Take a photo of a barcode or cover
46 reviews for:
Tales from Mos Eisley Cantina: Star Wars Legends
Kevin J. Anderson, Kevin J. Anderson
3.49 AVERAGE
46 reviews for:
Tales from Mos Eisley Cantina: Star Wars Legends
Kevin J. Anderson, Kevin J. Anderson
3.49 AVERAGE
I don't read a lot of short stories, and I don't read many collected anthologies, but I do read a lot of Star Wars, and since I've come this far into the project thus far, I powered on through this book. Like most anthologies, it's a mixed bag, with some stories being more impactful than others, but this one elevates itself a bit by being more than just a collection of stories.
Most of the stories in Tales are interconnected. Some are connected more than others (there's a pair smack in the middle of the book that couldn't exist without each other), and on the one hand, it's a little annoying, since I want my stories to stand well independently. Still, it's impressive to look at the stories as more than individual stories and view the effort that went into making all of them relate to each other.
Because this is a collection of stories featuring the characters in the Mos Eisley Cantina, it means we get to see that familiar scene over, and over, and over again, since that's the one moment that brings all these stories together. It's interesting to see the different perspectives on the scene (and I'm talking about the whole thing, from when Obi-Wan and Luke enter, to when Han leaves), but it does try one's patience.
We get some big-name characters here -- Greedo, Dr. Evazan, and Ponda Baba the largest of them -- but for the most part we learn about the tertiary characters who flash by only momentarily. The authors take the opportunity to add their own flair and detail to the Expanded Universe, not content just to tell us about what happened in the cantina. Instead, we get authors who create worlds and cultures and characters that last longer than just a momentary glance in a cool scene. They also delve into giving Tatooine further context, with a few of the stories talking about life on the planet and what it means.
My favorites of the bunch were the moisture farmer's tale by M. Shayne Bell, Greedo's tale by Tom and Martha Veitch, and "Nightlily" by Barbara Hambly. I also liked the story that concluded the anthology, which told about the Wolfman and the Lamproid, and was written by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. The rest were passable, with only one or two that didn't do a thing for me. For an anthology, that's a pretty good ratio. I like the conceit of the anthology best, and I'm hoping that the other books in the Tales series will follow this example.
Most of the stories in Tales are interconnected. Some are connected more than others (there's a pair smack in the middle of the book that couldn't exist without each other), and on the one hand, it's a little annoying, since I want my stories to stand well independently. Still, it's impressive to look at the stories as more than individual stories and view the effort that went into making all of them relate to each other.
Because this is a collection of stories featuring the characters in the Mos Eisley Cantina, it means we get to see that familiar scene over, and over, and over again, since that's the one moment that brings all these stories together. It's interesting to see the different perspectives on the scene (and I'm talking about the whole thing, from when Obi-Wan and Luke enter, to when Han leaves), but it does try one's patience.
We get some big-name characters here -- Greedo, Dr. Evazan, and Ponda Baba the largest of them -- but for the most part we learn about the tertiary characters who flash by only momentarily. The authors take the opportunity to add their own flair and detail to the Expanded Universe, not content just to tell us about what happened in the cantina. Instead, we get authors who create worlds and cultures and characters that last longer than just a momentary glance in a cool scene. They also delve into giving Tatooine further context, with a few of the stories talking about life on the planet and what it means.
My favorites of the bunch were the moisture farmer's tale by M. Shayne Bell, Greedo's tale by Tom and Martha Veitch, and "Nightlily" by Barbara Hambly. I also liked the story that concluded the anthology, which told about the Wolfman and the Lamproid, and was written by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. The rest were passable, with only one or two that didn't do a thing for me. For an anthology, that's a pretty good ratio. I like the conceit of the anthology best, and I'm hoping that the other books in the Tales series will follow this example.
Some fun stories, some sad ones, and some that genuinely...well, expand the universe. Give it a read and never watch A New Hope the same way again!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The idea is clever, but the execution is pretty mixed. I'm not sure any of the stories in this anthology were bad, exactly, but they didn't all feel like Star Wars. For every story that did feel like it was fleshing out some character seen in the cantina scene, there was one that felt like someone had just dusted off a vaguely sci-fi story idea they had floating around and inserted some Star Wars terms.
(No, I couldn't tell you what makes something feel or not feel like Star Wars. I just know it when I see it. Or don't.)
(No, I couldn't tell you what makes something feel or not feel like Star Wars. I just know it when I see it. Or don't.)