StarWars.com take a closer look at the forthcoming book Star Wars: Droidography, coming via Harper Collins, available for pre-order right now and out on 6th November 2018 for $24.99.
Senior writer Dan Brooks caught up with author Marc Sumerak to discuss the project.
StarWars.com: I had a chance to look at an early copy of the book, and was really surprised at just how much information is packed inside. I mean, this is almost a droid encyclopedia. What can you tell us about the process of writing it?
Marc Sumerak: The process for writing this book actually began way back when I was around four years old. In the early ’80s, my brother and I had a ton of the original Kenner Star Wars toys, but the one that I most vividly remember to this day was the Droid Factory, where you could mix and match parts to create customized, one-of-a-kind automated life forms that would probably make L3-37 proud. I played with that set until the little rubber tabs wore right off the droid parts, and my fascination with the mechanical inhabitants of the galaxy far, far away never waned.
Flash forward a few decades, and I found myself presented with the chance to write about virtually every known model of droid from the perspective of one of their own. It was a challenge and an honor I wasn’t about to take lightly. As with any project, even ones where I am already deeply immersed in the mythology, it’s all about the research. Re-watching all of the films and key episodes of the animated shows, brushing up on canon novels, and digging into visual encyclopedias were all a must. And then there was the extra added bonus of visiting the Lucasfilm offices in San Francisco to learn top-secret details about new droids who had not yet made their debut on screen at the time of writing the manuscript. That was a dream come true!
But the most critical piece of this particular book was making sure that it had its own unique voice, so that we could present the real story of droids from a completely different angle than any of the other informational guides out there. That was no easy task, but it all clicked together once we found our intrepid narrator: a lovable battle droid named Roger.
