Reviews

From a Certain Point of View by Elizabeth Schaefer

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wintrovia's review against another edition

4.0

An enjoyable way to re-experience the first Star Wars film from an eclectic variety of perspectives. The quality of the 40 little stories varies but averages out around very good. This book would be of no interest to anyone that wasn't a fan but there's loads of interesting little bits for people that love the film.

marisacarpico's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Relieved to finally finish this. A real mixed bag that became more of a slog as it went on. Some of these I loved because they were written by creators I loved. Some were too wrapped up in lore or too knowing or simply too incidental.

Been a few years, but some stand out. One early on about erasing droid memories has stuck with me. One near the end told from the perspective of that tentacled beast from the trash pit that was surprisingly moving. Perhaps worked best when the story gave us a particularly unique writing style. The overarching plot of New Hope gives this a larger overall thrust, but the references to lore felt a little too clever more often than not. A lot of nostalgia jerking off.

Still, a worthwhile read for any fan of the series, but lineage will vary.

madelinerossell's review against another edition

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4.0

There's a few lackluster short stories, but other than that, this collection is a refreshing take on a story we know and love so well!!

revisins's review against another edition

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4.0

Cute. Quaint. Fun. Little unbalanced. I would like some full blown novels/novellas from this series. I'd also like this take used on Empire and Jedi.

marieintheraw's review against another edition

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4.0

There were quite a few wonderful stories in this collection. It really is a good way to try a bunch of different authors out.

camelotskeep's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

mikehuffman's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

It's a collection of Star wars short stories. It's fine.

char_lie's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

pendularium's review against another edition

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emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A

4.0

I’ve done a little mini review for each story, listed below.

Overall thoughts: on the whole this was a really good selection of short stories with a wonderfully vast range in terms of tone and style - there were some weaker areas and points where it felt like the same stories were getting repeated just in different fonts, but overall this gave a really good view of ANH from a certain point of view (geddit?). I would definitely recommend reading this out of order though.
I would especially recommend:
- Master and Apprentice
- Contingency Plan
- Of MSE-6 and Men

Raymus: good opener, enjoyed the look at members of Leia’s crew + direct aftermath of Rouge One. Sith more widely known about? This was good, I am just not personally that invested in this. 8/10
The Bucket: Not very subtle in talking about how stormtroopers are people too, otherwise fairly good; food for (fic) thought. The lack of subtly lets it down a lot, needed to be a bit longer I think; didn’t work well with space constraint. 6/10
The Sith of Datawork: oh bureaucracy my one true love. Funny look at the power of paperdatawork, as well as the internal functioning of an imperial ship. Funny, and enjoyable, but doesn’t make me go insane + not certain I’d say it lived up to its title. 8/10
Stories in the Sand: Jot the Jawa dreams of the stars; I love the Jawa lore, esp. about Tattooine & sand + a really well written look at longing for the skies that works well in the space it had. 10/10
Reirin:Sabaa Tahir really is out here doing that huh? Tusken Raider lore <3 + more generally a look at more of Tatoonine - especially an area that is woefully underserved in the films. Made me want to read more about Reirin the Raider, which I think is equally its only flaw. 9/10
The Red One: I can’t just keep saying ‘BRUH’. I really enjoyed this - droids are so cool & interesting, enjoyed this immensely. If I have one complaint it’s that R5’s motivations for helping R2 & his ability to do so seemed a bit contrived & needed a bit more time to be really compelling. 8/10
Rites: More Tusken lore <3 I would have liked this to examine itself a bit more, but I did really enjoy it & it closed the story really nicely. Not sure how big of a fan I am of the wording in the ending, but that’s my only gripe. 9/10
Master and Apprentice: Really beautifully written Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. Enjoyed some of the more metaphysical Force elements, Tatooine musings, and the reflection on bestie Obi-Wan. Had to stare at a wall for a little bit after this. Works really well in the space constraint. 11/10
Beru Whitesun Lars: I don’t really have a good explanation for this, just didn’t vibe with it. I like the concept (Beru looking back on raising Luke after death) but I think something (structurally) was causing some issues for me. 6/10
The Luckless Rodian: Eh. Same issue with the Beru story for me; I’m just not vibing with it that’s all. 6/10
Not For Nothing: Ickabel G’ont the queen herself. Reading this I had the cantina song in my head the whole time, which really added to the experiance. Anyway, fun, compelling, and fit really nicely into the format. 10/10
We Don’t Serve Their Kind Here: Eh. I like the concepts well enough - Clone Wars trauma is interesting & again, the day in the life idea that underpins this whole collection is really good, but I’m not a fan of the execution. I have a very limited tolerance for lots of ‘oooh space words’ and this one, unfortunately didn’t commit to the bit enough to make it work. Enjoyed the confirmation of space lesbians tho. 4/10
The Kloo Horn Cantina Caper: Fun look at the ner-do-wells of Tatooine. I don’t have a huge amount to say about it I liked this a lot. +1 for Luke being described as having flowing golden locks. Will also say, this is the one Tatooine ner-do-well one I would recommend. 9/10
Added Muscle: I don’t like the style of this one. Otherwise it was fine enough, and didn’t feel like it was too short or too long. 5/10
You Owe Me A Ride: This was good. We have been on Tatooine for quite a while now, but this was a good outside pov. Other than that I have no real feelings on this one, it felt a bit extraneous if anything. 6/10
The Secrets of Long Snoot: I really don’t have anything to say, other than the fact that there’s only so many variations of alien bounty hunters/ner-do-wells attempt to capture R2 & C3P0 or the Falcon you can read. Additionally nothing about this one really stuck out; I can understand the appeal of Added Muscle or You Owe Me A Ride (both have clear connections to popular characters, for one) but this one really felt like nothing, and unlike Reirin and Rites it didn’t display an interesting side of Tatooinian culture, for example. 5/10
Born In The Storm: The reveal at the end made the whole thing considerably better, but the dissonance between the concept of a report and the content of this short story did trip me up throughout reading it. Despite this, it was a good read and a good look at the life of an average stormtrooper. I will also say the final section felt like it had a different ‘voice’ to the rest though. 7/10
Laina: The moment I saw ‘Yavin’ I knew there was no way this wasn’t a sad one. Anyway, this one was really sweet, liked the interrogation (a bit) of the empires practises and how yon collaborators/bystanders allow your standard authoritarian dictatorship to grow and stand. I’m not a huge fan of how it was structured, but that’s my only gripe. 8/10
Fully Operational: I really enjoyed this one. Whatever it says about me, yes I am quite interested in the Imperial side of things. Well written and well structured, my only complaint is the ending - I don’t think it quite makes sense to be honest? The difference between the two (trying to be spoiler free here haha) is quite large & I think an effective comparison of the two would have required a lot more build up. 9/10
An Incident Report: This was amazing I am not sorry. Excellent use of the space, really good deployment of first person, felt very real. I especially enjoyed the outsiders look at the Force elements of it (oh religious diversity vs confirmed supernatural power my beloved). 10/10
Change Of Heart: Why must everyone remark upon both how young and delicate and beautiful Leia is? I think Carrie Fisher is hot too, but at a certain point it gets a bit weird. Also not huge fan of second person? This story did do it better than most, and narratively the stripping away of character and insertion of the reader works. Anyway, all that aside I liked this for the most part, just didn’t really vibe with it. 7/10
Eclipse: OUCH. I am in pain. Why would you do this? Just mean. 10/10
Verge Of Greatness: Really good, have some minor issues with the perspective changes and time jumps in terms of how they were handled, but boy oh boy I sure do love a good Tarkin moment. 9/10
Far Too Remote: This was a fun surprise. 10/10
The Trigger: Aphra moment I love Aphra. I hardly know her but what I do know of her I love <3. Good philosophy + post clone wars feelings, but her opinion on the Death Star seems to change wildly & without the weight of a significant amount of characterisation (space constraints) it feels a bit out of left field, so to speak. 8/10
Of MSE-6 and Men: hehehehehehehehehe. Even aside from the content (amazing showstopping never been done before) the style was really cool!- I loved the way the mouse droid saw the world, AFFIRMATIVE: beepbeep has been permanently lodged into my cranium. This was also just a funny story in general, and one that didn’t take itself too seriously - which was both a nice bit of levity after some fairly heavy ones, and a little bit of a tonal clash. 10/10
Bump: I fear I have located the Imperial version of the Tatooine Slog with this one. Otherwise, it’s pretty simple and imo not very interesting. 5/10
End of Watch: I don’t have a huge amount to say about this one; I enjoyed it and it worked very well in the space it had. Death Star logistics are also fun. 8/10
The Baptist: Force sensitive space octopus. Enjoyed it. Personally found motives of the Empire a little confusing here, but oh well. 8/10
Time of Death: Did I mention how much I dislike 1st person? There is a very interesting concept here - really this should have been one of the best of these, but I fear it was thoroughly fumbled. The writing feels quite stiff in the beginning (and is rather dull throughout), and the approach that is gone with (all time existing as one?) seems like it would have worked better visually rather than on paper in the way it was described. 5/10
There is Another: Really good - as it was a lot slower I maybe would have liked more of a sense of what Dagobah looks likes & Yoda’s relationship with it, but I did otherwise enjoy it. Can’t believe Obi-wan is responsible for taking Jedi Leia with a lightsaber from us smh. 8/10
Palpatine: Amazing. I really like the ones of these that play with form a bit - the levels of creativity allowed by the collection have resulted in some really fun ones (Of MSE-6 and Men, for example). Palpatine’s inner voice being a shit Shakespearean monologue (bestie HAS NOT read the bard since high school Space Hamlet) is absolutely amazing and I am fully incorporating this into my perception of him as a guy. 10/10
Sparks: Mixed feelings about this - enjoyed the rebel ‘somebody has to be a hero’ perspective, but I think the story was somewhat conflicted between that & the sparks. 7/10
Duty Roster: I have but one complaint about this, and that is the fact that Cole’s conflict with Wedge feels really out of nowhere - I think this would have held up just as well, if not slightly better, without it. 8/10
Desert Son: Ahh my old nemesis 1st person we meet again. Largely the same issues as with Time of Death, only I did like the description of the dogfighting. Will also say that the ending felt a bit forced (ha) - I get what it was going for, but I think it could have been done a bit more subtly. 6/10
Grounded: I really liked this one - managed to hit a lot of emotional notes despite my knowing what happens, and genuinely had good tension going on + a peek into the workings of the rebellion. 10/10
Contingency Plan: Sometimes you just come across something that makes you stare at a wall. I have so many emotions about Mon Mothma Jesus Christ. If you are only to read a single one of these, let it be this one. Works amazingly in the space and delivers the equivalent of an emotional Death Star beam. 11/10
The Angle: Lando Swagrizzian (that will age like milk). I like the idea behind this, and it was well executed, I just don’t have any particular interest in it & it felt a little extraneous tbh. 7/10
By Whatever Sun: Survivors of Alderaan angst, yes please. I like the ideas that this was going for - grief and celebration mixed together, but the decision to have Miara not actually be from Alderaan and thus spend the whole time thinking about a different planet is one I have mixed feelings about. 7/10
Whills: This was fun. I don’t think there’s a huge amount to be said about it tbh. 7/10

foureyebooks's review against another edition

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adventurous funny

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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