From the very first scene of A New Hope, the sheer size of the hulking Star Destroyer blew fans' minds. Its 1,600m long wedge-shaped form bristled with guns and tractor beam projectors, and the underside of the capital ship featured a hangar bay from which countless TIE fighters, shuttles, and landing craft could be launched. Leaving aside the aircraft carrier aspect of these fearsome ships, it's their overwhelming size that makes them so intimidating and so unforgettable. Not always stated on screen, each Star Destroyer nonetheless has an imposing name; for example, the ship that swallowed up the Tantive IV was called Devastator and the destroyer that pursued the Millennium Falcon in the asteroid field in The Empire Strikes Back was called Avenger. These huge vessels featured heavily throughout the original trilogy and were so intrinsic to the mythology of Star Wars that they were, rightfully, included at every opportunity in the spin-off comics and books.
Mike has lived in the UK, Japan and the USA. Currently, he is based in Iowa with his wife and 2 young children. After working for many years as a writer and editor for a large corporation, he is now a freelancer. He has been fortunate enough to contribute to many books on Doctor Who over the last 20 years and is now concentrating on original sci-fi & fantasy short stories, with recent sales including Flame Tree, Uffda, and The Martian Wave. Also, look for his contribution on Blake's 7 to "You and Who Else", a charity anthology to be released later this year.
You can find him on Tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/blog/culttvmike
