I've seen the movies. I know that Dooku cut off Anakin's hand during Episode 2. However, I'm in the process of reading Dark Force Rising, and in it, Mara Jade tells Luke Skywalker that Vader lost his right hand as a result of the Emperor's anger over losing the first Death Star.

So, which is it? Clearly, I'd assume the book is in "error" here. But, is there something more to this?

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    Movie canon > EU novel canon, I do believe – joshbirk Feb 28 '14 at 19:00
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    Yes. Movies trump books. Pretty much everything written about the Mandolorians was overturned by the Close Wars Series, for example. – swbarnes2 Feb 28 '14 at 19:48
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    Yeah, like all being from New Zealand... (cough cough) – joshbirk Feb 28 '14 at 20:20
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    It's not an "error", just a case of g-canon beats EU – Valorum Feb 28 '14 at 20:27
  • I haven't read the books, but is it possible she was just going by hearsay and the information she received and passed on was simply incorrect? Or does the book imply that she was actually there when it happened? – DondeEstaMiCulo Feb 28 '14 at 23:49

The following quote appears in the book "Heir to the Empire" by Timothy Zahn;

"I don't imagine that the Emperor was pleased," Luke murmured. "No, he wasn't," Mara said, her voice dark with memories of her own. "Vader nearly died for that blunder." Deliberately, she looked over at Luke's hands. "That was when he lost his right hand, in fact."

There is no further explanation given in the book, nor is the the quote consistent with G-Canon since he'd already lost his right hand in a fight with Dooku;

Dooku Fight

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    OK. This is simply a case of film canon just ignoring the books. – Valorum Feb 28 '14 at 19:27
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    @neilfein - That's what I'm saying. Although it was covered in the book, George Lucas just plain ignored the book when he wrote the new film. – Valorum Feb 28 '14 at 19:55
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    @Richard - Next time I'll actually read the comment before replying to it. – Goodbye Stack Exchange Feb 28 '14 at 19:59
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    @neilfein - As long as you hate Jarjar we'll get along fine. – Valorum Feb 28 '14 at 20:00
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    They could both be correct. He could have had his hand cut off twice. If it's a flesh and bone hand or circuits and actuators, it's irrelevant. It's still 'his hand'. He will get another... – Morgan Feb 28 '14 at 20:23
