From 1983: The saga ends here. For now. The novelization of RETURN OF THE JEDI.
It goes without saying that this was a massive thing back in 1983. And an essential purchase as soon as copies were sighted in WH SMITH prior to the film's release date. This was my first chance to find out how the saga wrapped and my first sighting (thanks to those eight pages of fabulous colour) of the Ewoks (the action figure packaging had deliberately obscured them on the card backs, presumably to preserve that sense of mystery... or possibly because the figures weren't finished on photo day).
This was available in two flavours: a Young Readers edition (which probably resurfaces less frequently nowadays) and this, the bona fide grown up version. I, of course, opted for this one.
I'll never forget finding this in my local bookshop and reading the following line :
ReplyDelete" And then Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker, Luke's father...died . "
So it was finally confirmed that Vader was indeed Luke's father but that he also had a first name.
And all of this before I saw the movie itself. Still didn't prepare me for the sight of the unmasked Vader.