i love a good fictional non fiction book. And I love Star Wars, so really this was an easy win for me.

This is a must read for star wars fans well written with lots of the type of information that fans love.

My review of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: Traveler’s Guide to Batuu.

It almost seems wrong to be talking about a theme park in a time like this, doesn’t it? Disney Parks launched a fantastic new wing of their theme parks: Galaxy’s Edge, an attraction where you could visit the planet Batuu. This came with a huge launch of tie-in material, from adult novels to young reader’s novels, and now, a Traveler’s Guide! For a lot of people, when it launched, the cost of Disney theme parks (plus travel, food, lodging, etc) was too much and they weren’t able to visit the park. Now, a global pandemic makes visiting theme parks an even worse idea. More than that: as people lose jobs, the cost of tickets, even when it becomes safe again, might be a lot to overcome.

The Traveler’s Guide *almost* fills this hole. Using promotional pictures from the park, readers are introduced to the world of Batuu, filling out our imaginations about what’s going down on Batuu. Even if you’ve never been, you could probably take a look at the book and have a good sense of what’s going on, and if you ever visited, already have a good idea of where you are and the story behind the places you’re about to visit.

I did receive a copy of this from Netgalley in return for a review, but I also had this pre-ordered on Amazon, where it was delayed for weeks. This book then became available in Targets with Galaxy’s Edge related toys, dishware, plushes, and other items “direct from Batuu”. This really emphasizes, to me, the main goal of this book: to make you want to visit the Park by giving you an in-universe ad. If you’re buying a Target exclusive Black Series Hondo Ohnaka, this book, and a “Toydarian toymakers”-esque wampa, why wouldn’t you wanna go?? Obviously, no book can replace the experience of going, but this book an alright job of whetting your appetite.

One (intentional? accidental?) bonus of this book is that you can read it alongside all of the books that mention Batuu and have a great mental picture of what’s going on. Whether it’s Crash of Fate, which reads a little too close to a “greatest hits of what you can see in Galaxy’s Edge” or Black Spire, the extremely violent and racially problematic story set before the Rise of the Resistance ride, you can have an actual pic of the Park to situate yourself inside the story. This became the highlight of the book for me.

You can purchase a copy of this book from Barnes and Noble, a local bookstore, possibly still Target, and Amazon. I received a copy of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, but I also bought a physical copy from Amazon.

Great guide, such a unique gift for SW fans in that it genuinely works as a guide for Galaxy’s Edge, with tie ins for Black Spire too.
I read this and can’t wait to be able to travel to Batuu next year!

This was a engaging, photo filled guidebook that would be incredibly useful to take to Batuu to learn behind the scenes and secrets to the park. From the food to the ships, there is a lot to learn about how Batuu runs, who to talk to if you need information, and proper phrases so you don't get mistaken as an outsider. Really enjoyed flipping through this one and will be purchasing for my next Star Wars trip to Disney.

This travel guide is both an advertisement to visit Batuu (which is amazing and you should) and also part education into the land, the history of it and the books about it. I loved the descriptions of everything and having been there a few times, it was so much fun to put the place and name together. And it gave me little extra details that I can use on my next trip. May the Spires Keep You!

Great guide and reference to the new Star Wars immersive environment at Disney World. Provides the whole back story of Batuu in the Star Wars world. Excellent illustrations and pictures.

This is such a fun book! Star Wars always does an excellent job with details and making you feel like you are really in that world. I love how the book weaves together snippets of Batuu history and culture to create a rich backstory for the location, while also hinting at a nearby Rebel base. The photos and commentary add to the atmosphere and make you feel like a real space traveler! Interspersing illustrations with photos from the "actual" Batuu adds to the charm.
A delightful book perfect for Star Wars fans!

In 2019, Disney opened Galaxy’s Edge in both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Not much has been known about this particular area of space until now with Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: Traveler’s Guide to Batuu by Cole Horton. Thanks to this guide, I’ve learned that Batuu is not far from Endor, it’s set 30 years after the fall of the Galactic Empire, and I’ve learned a little bit of the local language.

The guide is written as if Batuu is a real place and treats the reader as a space traveler interested in adventure.

A fun and quick read - one that allows for a bit more insight into the world of Batuu (literally). This is the sort of guide perfect for Star Wars fans, especially those that are hoping to learn a little bit more about the universe that they love so much.

This is the definitive book on visiting Galaxy's Edge, as it is filled with tons of useful tips! My hubby has been talking about wanting to go, so I checked this book out and now I want to go NOW! Disney seems to have done an amazing job creating this brilliant vacation destination!

Anyone out there longing for bright suns will find some comfort in this Travelers’ Guide!
I love in-universe material.

I mean, Black Spire Outpost is kind of the ultimate in-universe experience so this handy little guide filled with info and tidbits is something to thank the skies for!

If you’ve always wanted to visit Batuu or they know your name and drink order at Oga’s Cantina, this guide has plenty of fresh info on Black Spire Outpost. An organized, illustrated, detailed guide highlighting locations, important people, and local customs!

Plan your next journey or just to learn about Batuu from that in-world point of view!

Till the spires!
-Sal P.

Reading as an in-universe travel guide, this awesome supplement to the theme park is jam-packed with fun easter eggs, tips, and lore sure to excite any fan of Star Wars! Not only does it bring new information into the Star Wars canon, it also ties in other Galaxy's Edge media, giving a nod to the books and comics. Though a quick read, it is a perfect reference book for the park, and I am excited to use it when next I visit Galaxy's Edge!

As an avid Disneyland enthusiast, I was so excited to see that this book was happening. It turned out to be a fantastic data dump of lore and fun facts surrounding the Black Spire Outpost that has been newly introduced in Disneyland/Disney World and I love it. This book does a fabulous job of informing readers of things they may not have known about the vibrant landscape that has been created. Reading the Galaxy's Edge novels gives a bit more information than you can gather from the place itself, but this really fills in the gaps and explains just why certain things are important or relevant within the area of the park.

Hello Gemmies! I have a new book review to share with you today. Please note: I received a digital ARC of this book (via NetGalley) from its publisher in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge Travelers Guide to Batuu is the travel guide I didn't know I needed. I am actually planning a trip to Galaxy's Edge next year so the opportunity to review this guide came right on time! I absolutely love that it's written as if you are going to another country or world and not a theme park. There is so much information provided, including maps, identification guides for flora and fauna, protocol droids, speeders, and currency. The Merchant row section was especially helpful and includes beautiful color photos of each shop and some of their specialties. I'll have to make sure I order a Fuzzy Tauntaun at Oga's Cantina when I arrive! There is even a small section on Bantha Milk! There is also a guide to the various people of Batuu including the First Order. I hope I don't run into any of the executioner troopers on my trip!

This travel guide is fun and very thorough and even includes an alphabet for the local language Aurebesh, complete with descriptions of the local customs and holidays. Also included packing recommendations. If you are a Star Wars fan or planning a trip to Galaxy's Edge then you need to get this book! It not only provides helpful information, but would also make for a nice souvenir. Published by Quatro Publishing Group, Star Wars Galaxy's Edge Travelers Guide to Batuu is set to release on July 21, 2020 and is available for Pre-Order from all major booksellers. I give Star Wars Galaxy's Edge Travelers Guide to Batuu 5 out of 5 gems. Happy Reading!

While reading this book isn’t quite the same thrill as laying eyes on Batuu’s black spires for the first time or jumping to light speed in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon, it’s a great way to prepare for your adventure or relive it once it’s over. As someone who had a spectacular trip to Galaxy’s Edge, this had me reminiscing about my adventure to a galaxy far, far away and looking up prices on flights so that I can go all over again! As a massive Star Wars fan, going to Galaxy’s Edge was a dream come true. I crashed the Falcon, received my appropriate and subsequent scolding by Hondo. I taste-tested the blue and green milks. I danced along with DJR-3X in the cantina. I rose with the Resistance. I watched countless hours of YouTube videos to plan my trip perfectly and purchased all the souvenirs I could lug onto the airplane. Only now, having read Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge: Traveler’s Guide to Batuu, do I realize the significance of so many of the pieces of set decoration hanging on the walls of Dok Ondar’s Den of Antiquities, how many cantina beverages I didn’t have the chance to try, and how many pieces of exclusive merchandise absolutely belong in my collection—especially a lightsaber!

Ultimately, this is a fun book packed full of helpful information, lore, and charm that makes Galaxy’s Edge so special. As a Star Wars reference book, Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge: Traveler’s Guide to Batuu is exactly what tourists planning a visit to this hive of scum and villainy are looking for. It’s rewarding for die-hard fans, with the inclusion of a planet from the Legends continuity and a reference to the High Republic, even a snide remark about C-series droids like Chopper from Rebels being outdated. It seamlessly blends elements from the Original Trilogy, Prequel Trilogy, Rebels, Rogue One, and Solo as it fuels the imagination for what can happen in this brand-new corner of the Star Wars galaxy. The book has an interesting mix of the old and the new—a guide on how to take care of your droids as well as information about the different parts of a lightsaber. It breaks up the information with gorgeous artwork, including a detailed Black Spire Outpost map, a galaxy map pertaining to Batuu’s positioning as a fueling station for adventures into Wild Space, and stunning photography of the outpost itself.

While much of the guide is playful, enhancing the lore of Black Spire, some sections are actually helpful for would-be travelers: the map is accurate for what you’ll encounter in the park, the drink menu for Oga’s Cantina is detailed and descriptive, and the glossary of terms will make you sound like the most committed tourist to Disney cast members, I mean, Batuu’s residents! As someone who thought they knew everything there was to know about Galaxy’s Edge, the Traveler’s Guide illuminated some details I had somehow missed.

The book isn’t just about locations and history, however. It also fleshes out the core cast of characters who bring Black Spire to life—Dok Ondar the antiquities merchant, Oga Gara the cantina owner, Savi the “scalvager,” and more. I can’t imagine what more this reference book could have included to make it any more thorough.

Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge: Traveler’s Guide to Batuu would make the perfect companion to Zoraida Córdova’s A Crash of Fate, Delilah Dawson’s Black Spire, Ethan Sacks’s Marvel miniseries, or a great gift for a Star Wars fan planning a trip to a certain theme park. Having this guide at hand while reading the tie-in stories will be a perfect resource to feel like you’re in the know. Especially as you play the John Williams symphonic suite he wrote exclusively for the theme park on a loop while you read.

Till the spire and may the Force be with you!

Thank you to NetGalley, Quarto Publishing, and the author for an advanced copy for review.

Missing Galaxy’s Edge? Pop on your favorite R-3X playlist, put on your casual Star Wars cosplay and read this in-universe travel guide to the ins and outs of visiting Batuu.

This guide is clearly aimed at folks who haven’t yet been to Batuu or the Disney folks who aren’t into Star Wars. It includes a lot of basic info included in the preview content before the park opened (maps, menus, minor backstories of characters).

It definitely feels like this would be a good investment for first-time park visitors since it not only gives an overview of the food and shops, but it also includes phrases to help you talk to cast members, an Aurebesh alphabet for decoding in-universe signage and a landing permit (that one probably won’t get you out of paying for parking at the park, but it’s still pretty cute).

Going beyond the basics of food and merch, the guide is a fun collection of all the basics of Batuu in Star Wars canon. It includes relevant info from all corners, including the Galaxy’s Edge tie-in books (Black Spire by Delilah Dawson and A Crash of Fate by Zoraida Córdova), Thrawn: Alliances and even a nod to the upcoming High Republic era.

If you’ve already visited Batuu, read all the press releases and tie-in stories, then this probably won’t give you much new info. I think the charm of this lies not in the info, but how it’s presented. Everything is presented in-universe, from how to pay using the “credit transactor terminals,” to the fireworks (hint: they’re fireflies). There are also more explanations of things on display at Dok’s and Oga’s, for the discerning traveler.

There are a few things in this book to speculate over too. Is the inclusion of C1 droids in the droid guide a hint of options to come? Were the holidays in the back going to be fun seasonal events tourists can take part in when they visit? Does the little hint at the High Republic Jedi presence have anything to do with Savi and Son Salvage setting up shop at the outpost?

I can really see this guide being a preview of the materials that will come out around the Galactic Starcruiser experience/hotel. Not only will this be a must for family’s traveling to Batuu together for the first time, but it’ll serve as a great prop for playing tourist once the Star Wars hotel opens.

Who should get this book?

People who haven’t gone before and are planning a future trip. It’s a great way to prep together.

If you’re home missing Batuu, much like me, this is also a cute way to remember the magic of a trip to BSO. Get out your Galaxy’s Edge cookbook, put on some music and immerse yourself in this book until we can go back to the real thing.

Until then, may the spires keep you.

If you've ever been interested in the politics, horticulture, and spacecraft of Batuu, this guide is absolutely essential. Not only does it include information about Batuu, but there are a TON of references to the Star Wars universe as a whole, and this book really helps piece more of the world together. The artwork is great-- including a small section on propaganda during the First Order (I was a history major, so I loved this section). In the event you don't live near a Disney park, there are some photographs that give a glimpse into a couple of the attractions... which I think is so nice, especially now during a time when the parks have been closed. I absolutely loved reading through this. If you're looking to glean more information about Star Wars species, food recipes, and the way of life for the people of Batuu, I'd definitely suggest reading through this.

I was really looking forward to reading this as I love both Disney World and Star Wars. I'm getting married there on December 1st and cannot wait to visit Galaxy's Edge! With that being said, I was disappointed in this book. I felt like I was reading a historical novel. As creative as it was for the author to make up Batuu's history and as much as I felt immersed in this world as if it were real, I thought this was a "traveler's guide" in the sense that it would take the reader through the different attractions, restaurants, etc. It wasn't a bad book, per se, for someone who's looking for the history of this fictional world. It's just not what I was wanting.
*I recieved a free ARC of this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had the opportunity to visit the Star Wars Galaxy's Edge theme park in Disney World last December, just a few months before it closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. As a lifelong Star Wars fan, it was an incredible experience. I cam away extremely impressed with the attention to detail and the quality of the merchandise, food, and other amenities. Disney's Imagineers went the extra mile to make the park feel immersive; once you enter, you can't see anything to remind you that you're still on Earth. 

I had read Galaxy's Edge: Black Spire novel and the Galaxy's Edge comics before I went, so I understood the importance of Batuu to the Resistance and the First Order. I loved having read about Dok-Ondar and then seeing him. My wife and I had fun trying to identify the Resistance spy.

Unfortunately, the park itself doesn't make that backstory accessible to most visitors. The planet Batuu never appeared in any of the films or TV shows. Aside from Chewbacca, you won't find any of the iconic characters like Darth Vader walking around. There is a cantina, but it's not the hive of scum and villainy seen in A New Hope. I couldn't help but wonder if the lack of such familiar Star Wars characters and locations confused some visitors. How many actually appreciated everything that the Imagineers built? 
 
Cole Horton's authorized Star Wars Galaxy's Edge: Traveler's Guide to Batuu could help those visitors who lack the time or inclination to read the tie-in novels and comics to better appreciate experience. The book is, as the title suggests, written like a traveler's guide. It doesn't summarize the stories in the novel and comics, but it does provide background information about certain locations. The book has useful photos from around the parks to help visitors orient themselves. If anything, I wish the book had been a bit shorter so it could be condensed into a pocket-sized version that visitors could take with them while walking around the park. 

In addition to serving as a guide once you visit Galaxy's Edge, I suspect this book would also be a a great gift for any Star Wars fan who wants to go to the park but hasn't yet had the opportunity. Horton does a good job providing an informative overview of the park without spoiling some of the surprises (notably, most of the photos are of the exteriors of buildings, not interiors). He tries to give readers a sense of what it's like to be there, such as the frequent toasts at Oga's Cantina or the mysticism of Savi's. The book is easy to follow along, even if you've never visited the park. Given the coronavirus pandemic, Horton's traveler's guide might be all most of us see of Galaxy's Edge for quite some time. 

[Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.]