Book #31 of 2018:
Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View edited by Elizabeth Schaefer
In honor of the 40th anniversary of the first Star Wars movie, this book presents 40 short stories retelling the events of that film from the perspective of various minor characters — from Jawas to stormtroopers to the thing in the trash compactor. Some include scenes lifted straight from the movie; others offer plots that have purportedly been playing out in its background this whole time. These vignettes are brief, but the writers are talented, and the project as a whole carries a certain ludicrous joy. (My personal favorite contribution is Daniel Mallory Ortberg’s “An Incident Report,” in which an imperial officer files paperwork regarding the time his coworker Force-choked him during a staff meeting.)
The stories in this collection correlate roughly with the timeline of A New Hope, but they’re packed full of clever references to the rest of the Star Wars canon as well. It’s a labor of love for fans by fans, and the 40+ authors are all donating their share of the proceeds to the First Book children’s literacy nonprofit. Highly recommended for any lover of this franchise.
★★★★☆
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