In 2 days, we finally see the release of The Essential Atlas!

This long-awaited, oft-delayed Essential Guide is unique in the fact that much more of the information was created by the numerous authors and artists, with less to draw on from other novels.  Other ways it’s unique is that this is by far one of the most artistically detailed and inclusive Essential Guides to date, and that several members of the news team received early releases of the Atlas!

Read after the break for the blurb and a preview of the maps included in The Essential Atlas, along with my own personal mini-review.

While I can’t speak for the opinions of the rest of NJOE’s staff, I can say that, to me, The Essential Atlas is the best Essential Guide to date.  Yes, I have the Encyclopedia.  It’s awesome, but even if you consider it a guide (which I would argue that it’s much more than), it doesn’t include new information, and most of the images are recycled.  In the Essential Guide to the Force, the same thing goes: a lot of information was left out, though the quality of the art does approach that of the Encyclopedia and Atlas.

Content-wise, there are a lot of similarities between the history section of the Atlas and the New Essential Chronology, but there’s enough new content in between there that it definitely doesn’t feel recycled, though I do feel that we won’t get a new Chronology for several more years.

One noteworthy thing about the Atlas is that not only is it thicker than other Essential Guides, it’s also wider and taller.  Whet your appetite yet?

A photo of the inside of mine:

The blurb:

Navigate the Star Wars universe as you never have before-with this fully illustrated, full-color guide that maps the entire galaxy.

You know the planets-from Alderaan and Corellia to Tatooine and Zonama Sekot-and the star systems, from the Deep Core to the Outer Rim. But now, for the first time, you can pinpoint their locations and chart the travels of your favorite characters through the vast reaches of space. Star Wars: The Essential Atlas is a galaxy-spanning trove of vital statistics and information ranging from the astronomical and geographical (”Systems, Sectors, Oversectors, and Regions”) to the historical and political (”The Sith Empire” and “The Great Hyperspace War”). Encompassing the entire Star Wars canon, including all the films, and the Clone Wars television series, plus the novels, comic books, video games, and more, this volume is packed with dozens of detailed maps and charts, as well as pertinent data and accompanying facts on

• the Empire: its length and breadth, political regions, populations, trade routes, major attractions, and trouble spots
• the Clone Wars: the trajectory of this decisive conflict across the universe, data on key battles and major Loyalist and Separatist worlds
• the adventures of Han Solo: the heroic rogue’s exploits throughout the galaxy-including his captaincy of the Millennium Falcon and his first, fateful meeting with Chewbacca-before his life-changing alliance with Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi
• the Sith Wars: the progression of the universal clash between the ancient Jedi Order, their dark side counterparts, and the Mandalorian warriors who fought against both orders
• and much, much more

From Hutt Space to the Unknown Regions, from the Knights of the Old Republic and Episode I to the Fate of the Jedi and Legacy era, Star Wars: The Essential Atlas is the ultimate gateway to space fantasy’s most brilliantly imagined and endlessly intriguing galaxy.

Maps in the Atlas:
The Galaxy (this is the big map with the grid- the one you can use to locate any planet ever mentioned in the EU)
The Core
The Colonies
Galactic Population c. 25 ABY
The Inner Rim
The Expansion Region
The Mid Rim
Hutt Space
The Outer Rim
Client States and Miscellaneous Regions
The Rakata Empire c. 30,000-25,200 BBY
The Conquests of Xim the Despot 25,127-25,096 BBY
The Pre-Republic Galaxy c. 25,100 BBY
Origins of the Jedi (and other mystic traditions of the young Republic) c. 25,000-22,000 BBY
Galactic Explorations
The Sith Empire c. 5,000 BBY
The Great Hyperspace War c. 5,000 BBY
The Great Sith War 4,000-3,996 BBY
The Jedi Civil War 3,959-3.956 BBY
The Mandalorian Wars 3,976-3,960 BBY
The Fall of the Republic 1,004-1,000 BBY
The Hapes Cluster
The Hydian Way c. 3,693 BBY
Sidious’s Preparations 52-32 BBY
The Phantom Menace
The Fate of Outbound Flight
Tatooine, Geonosis and the Arkanis Sector
Attack of the Clones
The Clone Wars (2 maps)
Kashyyyk and Neighbors
Revenge of the Sith
Imperial Atrocities
The Adventures of Han Solo 14-0 BBY
The Centrality
The Corporate Sector
Missions Merciful and Otherwise 2-0 BBY
The Ultimate Power in the Universe 22 BBY-12 ABY
A New Hope
Yavin and the Gordian Reach
Famous Shadowports
Flashpoints in the Galactic Civil War 2 BBY-4 ABY
The Road to Kessel
The Spice Trade
Hoth and the Greater Javin
The Empire Strikes Back
Endor and the Moddell Sector
Inner Zuma Region (Side View)
Return of the Jedi
The Ssi-Ruuk and Nagai Invasions
The New Republic Advances 4-6 ABY
The Road to Coruscant 6-7 ABY
The Hunt for Zsinj 7-8 ABY
Campaigns After Zsinj’s Death 8 ABY
Thrawn’s Campaigns 9 ABY
Pentastar Alignment and the Imperial Remnant
Out of the Deep Core (10-11 ABY)
Perils of the New Republic (12-17 ABY)
Mon Calamari Space
The Senex and Juvex Worlds
Vector Prime and the Vong Advance (60:5-61:3 (25-26 ABY)) (Are these Yuuzhan Vong dates? I just noticed that)
Collapse of the Core (61:3-62:4 (26-27 ABY))
Into the Unknown Regions (62:4-64:6(27-29 ABY)
The Chiss Ascendancy
The New Galactic Civil War (40-41 ABY)
The New Empire (137 ABY)