I have finally finished this book.
It has been tough going.
I loved the idea behind the book, retelling A New Hope from the perspectives of background or minor characters. 40 stories for 40 years of Star Wars, another great idea. In execution, not exactly my cup of tea.
Overall, the Mos Eisley sequence goes on too long. I understand why, it’s a hot bed of characters with plenty of stories to tell. But the execution fell short. I could have happily removed at least three and the sequence would have flowed more smoothly (for me).
I enjoyed the glimpse into life on board the Death Star, ‘Of MSE-6 and Men’ was especially enjoyable, being told entirely from the perspective of the Mouse Droid that Chewie roars at on the way to the Detention Block, but I didn’t need 16 pages on the Dianoga from the Trash Compactor.
The final third of the book was great. A lot of call backs to Rogue One and a Lando story, what more could I ask for in the lead-up to Solo?
To say this is a bad book is harsh. As with any short story collection there are going to be stronger and weaker stories all depending on taste, none of the stories are badly written but content wise I hoped for more from some of them
Stand out stories were:
- Rites – John Jackson Miller
- Master and Apprentice – Claudia Gray
- Beru Whitsun Lara – Meg Cabot
- The Kloo Horn Cantina Caper – Kelly Sue DeConnick and Matt Fraction
- Laina – Wil Wheaton
- Eclipse – Madeleine Roux
- The Trigger – Kieron Gillen
- Of MSE-6 and Men – Glen Weldon
- There is Another – Gary D. Schmidt
- Sparks – Paul S. Kemp
- Duty Roster – Jason Fry
- Desert Son – Pierce Brown
- Grounded – Greg Rucka
- Contingency Plan – Alexander Freed
- The Angle – Charles Soule
- By Whatever Sun – E. K. Johnston and Ashley Eckstein
Again, not saying the rest of the stories are bad but just not my cup of tea.
Am I glad I read this book? Yes, as tough a read as it was I did enjoy it. Could I have waited a bit longer and got it in Paperback for a bit less? Yes, I could have waited.
Star Rating… 3.5/5
Star Wars A Certain Point Of View by Various.
Published by Century in 2017
