James Luceno

It takes a gifted author to write in the Star Wars universe, and an even better one to pen projects from both Legends and Canon. By that measure, James Luceno is an incredible talent.

In the late 1990s, Luceno was first given the nod to work inStar Wars when he was brought on as a consultant for the New Jedi Order series. His work in other properties had convinced the higher ups at Del Rey that he was the right choice to craft the outline for the upcoming series. Luceno worked closely with other authors—and even George Lucas—to create the roadmap for the series, while also writing several of the installments himself.

However, Luceno’s impact goes far beyond the New Jedi Order. He has been entrusted with such important characters as Grand Moff Tarkin, Darth Vader, and Palpatine. He transformed Darth Plagueis’ story from one scene in Revenge of the Sith into a full-length novel. Not to mention, he helped one of his closest friends, Brian Daley, with many of the plot points in the Han Solo Adventures 

James Luceno is, perhaps, one of the most underappreciated figures in Star Wars. His fingerprints are all over the written material from one end of the timeline to the other, and it’s all the better because of it.

Check out some of Luceno’s hand-picked works below!