SWBC: All the stories in 'From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi'
Plus: Star Wars books and comics arriving in August.
A peek inside the stories in From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi
It’s finally August, which means it’s a new From a Certain Point of View month.
From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi drops on Aug. 29, collecting 40 short stories from 40 different authors. There are stories with fan-favorite characters like Max Rebo and Boba Fett as well as secondary and tertiary characters like the Sarlacc and the guy who gets kicked in the face by Luke Skywalker.
And this week, Random House Worlds/Del Rey teased all 40 stories by sharing titles and excerpts from each in a lengthy thread. Below is a list of all 40 authors, the titles of their respective stories, and who the story is about.
My top picks are in bold. And lucky for me, I have a digital ARC of FACPOV: Return of the Jedi sitting in my Kindle library just waiting for me to get started. A full review of the book will come closer to release day.
Amal El-Mohtar: “Any Work Worth Doing” — Moff Jerjerrod
Phil Szostak: “Fancy Man” — Max Rebo
Olivia Chadha: “The Key to Remembering” — EV-9D9
Kwame Mbalia: “Fortuna Favors the Bold” — Bib Fortuna
Thea Guanzon: “Dune Sea Songs of Salt and Moonlight” — prisoners at Jabba’s Palace
Saladin Ahmed: “The Plan” — Malakili, rancor caretaker
Tara Sim: “Reputation” — Boba Fett
K. Arsenault Rivera: “Kickback” — Sion, the guy who gets kicked by Luke Skywalker
Sarah Glenn Marsh: “Everyone’s a Critic” — Salacious B. Crumb
Kristin Baver: “Satisfaction” — Sy Snootles
Charlie Jane Anders: “My Mouth Never Closes” — the Sarlacc
Jason Fry: “Kernels and Husks” — Imperial advisers to Palpatine
Akemi Dawn Bowman: “The Light that Falls” — Dragonsnake on Dagobah
Alex Jennings: “From a Certain Point of View” — Obi-Wan Kenobi
Fran Wilde: “No Contingency” — Mon Mothma
Danny Lore: “The Burden of Leadership” — Lando Calrissian
Patricia A. Jackson: “Gone to the Winner’s Circle” — Scout troopers on Endor
Mary Kenney: “One Normal Day” — Wicket the Ewok
Paul Crilley: “Divine Intervention (?)” — More Ewoks
Suzanne Walker: “The Buy-In” — Norra Wexley
Max Gladstone: “The Man Who Captured Luke Skywalker” — Commander Igar
Jarrett J. Krosoczka: “Ackbar” — Comic
Marieke Nijkamp: “The Impossible Flight of Ash Angels” — Arvel Crynyd, Green Leader who flew his ship into the bridge of the Executor
Hannah Whitten: “Ending Protocol” — Riz, stormtrooper
Ali Hazelwood: “The Last Flight” — Sila Kott, Red Three
Lamar Giles: “Twenty and Out” — Corr, Death Star gunner
Sarah Kuhn: “The Ballad of Nanta” — Ewok
Olivia Blake: “Then Fall, Sidious” — Palpatine/Darth Sidious
Sean Williams: “Impact” — Crew on the Executor moments before it crashed into the Death Star
Laura Pohl: “Trooper Trouble” — Unhappy trooper on the Death Star
Dana Schwartz: “To the Last” — Admiral Piett aboard the Executor
Gloria Chao: “The Emperor’s Red Guards” — Palpatine’s Royal Guards
Alyssa Wong: “Wolf Trap” — Scout trooper attacked by Ewoks
M.K. England: “The Extra Five Percent” — X-Wing pilot before attacking the Death Star
Emma Mieko Candon: “When Fire Marked the Sky” — Wedge Antilles
Danielle Page: “The Chronicler” — Rebellion historian
Adam Lance Garcia: “The Veteran” — Somehow, Dexter Jettster returned
Mike Chen: “Brotherhood” — Becoming Anakin Skywalker again
Adam Christopher: “The Steadfast Soldier” — Enric Pryde in his younger years
Tom Angleberger: “Return of the Whills” — Guardian of the Whills
Which stories are you most excited about? Let me know in the comments!
Star Wars books and comics arriving this month: August 2023
There’s never a dull moment in new Star Wars books, and this month is no different.
My top picks for this month include From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi, of course, plus another wave of Essential Legends books with beautiful new covers.
Star Wars books and comics out this week
Aug. 2
Hyperspace Stories #7
Yoda #10
Dark Droids #1
Looking ahead: Star Wars books coming the rest of the year
September
The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life (Sept. 5)
October
Crimson Climb (Oct. 10)
Essential Legends Collection (Oct. 24)
The Old Republic: Annihilation
Republic Commando: True Colors
The Courtship of Princess Leia
I, Jedi
November
The Eye of Darkness (Nov. 14)
July reading wrapup
I had a decent reading month in July, though a read fewer books than I normally do — five instead of seven or eight.
But July was also the month I read one of my new favorite Star Wars books of all time — Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade. I also finally started the Red Rising series and Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere books (I’m almost done with Mistborn).
The Rebel King: ⭐⭐⭐ — I wanted to like this sequel to The Dark King more. But it was full of missed opportunities to flesh out its urban fantasy/paranormal fae-filled world. Love the romance and spice, though.
Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — A masterpiece in dark Star Wars storytelling with fascinating and heartbreaking perspectives of the Clone Wars, Order 66, and the rise of the Inquisitors.
Red Rising: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ — The only reason I didn’t give this 5 stars is because I got a bit confused with the dense military/political strategy in the middle. But holy hell, I get it now. On to Golden Son!
Zodiac Academy 4: Shadow Princess: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ — Are these well-written, well-paced books with solid world-building and complexity? No. Will I keep reading them as palette cleansers and literary junk food? Yes. This one was my favorite so far because there was actual character growth and maturity instead of cringy childish bullying.
Bonded by Thorns: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ — Now this is how you do a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Perfectly sweet and spicy with an excellent balance of romantic tropes and original world-building.
What were the best books you read in July? Let me know in the comments!
I agree with your picks in bold, but I'm just excited for every short story in that collection, especially those by authors whose other SW works I've read.
Really looking forward to the new From a Certain Point of View. Has Norra been retconned into ROTJ like Captain Rex?