Book Review: LEGO Star Wars: The Dark Side
Posted by CapnRex101,
The latest addition to DK Publishing's Star Wars line-up is the hotly anticipated LEGO Star Wars: The Dark Side. Information about this book has trickled in during the last couple of months, and there was some conjecture for a period concerning what the exclusive Minifigure might be.
The reveal of Emperor Palpatine was met with trepidation by some as this is the first version of the character to make use of a tan head. Although the Minifigure is certainly a major draw, there can be no doubt that the book also has some interesting content.
Minifigure
The Emperor Palpatine Minifigure included on the front cover is exclusive, and will of course be the main reason many buy the book. It is four years since the last appearance of the character, in 8096 Emperor Palpatine's Shuttle, and this new Minifigure will therefore appeal both to Star Wars completists and fans of the character, as his only other appearance currently is in 10188 Death Star.
Although tan seems like a strange choice of colour for The Emperor's skin, I like the print design better on this head than any of those that have gone before. Wrinkles are printed in exquisite detail, as are Palpatine's yellow eyes and his two expressions. On one side is a sinister grin, and on the other is a grimace. The black hood and cape have appeared on all four Emperor Palpatine Minifigures, but the rest of the figure is brand new, with some folds in his dark robes printed across the torso, hips and legs. I am still not entirely won over by the idea of using a tan head as it seems a little inaccurate to me, but the print design is sufficiently impressive to warrant acquiring this Minifigure in my opinion.
The Book
This book is similar to others in DK's recent line-up as although there is not a great deal of new information, it is presented brilliantly. The small text boxes and large images compliment one another nicely, and every picture really does 'pop' as a result of some great photography and glossy pages.
The cover of the book features Darth Vader most prominently, surrounded by some of the supporting villains of the Star Wars saga. There is a nice combination of dark red, black and the bright white accent of Darth Vader's lightsaber, which really stands out on the shelf.
Inside the topics on each page are ordered chronologically, starting with details of the Sith and their dealings during the Old Republic era, before moving through the Clone Wars and ultimately reaching the events of the original trilogy. Much of the information will not be new to most, but there are some lovely images, including cut away views of Darth Sidious' lightsaber and Darth Vader in his mechanised suit. Both feature internal details constructed in LEGO which is a marvelous touch that I was not expecting. There are also some sections of brick-built scenery which feature in particularly famous scenes. These are constructed rather nicely, as demonstrated in the photo below.
Overall
I am happy with my purchase of this book, and I suspect you will be too. Although it may be lacking as a reference book for an AFOL, the unique Minifigure and lovely photography make this a worthy purchase. At £12.99 I think this will make a decent addition to your LEGO bookshelves, and on offer it is even more appealing.
This book is available now on Amazon for £7.27 in the UK and $10.70 in the US, so if you are looking to pick up a copy, I would not hesitate!
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17 comments on this article
for those wanting to snag a bargain you can get this for £4.99 from the book people with free shipping, I suspect this price will not last long.
Showing out of stock at the minute
ah that's a shame I guess people snagged all the early release ones, either that, or price was a mistake and they've corrected it
It looks like only the Yoda Chronicles with the Clone are priced at £4.99 and in stock now, even the Batman one is out of stock at the lower price.
Hehehehe, "order 66"...
Now I want to go back and watch the RedLetterMedia disembowelments of the awful prequel trilogy again.
Also, is it just me, or does Luke in the Bespin scene look naked from behind?
Lego really needs to do some sets based around order 66....
Tan is the right colour for palpatine. Grey was laughably inaccurate. In Revenge of the Sith his face is flesh and has fresher scars and wrinkles courtesy of the lightning however in ROTJ his face is pale and a discoloured skin tone that's somewhere in between flesh and white. This is easily the best palpatine lego have ever done. It looks like the one from the films, it looks like Ian McDiarmid's portrayal and its the first palpatine to have a grin which he uses very often. This should probably turn up in a set at some point but until then we have him for a very reasonable price and the most accurate to film yet. All he misses is his cane which I'm sure people can provide.
Awesome Palpatine, somewhat-cool book. Love the Bespin Duel picture up there. It almost looks like a MOC from one of Eurobricks' old Star Wars contests...
Got mine on Monday
Boba Fett is not an ally to Vader.
He is a hired gun and will work for whoever pays the most.
So he's more like a contractor.
^I think some of the pictures were taken from MOCs. I've seen a few people mention they were included in a few books recently.
As far as his skin color, I agree. Definitely the right color choice here. Just look at all of the sample pictures. He looks very pale, but never gray.
I don't know if I'll buy the book. I'm not THAT big of a SW nerd to own one, but the figure looks decent.
And I thought that was the point of these figures, to make you buy the book. This particular version will never be in a set, but another version may (although why?).
Cool. Why the heck did they make the Emperor have tan skin? In the movie, his skin is definetly pale white.
Goodbye LEGO, It is time for me to move on........
Emperor Palpatine's face; Flesh coloured in prequel trilogy, not flesh coloured in original trilogy. Simples!
Got mine late last night for 13euros from Wordery, since i live in Greece.
Fair price.
The minifig reminds me the Emperor from the Yoda Chronicles, all in all a great new minifig
another one for the collection !
The bookpeople deal is still on guys.
Looks really interesting. I have the Visual Dictionary 2014 and I´m looking forward similar type of LEGO Star Wars books. The Emperor Palpatine looks great and I like that tan color.