The three Star Wars movies, produced during the 1970s and 1980s, were enormously successful. A stirring epic of triumph over an evil empire, they combined superb special effects with story motifs drawn from various mythic sources. Despite their setting "long ago in a galaxy far, far away," the movies reflected several concerns of the era in which they were made. In the words of one fan, by 1976 we were two messy un-wars, one assassinated President and one crooked President away from any shining moments. Star Wars spoke to the decade's need to believe that real progress and even heroism were still possible. The movies also tapped into a growing disenchantment with conventional religion, by showing a hero who draws on spiritual resources not framed in traditional Western terms.

Timothy Zahn's trilogy was the first book series authorized to continue the Star Wars saga. Set some five...