Slight change of plans for posted reviews and columns this week. corax is having computer trouble, so we’ll get out the NJOE review of Legacy #42 as soon as possible - and the column he was hoping to post tomorrow. Meanwhile, please enjoy this review today, and come back tomorrow for a review of Star Wars Tales volume 1.

I’ve talked about my love of art books before, with some reviews of the Visual Guide to Lego Star Wars as well as some Terminator Salvation art books I reviewed. Ultimate Battles was just what I was hoping to see in a visual guide to this TV series – covering in detail the second half of season 1 (and even previewing season 2’s first couple of episodes) over the course of it’s 128 oversized pages. But it’s not all about me, I’ll also talk about my son’s thoughts on this book too – after the break.

Ultimate Battles was authored by Jason Fry, who should be well known to anyone reading out site, and his knowledge of the Star Wars universe shines through in this book just as it always does. I love how the book starts like an episode from the TV series – like a war report catching up the reader on the basics of The Clone Wars. Then over the course of the first 20 pages, you’re introduced to all the major players – Jedi, Sith, Republic, Separatists and some of the tech both sides use. There’s a great amount of detail given for each item shown on a page, with gorgeous overlapping artwork used to wonderful effect throughout.

What’s interesting is you don’t even sense how the book transitions from these opening pages into detailing the episodes of the second half of the season. Because you’ve been introduced to various aspects of the war effort, it’s not shocking when the Rookies are featured – and things just seem to flow naturally from there into the Commando Droids and the details about the rest of the episode. The book generally devotes around 6-8 pages per episode – and the book did a good job of reminding me how good the second half of the season really was. The Luminara episode, the lair of Grevious, the Blue Shadow Virus arc and the Ryloth arc were all highlights for me.

On some pages you’ll get details on particular species of a planet, other times it’s a step by step walkthrough of what happened in the episode. All the major (and minor) characters get their due, not to mention droids, creatures and vehicles. About the only thing is doesn’t have is a glossary or complete index in the back of the book – though the table of contents has just about all the detail you’d need to be able to easily use it as a reference book to the series. I often find myself (especially when reading) wondering what a particular race looks like – if we’re talking about something a little less well known – and this is just the kind of book I like to have on hand to look those kinds of things up.

And apparently so does my son. He seems to love the more reference type DK Readers books – and Ultimate Battles was right up his alley. This book has a permanent spot on his bookcase – and he’s very protective of it. I had to bargain with him just to use it as a reference while writing up this review (though he’s little, he’s a tough as Jabba the Hutt). This is the kind of book he loves coming back to on his own, just to look through the pictures. I think this series hits on all cylinders for him – Jedi, Clone Troopers, Droids, Sith, Bounty Hunters – there’s rarely ever a page that I feel like he’d rather not read. By the time we got this book, the first few episodes of season two had already aired – but that just made it more interesting for my son who was eager to read those recent adventures featuring Cad Bane. The book ends in such a way as to be an easy lead in to hopefully the next in the series (featuring I’m sure The Rise of the Bounty Hunters).

This is the kind of book I can easily recommend to both young readers and old ones alike. If you enjoy the TV series and would like a detailed reference guide to it – look no further than Ultimate Battles. It’s the kind of book that would make a great present to any Star Wars fan.

Review Copy courtesy of  DK Publishing.