Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

The Empire Strikes Back is a science-fiction novel written by Donald F. Glut and first published on April 12, 1980 by Del Rey. It is based on the script of the film of the same name. Along with the film, it introduces new characters, most notably Lando Calrissian and Boba Fett (though Fett had been seen in the earlier low-canon Star Wars Holiday Special, which was made completely apocryphal in 2014).

Glut's novelization was originally released in two forms; a standard edition and a special Young Readers' Edition that was condensed into 150 pages. Initial printings of both versions contained 8 pages of color photographs in the middle of the book.