Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker [First BCE Movie Edition]

New York: Del Rey - Ballantine Books , 1976. Stated Book Club Edition at front flap; code S27 at page 183 and 2403 to back flap. Copyright 1976 by The Star Wars Corporation. The first and only printing prior to the blockbuster movie release with spectacular color photographs for the special inserts furnished by Twentieth Century-Fox. Stark grey boards, black stamped bold titles, light shelf wear, some toning. Deckled pages near fine, toning to exterior text block ; red '41' felt-tipped at front endpaper. Bind fine; hinges intact. Original pictorial dust wrapper, moderate shelf wear, toning. Front panel features dynamic collage painting by John Berkey with cast of characters with Luke & Leia ready to saber battle with a towering Darth Vader above, Star Fighters and Death Star in b.g. Back panel features a classic movie credits design on deep blue. Includes two wonderful glossy 8-page cinema photo sections on smooth coated black pages; several exciting scenes across two-page spreads. Near very good rarity in original wrapper. From front flap: Now a spectacular motion picture from 20th Century-Fox. Bold, imaginative and packed with excitement, Star Wars is destined to become a classic. This is the novel that brings that 'sense of wonder' back to science fiction - each page brimming with heroic adventure, unexpected marvels and amazing characters like... Luke Skywalker, a young farmboy on the remote sun-baked world of Tatooine who is compelled to break from the dull chores on his uncle's ranch. When he intercepts a cryptic message from a kidnapped princess, Luke embarks on the most dangerous mission of his life, enlisting aid from... Ben Kenobi, a shabby old desert rat who, before the rise of the sinister Galactic Empire, was one of the greatest warriors of the old Republic. It is Ben who gives Luke a legendary laser saber and interprets the secret code words of... Princess Leia Organa, the very young Senator from the rebel planet Alderaan. The strong-willed, beautiful woman now has the necessary information to destroy the Empire but has fallen into the hands of the galaxy's most evil genius... Darth Vader, an awesome, malevolent figure who commands the Death Star, a planet-sized space fortress that can destroy an entire solar system in mere hours. Vader plans to annihilate the secret rebel outpost after torturing its location out of the Princess. But... Chewbacca the Pirate and his human companion Han Solo have other ideas. Along with Luke, Ben and a pair of devoted robots, they plan a near suicidal assault on the Death Star to rescue Leia and free the universe from tyranny and oppression. What follows is prehaps the most thrilling and suspenseful science fiction adventure story of all times... a book that imaginative readers will find impossible to put down. Printed in the United States of America. 183 pages. Insured post.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. Illus. by Berkey, John (Cover Art). 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" Tall.