Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker is the title of a science fiction novel credited to George Lucas (but actually ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster[1]) and first published on November 12, 1976 by Del Rey.

The book, which was based upon Lucas' original screenplay for the first Star Wars film, has been published under several titles, first as Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker, later as simply Star Wars, and most recently as Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope reflecting the retitling of the film that occurred following the announcement that Lucas would film the first three episodes of the Star Wars Saga.

This book was published about six months before the original Star Wars movie was released, which means it was probably written some months prior. At that point, the source material for this story in particular, and the whole Star Wars universe in general, was still somewhat fluid. As a result, it is interesting to note a few points where the story in the book differs from the story that ended up in the movie.

Some believe that the revelation of Vader as the father of Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back is a case of retroactive continuity[citation needed]. As originally depicted in the first film, Vader was a student of Obi-Wan Kenobi's who was seduced by the dark side of the Force, betraying and murdering Luke's (then unnamed) father, who seemed at that time to be a separate character from Vader. Much of the criticism from skeptics of Lucas is aimed at the fact that Obi-Wan's story about the death of Luke's father in A New Hope became either an outright lie after the later films were produced. It is unclear when Lucas decided to merge Luke's father and Darth Vader into one character. Some accounts have indicated that Empire screenwriter Leigh Brackett was the first to suggest that Vader was Luke's father during story meetings[citation needed]. As it stands, there is currently no behind-the-scenes evidence that Vader was intended to be Luke's father from the very start, meaning that concept may have originated after the original theatrical release of A New Hope. Lucas has claimed in recent years that Vader's story arc (being revealed as Luke's father and then being redeemed) was planned from the beginning[citation needed]. Certainly the 'motif' of the villain turning out to be the hero's father is present in the 'Star Wars' outline as early as 1974 ('The Adventure of Anikin [sic] Starkiller')[citation needed] although the 'hero' and 'villain' of this outline are not necessarily Vader or Luke in the forms that the audience currently understands them.