James Luceno (born April 1, 1947) is an American author known for his novels and reference books connected with the Star Wars franchise and the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and (with Brian Daley under the shared pseudonym Jack McKinney) novelizations of the Robotech animated television series. Luceno is also the author of several original novels along with film novelizations and other franchise tie-ins. He has also written for television cartoon series.
Star Wars In the Star Wars universe he has written The New Jedi Order novels, Agents of Chaos: Hero's Trial, Agents of Chaos: Jedi Eclipse and The Unifying Force as well as the prequel trilogy novels Darth Maul: Saboteur, Cloak of Deception, Labyrinth of Evil and Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader. He also wrote a novel detailing the history of the Millennium Falcon and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary.
In an interview with Star Wars Insider, Luceno said that he would like to write a future novel dealing with the search for immortality that both Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Plagueis embarked upon in their own separate ways. However, in a talk show interview in February 2007, he indicated that the novel was currently on hold due to Star Wars Expanded Universe continuity concerns. The Darth Plagueis novel again became viable in 2009, and Star Wars: Darth Plagueis was released in January 2012.
Luceno's 2014 novel Star Wars: Tarkin was one of the first four novels published in the franchise after Lucasfilm rebooted the Star Wars Expanded Universe in April 2014. His novel Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel was published in November 2016.
Other work Luceno wrote 1980's Headhunters, the tale of three Americans' adventure in South America, a place Luceno himself has traveled extensively. He also authored A Fearful Symmetry, Rainchaser, Rock Bottom, and The Big Empty in 1993. Luceno wrote the novelizations of the films The Shadow and The Mask of Zorro. For The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Luceno penned 1992's The Mata Hari Affair. He is intermittently working on an autobiography.
He is also the author of the new Web Warrior series and co-author of the popular Robotech novelization series with his close friend Brian Daley. The pair wrote under the pseudonym Jack McKinney. Luceno wrote a tribute to Daley which is posted on Daley's website along with photos of the two of them. Daley and Luceno were also amongst a team of writers for the 1986 television cartoon series The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, created by Robert Mandell. Luceno alone also wrote two episodes for the 1995 cartoon series Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders, also by Mandell.
Bibliography TitlePublisherDateISBNNotesHead HuntersBallantine BooksSeptember 1980A Fearful SymmetryDel Rey BooksNovember 1989Illegal AlienMarch 1990Kaduna MemoriesJune 1990as by Jack McKinney The Mata Hari AffairMay 1992The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Book 1The Big EmptyNovelber 1993The ShadowIvy BooksJune 1994Film novelizationThe Mask of ZorroPocket BooksJune 1998Film novelizationIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal SkullScholasticMay 22, 2008Young adult film novelizationHunt for the Mayan Looking-GlassSpectrum LiterarySeptember 18, 2011ISBN listed by Books In Print. Amazon listing: .
Robotech (1987–1996) Novels by Jack McKinney, pseudonymous with James Luceno and Brian Daley, based on the Robotech television series.. Published by Del Rey Books.
Episode novelizations (1987) Each volume novelizes four to six episodes. TitleDateISBN1GenesisFebruary19872Battle Cry3Homecoming4Battlehymn5Force of ArmsApril 19876DoomsdayMay 19877Southern CrossJune 19878Metal FireJuly 19879The Final NightmareAugust 198710Invid InvasionSeptember 198711MetamorphosisOctober 198712Symphony of LightNovember 1987
The Sentinels (1988) Robotech: The Sentinels depicts events originally scripted for the Robotech II: The Sentinels television series. Later printings re-numbered the series as books 13 through 17.
TitleDateISBN1The Devil's HandMarch 19882Dark PowersApril 19883Death DanceMay 19884World KillersJune 19885RubiconJuly 1988
Original Robotech novels (1989–1996) Novels exploring events after the original television series and The Sentinels animated film. TitleDateISBN18The End of the CircleDecember 198919The Zentraedi RebellionApril 199420The Masters' GambitMay 199521Before the Invid StormMarch 1996
Matt Terry series (1988–1990) Westerns featuring the character Matt Terry. Published by Ivy Books. TitleDateISBN1Rio PassionSeptember 19882RainchaserApril 19893Rock BottomSeptember 1990
The Black Hole Travel Agency (1991–1994) Satirical scif-fi novels by Jack McKinney, pseudonymous with James Luceno and Brian Daley. Published by Del Rey Books. Allegedly planned as a shared universe of loosely connected stories lampooning corporate power. TitleDateISBN1Event HorizonMay 19912Artiface of the SystemAugust 19913Free RadicalsMay 19924Hostile TakeoverJanuary 1994
Star Wars (2000–2025)
The New Jedi Order (2000–2003)
Star Wars: The New Jedi Order is a nineteen volume, multi-author series exploring events following Return of the Jedi. TitleDateISBNNotes4Hero's TrialAugust 2000Agents of Chaos, Book I5Jedi EclipseOctober 2000Agents of Chaos, Book II19The Unifying ForceNovember 4, 2003
Original Star Wars novels (2001–2016) TitleDateISBNNotesCloak of DeceptionMay 29, 2001Labyrinth of EvilJanuary 25, 2005Adapted as the German-language audiodrama Labyrinth des Bösen (2006–07)Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth VaderNovember 22, 2005Millennium FalconOctober 21, 2008Darth PlagueisJanuary 10, 2012TarkinNovember 4, 2014Anthologized in Star Wars: The Rise of the Empire (2015)Catalyst: A Rogue One NovelNovember 15, 2016
Short fiction (2001–2012) Availability of short fiction is limited, and listed ISBNs are unverified. Later reissues or ebook updates have removed the works. WorkCollectionAuthorEditorDateISBN (unverified)Notes"Darth Maul: Saboteur"Shadow HunterMichael ReavesNovember 27, 2001Included in 2001 paperback reissue."Restraint"Shadow HunterMichael ReavesJune 28, 2011Included in 2011 ebook edition"End Game"The Phantom MenaceTerry BrooksJanuary 31, 2012Included in 2012 reissue of film novelization.
Reference works (2004–2025) Star Wars reference works published by DK. TitleDateISBNNotesInside the Worlds of the Star Wars TrilogyAugust 5, 2004Revenge of the Sith: The Visual DictionaryApril 2, 2005with Laura Gilbert and J. W. RinzlerStar Wars: Complete LocationsOctober 17, 2005Star Wars: The Complete Visual DictionarySeptember 25, 2006Star Wars: Complete Locations (revised ed.)September 27, 2016Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary (new ed.)September 18, 2018Star Wars: Complete Locations (new ed.)March 6, 2025
Web Warriors (2002) Web Warriors is an incomplete cyberpunk series published by Del Rey Books. Many writers have been credited as creator and editor, however the series is attributed to James Luceno. The third volume was not published. TitleDateISBNAlternate titles1Memories EndJune 25, 2002Web Warriors, The Real Frontier, Cyberspace Warriors2Dimension XOctober 29, 2002Fifth Dimension, Danger in the Fifth Dimension 3The Slavers War (unverified title)February 25, 20030-345-44473-6Great Cataclysm, Galactic War, Great Slave War
Filmography Year(s)TitleWriterNotes1986The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers6 episodes1995–1996Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders2 episodes2025Crafting an Epic: The Making of the New Jedi OrderAudio documentary; 9 episodes
References
External links
Bibliography at SciFan James Luceno at Fantastic Fiction