly wait such a book, which confirmed both the change in the title as well as interviews in advance of publication. Nevertheless, there have probably done a lot of 'myself to a certain point.

What then you get '
'Is a book, vacillating between playful anecdotes, less playful and history lessons' Armory and Sensory Profile' (n), the chronology of far, far away galaxy following and peppered with illustrations by the same 9 artists.
The Optical: the Warfare guide initially brings a return to the compared to the Atlas slightly smaller format, but otherwise has no deviations from the appealing high-gloss look of the same on. The relatively simple cover already says a lot about the interior appearance, which is dominated by full and half-page illustrations and its basic layout looked a bit uninspired to me. The illustrations were me, however, almost without exception, convince and inspire. They vary 'unlike the Atlas' strong between quite soft and abstract and photorealistic (computer animated ?!) and make up the different styles of artists from' a mix that works. The motifs are rare or very innovative (high) exciting (sometimes but, see, eg, mentioned space station or an arrest scene with Caedus' henchmen), but sat down to a coherent overall picture (exceptions prove the rule). The picture is completed by maps in the style of the Atlases.
The Content: On the way from the empire of the Rakata to Darth Krayts a Sith, the book first plowing of the galactic (military) history from 'Focus: The Rise and Fall of the Empire. The authors seem always ready, but not always inspired. Essentially, they stick to known facts, summarize and even occasionally logical waves. However, the clever: such as Kuat Drive Yards with the help of his daughter Rothana Heavy Engineering was completely undetected produce an entire fleet for the clone army of the Republic, the Warfare guide sets out with unquestionable causality Ever is wherever the creativity of the writers asked. is to feel that they are not only experts on the subject, but also know how to have a story to tell and with what (logical) objections the reader might come up. The result is a rounded 'albeit phase somewhat cumbersome' journey through 30 millennia fray and lightsaber duels (canonical cliffs are quiet but secretly circumnavigated in the majority, so especially the Clone Wars are deliberately kept small). Is refined this trip, the rule of thumb three-quarters of the book makes, by repeatedly interspersed, green backed anecdotes. Here to comment fictional historian, a clone trooper reported by 'his' Battle of Geonosis and a female Sturmtrupp activist also comes to word' - and you can tell the authors their fun in these small episodes on. In addition, 'significant' personalities of military history and arms and ship classes and presented 'generations. The latter part is one of the biggest weaknesses of the book, because at this point the body text is used, data sheets and larger pictures but would have been much more appealing to me.
The structure: the work is divided into 21 sections, of which 9 deal with the years 18 BBY to 18 ABY 'weighting is a matter of taste, but this coarse structure ensures in any case a quick overview. Within the chapter, which should be the last point of criticism still permitted, it will be but a bit confusing. A variety of bays and bays in bays, and a certain arbitrariness in the choice of subject makes it difficult to move forward, but also invite you to repeatedly browse on.

Résumé:
Wonderfully illustrated and full of interesting details is the 'Essential Guide to Warfare' definitely worth a look, even if it provides little hard data 'but stories. Compared to the towering Atlas he nevertheless falls in my view somewhat 'but that is bleating at a high level. 2mal2 sinking twin suns for the warriors of the Star Wars.