Obsessed With Star Wars
by Benjamin Harper
Published by Chronicle Books
Adrick's Rating: 3.8 out of 4
Think you?re one with the Force?
With 2,500 questions to test your knowledge of the saga, Obsessed With Star Wars will challenge, delight, and stump even the most passionate and knowledgeable Star Wars fan. This is more than a trivia book?it?s also a fun, interactive game. With a built-in scoring module, the unique design includes an electronic panel right in the book that allows you to track your score in random mode or on specific questions. With Obsessed With Star Wars, you can dominate the galaxy, whether you?re Yoda or a Padawan.
Adrick:
I don?t usually enjoy Star Wars trivia games or books. Either the questions are ridiculously easy (?What is the name of the Jawa?s home planet??) or completely outside my vast store of Expanded Universe knowledge (?Who played the third Ewok on the left in Return of the Jedi??) Aside from Rusty Millar?s classic Jedi Master?s Quizbook, I haven?t picked up a Star Wars trivia book in years.
But Obsessed With Star Wars is different. On every page there is a wide variety of questions, from the obvious (?What color were Darth Maul?s lightsaber blades??) to the delightfully obscure (?Who referred to Princess Leia as a ?steel kitten? on Mimban??) to the all but impossible (?How tall was Obi-Wan Kenobi???in centimeters, to two decimal places).
The scoring module, a small, plastic computer attached to the book, also tells you whether or not you got the question right, saving readers the trouble of flipping all the way to the back or turning the book upside down or sideways constantly to find the correct answer. (I always hated doing that!) The module can also give you random question numbers so that you can get a different kind of question from a different section every time. Oh, and it keeps score, too, so you can use those pencils for something else. Like making doodles of your less knowledgeable Star Wars fan friends with Gungan ears. (?Oh my gosh, I can?t believe you don?t know who Jaxxon is! Lurdo!?)
Harper has really scoured the Star Wars universe for the kind of trivia questions that can really leave you stumped and entertained (?I can?t decide whether the answer is ?Meena Tills? or ?Haelee Mills???)?but at the same time there are enough regular movie questions that casual fans can join in the fun. This is a great way for a group of fans to have a good time, and see just how obsessed with Star Wars they really are.
Oh, and as a bonus, those fans who participated in Starwars.com
?s backstory contest, What?s The Story, should take a look?many of those databank entries are mentioned here.
Adrick:
The fact that Obsessed With Star Wars is part simple electronic device and part traditional book is something of a mixed blessing. The scoring module only gives you a question number, not the question itself, so players using the random question mode must constantly flip through the book?s 317 pages to find the right question. And if anything were to happen to the scoring module, the answers to the questions are not printed in the book itself. Still, the use of the module is more entertaining than a traditional trivia book would be (particularly for younger fans), and the book has a lower price than a completely electronic version might.
As a minor nitpick, while this book is crammed with fantastic Expanded Universe questions, it only covers the timeframe of the six movies. If this volume does well, could we expect an ?Obsessed With Star Wars: Expanded Universe Edition??
Adrick:
Me when I get a question wrong.