3.5. This is a hit and miss mix of short stories celebrating Star Wars: A New Hope. With more than forty contributors (therefore, forty stories),it's hard to say that each story is a stand out. Some stories were sadly quite forgettable. However, for every lame story, you get an amazing one that expands and reimagines movements from the film through a supporting character's point of view (from both the original and new canon of characters). I loved how the best of these humanized supporting characters and even aliens within the film. My favorite stories: Gary Whitta's "Raymus" which bridges the gap from Rogue One and A New Hope through the eyes of Captain Antilles, Meg Cabot's take on Aunt Beru, Claudia Gray's study of an old Obi-Wan conversing with force ghost Qui-Gon, Kieron Gillen's amazing story about new canon character Aphra (please Disney make an origin story film about her, please!), and Time of Death by Cavan Scott. There is a story in this collection bound to please any Star Wars fan. Perhaps forty stories was a little much? Neat concept but not necessary. Give us the masterful ones, and that's enough. ( )

Loved loved loved this book! I don't usually like collections of short stories, even on a theme, as much as I do novels, but these stories were all equally well-written and this theme was clever: it retells the first Star Wars movie (A New Hope, ahem, Episode IV) from the points of view of a plethora of minor characters, many of whom we hardly see on screen at all. The stories go in order from the beginning of the movie's plotline to the end. So we get a story from the point of view of a stormtrooper, guarding Princess Leia on the first Death Star. We get a fun story told by a Jawa who finds a certain droid's holoprojector. There's a story told by the "mouse droid" on the Death Star involving a secret liasion by certain Imperials. I also loved the story from the diagnoga's point of view, so clever! (That's the trash compactor monster, for those 6 of you who aren't as into Star Wars as I am, haha!) We even get some Yoda and some Qui Gon Jinn stories, too, that cleverly tie in to A New Hope and I just love it! Plus, I got to read stories by many of my favorite YA authors and I met some adult sci fi authors I've never heard of before; that was a fun perk of the book. ( )

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. ( )

Spring-Summer 2019 (Audible);


Seriously. Why. Even the end of this first story, for Raymus, is giving me so feelings, just as I park at school.

In his final moments, he hoped.

The Bucket was okay, but I didn’t find it that impressive. I did like the point about the human inside the suit though. And the whole point about how it’s easier to dehumanize your enemy, because it’s so much harder to hate and kill another person like you.


I’m smirking at The Sith of Datawork already.

Almost halfway through Stories in the Sand and couldn’t care in the slightest yet. Trying to focus and pay attention, but not working much. Could be sickness head, too

I already know I’ll love Sabaa Tahir’s. Come to me.This scene just reminds me of the comic about Skippy, The Jedi Droid. It’s burned into my head forever. Thanks, comic store boss.

Reiren wasn’t terrible, but I was maybe expecting more from it.

The Red One is totally the new canon version of Skippy, The Jedi Druid, without being a Jedi Droid. (I’m still keeping Skippy, The Jedi Droid in my head forever. Listening to the end of this one, then heading in to nap. Oh, Rae. That ending line.

Free and full of hope.

I ended up liking Rites more than I thought I would. Interesting enough all around.

Hello, tiny first Master & Apprentice

I’m having so many feelings about how it’s all being written forty years later and so they can use so much context now. This one is making my heart cry. Obj-Wan. Quigon. Padme. I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS FROM THIS ONE. And Ben talking about seeing Padme & Anakin in his first seeing of Leia. And it ending with Qui-Gon referencing Ben’s death.

Beru Whitesun Lars
From. The. Grave.

The Luckless Rodian
Hey, Greedo. Don’t you know.
He’s got the money.

Not For Nothing
This was delightfully written.
Narration on point joy.
Unexpected gem.

We Don’t Serve Their Kind
“Walking shag haystack” Omg. You did not.
Oh. Oh. Oh. I think this one is narrated by the guy who did Alliances.
Guh. The ending lines are strong with this collection.

"Maybe he still could change his destiny.”

I really wanted to love this story, this Kloo Horn Cantina Caper. It’s by Kelly-Sue & Matt Fraction and twice longer than any story before it. It should be an amazing galavant, but instead I’m all ..... . Also. Kloo Horn was, also, narrated by Thrawn: Alliances he kept unexpected swerving into the Thrawn voice and messing up my head.

Added Muscle
Short. Snappy. A little amusing.
Good POV, but no new plot anywhere.

You Owe Me A Ride
Again. Not bad, but not great.

The Long Snoot was a thing. Pretty same reception, even though find myself with a deeper appreciation of the inspection points between several stories and character and finding myself at the canon page.

Okay. Okay.
Born in the StormM is the most hilarious one so far. I’m delighted with this one so far, which needed saying. The narrator makes it 1000% perfect.


And Long Snoot shoutout followed by ‘Never for nothing’ one, too. Oh. This music. This performance.

"and born, and reborn, in the storm. Absolutely free."

Ride on, trooper, ride on. Go catch you that sunset.

Laina
I’m not okay. Wow Wheaton. How dare.

Fully Operational
Totes agree, sir. Empires Greatest Weapon: Death Star
Eclipse
Omg. I can’t even words.
Breha.

"She lives.”

Verge of Greatness
Meh? I want to like this one more. I don't know if it's the narrator, but I just don't feel this one was stern enough, cruel enough, cold enough for Tarkin.

Trigger
Heeeeelllooooo, Aphra.

Oh, oh, oh, oh. I have all sorts of feelings about this one. About the perfect chattiness. And the shame. And the person reflections. Again the message of people under the Stormtrooper helmets. About how planets don't have faces. Trying to figure out how you truly feel about the Empire, about the options, about whether there are options.

' [...] she cursed herself for a moment of weakness, in a galaxy that had none. One day she'd learn.'

I continue to love a good number of the last lines in these.

Of MSE-6 and Men
5 minutes: O_o
12 minutes: checks time, calculates 40 more minutes
19:35 minutes: needs that Buffy spinning in a circle emote

I get what this was supposed to be about, but mostly I was bored through this one, and I'm getting sad that most of the hour-length-ish ones in this one are falling out like that for me.

Bump
Returning to my firm love of the background sounding, like you are in the world. You can hear the running of the massive ship behind the narrator in this one. Snickering about Vadar ‘failing upward.’ I do the love the consistency of The Force being regarded as an outdated, backwater, sissy boy religion.

OMG THIS IS STORMTROOPER WHO SMACKS HIS HEAD IN THE DOORWAY WHO IS ALSO THESE ARE NOT THE DROIDS YOU‘RE LOOKING FOR STORMTROOPER.

Awwww, Guy. I did not expect you to give me feelings.

"I love this place. More than anywhere I’ve been. It was home. I swear to the ancients of Parsh, if I had to fight for 100 years to redeem myself, I’ll return to the Death Star. I will fight my way back home."

End of Watch,/B>
Not bad, not amazing. Somewhere in the steady 3 area. Fits in well and talks about how much people in certain places didn’t know. Plus and whole lot of wink-wink nudge-nudge about the Falcon.

The Baptist
Squints at this. The Dianoga in the garbage compactor is one with the force. Sure. Why not. And it baptized Luke. Why not. I’m here for a world of magic and the magical and the force in droids and monsters-who-are-not-monsters.

Oh, oh, of. Forgot to write down the next great last line.
"Who will I be the next time around?"

Time of Death
Omg omg omg
’My name is Obi’wan Kenobi and I am dead.’
THIS CAN ONLY END IN TEARS, PEOPLE.

Eyes Scream Saber Pain
Eyes Scream Saber Pain
Eyes Scream Saber Pain
Eyes Scream Saber Pain
Eyes Scream Saber Pain
Eyes Scream Saber Pain
Eyes Scream Saber Pain

ANAKIN PADME QUI-GON MAUL.

Ggggguuuhhhhhhh.

"I will be with him every step of the way.
We have all the time we need."

There is Another
Mmmmyyyy feelings about Yoda thinking over and over and over about Leia and all the misinterpretation-assumptions of her being like her mother & her brother being like her father, but also so fixated on her & wishing he could have trained her for so long.

"Still for the first time in a long time, he was eager for the next day."

Palpatine
Hello, Doescher, and more of your Shakespearean Star Wars. I really am okay with this in your books but it feels so insanely out of place right at this place suddenly in this collection of stories.

Exit
DDDEEEXXXXXX. Hi, honey, hi.

"Then, nothing more."

Duty Roster
I don’t deeply care about this story itself, but reiterating how much I love the score music in the background in place & the beeping of buttons in the back scents in a battle HQ room.

ɑรรɑรรiɳcɑptɑiɳ
"I’d be honored to be mistaken for you. For any of you."

Desert Son
Happy to see Biggs got a story, but, I’m just not interested as this on goes on and on. A lot of good details, but I feel like it’s missing heart in the first half so far.

Grounded
Oh. Gosh. Lemme honest. I was not interested in this one much when it started. But but but but. It got SO GOOD. It stealthily works it’s hard into your heart and chest and soul and I was nearly in tears at the end of Nera’s telling.

Contingency
MON MOTHMA!!!!!
I have so many feelings about her and this whole story. Omg. This was such a good political take even the whole of the contingency pieces. Guuuhhh

The Angle
Lllllannddooo. Yessssss.

Okay. I knew that would happen but oooommmgggg the number of feelings I have for that. And the whole ending about Lando watching the footage and questioning what and why Han Soli is doing what he’s doing. Just. Ooohhh. Math. Yessss. ( )

Some stories where great. Most where boring. ( )