This book is one of a series that presents a large number of short stories related to particular Star Wars movies. This book is focused on side stories and deeper looks around the Empire Strikes Back. All are well written and provide a deeper understanding of the original movie.

These books are pure gold. It is such a unique concept to hear a well known story told from the perspective of a relatively unkniwn side character. So funny and a must read for any Star Wars fan!

First things first - I am not a massive Star Wars nerd, but I do love the original trilogy and The Empire Strikes Back is my favourite, so when I saw this short story collection, I figured it would be a good time. Happily, I was absolutely correct, but I wasn't expecting it to be so well collated. The first group of stories focus on Hoth and we have some wonderfully strange examples, such as the Tauntaun protagonist in one. Interspersed throughout are some stories from the point of view of the Imperials, which is always interesting, along with a few from the bounty hunters too. There are stories focused on the asteroid belt (including one from the point of view of one of the asteroid monsters, which was amazing) and stories focused on Cloud City. Overall, anyone who loves the film will definitely find something to enjoy here and I may well dip my toe into the larger Star Wars universe.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

absolutely fantastic collection. I am enjoying these so much and love how they have been put together. A fantastic way to try so many new authors and get snippets into other parts of the story in the star wars universe.

I'm not sure I can ever pick a favorite for each edition but I loved this one just as much as the first.

With the Return of the Jedi anthology having recently been announced, I thought it was about time I finally got around to reading this one – I loved the first volume, and I’d had this on the shelf for a good year or two. I really can’t overstate how great an idea it is to commission these anthologies, as they bring fresh life to much-loved movies in a way that no other format or style of release could. Of course the personal enjoyment of the 40 stories is always going to vary – for me a few were just ok and a handful poor, but most were excellent (off the top of my head I particularly enjoyed those by Martha Wells, Lydia Kang, Emily Skrutskie, Gary Whitta and C.B. Lee, Mike Chen, Catherynne M. Valenta and Mackenzi Lee) – but the sheer variety is a big part of the appeal.

If I’m honest I thought there was a bit too much overlap in some areas (about the first 150 pages are all spent on Hoth, and there were a few quite similar bounty hunter stories) but really I’m nitpicking there. Reading this (much like the first one did) absolutely reinvigorated my love of Star Wars. If I had to pick out just one story I’d go with STET! by Daniel José Older, which is presented as an annotated manuscript of an article submitted to the culture desk of ‘Galactic Digest’, and which is glorious, madcap fun involving bounty hunters, gangsters and an increasingly baffled editor!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I don’t even like Star Wars but I wanted to start out with something simple to see if I could reas more of the books. It was interesting to see things from background character’s points of views. It was interesting to see descriptors for the Star Wars characters I do know without the actual character being mentioned by name. My favorite story was “Not For Nothing” by Mur Lafferty.

This book is full of interesting short stories related to Star Wars that would interest students who might be more reluctant readers or hesitant to commit to a full novel. Students will enjoy the characters and getting to see a story from the point of view of lesser known characters. Students who enjoyed the Mandalorian will especially enjoy these stories.

As one (of many) who grew up on a healthy diet of Star Wars, this book was a ton of fun to work through - each author's reimagining and interpretations of the events and characters from The Empire Strikes Back fleshes out that wonderful story and gives more depth to the greater universe around it. Definitely one to read for any Star Wars fan.

I think I would have liked to have had a bit more information about the Star Wars universe before reading this book. As with any anthology, some stories were great and some were more forgettable.

Yikes.

These stories not only were painful reads, they obviously came across as fanfiction / creative writing drafts in the Star Wars universe. It felt so devoid of actual 'depth' or anything to make it feel like a Star Wars story without it constantly pointing or acknowledging that it was Star Wars.

I'm glad I got a read of them but didn't pay money. Only a few of these stories were actually worth it - so I read the authors I wanted to read and attempted to read the rest. When I realized how juvenile they were I did not bother finishing it.

Loved all of these, so interesting to read from such a variety of authors yet all using the same Star Wars world and main story to branch out from. Really engaging, some favourites in there but so hard to chose.

I loved the stories in this anthology. The only issue that I had was that the order of stories made things seem super redundant. I understand it's different perspectives sitting different events, but I wish they were broken up a bit more.

Some of the stories in this anthology are absolutely excellent. Some…really fall flat. It’s a shame. The first few were good enough I immediately got a copy of the first book for my boyfriend, keen to read it myself after he’d read it. I have no doubt it will still be an enjoyable book, but as this one is a three star for me, I might hold off on that one for a little while.

There are definitely pacing issues overall with this book. Certain sections drag on way too long, then suddenly we’re zipping from one spot to the next, giving everything too much of a disjointed feel. And if this is canon, well, get ready to feel sorry for ‘characters’ you never thought you’d feel sorry for.

It’s weird, but it feels like there’s too many moments which almost ‘should have’ been in the film. As in, they have too much of an impact on the overall story, reminding you how far removed from the film you actually are, rather than these stories blending in. The strongest stories as those which feel like they’re just off-screen, or that get us into the head of characters in the films.

This anthology feels like it would have so much stronger for having a number of stories cut out. We spend way too long on Hoth, we have a few Imperial Officer POV stories which all read similar, and the ending on Cloud City, like Hoth, stretches on for too long. I won’t go through all the stories, otherwise this will be way too long, but I do want to touch on a few good and bad.

“Eyes of the Empire” opens the anthology, and it really hooked me in instantly. We get a glimpse into the mind of the probe droid operator who found the rebel base on Hoth, and her reasoning behind her work, the way she distances herself from the consequences. It’s a great start, and it’s a shame too many of the stories that followed didn’t match up.

“Hunger” was okay, but felt a bit forced. Did the Wampa who fights Luke really need a backstory and family? After reading this, I’d suggest no. “A Good Kiss” is sweet and satisfying, as a rebel cook has his day interrupted by the evacuation. The thing I liked about this was how we got glimpses of the rebel heroes, but we’re also reminded how many others would have been on Hoth, and it really reinforces the idea of a wider world outside Luke, Han and Leia.

“She Will Keep Them Warm” is similar to Hunger, in that it’s a story told from a creature’s POV, this being Han’s tauntaun. This was a good one, written well and leaving the reader feeling like they’ve just been punched in the gut. “A Naturalist on Hoth” felt weak, and by this point I was so eager to leave the snow and ice behind, this just feels forced. “Amara Kel’s Rules for Tie Pilot Survival (Probably)” is the next one I think was really solid, drawing you into the lives of tie fighters looking for rebels. Yes, it makes you feel for the ‘bad guys’, but it also shows how little choice many people have under The Empire.

“The First Lesson” felt unnecessary, squeezing us into the head of a character (Yoda, here) we’re already familiar with. Similar with “Disturbance”. “This Is No Cave”, on the other hand, is really gripping, a solid, interesting story, taking a small element of the film and giving it more depth. From there, the stories show us various scenes, building up to Cloud City. Some of these were fun and interesting, but there were too many in Dagobah and Cloud City, making both locations – like Hoth – feel like they overstayed their welcome. Especially in Cloud City, the stories become repetitive, and it shows too much that many of the stories weren’t actually pitched or considered with what they would be appearing alongside.

The last story, “The Whills Strike Back”, is a little funny and first, but ultimately felt forced and fell flat for me. A disappointing end to an anthology that could have been so much better.

Sadly I ended up dnf’ing this after about a third as I realised that my knowledge of the world as a casual fan of the franchise (watched the films a couple of times) was not enough to understand and appreciate the stories in the anthology. This especially combined with the wonky formatting of the arc on kindle which made it hard to tell when a new story starts, making them blend together.

Loved it! Some of my favorite fantasy/sci-fi writers and an original concept.
Even if I'm a not a huge fan of Start Wars I loved how this stories tells a part of the saga according to the different authors.
Not all the stories are at the same level but it was an enjoyable and gripping read.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Star Wars has been around for a long time - 44 years, to be precise. This anthology was released to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back. Star Wars has had its ups (KOTOR, the Timothy Zahn books, Rogue 1) and its downs (The Phantom Menace, the holiday special, George Lucas getting ideas) over the decades. This book was a refreshing dive back into classic Star Wars, and a welcome reminder of why the universe has been so huge for so long.


When I saw the tagline of “40 stories celebrating 40 years,” I expected an anthology in the traditional sense. That isn’t what we have here. This is actually a retelling of The Empire Strikes Back, but from … certain points of view. Han, Luke, and Leia are side characters in this anthology. It’s a big galaxy, after all, and the Rebellion is a lot more than just the three of them. The first story in this book is told from the perspective of the low-level Imperial Navy technician who, when reviewing footage from probe droids, flagged Hoth for her higher-ups as worth a closer look. The last story is told from the perspective of 2-1B, the medical droid who gave Luke his prosthetic hand. In between we get a whole range of perspectives, following along the story of Empire.


Some of the perspectives we get will be familiar to movie-watchers (Wedge, Boba Fett, Admiral Piett). Others might be familiar to fans who have delved into the expanded universe (Bossk, IG-88, Rae Sloane). Some were made out of whole cloth (Lando’s personal chef) or imagined from random extras in the film (the dude who cut between Han and Leia when they were arguing in the corridor of Echo Base). And some were simply startling (I’ll admit I never gave any thought to what the giant space slug’s thoughts on events were).


Some stories were heartbreaking, some were interesting, some were exciting, some were hilarious (I feel like if I had thought about it I would have realized that Echo Base would have been rife with will-they-or-won’t-they gossip about Han and Leia, but the idea of a betting pool? Genius!). None of them disappointed me.


The author list is impressive, and includes a number of /r/Fantasy favorites: Catherynne M. Valente, R.F. Kuang, Seth Dickinson, S.A. Chakraborty, Martha Wells, and Django Wexler, to name just a few. And a good chunk of the proceeds for this book go to charity, which is nice.


In the end, I think, the best praise I can give was that this book reminded me of just why the original trilogy is so awesome. It made me want to track down the similar anthology they released for A New Hope a couple of years ago, and keep my eyes open for the Return of the Jedi version they’ll presumably be releasing in a couple of years. In the meantime, I’ve got to go make popcorn and watch the movies.

When I read the first anthology, I knew I will be going for the others if I get the chance. I loved the idea of Star Wars seen from the POV of minor, unimportant characters, I especially hoped for more Stormtrooper (or better, imperial guard) POVs.

Unfortunately, even accounting for the fact that whatever anthology you take, not all the stories are going to be good, this one still felt lackluster in comparison.

My favourite stories were:

- A Naturalist on Hoth by Hank Green, which is exactly what the title says it is. I loved his compassion for the non-human species.
- The Final Order by Seth Dickinson: Just really well written.
- Amara Kel's Rules for Tie Pilot's Survival (Probably) by Django Wexler - it's hilarious, it has a good structure, and it's gay. What else could I want???
- There Is No Cave by Catherynne M. Valente, beautifully written (of course, it's Valente) and made me empathise with a space worm. Incredible.

Compared with the previous anthology, where I highlighted 11 stories, this is a lot fewer. Especially considering that I found most of the rest aggressively mediocre and unmemorable. Not all, there were a few 4s and 4.5s, but most. Structurally, the collection doesn't do that good of a job either. Far, far too much time is spent on Hoth and it felt like the story won't move on at all, then later on, it stalled again in Cloud City.

Is it because it's been a while since I saw the movie and my memory is hazy? Because I'm not as obsessively into Star Wars as I was then? Maybe. But I do feel like the first anthology had more...charm. In addition to the usual suspects, you had Yawas, you had multiple funny Stormtrooper stories, you had the alien with the long snoot, the cantina band, you had the fucking mouse droid. This is mostly just a lot of minor officers and in comparison it's...boring. I feel like they meld together a lot more.

However, I will probably still read the next one.

This is the second volume of an anniversary celebration set of short stories from various characters, some well known, some not, from the original classic trilogy, and puts all sorts of details into the light in the process of entertainment and also vastly enjoyable sci fi writing. I would once more say this is a must have for any Star Wars fan, young or old, because the stories are clever, absorbing, and paint a more details picture of the beloved galaxy far far away

I received an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited to find out this was a thing after really enjoying the first one, From a Certain Point of View: A New Hope. Some of the stories within this one were good but I definitely didn't like it as good as the first. I do like how both books so far in the series have made me come close to tears over the inner thoughts of the scary beasts.
Overall the star rating is 2.5 and I will pick up the third when it is released. I do recommend this series for anyone who loves the Star Wars fandom.