From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back
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Summary
NATIONAL BESTSELLER - Celebrate the legacy of The Empire Strikes Back with this exciting reimagining of the timeless film featuring new perspectives from forty acclaimed authors。
On May 21， 1980， Star Wars became a true saga with the release of The Empire Strikes Back。 In honor of the fortieth anniversary， forty storytellers re-create an iconic scene from The Empire Strikes Back through the eyes of a supporting character， from heroes and villains， to droids and creatures。 From a Certain Point of View features contributions by bestselling authors and trendsetting artists:
- Austin Walker explores the unlikely partnership of bounty hunters Dengar and IG-88 as they pursue Han Solo。
- Hank Green chronicles the life of a naturalist caring for tauntauns on the frozen world of Hoth。
- Tracy Deonn delves into the dark heart of the Dagobah cave where Luke confronts a terrifying vision。
- Martha Wells reveals the world of the Ugnaught clans who dwell in the depths of Cloud City。
- Mark Oshiro recounts the wampa's tragic tale of loss and survival。
- Seth Dickinson interrogates the cost of serving a ruthless empire aboard the bridge of a doomed Imperial starship。
Plus more hilarious， heartbreaking， and astonishing tales from:
Tom Angleberger， Sarwat Chadda， S。 A。 Chakraborty， Mike Chen， Adam Christopher， Katie Cook， Zoraida C�rdova， Delilah S。 Dawson， Alexander Freed， Jason Fry， Christie Golden， Rob Hart， Lydia Kang， Michael Kogge， R。 F。 Kuang， C。 B。 Lee， Mackenzi Lee， John Jackson Miller， Michael Moreci， Daniel Jos� Older， Amy Ratcliffe， Beth Revis， Lilliam Rivera， Cavan Scott， Emily Skrutskie， Karen Strong， Anne Toole， Catherynne M。 Valente， Django Wexler， Kiersten White， Gary Whitta， Brittany N。 Williams， Charles Yu， Jim Zub
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 will donate $100，000 to First Book and Disney/Lucasfilm will donate 100，000 children's books--valued at $1，000，000--to support First Book and their mission of providing equal access to quality education。
On May 21， 1980， Star Wars became a true saga with the release of The Empire Strikes Back。 In honor of the fortieth anniversary， forty storytellers re-create an iconic scene from The Empire Strikes Back through the eyes of a supporting character， from heroes and villains， to droids and creatures。 From a Certain Point of View features contributions by bestselling authors and trendsetting artists:
- Austin Walker explores the unlikely partnership of bounty hunters Dengar and IG-88 as they pursue Han Solo。
- Hank Green chronicles the life of a naturalist caring for tauntauns on the frozen world of Hoth。
- Tracy Deonn delves into the dark heart of the Dagobah cave where Luke confronts a terrifying vision。
- Martha Wells reveals the world of the Ugnaught clans who dwell in the depths of Cloud City。
- Mark Oshiro recounts the wampa's tragic tale of loss and survival。
- Seth Dickinson interrogates the cost of serving a ruthless empire aboard the bridge of a doomed Imperial starship。
Plus more hilarious， heartbreaking， and astonishing tales from:
Tom Angleberger， Sarwat Chadda， S。 A。 Chakraborty， Mike Chen， Adam Christopher， Katie Cook， Zoraida C�rdova， Delilah S。 Dawson， Alexander Freed， Jason Fry， Christie Golden， Rob Hart， Lydia Kang， Michael Kogge， R。 F。 Kuang， C。 B。 Lee， Mackenzi Lee， John Jackson Miller， Michael Moreci， Daniel Jos� Older， Amy Ratcliffe， Beth Revis， Lilliam Rivera， Cavan Scott， Emily Skrutskie， Karen Strong， Anne Toole， Catherynne M。 Valente， Django Wexler， Kiersten White， Gary Whitta， Brittany N。 Williams， Charles Yu， Jim Zub
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 will donate $100，000 to First Book and Disney/Lucasfilm will donate 100，000 children's books--valued at $1，000，000--to support First Book and their mission of providing equal access to quality education。
Reviews
Patti Middleton
，
I have mixed feelings on this book。 Some stories are excellent， some good and some WTF was that？I really didn’t need to know certain things in characters lives after all。
Morgan McGuire
，
The best of the stories in this collection were four stars for me。 They introduced me to some authors I'd never read before， and many of those I had read delivered wonderfully。 For the other stories--I skipped them if after a page or two it wasn't to my taste， and that's what is great about collections。 The best of the stories in this collection were four stars for me。 They introduced me to some authors I'd never read before， and many of those I had read delivered wonderfully。 For the other stories--I skipped them if after a page or two it wasn't to my taste， and that's what is great about collections。 。。。more
Brent Johnson
，
This is an anthology of short stories based on the film Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back。 Each other selects a minor character （living being or droid） and creates a story of the movie scene they participate in。 The book follows the acts and scenes of the movie。 If I hear the announcement by Lando to evacuate Cloud City one more time I am going to scream。
Clare Moseley
，
It was an okay book。 Some of the stories were good， but there were a bunch of misses。 I felt it was trying really hard to be as good as the first one， but Empire Strikes Back is a much more intimate story， without as many background characters。 Because of that they had to make up too many people， which kind of defeated the purpose。
Brian
，
If you can't get enough of the original SW stories， this is for you。 Definitely can't watch the movie in the same way。 Better go back and watch it again to catch all these side stories in action。 If you can't get enough of the original SW stories， this is for you。 Definitely can't watch the movie in the same way。 Better go back and watch it again to catch all these side stories in action。 。。。more
Kris
，
What a great collection of short stories。
Zach
，
A fun collection， but the novelty had kind of eased up since the first one。 This collection was quite as strong as the first， but still had some interesting stories。 Absolutely fun for any fan of the franchise
Tanner Lund
，
A worthy addition to the from a certain point of view series！！ I felt like there was a disproportionate amount of time spent on hoth。 And there were quite a few stories I was indifferent to as well as a couple that even took away from the film。 But I’ve found that these books are still so valuable for those handful of unforgettable stories that completely enrich the movie。 I think Alexander Freed has officially taken over as my favorite Star Wars author with his amazing addition to this collecti A worthy addition to the from a certain point of view series！！ I felt like there was a disproportionate amount of time spent on hoth。 And there were quite a few stories I was indifferent to as well as a couple that even took away from the film。 But I’ve found that these books are still so valuable for those handful of unforgettable stories that completely enrich the movie。 I think Alexander Freed has officially taken over as my favorite Star Wars author with his amazing addition to this collection。My favorite storiesRogue twoVergenceDisturbanceAgainst all oddsThe final orderBut what does he eat？The man who built cloud city 。。。more
Peter Adamson
，
I'll be honest， I started skipping around; once I got into a story and realized the perspective， sometimes I would jump ahead to the next story if it was of no interest to me。EMPIRE is probably my favorite movie of all time， so this should have been a slam-dunk; it was not， alas。I think the book suffers from being TOO LONG。 I mean， I get *why* they chose forty stories but there was no need for this to be a nearly twenty-hour listen。More to the point; STAR WARS （the franchise） was always better w I'll be honest， I started skipping around; once I got into a story and realized the perspective， sometimes I would jump ahead to the next story if it was of no interest to me。EMPIRE is probably my favorite movie of all time， so this should have been a slam-dunk; it was not， alas。I think the book suffers from being TOO LONG。 I mean， I get *why* they chose forty stories but there was no need for this to be a nearly twenty-hour listen。More to the point; STAR WARS （the franchise） was always better when we could imagine what was happening on the sidelines; spelling things out dilutes the wonder and makes the entire thing less interesting。 It's why the prequels were such a disappointment to many。For example--there is really no way to focus on side characters without going in depth into politics and the specific political beliefs that each person has in regards to the Senate， the Empire， the Rebel Alliance， etc。 Politics in sci-fi is is as interesting as watching house flies mate。 I also strongly feel that the Empire should represent fascism as we know it in our galaxy。 With that in mind， there should be rampant sexism and racism within the Imperial ranks; therefore， stories about female pilots and technicians in the Empire， for example， did not ring true。 We never saw women and non-humans in the Empire in the original films; I think there is a reason for that。Too many stories relied on the same "jokes" over and over again。 I mean， we GET it。 Lando likes capes。 Whoever edited this needed to omit sizeable overlap from story to story。That said， I enjoyed the stories with the non-human characters。 I almost feel like the property should have just focused on them。 。。。more
Matthew
，
About the same amount of boring chapters as the last one but there was one amazing imperial chapter and the last few on Bespin were great。
Eric Mesa
，
Some of these stories were great！ Things felt a bit bogged down at Hoth， though。 Too many stories around the Taun-Taun scenes。 Overall recommended if you're a Star Wars fan。 Here's my story-by-story review:Eyes of the Empire （Kiersten White） - This story is about a small crew of imperial employees who have to review the footage from those drones that show up at the beginning of Empire Strikes Back。 The story is short and cute， but all I could think about was the fact that a space-faring empire w Some of these stories were great！ Things felt a bit bogged down at Hoth， though。 Too many stories around the Taun-Taun scenes。 Overall recommended if you're a Star Wars fan。 Here's my story-by-story review:Eyes of the Empire （Kiersten White） - This story is about a small crew of imperial employees who have to review the footage from those drones that show up at the beginning of Empire Strikes Back。 The story is short and cute， but all I could think about was the fact that a space-faring empire would not have humans reviewing all the images from these drones。 They would have some machine learning algorithms trained to look for humans， vehicles， and non-visible spectrum for signs of life。 Then a human would review those to eliminate false positives。 Hunger （Mark Oshiro） - Just as in the first anthology， bringing some “humanity” to the “creatures” in the movie。 Oshiro does a good job， but all I could think of was the Robot Chicken sketch where Luke and the Hoth Yeti meet up at a gas station。Ion control （Emily Skritskie） - something I hadn't ever thought about before is what it might feel like for members of the rebellion when we find them in Empire。 They've had a success， but also setbacks。 The story here does a good job putting us in that mindset。A Good Kiss （CB Lee） - interestingly， I feel like the author misses a good opportunity here。 Yes， we get the usual "the little guys have overlooked talent" trope， but just focusing on the importance of keeping the troops fed is something more narratives need to focus on。She Will Keep Then Warm （Delilah S Dawson） - by giving the tauntauns this much sentience， it converts the Hoth situation from sad to cruel。 This is probably a sign it was always cruel and we were just biased against caring about animals。 Heroes of the Rebellion （Amy Radcliffe） - A reporter is on Hoth to get footage to recruit folks for the rebellion。 As some of the other stories have done， it shows that everyone in the rebellion is important， not just the ones we follow on the movies。Rogue Two （Gary Whitta） - ostensibly about the guy who finds Han Solo on Hoth， but actually about Luke Skywalker's leadership style and how he brought group cohesion to his squad。Kendal （Charles Yu） - An unexpected and neat short story in which Yu takes us through the dying moments of someone being force-choked by Darth Vader。 It’s a meditation on what it might be like to examine your life as you die， especially working for The Empire。Against all odds （RF Kuang） - we get to see the point of view of Luke's gunner。 As happens often in these short stories， it gives sympathy to the characters we sliding consider。Beyond Hope （Michael Moreci） - the story of one of the rebels holding the love during the At-At attack。The Truest Duty （Christie Golden） - we get to be in the mind of the general who leads the empire's ground assault on Hoth。 In this case it's less about sympathy than an understanding of what it would be like to serve the empire at that level。A Naturalist on Hoth （Hank Green） - what’s so great about this story is that it fills in a little more of the Star Wars universe to make it more realistic instead of focusing on a handful of folks。 Our main character grows up in a company town - the company that makes many of the spaceships used by the government （the Star Wars Boeing）。 He eventually goes to college to become a naturalist。 Because of course those exist in the Star Wars universe。 These are some of my favorite stories in these collections。 For the last time （Beth Revos） - A look into the psyche of Admiral Piett。 I thought the author did a good job of showing how Piett would feel about Ozzem’s death。Rendezvous point （Jason Fry） - in a moment we didn't see on film， Wedge Antilles leads a squad of fighters against some pirates harassing rebel supply lines。 Spoke of PTSD as well as how hard killing can be， even in the military。The Final Order （Seth Dickenson） - head of an imperial ship reflects on the ultimate effects of a despotic ruler。 How it distorts the military as well as society。 He also reflects on how he has a different view of it from his subordinate who grew up in that world。Amara Kell's Rules For Tie Pilot Survival （Probably） （Django Wexler） - Not quite as silly as it seems it’s going to be at first， this is another one of the stories in the collection that makes me want to see a TV series or a book series that’s a sympathetic POV from the Empire。 Yeah， some soldiers/sailors are going to be evil。 But some are just going to be folks who are in government service。 I really liked the story voice in this one。The First Lesson （Jim Zub） - a slight cheat since Yoda is a main character， but it does take place before Luke gets there。Disturbance （Mike Chen） - the story posits that Palpatine already knows about Luke while he's training because he senses Vader's plan for them to rule as father and son。This is No Cave （Catherine M Valente） - A fascinating backstory for the giant worm that the Millennium Falcon lands into。 I wonder if this is entirely Valente’s creation or based at all on any previous canon。Lord Vader Will See You Now （John Jackson Miller） - An interesting story of an imperial captain who can’t catch a break lately。 Her report to Admiral Piett ends up revealing that The Millenium Falcon escaped。 Vergence （Tracy Deonn） - in one of the most creative stories in this anthology， Deonn makes the cave on Dagobah sentient。 It had also had many force users enter it Tooth and Claw （Michael Kogge） - never really paid any attention to Bosk until the Robot Chicken episode。 This story fleshed things out alot。 Makes me think a bounty hunter tv show might be fun 。Stet！ （Daniel José Older） - I have no idea who they character is - they must REALLY be a background character。 However I love the conceit where we’re reading editor’s notes on an in-universe news story。 Mr。 Older has a great sense of humor！Wait for It （Zoraida Cordova） - Gives us a little about Boba Fett just before he appears in the bounty hunter scene in the Death Star。 Brings in done of the backstory from the clone wars tv show。 It'll be interesting to see how things go for the ROTJ book now that authors will have the information from The Book of Boba Fett。Standard Imperial Procedure （Sarwat Chada） - Another understanding of how Boba Fett ended up in the trash area with the Millenium Falcon。 Involves a tragic story about some of the workers on the ship。There is Always Another （Mackenzi Lee）: Obi-Wan as a force ghost when Luke is about to leave Yoda。 He reflects on his time mentoring Anakin and how obstinance and caring both run in the Skywalker family。Fake It Till You Make It （Cavan Scott）: Apparently there are some rabbit-like creatures in Star Wars。 One of them worked with Lando in the past and tries to get Lando to go into a deal with him。 Also a mention of Black Krrsantan who I’d never heard of until season 1 of The Book of Boba Fett。But What Does He Eat？ （S。 A。 Chakraborty）: Of course there had to be a chef who cooked the food at Vader's meal with Han and Leia。 The story gives us a bit of what might be going through their mind while cooking for Darth。Beyond the Clouds （Lilliam Rivera） - A wannabe bounty hunter wants to join up with Fett。 Even more tenuous connection than the last story since there's no evidence this person existed。 That doesn't make it a bad story， though。No Tone For Poetry （Austin Walker） - A fun little story that explains why Dengar and IG-88 didn't catch Solo。 Bespin Escape （Martha Wells） - I had no idea there were Ugnauhts on Bespin。 A story about escape after Lando tells everyone to leave Cloud City。Faith in an Old Friend （Brittany Williams） - Don't know if this is canon from one of the side movies， but the different AIs that make up the Millennium Falcon get an interesting backstory。Due on Bantuu （Rob Hart） - Boy， things are hopping in Cloud City！ This time a wannabe smuggler who's given something to get out of Bespin but things go awry when Calrissian gives the evacuation order。Into the Clouds （Karen Strong） - this time our main character plays an unseen part in the story， helping Leia evade some stormtroopers。The Witness （Adam Christopher） - I guess it would get tiresome to read too many of these types of stories， but I’m surprised there weren’t more stories of storm troopers who realized they might be on the wrong side。 I liked the stakes here - our main character is on a facility she doesn’t know too well and is trying to avoid other troopers from recognizing her once she’s decided to go AWOL。 The Man Who Built Cloud City （Alexander Freed） - Perhaps the most creative story here （not meant to as a slight against any of the others）， it is about someone who claims to have been king of Bespin。 It weaves a very interesting tale about the power of stories。The Backup Backup Plan （Anne Toole） - A fun story about what happened to those left behind after the cloud city evacuation。Right-Hand Man （Lydia Kang） - A neat story from the point of view of the medical droid who attaches Luke's new hand。The Whills Strike Back （Tom Angleberger） - Another funny （your mileage may vary） poke at the opening scrawl for the movies。 。。。more
James Webb
，
Follow the story of The Empire Strikes Backs from a cast of fan favourites littered with an array of side characters all living their lives as Luke's adventure unfolds and shapes the galaxy around them。 Much like the first book， if you are a Star Wars fan it's a must-read if not then I wouldn't start with this anthology。 Follow the story of The Empire Strikes Backs from a cast of fan favourites littered with an array of side characters all living their lives as Luke's adventure unfolds and shapes the galaxy around them。 Much like the first book， if you are a Star Wars fan it's a must-read if not then I wouldn't start with this anthology。 。。。more
Ed Adams
，
If you liked the first book in this series， this follows suit。 It's fun to get the perspective of other characters， many of which you'd never consider， e。g。 tauntauns and wampas。 The audiobooks are all read by the best in the business。 John Williams' soundtrack and all of the appropriate blaster and droid sounds combine to make an outstanding audio experience for any Star Wars fan。 If you liked the first book in this series， this follows suit。 It's fun to get the perspective of other characters， many of which you'd never consider， e。g。 tauntauns and wampas。 The audiobooks are all read by the best in the business。 John Williams' soundtrack and all of the appropriate blaster and droid sounds combine to make an outstanding audio experience for any Star Wars fan。 。。。more
Lauren
，
I enjoyed reading TESB from different perspectives of people in the Rebel Alliance and the Empire。 I liked how you still knew exactly where you were in the story so I felt like you were reading the actual plot too！ Eyes of the Empire- 3/5Hunger- 3/5Ion Control- 3:5A Good Kiss- 3。5/5She Will Keep Them Warm- 3/5Heroes of the Rebellion- 4/5Rogue Two- 3/5Kendal- 5/5Against All Odds- 3/5Beyond Hope- 4/5The Truest Duty- 4/5A Naturalist on Hoth- 2/5The Dragonsnake Saves R2- 3/5For The Last Time- 5/5Ren I enjoyed reading TESB from different perspectives of people in the Rebel Alliance and the Empire。 I liked how you still knew exactly where you were in the story so I felt like you were reading the actual plot too！ Eyes of the Empire- 3/5Hunger- 3/5Ion Control- 3:5A Good Kiss- 3。5/5She Will Keep Them Warm- 3/5Heroes of the Rebellion- 4/5Rogue Two- 3/5Kendal- 5/5Against All Odds- 3/5Beyond Hope- 4/5The Truest Duty- 4/5A Naturalist on Hoth- 2/5The Dragonsnake Saves R2- 3/5For The Last Time- 5/5Rendezvous Point- 3。5/5The Final Order- 4/5Amara Kel’s Rules for TIE Pilot Survival （Probably）- 5/5The First Lesson- 5/5Disturbance- 5/5This Is No Cave- 3。5/5Lord Vader Will See You Now- 4/5Vergence- 5/5Tooth and Claw- 3。5/5STET！- 4。5/5Wait for It- 4。5/5Standard Imperial Procedure- 2。5/5There Is Always Another- 5/5Fake It Till You Make It- 2。5/5But What Does He Eat？- 3。5/5Beyond the Clouds- 4/5No Time for Poetry- 2/5Bespin Escape- 2。5/5Faith in an Old Friend- 4/5Due on Batuu- 3。5/5Into the Clouds- 4/5The Witness- 5/5The Man Who Built Cloud City- 3/5The Backup Backup Plan- 3/5Right-Hand Man- 4。5/5The Whills Strike- 5/5 。。。more
Glenn Pabellano
，
Another excellent anthology。 The only reason I didn't give this 5 is because some of the stories are quite dragging。 Don't get me wrong， there are a lot of stories here that are great， borderline awesome， but some are just。。。 meh。 Definitely worth the pick up， though。 Another excellent anthology。 The only reason I didn't give this 5 is because some of the stories are quite dragging。 Don't get me wrong， there are a lot of stories here that are great， borderline awesome， but some are just。。。 meh。 Definitely worth the pick up， though。 。。。more
Rocky Sunico
，
This second collection of Star Wars short stories， this time centering around the Empire Strikes Back， was still pretty good， but at the same time， it didn't quite feel as strong as the first set。 Maybe it's because I didn't recognize as many names in the list of authors。 Maybe it just needed more interesting angles to explore。This is not to say this book doesn't have some great stories。 They really got to explore every angle of the Empire Strikes Back including some interesting stories related This second collection of Star Wars short stories， this time centering around the Empire Strikes Back， was still pretty good， but at the same time， it didn't quite feel as strong as the first set。 Maybe it's because I didn't recognize as many names in the list of authors。 Maybe it just needed more interesting angles to explore。This is not to say this book doesn't have some great stories。 They really got to explore every angle of the Empire Strikes Back including some interesting stories related to the different bounty hunters， a piece from Obi-Wan's perspective as a force ghost， and even one for the giant space worm in the asteroid belt。 The Obi-Wan story definitely stands out as one of the best ones in the book。Any short story collection will be a mixed experience for any reader， but at least I felt lest dissonance reading this while resolving old Legends titles like Tales of the Bounty Hunters or something。 。。。more
Kelsey Crandall
，
Lots of creative fun。 My favorite story was hands down “There’s Always Another” 🥺🥲
Pauline
，
I hadn't realized， when I saw this in the library， that there had been an earlier anthology based on A New Hope， which I see a number of readers thought was better。 I enjoyed this volume for the most part - nothing spectacular， but none I really disliked either。 It's kind of interesting to see all the different points of view the authors can think up in the Star Wars universe， both on the Empire and Rebel sides， and even some creatures than not only are non-human but probably wouldn't be conside I hadn't realized， when I saw this in the library， that there had been an earlier anthology based on A New Hope， which I see a number of readers thought was better。 I enjoyed this volume for the most part - nothing spectacular， but none I really disliked either。 It's kind of interesting to see all the different points of view the authors can think up in the Star Wars universe， both on the Empire and Rebel sides， and even some creatures than not only are non-human but probably wouldn't be considered "people" （the exogorth， for instance）。 I haven't seen the Star Wars movies in a long time so I didn't always know where these stories fit in， but it was mostly fun reading。 I might have to look for the earlier anthology to read that also。 。。。more
William
，
This book is all about the lesser known characters from the Empire Strikes Back， characters like 2-1B （the medical droid）， Imperial military leaders Needa， Veers and Ozzel， and most of the bounty hunters Vader hired to capture the Millenium Falcon。 It is interesting to see / understand the thoughts and motivations of these beings， but I also found that some of the characters were so insignificant that their stories meant very little to me。 It wasn't that the stories were bad （although there were This book is all about the lesser known characters from the Empire Strikes Back， characters like 2-1B （the medical droid）， Imperial military leaders Needa， Veers and Ozzel， and most of the bounty hunters Vader hired to capture the Millenium Falcon。 It is interesting to see / understand the thoughts and motivations of these beings， but I also found that some of the characters were so insignificant that their stories meant very little to me。 It wasn't that the stories were bad （although there were a couple stinkers）， but I didn't know enough about these people that I found it hard to become as invested in them as much as I did with some of the characters I mentioned earlier。 If I was ranking the 40 stories， I would say there were 10 great ones， 10 good ones and then 20 that were of little or no account。 This book is probably best suited for the most hardcore of Star Wars fans （of which I'm a borderline one nowadays） and even then， I'm not sure all of them will appreciate the minutia this book delivers。 。。。more
Faye Larson
，
In all honesty， I didn’t read every single story in here， but， I borrowed the audiobook through Libby to listen to some specific authors that I love & the audiobook was so good！！！ It had tons of sound effects & character voices & I was super giddy about it。 My only critique was that in each story it usually took me a bit to figure out the who/what/when/where/why of it all， but in each case I usually realized eventually。 R。F。 Kuang: - Kuang continues to be my absolute favourite author， even in a In all honesty， I didn’t read every single story in here， but， I borrowed the audiobook through Libby to listen to some specific authors that I love & the audiobook was so good！！！ It had tons of sound effects & character voices & I was super giddy about it。 My only critique was that in each story it usually took me a bit to figure out the who/what/when/where/why of it all， but in each case I usually realized eventually。 R。F。 Kuang: - Kuang continues to be my absolute favourite author， even in a little short story she managed to rip my heart out & make me feel things。 I loved her take on Luke & his co-pilot & maybe I’m just reading into things， but it felt a bit 💅Tracy Deonn:- I’m just so excited to have been able to read something by Tracy Deonn again， I adored Legendborn & have been patiently waiting for more。 I loved the atmosphere & vibes of this story， however I have to say it was the one I was most confused by until Yoda & Dagobah was brought into the mix。 Even then I’m not 100% sure who the main speaker was， but I enjoyed the vibes nonetheless S。A。 Chakraborty - this story I found super super fun， I caught on pretty immediately to what was going on & It was an interesting background insight into Lando’s set up with Vader of the twins from the cooks perspective Hank Green- honestly could not tell you who was speaking or where they were （both what planet & what era） but I found all the science stuff interesting & on brand for Hank 。。。more
Daniel Kelly
，
As other reviews have covered extensively， this format of short stories doesn't work as well for Empire Strike Back （ESB） as it did for A New Hope （ANH）。 It's okay， but that's about it。This is a real mishmash collection of stories， and while a few of them were good， most were mediocre at best。 I was really tired of reading about every person on Hoth， including a coffee delivery rebel， as they dragged on and I was eager to be done with the planet。 I'm glad I stuck with the stories as things impro As other reviews have covered extensively， this format of short stories doesn't work as well for Empire Strike Back （ESB） as it did for A New Hope （ANH）。 It's okay， but that's about it。This is a real mishmash collection of stories， and while a few of them were good， most were mediocre at best。 I was really tired of reading about every person on Hoth， including a coffee delivery rebel， as they dragged on and I was eager to be done with the planet。 I'm glad I stuck with the stories as things improved with the Empire， Bounty Hunter and Cloud City focused stories。 One thing I found odd on Hoth is they mention in a few stories how the speeders were being adapted to work in the cold conditions。 Outside of the book I discovered they were T-47 Airspeeders， adapted to the cold and renamed "Snowspeeders" but in this book it was only referenced as being modified， and since they are known as "Snowspeeders" it was a little confusing。 Since we covered everything else on Hoth， it would have been good to have a story focused on modifying the vehicles and the challenges they encountered while doing so。 But I digress。Another oddity for me was with the Bounty Hunter stories， where there was a odd sense of deja vu。 Not the obvious deja vu from remembering scenes from the movies， but from being sure I have read these exact stories before somewhere。 Some of the stories were big deviations from the stories in Legends books like 'Tales of the Bounty Hunters' and 'Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina' both edited by Kevin J。 Anderson。 It's reached the point now that I have no idea what's cannon once you step outside the movies。 For example， Dengar。。。 once upon a time he saved Boba Fett from the Sarlacc Pitt， but now in cannon Boba Fett saved himself and Dengar doesn't really have a claim to fame that I'm aware of。 But I digress again， sorry！Overall， as a long time reader of Star Wars fiction， I think this book is only worth reading if you've read everything else and need some filler before the next release。 Just don't expect too much from this collection。 。。。more
Donavon
，
Some truly great stories and some so-so stories。 I have loved the short story collections like this in past （Tales from Cantina， Tales from Bounty Hunters， Tales from Jabba's Palice） and happy to see rebooted continuity doing it again。 Cannot wait for Episode 6 & prequels！ Some truly great stories and some so-so stories。 I have loved the short story collections like this in past （Tales from Cantina， Tales from Bounty Hunters， Tales from Jabba's Palice） and happy to see rebooted continuity doing it again。 Cannot wait for Episode 6 & prequels！ 。。。more
Claire N
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3。5 stars Some of the stories I absolutely LOVED （8/40 listed below）， but I felt like the majority were either just okay or didn't quite land for me。 A Naturalist On Hoth -- Hank Green The Dragonsnake Saves R2 -- Katie Cook The First Lesson -- Jim Zub Disturbance -- Mike Chen Vergence -- Tracy DeonnThere Is Always Another -- Mackenzi Lee （probably tied for my favorite with Dragonsnake）But What Does He Eat？ -- S。A。 Chakraborty The Whills Strike Back -- Tom Angleberger 3。5 stars Some of the stories I absolutely LOVED （8/40 listed below）， but I felt like the majority were either just okay or didn't quite land for me。 A Naturalist On Hoth -- Hank Green The Dragonsnake Saves R2 -- Katie Cook The First Lesson -- Jim Zub Disturbance -- Mike Chen Vergence -- Tracy DeonnThere Is Always Another -- Mackenzi Lee （probably tied for my favorite with Dragonsnake）But What Does He Eat？ -- S。A。 Chakraborty The Whills Strike Back -- Tom Angleberger 。。。more
David Kowal
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More action than the first， but still great， especially via audio book。
Mark Moxley-Knapp
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A fun collection of stories from participants （not necessarily characters） in the storyline of The Empire Strikes Back。 All sorts of different takes， all well-written。
Ben Litwin
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Not as good as the episode 4 version but still a fun read。 There just aren’t enough scenes in Empire to have 40 separate events so the book has to go over the same scene multiple times from different perspectives， which makes the book suffer。 Still enjoyable though
Marcus
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A large number of the stories suffer from World's Tiniest Violin Syndrome。 Top 3 for me were "The Final Order"， "Amara Kel's Rules for TIE Fighter Survival （Probably）" and "Tooth and Claw"。 Fair amount of other good ones as well – really liked the Jaxxon one。 A large number of the stories suffer from World's Tiniest Violin Syndrome。 Top 3 for me were "The Final Order"， "Amara Kel's Rules for TIE Fighter Survival （Probably）" and "Tooth and Claw"。 Fair amount of other good ones as well – really liked the Jaxxon one。 。。。more
J。J。 Lair
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I read “New Hope from Another Point of View” and looked forward to this。 It’s not starting well。 Other than the snowman， Ozzard， and the Taunton， the rest is a drag。 Perhaps this book suffers because the movie doesn’t have enough interesting material to work with。 Once we get to Yoda， things pick up。 What does Darth Vader eat？ How does he eat？I read a new side to Mckenzie Lee’s work。 Many of the authors don’t sound familiar but when I read the author description， they had a lot of writing credit I read “New Hope from Another Point of View” and looked forward to this。 It’s not starting well。 Other than the snowman， Ozzard， and the Taunton， the rest is a drag。 Perhaps this book suffers because the movie doesn’t have enough interesting material to work with。 Once we get to Yoda， things pick up。 What does Darth Vader eat？ How does he eat？I read a new side to Mckenzie Lee’s work。 Many of the authors don’t sound familiar but when I read the author description， they had a lot of writing credits and were deep into the Star Wars culture。 They really tried do a lot with little workable material。 。。。more
Braden Koop
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Never has a star wars book felt more like fan fiction to me than this。。。
Josie
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