Star Wars: The Last Jedi

I can't spoil this book, everyone already knows the story, it follows the story of Star Wars (Episode IV: A New Hope) chronologically through the “points of view” of other characters, both seen and unseen.

Some were funny (the stormtroopers on Tatooine, Whills), some interesting (swamp monster) and some were intense (Alderaan when the Death Star arrived, the trench run). Obi Wan's story (Time of Death) was interesting, I loved how it alluded to the events of the prequels.

If you like Star Wars, I definitely recommend this book, I very much enjoyed it. Also, the audiobook was great, it had sound effects and great narration, check it out!

This was a lot of fun, with the caveat that you'd have to be fairly well invested in Star Wars trivia and lore to get anything worthwhile out of it. But, if you've ever wondered about the hidden lives of characters like the Mos Eisley bartender, the droid that malfunctioned outside of the Lars homestead, or the chief mechanic of Yavin IV, this is the book for you!

The collection of authors the book is comprised of are fantastic, as well - some of my favourite current sci-fi authors are here.

umm first of all I remember this when it was called Tales from Jabba's Palace??

This was a fun collection; like with any anthology (especially of this size), I enjoyed some more than others. Some of them made me weirdly emotional about background characters, it's fine.

Overall if this sounds like the kind of thing you would like, you would probably like this thing. If this sounds boring to you, that will probably be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

My faves were probablyyyy Mallory Ortberg (Admiral Motti), Glen Weldon (the mouse droid), Charles Soule (Lando), Rae Carson (R5-D4), and Claudia Gray (Qui-Gonn)'s.

Here is a brief overview of all the stories first with my rating out of 5 for each of them.


Raymus By Gary Whitta: This is the story of Captain Ramus as he works with Princess Leia as they recover the stolen plans gotten in Rogue One. I do find it interesting how they try to explain the technology and the plot hole set in The Last Jedi here at the beginning of A New Hope. It at times feels like the author had to put it in because he had to, and it feels awkward as a result. I also liked the narrator. He was good, especially when it came to impersonating Darth Vader's voice. Not as good as James Earl Jones, of course, but not bad ether. Still, this was a nice little story, if a tad forgettable as a result of us knowing what the ending will be. 3 out of 5

The Bucket by Christie Golden: This follows the stormtrooper Tarvyn Lareka who finds Princess Leia aboard her ship and stuns her in the movie. It gives a good background to the idea of being a stormtrooper, especially the ones who serve Lord Vader. It was an interesting exploration into how the Stormtroopers felt about working with Vader that was so much fun, although the voice for Vader is a step down, even from the last story. 3 out of 5

The Sith of Datawork by Ken Liu: This is a story from the perspective of Arvira, who discusses the possibility of the Death Star plans being in the seemingly vacant escape pod. I like how this gives another explanation about why the escape pod was not shot down in the film. The job at storm troopers lack of accuracy was a nice little laugh too. The 4th wall breaking jokes were cool too. This was definitely a fun thing to read about, especially thinking about how much datawork (aka paperwork) the Empire runs on. 4 out of 5.

Stories in the Sand by Griffin McElroy: This story was well written, but ultimately pointless. I just could not connect with the Jawa named Jot who finds R2-D2 and C3PO. 2 out of 5.

Reirin by Sabaa Tahir: This is the story about a bitter person called Reirin who is looking for a stone for an unknown trader. While this written by an author I like, I just couldn't get into this story, nor understand why it matters. 2 out of 5.

The Red One by Rae Carson: This is from the viewpoint of R5-D4, the red droid unit that Luke's Uncle buys before getting R2. While it was somewhat depressing, I don't believe that the droid was playing dead like the author claims. Still, it was an okay story, if forgettable. 2 out of 5.

Rites by John Jackson Miller: This is about the Tusken Raiders that we see in the film featuring the character A'Koba. Side note, what is it with the random rock guitar in the action scenes? It doesn't fit at all with the other music in this audiobook. This story provided a nice look into the life of a tusken raider. It was interesting to see why the raiders that tried to take Luke left when Ben showed up. 3 out of 5.

Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray: This was an excellent depiction of afterlife in the force from Qui-Gon Jinn. It was cool to see Obi-Wan's old master, even if he did not have much character in Episode 1. I'm not surprised I like this so much, since it was written by Claudia Gray. I give it a five out of five.

Beru Whitesun Lars by Meg Cabot: This short story is an interesting one that breaks the 4th wall and gives the reader a bit more of a backstory to Aunt Beru. I did enjoy it for the quaint little story it was. 4 out of 5.

The Luckless Rodian by Renee Ahdieh: This was a story that looked at Greedo but it was ultimately pointless and uninteresting. 2 out of 5.

Not for Nothing by Mur Lafferty: This was an interesting point of view of the cantina scene from the viewpoint of the band, but it was still pointless. 2 out of 5.

We Don't Serve Their Kind Here by Chuck Wendig: While it was interesting about the tie with the barkeep to the Clone Wars, this just felt long and drawn out. Also, why do these stories have to end with a hopeful message for a meaningless character we will most likely never see? Also, what is it with all these cantina scenes? 3 one in a row that overstays it's welcome. 1 out of 5.

The Kloo Horn Cantina Caper by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Matt Fraction: This narrator high pitched voice he uses is extremely annoying. I was tempted to skip it within the first 20sec. Holy Macaroni Batman that was bad! 1 out of 5.

Added Muscle by Paul Dini: This felt like one of the shortest stories of the bunch, because the story was THAT good. I really enjoyed looking into Boba Fett's mind and the narrator they chose was perfect for this story. 5 out of 5.

You Owe Me a Ride by Zoraida Cordova: This was an okay tale about two people who try to steal the Millennium Falcon. 2 out of 5.

The Secrets of Long Snoots by Delilah S. Dawson: This is a orgettable story about the alien that gives up Hon Solo. 2 out of 5.

Born in the Storm by Daniel Jose Older: This was a very fun and interesting story from the POV of a stormtrooper that, again, involves the cantina. Was still fun to listen to hear him complain about the Empire and it's weapons, though, 4 out of 5.

Laina by Wil Wheaton: This was an interesting little story about a man who sends his baby daughter off to Alerdon. But, it was ultimately pointless since I could not grasp the larger context of where this man fit into the larger film as a whole. 2 out of 5.

Fully Operational by Beth Revis: This was a story about how the Death Star is one of the greatest weapons in the galaxy. Other than some nice lines about how people will fight when a gun is shoved in their face, but will walk away when it comes to the tediousness of a court, which gives corrupt bureaucracies more power, this story was not as thrilling as I wanted it to be. 3 out of 5.

An Incident Report by Mallory Ortberg: This was a nice look at the choking scene that Vader did in the meeting room. It is nice to see that the Empire runs on incident reports just like an actual military organization. 4 out of 5,

Change of Heart by Elizabeth Wein: Why do we have to make every storm trooper have a change of heart or be a good guy? It gets old after a while. 3 out of 5.

Eclipse by Madeleine Roux: This was a somewhat heartfelt story from the perspective of Lea's Parents before the destruction of Alderon. 3 out of 5.

Verge of Greatness by Pablo Hidalgo: A pointless story that I could not get into. 2 out of 5.

Far Too Remote by Jeffrey Brown: See Above. 2 out of 5.

The Trigger by Kieron Gillen: This was a nice little story about how one needs to see a face, or humanity, in order to not commit murder. I like how this was all tied in to the first time the Death Star was used on Alderaan. 5 out of 5.

Of MSE-6 and Men by Glen Weldon: A really annoying short story from the POV of those mouse droids on the Death Star. 1 out of 5.


Bump by Ben Acker and Ben Blacker: This is a story from the viewpoint of the Stormtrooper who we saw earlier when Ben tricked them into letting them through. We see him here as the Stormtrooper who hits his head on the door in the film. Considering the actor had to go to the hospital, I doubt this guy would be able to do half of what he does in the story. Still, I liked this more than others. 3 out of 5.

End of Watch by Adam Christopher: This was an interesting story from the POV of the person Han Solo talks to as he tries to cover their tracks in the detention cell block on the Death Star. 3 out of 5.

The Baptist by Nnedi Okorafor: An unnecessary story from the POV of the monster in the garbage disposal. Why do we have to have the monsters be innocent things in stories these days? 1 out of 5.

Time of Death by Cavan Scott: A nice little story about Obi-Wan as he is trying to battle Darth Vader. One issue I have is they are making out the sabar battle to be waaaay cooler than it was in the film. It was barely more than two people swinging swords around. Cool story though. 4 out of 5.

There is Another by Gary D. Schmidt: This was an okay story from Yoda. But nothing to write home about. 2 out of 5.

Palpatine by Ian Doescher: While I give this points for trying to be Shakespearean and rhyming in a monologue, It was not as good as it should have been. 3 out of 5.

Sparks by Paul S. Kemp: Why would we want to read a short story about the run on the Death Star from the viewpoint of the pilot, when we see that with Luke in the film? 2 out of 5.

Duty Roster by Jason Fry: A story from the POV of Col Takbright as they make their run on the death star. It was nice to get the POV from someone other than the hero, but it was still just okay. 3 out of 5.

Desert Son by Pierce Brown: A well written, but not very interesting story from the perspective of another person making a run on the Death Star. 2 out of 5.


Grounded by Greg Rucka: A story about a woman who is in the rebel base hearing the rebels assault on the Death Star. 2 out of 5

Contingency Plan by Alexander Freed: It is ultimately a story about the type of contingency plan if the attack on the Death Star fails. Ry as I might, I could not get into it. 2 out of 5.

The Angle by Charles Soule: This was a fun story from the POV of Lando. The reason it was so fun is probably because it reminds me of an old west film or book. It was really cool. 4 out of 5.

By Whatever Sun by E.K.Johnston: A boring story from the POV of a character found in the Ahsoka novel. Why would this be put in if you did not read the novel? You'd be lost otherwise. 2 out of 5.

Whills by Tom Angleberger: This was really funny. I even let out a few laughs and found it very enjoyable. The only downside was the placement. It is at the end instead of the beginning, but then it may make the reader think it is setting a tone for the rest of the series that isn't really true. 5 out of 5.

Overall, I'd recommend this only to hardcore Star Wars fans. There was just too many pointless scenes to recommend this to the casual fan who has watched the film. I'd give it an overall score of 2 out of 5.