Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Del Rey (2017), 496 pages
Pages
496
Description
Fictio Science Fictio Thrille HTML:Experience Star Wars: A New Hope from a whole new point of view. On May 25, 1977, the world was introduced to Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, C-3PO, R2-D2, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, and a galaxy full of possibilities. In honor of the fortieth anniversary, more than forty contributors lend their vision to this retelling of Star Wars. Each of the forty short stories reimagines a moment from the original film, but through the eyes of a supporting character. From a Certain Point of View features contributions by bestselling authors, trendsetting artists, and treasured voices from the literary history of Star Wars: �?� Gary Whitta bridges the gap from Rogue One to A New Hope through the eyes of Captain Antilles. �?� Aunt Beru finds her voice in an intimate character study by Meg Cabot. �?� Nnedi Okorofor brings dignity and depth to a most unlikely character: the monster in the trash compactor. �?� Pablo Hidalgo provides a chilling glimpse inside the mind of Grand Moff Tarkin. �?� Pierce Brown chronicles Biggs Darklighter�??s final flight during the Rebellion�??s harrowing attack on the Death Star. �?� Wil Wheaton spins a poignant tale of the rebels left behind on Yavin. Plus thirty-four more hilarious, heartbreaking, and astonishing tales from: Ben Acker �?� Renée Ahdieh �?� Tom Angleberger �?� Ben Blacker �?� Jeffrey Brown �?� Rae Carson �?� Adam Christopher �?� Zoraida Córdova �?� Delilah S. Dawson �?� Kelly Sue DeConnick �?� Paul Dini �?� Ian Doescher �?� Ashley Eckstein �?� Matt Fraction �?� Alexander Freed �?� Jason Fry �?� Kieron Gillen �?� Christie Golden �?� Claudia Gray �?� E. K. Johnston �?� Paul S. Kemp �?� Mur Lafferty �?� Ken Liu �?� Griffin McElroy �?� John Jackson Miller �?� Daniel José Older �?� Mallory Ortberg �?� Beth Revis �?� Madeleine Roux �?� Greg Rucka �?� Gary D. Schmidt �?� Cavan Scott �?� Charles Soule �?� Sabaa Tahir �?� Elizabeth Wein �?� Glen Weldon �?� Chuck Wendig Narrated by a full cast, including: Jonathan Davis Ashley Eckstein Janina Gavankar Jon Hamm Neil Patrick Harris January LaVoy Saskia Maarleveld Carol Monda Daniel José Older Marc Thompson All participating authors have generously forgone any compensation for their stories. Instead, their proceeds will be donated to First Book�??a leading nonprofit that provides new books, learning materials, and other essentials to educators and organizations serving children in need. To further celebrate the launch of this book and both companies�?? longstanding relationships with First Book, Penguin Random House has donated $100,000 to First Book, and Disney/Lucasfilm has donated 100,000 children�??s books�??valued at $1,000,000�??to support First Book and their mission of providing equal access… (more)
Awards
Digital Book World Awards (Finalist — 2018)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2017
ISBN
9780425286708
User reviews
LibraryThing member DarthDeverell
Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View celebrates the 40th anniversary of the release of A New Hope with a retelling of that story from perspectives other than those shown in the film. Each of the 40 different authors offers their own take, whether about Stormtroopers and their day-to-day lives,
Some stories, such as Wil Wheaton's "Laina" and Madeleine Roux's "Eclipse," are particularly poignant and capture the heartbreak of war, while others, like Gary Schmidt's "There Is Another" and Charles Soule's "The Angle," show how the events of Episode IV affected characters seen in later films. Claudia Gray's "Master and Apprentice" helps continue some of the themes from Star Wars Rebels.
Occasionally, the stories get bogged down, such as all the different perspectives for all the different aliens on Tatooine, but each story is brilliant in on its own. This book does presume a knowledge of the events of A New Hope as well as the other films to fully appreciate some of the stories, but it's a great read and a nice way to celebrate 40 years.
Show More
or the inner lives of droids, or the actions of various officers on the Death Star, and the rebels on Yavin. Nnedi Okorafor even offers a particularly lovely story about the dianoga in the Death Star's trash compactor.Some stories, such as Wil Wheaton's "Laina" and Madeleine Roux's "Eclipse," are particularly poignant and capture the heartbreak of war, while others, like Gary Schmidt's "There Is Another" and Charles Soule's "The Angle," show how the events of Episode IV affected characters seen in later films. Claudia Gray's "Master and Apprentice" helps continue some of the themes from Star Wars Rebels.
Occasionally, the stories get bogged down, such as all the different perspectives for all the different aliens on Tatooine, but each story is brilliant in on its own. This book does presume a knowledge of the events of A New Hope as well as the other films to fully appreciate some of the stories, but it's a great read and a nice way to celebrate 40 years.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Othemts
This book celebrated the 40th anniversary of Star Wars in 2017 with a collection of 40 original short stories by 43 authors. Each story is told from the perspective of a different character in the Star Wars universe, hence the title cribbing Obi-Wan's famous line "From a certain point of view." The
No character is too small to be a point of view character, thus there are tales told by droids, Jawas, Tusken raiders, bounty hunters, rebels of various ranks, stormtroopers, Imperial officers, a numerous other sentient beings. A few bigger characters including Greedo, Obi-Wan, and Biggs get their stories as well as characters like Yoda, Palpatine, and Lando Calrissian who don't even appear in the movie! Perhaps the strangest story of all is "Of MSE-6 and Men" by Glen Weldon, told from the perspective of a Death Star mouse droid and written in some kind of machine language, that tells the story of an ill-fated romance between a storm trooper and Grand Moff Tarkin.
Some stories are better than others, and I like it when the author takes a small character and builds a whole world around their life before and after their appearance in the film's narrative. Other stories are less successful because they basically just have the scenes and dialogues repeated from the movie interspersed with the thoughts of the point of view character. The stories are arranged in sequence to the movie's plot and things really get bogged down with five different stories about characters in the Mos Eisley cantina, and again during the Battle of Yavin.
Some of my favorite stories include:
I get why they wanted to go with 40 stories for the 40th anniversary, but this book could be improved with some judicious pruning. Nevertheless, this is a fun book and I'm sure Star Wars fans will find something in it they like.
Show More
authors include a lot of well-known writers such as Rae Carson, Claudia Gray, Chuck Wendig, Wil Wheaton, Elizabeth Wein, Jeffrey Brown, Kieron Gillen, Nnedi Okorafor, Jason Fry, and Greg Rucka. I suspect that if you are a bigger fan of science fiction/fantasy writing, you will recognize even more of the authors!No character is too small to be a point of view character, thus there are tales told by droids, Jawas, Tusken raiders, bounty hunters, rebels of various ranks, stormtroopers, Imperial officers, a numerous other sentient beings. A few bigger characters including Greedo, Obi-Wan, and Biggs get their stories as well as characters like Yoda, Palpatine, and Lando Calrissian who don't even appear in the movie! Perhaps the strangest story of all is "Of MSE-6 and Men" by Glen Weldon, told from the perspective of a Death Star mouse droid and written in some kind of machine language, that tells the story of an ill-fated romance between a storm trooper and Grand Moff Tarkin.
Some stories are better than others, and I like it when the author takes a small character and builds a whole world around their life before and after their appearance in the film's narrative. Other stories are less successful because they basically just have the scenes and dialogues repeated from the movie interspersed with the thoughts of the point of view character. The stories are arranged in sequence to the movie's plot and things really get bogged down with five different stories about characters in the Mos Eisley cantina, and again during the Battle of Yavin.
Some of my favorite stories include:
- "The Sith of Datawork" by Ken Liu, about an Imperial bureaucrat who is able to fix things in the records for the gunnery captain who failed to shoot at an escape pod.
- "Laina" by Wil Wheaton, which tells of a widowed rebel sending his young daughter away for her safety in a story which packs a lot of emotional punch.
- "An Incident Report" by Daniel M. Lavery, in which Admiral Motti files a formal complaint against Darth Vader for force choking him.
- "The Baptist" by Nnedi Okorafor is a life account of Omi, the creature that grabs Luke in the trash compactor.
- "Time of Death" by Cavan Scott details Obi-Wan's experience of joining with the Force immediately after his death.
I get why they wanted to go with 40 stories for the 40th anniversary, but this book could be improved with some judicious pruning. Nevertheless, this is a fun book and I'm sure Star Wars fans will find something in it they like.
Show Less
LibraryThing member andrlik
This is a bit of a mixed bag of stories but the good ones are REALLY good.
LibraryThing member Daniel.Estes
Star Wars is one of THE BEST adventure tales of my lifetime. I will always love this story. From a Certain Point of View, which is a collection from 40 different authors, seeks to capture the feeling of those iconic Star Wars moments by telling the stories around the stories. The individual stories
Show More
are well-written, but I only recommend this batch if the Star Wars world already interests you. Proximity to the main story can be interesting if that's what you're after. Show Less
LibraryThing member 2wonderY
Multiple authors.
Told from the POV of bit characters, this does enrich the Star Wars universe (as if it needs further enrichment!) While some of the stories are interesting, they are oddly out of order to the sequence in Star Wars IV, where they originate.
Told from the POV of bit characters, this does enrich the Star Wars universe (as if it needs further enrichment!) While some of the stories are interesting, they are oddly out of order to the sequence in Star Wars IV, where they originate.
LibraryThing member mahsdad
Listened to this book on audio. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary the first Star Wars file (A New Hope), 40 authors were commissioned to write a story about a character from the film, but not the characters you'd expect. Kind of like Rosencrantz and Guildernstern Are Dead, that traces
The audio version had a whole cast of narrators and music and sound effects that made it a really fun read. (Though when listening at 1.25x times, hearing a sped up version of the Cantina band music was quite jarring :) )
9/10
S: 12/18/18 - 1/1/19 (15 Days)
Show More
characters thru Hamlet, but not the main narrative. From finding out what R5-D4 was doing in the Jawa's crawler, to finding out that Aunt Beru was famous for her blue milk cheese, to a bureaucrat on the Death Star who "lives" for filling out the proper forms, to the Rebel flight controller watching the Death Star battle on her monitors, to an argument with a couple of Whills on how the Journal should be written (aka the Opening Crawl from the A New Hope).The audio version had a whole cast of narrators and music and sound effects that made it a really fun read. (Though when listening at 1.25x times, hearing a sped up version of the Cantina band music was quite jarring :) )
9/10
S: 12/18/18 - 1/1/19 (15 Days)
Show Less
LibraryThing member Nadishka
"From a certain point of view?" asks Luke in the movie in response to the ghost of Ben trying to explain his decision to lace the truth. This book is the entire Episode IV from the point of view of other non-essential characters who are basically extras in a scene. Each story gives additional
The story begins as it is seen by the other Antilles, the captain of Leia's ship handing over the stolen data tapes to the Princess in the aftermath of the Battle of Scarif. He is now the main character and you see everything from his point of view (until his death at the hands of Vader). The next chapter is narrated by one of the storm troopers who captures Leia on her ship (His brief encounter with her changes his ideas on the rebellion). The next is an officer aboard Vader's Imperial Star Destroyer who sorts out the paperwork regarding the empty escape pod. The next is Jot, a Jawa aboard the sandcrawler that picks up the droids (He decides not to wipe Artoo's memory). Then you meet a sandcrawler who steals something from the Jawa's stash. The Red Droid who breaks down allowing Artoo to be chosen reveals a secret (He does it on purpose and great cost to himself so that Artoo can be free). And it goes on... another sandcrawler, Aunt Beru, Greedo and other patrons of the cantina, the ghost of Qui-Gon, various fighters from both sides, and even Yoda and Palpatine.
I found that some accounts really added to the backstory and carried great emotional value. My favourites include the little Jawa, the Red astromech droid, the creature in the garbage, the pilot who got left behind when Luke took his place, and of course Palpatine's outburst which is written in blank verse by Ian Doescher. The final account of the The Journal of the Whills is also very funny, and only those know of George Lucas' early drafts will get the hidden joke.
I felt that there were far too may repetitions of the same scene through the eyes of too many people. I got really bored with seeing the cantina encounter so many times. And some of the characters on the Death Star also were not too interesting.
I think if they had just re-told the story scene by scene by other people and stuck to just one or maximum two points of view per scene, this book would be wonderful.
Either way, it is a must read for a true fan.
Show More
information that is fascinating to read - it may have very well happened this way...The story begins as it is seen by the other Antilles, the captain of Leia's ship handing over the stolen data tapes to the Princess in the aftermath of the Battle of Scarif. He is now the main character and you see everything from his point of view (until his death at the hands of Vader). The next chapter is narrated by one of the storm troopers who captures Leia on her ship (His brief encounter with her changes his ideas on the rebellion). The next is an officer aboard Vader's Imperial Star Destroyer who sorts out the paperwork regarding the empty escape pod. The next is Jot, a Jawa aboard the sandcrawler that picks up the droids (He decides not to wipe Artoo's memory). Then you meet a sandcrawler who steals something from the Jawa's stash. The Red Droid who breaks down allowing Artoo to be chosen reveals a secret (He does it on purpose and great cost to himself so that Artoo can be free). And it goes on... another sandcrawler, Aunt Beru, Greedo and other patrons of the cantina, the ghost of Qui-Gon, various fighters from both sides, and even Yoda and Palpatine.
I found that some accounts really added to the backstory and carried great emotional value. My favourites include the little Jawa, the Red astromech droid, the creature in the garbage, the pilot who got left behind when Luke took his place, and of course Palpatine's outburst which is written in blank verse by Ian Doescher. The final account of the The Journal of the Whills is also very funny, and only those know of George Lucas' early drafts will get the hidden joke.
I felt that there were far too may repetitions of the same scene through the eyes of too many people. I got really bored with seeing the cantina encounter so many times. And some of the characters on the Death Star also were not too interesting.
I think if they had just re-told the story scene by scene by other people and stuck to just one or maximum two points of view per scene, this book would be wonderful.
Either way, it is a must read for a true fan.
Show Less
LibraryThing member theWallflower
This is an anthology of short stories that tells the story of Star Wars, but from the point-of-view of all the little characters that don’t matter. Like the Jawa that finds R2-D2, the Tusken Raider that cold-cocks Luke, various droids and rebels, even the stormtrooper that bonks his head on the
It’s actually one of the better short story collections I’ve read. Maybe because A) there’s one unifying element tying them all together and leading to a conclusion and B) it’s Star Wars. It was enjoyable, but not pull-you-in enjoyable. There is a LOT of time spent on Tatooine. I think there’s a story for every character in Mos Eisley. If you like Star Wars, this is definitely worth looking into.
Show More
doorway. All the parts that didn’t even earn scale.It’s actually one of the better short story collections I’ve read. Maybe because A) there’s one unifying element tying them all together and leading to a conclusion and B) it’s Star Wars. It was enjoyable, but not pull-you-in enjoyable. There is a LOT of time spent on Tatooine. I think there’s a story for every character in Mos Eisley. If you like Star Wars, this is definitely worth looking into.
Show Less
LibraryThing member booklover3258
I loved loved this book from beginning to end! The stories were told by different characters from beginning to end in chronological order from A New Hope.
Here are my reviews for each of the stories:
Raymus - Story told from the ship captain who tried to take Leia to Tatooine after she obtained the
The Bucket - Story told from a stormtrooper that captured Leia. He does show empathy behind his mask. Good nice short story.
The Sith of Datawork - Story told from an Imperial fleet Logistics Liasion regarding talking to another coworker about letting the escape pod go that was unmanned towards Tatooine (we all know R2D2 was in it). In it the liasion schemes up a plan with lots of datawork for the coworker to complete to cover his butt from Darth Vader finding out. Okay story, lots of mumbo jumbo with the documents in it.
Stories in the Sand - Story told from a Jawa who works the ship that collects the scrap metal. He takes memory from the droids to watch their stories in hopes he can leave the ship one day. When he watches the R2 memory, he realizes its important and puts it back in the R2 and will leave the ship to start his new adventures. I enjoyed the story.
Reirin - Story told from a Raider who is trying to sneak on to the Jawa ship and watches as Luke and his uncle buy the droids. She gets in the ship, gets her green crystal and sneaks back out. Not a bad story. Interesting.
The Red One - Story told from the red droid who exploded to get R2D2 to Luke. Cute story told by the droid who happily escaped at the end.
Rites - Story told from a few tusken raiders who killed a monster, chase a droid and were scared of a man in a robe (we all know who he is!). Interesting perspective of the raiders.
Master and Apprentice - Story told from Qui-Gon (yes his specteral image from death) talking with Obi-Wan. Really liked it to the fact I kind of understood what was forthcoming later with Obi's death.
Beru Whitesun Lars - Kudos to Meg Cabot for this gem of a story. The story is told by Luke's aunt (dead but still can tell a story). Hilarious all the way through... Blue milk cheese... ha ha ha
The Luckless Rodian - Ah yes finally the story told by Greedo! Han did shoot first! Anyway, good story about Greedo and more backstory (or a reference) to a woman who loved Han and Greedo? hmmm....
Not for Nothing - Story told by the band player from the Cantina. So another view of what happened that day with Luke, Obi and Han. Kind of neat that the band played for Jabba before winding up at the Cantina.
We Don't Serve Their Kind Here - Story told from the bartender at Mos Eisley. Basically he talks about the band and the droids. Okay story not one of my favorites.
The Kloo Horn Cantina Caper - Another cantina story.. this time a looooong one with lots and lots of characters...it made my head spin. Anyways, no need to explain it because I was confused by the whole thing. My least favorite so far.
Added Muscle - So its a story told from Boba Fett's POV regarding Jabba telling him there to find Solo. Short but sweet.
You Owe Me a Ride - Story told from Brea Tonnika regarding her and her sister talking to Jabba and trying to steal the Milennium Falcon. Interesting story since I didn't really know these characters at all.
The Secrets of Long Snoot - Story told from an alien (can't remember him from the movie) who gave the droids up for credits to go back home to see his family. Cool story.
Born in the Storm - Story told by a stormtrooper who was influenced by Obi Wan when try tried to apprehend the droids. Hilarious story and I laughed out loud a few times.
Laina - Ah Wil Wheaton.. so happy he wrote a story for this book! Sad story told by a rebel soldier sending his daughter to Alderaan (eek!) to be safe. I liked it.
Fully Operational - Story told by an Imperial officer regarding the Death Star and questioning it's strength/weakness. Awesome ending.
An Incident Report - Story told from the Imperial officer who was force choked by Vader. It was so funny. I don't want to say anything without giving it away.
Change of Heart - Story told from a stormtrooper who witnessed Leia's torture. Basically he felt sad for her. Good story.
Eclipse - So far the saddest story in the book. Story told from Leia's adopted parents on Alderaan before they are blown up. Snif.
Verge of Greatness - Story told from General Tarkin before and during the blowup of Aldaraan. Okay story, not my favorite.
Far too Remote - Literally just a cartoon and its hilarious!
The Trigger - Story told by Doctor Aphra (really? she was not in New Hope). Stormtroopers found her and she escapes. Interesting.
Of MSE-6 and Men - um... yea... story told by the little Imperial droid. Very very confusing throughout and I had no idea what the end was about. Meh.
Bump - Another story told from a stormtrooper who was on Tatooine and keeps missing the droids. It was alright.
End of Watch - Story told by a commander of the Empire when Luke, Han, and Chewy rescued the princess. Okay story.
The Baptist - Loved this story! Told by Omi (the monster with the one eye from the garbage disposal). It tells how the Empire took her from the swamp and dumped her in the disposal. And how she felt when the four fell in.
Time of Death - Story told by Obi-Wan (sigh). Basically he is thinking of the past while fighting Vader and of course he is going over his death (double sigh). Too many holes in this story, I fear.
There is Another - Story told by Yoda!! He is in Dagobah and senses Obi-Wan's death. And this is when he finds out he must train Luke and not Leia. Good story.
Palpatine - Nice poem told by the Emperor.
Sparks - Story told by Dex... snif... when he was helping to destroy the Death Star. Good and sad story.
Duty Roster - Story told by one of the Colonel rebels watching the battle with the Death Star from the sidelines. I enjoyed this story.
Desert Son - Snif again. Story told by Luke's buddy Biggs (he was happy to see Luke joining him in the fight before going to shoot up the Death Star in the movie). Once again, good and sad story.
Grounded - Story told by the girl in charge of the ships and pilots. Very detailed about the information of the pilots and very emotional.
Contingency Plan - Story told by Mon Mothma about making an alternative plan in case the Death Star was not blown up. It was okay.
The Angle - Squee!! Story told by Lando... loved every word! He of course is gambling and finds out Han is battling the Death Star.
By Whatever Sun - Story told by Miara Larte(?) regarding the ending ceremony. Okay story.
Whills - My absolute most favorite story in the entire book! Hilarious and I laughed out loud the entire time. I can't even explain what it is about but it was great!
Here are my reviews for each of the stories:
Raymus - Story told from the ship captain who tried to take Leia to Tatooine after she obtained the
Show More
Death Star plans. As we all know, she gets captured so its the time before she does. Good perspective and felt sad that the captain was trying to write his family in Alderaan (awww at least he died before he realized his family was to be blown to smithereens). Good story.The Bucket - Story told from a stormtrooper that captured Leia. He does show empathy behind his mask. Good nice short story.
The Sith of Datawork - Story told from an Imperial fleet Logistics Liasion regarding talking to another coworker about letting the escape pod go that was unmanned towards Tatooine (we all know R2D2 was in it). In it the liasion schemes up a plan with lots of datawork for the coworker to complete to cover his butt from Darth Vader finding out. Okay story, lots of mumbo jumbo with the documents in it.
Stories in the Sand - Story told from a Jawa who works the ship that collects the scrap metal. He takes memory from the droids to watch their stories in hopes he can leave the ship one day. When he watches the R2 memory, he realizes its important and puts it back in the R2 and will leave the ship to start his new adventures. I enjoyed the story.
Reirin - Story told from a Raider who is trying to sneak on to the Jawa ship and watches as Luke and his uncle buy the droids. She gets in the ship, gets her green crystal and sneaks back out. Not a bad story. Interesting.
The Red One - Story told from the red droid who exploded to get R2D2 to Luke. Cute story told by the droid who happily escaped at the end.
Rites - Story told from a few tusken raiders who killed a monster, chase a droid and were scared of a man in a robe (we all know who he is!). Interesting perspective of the raiders.
Master and Apprentice - Story told from Qui-Gon (yes his specteral image from death) talking with Obi-Wan. Really liked it to the fact I kind of understood what was forthcoming later with Obi's death.
Beru Whitesun Lars - Kudos to Meg Cabot for this gem of a story. The story is told by Luke's aunt (dead but still can tell a story). Hilarious all the way through... Blue milk cheese... ha ha ha
The Luckless Rodian - Ah yes finally the story told by Greedo! Han did shoot first! Anyway, good story about Greedo and more backstory (or a reference) to a woman who loved Han and Greedo? hmmm....
Not for Nothing - Story told by the band player from the Cantina. So another view of what happened that day with Luke, Obi and Han. Kind of neat that the band played for Jabba before winding up at the Cantina.
We Don't Serve Their Kind Here - Story told from the bartender at Mos Eisley. Basically he talks about the band and the droids. Okay story not one of my favorites.
The Kloo Horn Cantina Caper - Another cantina story.. this time a looooong one with lots and lots of characters...it made my head spin. Anyways, no need to explain it because I was confused by the whole thing. My least favorite so far.
Added Muscle - So its a story told from Boba Fett's POV regarding Jabba telling him there to find Solo. Short but sweet.
You Owe Me a Ride - Story told from Brea Tonnika regarding her and her sister talking to Jabba and trying to steal the Milennium Falcon. Interesting story since I didn't really know these characters at all.
The Secrets of Long Snoot - Story told from an alien (can't remember him from the movie) who gave the droids up for credits to go back home to see his family. Cool story.
Born in the Storm - Story told by a stormtrooper who was influenced by Obi Wan when try tried to apprehend the droids. Hilarious story and I laughed out loud a few times.
Laina - Ah Wil Wheaton.. so happy he wrote a story for this book! Sad story told by a rebel soldier sending his daughter to Alderaan (eek!) to be safe. I liked it.
Fully Operational - Story told by an Imperial officer regarding the Death Star and questioning it's strength/weakness. Awesome ending.
An Incident Report - Story told from the Imperial officer who was force choked by Vader. It was so funny. I don't want to say anything without giving it away.
Change of Heart - Story told from a stormtrooper who witnessed Leia's torture. Basically he felt sad for her. Good story.
Eclipse - So far the saddest story in the book. Story told from Leia's adopted parents on Alderaan before they are blown up. Snif.
Verge of Greatness - Story told from General Tarkin before and during the blowup of Aldaraan. Okay story, not my favorite.
Far too Remote - Literally just a cartoon and its hilarious!
The Trigger - Story told by Doctor Aphra (really? she was not in New Hope). Stormtroopers found her and she escapes. Interesting.
Of MSE-6 and Men - um... yea... story told by the little Imperial droid. Very very confusing throughout and I had no idea what the end was about. Meh.
Bump - Another story told from a stormtrooper who was on Tatooine and keeps missing the droids. It was alright.
End of Watch - Story told by a commander of the Empire when Luke, Han, and Chewy rescued the princess. Okay story.
The Baptist - Loved this story! Told by Omi (the monster with the one eye from the garbage disposal). It tells how the Empire took her from the swamp and dumped her in the disposal. And how she felt when the four fell in.
Time of Death - Story told by Obi-Wan (sigh). Basically he is thinking of the past while fighting Vader and of course he is going over his death (double sigh). Too many holes in this story, I fear.
There is Another - Story told by Yoda!! He is in Dagobah and senses Obi-Wan's death. And this is when he finds out he must train Luke and not Leia. Good story.
Palpatine - Nice poem told by the Emperor.
Sparks - Story told by Dex... snif... when he was helping to destroy the Death Star. Good and sad story.
Duty Roster - Story told by one of the Colonel rebels watching the battle with the Death Star from the sidelines. I enjoyed this story.
Desert Son - Snif again. Story told by Luke's buddy Biggs (he was happy to see Luke joining him in the fight before going to shoot up the Death Star in the movie). Once again, good and sad story.
Grounded - Story told by the girl in charge of the ships and pilots. Very detailed about the information of the pilots and very emotional.
Contingency Plan - Story told by Mon Mothma about making an alternative plan in case the Death Star was not blown up. It was okay.
The Angle - Squee!! Story told by Lando... loved every word! He of course is gambling and finds out Han is battling the Death Star.
By Whatever Sun - Story told by Miara Larte(?) regarding the ending ceremony. Okay story.
Whills - My absolute most favorite story in the entire book! Hilarious and I laughed out loud the entire time. I can't even explain what it is about but it was great!
Show Less
LibraryThing member capiam1234
One of my favorite Star Wars books now. With the talent they got to write the stories and if you grab the audiobook it’s even more remarkable. A must read for any fans of a new hope!
LibraryThing member octoberdad
The idea was better than the execution.
As an example of my irritation, the Biggs Darklighter story should've been great because…well, Biggs. Maybe I was just so jaded I couldn't appreciate it enough. But it really bugged me that Biggs made an analogy comparing the number of farming communities
Some of the stories were fine, but none of them rose to the level of great. Others were real stinkers. The TK421 story, as seen through the eyes of a mouse droid, probably is better in print, but hearing the narrator read the string of repetitive commands and systems checks didn't do anything positive for my opinions of the audiobook as a format in general.
If I were to be magnanimous I'd give this a 2.5 star rating, and maybe round it up to 3. But heck, I'm feeling ornery tonight.
As an example of my irritation, the Biggs Darklighter story should've been great because…well, Biggs. Maybe I was just so jaded I couldn't appreciate it enough. But it really bugged me that Biggs made an analogy comparing the number of farming communities
Show More
under Imperial rule to "the number of sands on a Mon Calamari beach" – when literally EVERY other metaphor in the story was related to Tatooine. Why would a guy from a desert planet use sand from the beach of some other planet in a comparison? (And does Mon Cala even **have** beaches? I was always under the impression it was surface was entirely covered in water, but maybe I'm wrong.)Some of the stories were fine, but none of them rose to the level of great. Others were real stinkers. The TK421 story, as seen through the eyes of a mouse droid, probably is better in print, but hearing the narrator read the string of repetitive commands and systems checks didn't do anything positive for my opinions of the audiobook as a format in general.
If I were to be magnanimous I'd give this a 2.5 star rating, and maybe round it up to 3. But heck, I'm feeling ornery tonight.
Show Less
LibraryThing member SGTCat
This was a real mixed bag. There were a lot of good stories, but there were also a lot of stories where the authors went out of their way to talk about how insignificant their protagonist is, often in the character's own voice, which felt forced and unrealistic to me. There were also some odd
Show More
modern political references to "old white men" that really didn't need to be in there. I don't pick up Star Wars to read modern political rhetoric stated baldly. Then there was one story, MES 6 or something like that, that I gave up on and skipped. It was just bad. More than a few authors overused repetitive phrases, but that one was the worst. Show Less
LibraryThing member wishanem
Varied, entertaining, funny, and often sad stories told from the perspective of background characters in the original Star Wars (AKA Episode IV: A New Hope). They're not all amazing, but the total emotional effect is like a patchwork quilt: homey, warm, and comforting.
LibraryThing member aadyer
As is inevitable, some of the 40 stories aren’t as good as you might expect, and some of them lack some pace, but a massive amount of them are brilliant, evocative and immersive. Well worth a listen, fun, at times tragic, exciting, pulp-ish, intriguing, mysterious, adventurous, and daring. In
Show More
fact all the things Star Wars should be! Looking forward to Empire Strikes Back. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kavinay
The funny stories are not just the best, but also profound: The Sith of Datawork, Born in the Storm, The Trigger, Of MSE-6 and Men and The Angle are all excellent and worth the read alone.
LibraryThing member grandpahobo
I usually don't find books that tie-in to a movie very interesting, but this is really good. Each of the stories tell a significant part of the Star Wars Episode IV story from the point of view of a different character. Usually its a character that has a very small part in the movie. Other times
Show More
its someone who played a significant but fleeting role. All in all, well done. Show Less
LibraryThing member iaross
Didn't actually finish it. Score is based on the ones I did read. It had a few good stores, a bunch of ok ones, and a few that were so bad that I decided to move on and spend my time reading other things.