Ryder Windham
Encyclopedia
Ryder Windham is an American science fiction
author who has written over sixty Star Wars
books, including novels, comics, and reference books. He has also written junior novelizations for Indiana Jones
movies. Since 1993, he has been working on Star Wars projects either by himself or with other authors. His reference book Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide had been on New York Times Best Seller list
for three weeks in 2005.
, Jabba the Hutt
, River of Chaos, Splinter of the Mind's Eye
, Shadows of the Empire, and X-Wing - Rogue Squadron. He also helped edit Star Wars: Droids
and Dark Empire II
. In addition, he worked closely with Allan Kausch and Sue Rostoni at Lucas Licensing to maintain consistency in Star Wars comics, novels, and so on.
's publishing licensees, including Dark Horse Comics
, Del Rey
, DK Publishing, Grosset & Dunlap
, HarperCollins
, Random House
, and Scholastic Inc..
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
author who has written over sixty Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
books, including novels, comics, and reference books. He has also written junior novelizations for Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones
Colonel Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., Ph.D. is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise. George Lucas and Steven Spielberg created the character in homage to the action heroes of 1930s film serials...
movies. Since 1993, he has been working on Star Wars projects either by himself or with other authors. His reference book Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide had been on New York Times Best Seller list
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
for three weeks in 2005.
Entering The Star Wars Universe
Ryder Windham started working on Star Wars projects in 1993, when he was working at the Dark Horse Comics. Sometimes, instead of writing books on his own, he supervised the editing process of other writers' comics, such as the Dark Horse series Heir to the EmpireHeir to the Empire
Heir to the Empire is the first book in a trilogy of novels known as The Thrawn Trilogy, all written by Timothy Zahn.-Description:The book is set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi...
, Jabba the Hutt
Jabba the Hutt
Jabba the Hutt is a fictional character in George Lucas's space opera film saga Star Wars. Designed as a large, slug-like alien, his appearance has been described by film critic Roger Ebert as "Dickensian," a cross between a toad and the Cheshire Cat....
, River of Chaos, Splinter of the Mind's Eye
Splinter of the Mind's Eye
Splinter of the Mind's Eye is a 1978 science fiction novel written by Alan Dean Foster. It is a sequel to both Star Wars and its novelization Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker...
, Shadows of the Empire, and X-Wing - Rogue Squadron. He also helped edit Star Wars: Droids
Star Wars: Droids
Star Wars: Droids, also known as Droids: The Adventures of R2-D2 and C-3PO, was an animated television series that featured the exploits of R2-D2 and C-3PO, the droids who have appeared in all six Star Wars films...
and Dark Empire II
Dark Empire II
Dark Empire II is the second trade paperback collecting a series of comic books written by Tom Veitch and illustrated by Cam Kennedy. It is preceded by Dark Empire I and followed by Empire's End.-Synopsis:...
. In addition, he worked closely with Allan Kausch and Sue Rostoni at Lucas Licensing to maintain consistency in Star Wars comics, novels, and so on.
Maintaining Consistency in Stories
An inevitable challenge for all Star Wars authors is maintaining the consistency in stories written by various authors. For Ryder Windham, the hardest part of maintaining the consistency is remembering what a character knows about other characters and certain situations at a specific moment in the Star Wars timeline. Fortunately, Leland Chee, who is in charge of maintaining and monitoring the consistency in Star Wars stories, is very familiar with many details; therefore, he has been very helpful to Ryder Windham.Recent Years
Since 2004, he has been working at Rhode Island School of Design Continuing Education as an instructor and a certificate advisor for comic and sequential art classes. Currently, he lives in Providence, Rhode Island with his wife and two daughters. Ryder Windham also works closely with the publisher becker&mayer! and LucasfilmLucasfilm
Lucasfilm Limited is an American film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman and CEO, and Micheline Chau is the president and COO....
's publishing licensees, including Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
, Del Rey
Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn since 1998, by Bertelsmann AG. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It specializes in science fiction and fantasy...
, DK Publishing, Grosset & Dunlap
Grosset & Dunlap
Grosset & Dunlap is a United States book publisher founded in 1898.The company was purchased by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1982 and today is part of the British publishing conglomerate, Pearson PLC through its American subsidiary Penguin Group....
, HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
, Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, and Scholastic Inc..
Novels
- Star Wars The Clone Wars Secret Missions 1: Breakout Squad (2009)
- Star Wars The Clone Wars Secret Missions 2: Curse of the Black Hole Pirates (2010)
- Star Wars The Clone Wars Secret Missions 3: Duel at Shattered Rock (2011)
- Star Wars Adventures 1: Hunt the Sun Runner (2002)
- Star Wars Adventures 2: The Cavern of Screaming Skulls (2002)
- Star Wars Adventures 3: The Hostage Princess (2002)
- Star Wars Adventures 4: Jango Fett vs. the Razor Eaters (2003)
- Star Wars Adventures 5: The Shape-Shifter Strikes (2003)
- Star Wars Adventures 6: The Warlords of Balmorra (2003)
- Star Wars Missions 1: Assault on Yavin Four (1997)
- Star Wars Missions 2: Escape from Thyferra (1997)
- Star Wars Missions 3: Attack on Delrakkin (1997)
- Star Wars Missions 4: Destroy the Liquidator (1997)
- Star Wars Missions 9: Revolt of the Battle Droids (1998)
- Star Wars Missions 10: Showdown in Mos Eisley (1998)
- Star Wars Missions 11: Bounty Hunters vs. Battle Droids (1998)
- Star Wars Missions 12: The Vactooine Disaster (1998)
- Star Wars Missions 17: Darth Vader's Return (1999)
- Star Wars Missions 18: Rogue Squadron to the Rescue (1999)
- Star Wars Missions 19: Bounty on Bonadan (1999)
- Star Wars Missions 20: Total Destruction (1999)
- Episode I Adventures 1: Search for the Lost Jedi (1999)
- Episode I Adventures 2: The Bartokk Assassins (1999)
- Episode I Adventures 3: The Fury of Darth Maul (1999)
- Episode I Adventures 4: Jedi Emergency (1999)
- Episode I Adventures 9: Rescue in the Core (2000)
- Episode I Adventures 10: Festival of Warriors (2000)
- Episode I Adventures 11: Pirates from Beyond the Sea (2000)
- Episode I Adventures 12: The Bongo Rally (2000)
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope junior novelization (2004)
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back junior novelization (2004)
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi junior novelization (2004)
- The Rise and Fall of Darth VaderThe Rise and Fall of Darth VaderThe Rise and Fall of Darth Vader is a young adult novel set in the Star Wars universe. It tells the complete story of Anakin Skywalker from his introduction in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace to his death in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, chronicling his early life as a slave on...
(2007) - The Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi (2008)
- A New Hope: The Life of Luke Skywalker (2009)
- Raiders Of The Lost Ark Novelization
- Last Crusade Novelization
Comics
- Star Wars Droids: Artoo's Day Out in Star Wars GalaxyStar Wars GalaxyStar Wars Galaxy may mean:* Star Wars Galaxies, a Star Wars themed MMORPG platform for Microsoft Windows* Star Wars galaxy, the fictional galaxy where the setting of the Star Wars saga occurs...
issue#1 (1994) - Star Wars: The Mixed-Up Droid (1995)
- Star Wars Droids: The Kalarba Adventures (1995)
- X-wing Rogue Squadron: Apple Jacks Special Bonus Story (1995)
- Shadows of the Empire Galoob Micro-Machines Mini-Comic (1996)
- This Crumb for Hire in A Decade of Dark Horse issue#2 (1996)
- Star Wars Droids: Rebellion
- The Rebel Thief in Star Wars Kids issue#1-5 (1997)
- Shadow Stalker (1997)
- Star Wars Droids: The Protocol Offensive (1997)
- Episode I: Qui-Gon Jinn (1999)
- Episode I: The Phantom Menace ½ (1999)
- Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan: Last Stand on Ord MantellQui-Gon and Obi-Wan: Last Stand on Ord MantellQui-Gon and Obi-Wan: Last Stand on Ord Mantell is a three-part comics series written by Ryder Windham, and published by Dark Horse Comics between December 2000 and March 2001. The series is set in the Star Wars galaxy five years before the Battle of Naboo in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom...
(2000) - The Death of Captain Tarpals in Star Wars TalesStar Wars TalesStar Wars Tales was a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics, beginning on September 29, 1999 and completing its run on July 13, 2005. Each issue featured several unrelated stories from various eras of the Star Wars timeline. All stories from Issue #20 and before have been retroactively...
issue#3 (2000) - Thank the Maker! in Star Wars TalesStar Wars TalesStar Wars Tales was a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics, beginning on September 29, 1999 and completing its run on July 13, 2005. Each issue featured several unrelated stories from various eras of the Star Wars timeline. All stories from Issue #20 and before have been retroactively...
issue#6 (2000) - Podracing Tales (2000)
- Jedi QuestJedi QuestJedi Quest is a ten-book series written by Jude Watson about Obi-Wan Kenobi, his apprentice Anakin Skywalker, and the events that take place in the fictional Star Wars Expanded Universe between Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Episode II: Attack of the Clones, .-The Way of the Apprentice:Four...
(2001) - Battle of the Bounty Hunters (1998)
Young Readers Books
- Galactic Crisis! (2005)
- Journey Through Space (2005)
- Fire Ring Race (2010)
- Shinbone Showdown (2010)
Reference Books
- Star Wars Who's Who (1998)
- Star Wars Episode I Who's Who: A Pocket Guide to Characters of the Phantom Menace (1999)
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Movie Scrapbook (1999)
- Aurra Sing: Dawn of the Bounty Hunters with Josh Ling (2000)
- Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones Movie Scrapbook (2002)
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith Movie Scrapbook (2005)
- Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide (2005)
- Star Wars: The Comics Companion (2006)
- Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force (2007)
- Star Wars: The Complete Vader with Peter Vilmur (2009)
- Star Wars Blueprints: The Ultimate Collection (2008)
- Star Wars Blueprints: Rebel Edition (2010)
- Star Wars Year by Year: A Visual Chronicle (2010)
- Millennium Falcon: A 3-D Owner's Guide (2010)
New York Times Best Seller: Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide
- Week 1(November 13 to November 19, 2005): ranked 10
- Week 2(December 11 to December 17, 2005): ranked 7
- Week 3(December 18 to December 24, 2005): ranked 8