jayhall's review
3.0
Overall, a brilliant concept. Some of the stories just dragged on and on however, and some of the longer ones were so tedious that I had to stop reading. Others, however, were brilliantly written, adding a light that you never knew you wanted.
lastraroth's review against another edition
5.0
The Force is strong in this book!
There's a lot to say about this anthology, but I don't have the words. If your're a Star Wars fan... what are you waiting for go to get this book.
So many emotions, after 40 years... so many points of view with brand new information.
MTFBWYA.
There's a lot to say about this anthology, but I don't have the words. If your're a Star Wars fan... what are you waiting for go to get this book.
So many emotions, after 40 years... so many points of view with brand new information.
MTFBWYA.
catra121's review
4.0
This audiobook was really fun and entertaining. Was every story a winner...no...but there weren't any that I didnt like or wasnt entertained by. I love the full cast narration and the sound effects. I thought it was a lot of fun and I definitely want to check out the next in the series for the Empire Strikes Back.
esseastri's review
5.0
I honestly saw this book coming out and thought, 'okay, but why do we need ANOTHER retelling of ANH? haven't we had enough of them?' Turns out we were absolutely, 100% missing this one. It's by far the most interesting and refreshing retelling of the much-loved, oft-repeated Star Wars story we all know and love. These 39 stories (I hesitate to call Jeffery Brown's one-page, one-panel comic a story) were all incredibly well-done, crafted by authors who were clearly excited to be part of such a project, and who were lucky enough to write these stories for love--for love of the craft, for love of the content, for love of the characters...for love of the story, the story we all have heard so many times... A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....
There were only two of the stories that seemed completely irrelevant to the retelling in any way--Sabaa Tahir's "Reirin" and Zorida Cordova's "You Owe Me a Ride"--and even then, the latter of those served to flesh out the character of the galaxy we've delved into so many times over the 40 years it's been around. Some--like Rae Carson's "The Red One" and Pierce Brown's "Desert Son" gave us insight into characters we already knew and loved. Wonder no more what was going on in Biggs Darklighter's head when he heard Luke's voice so far from the twin suns of their home, or whether or not the little red R5 unit with the bad motivator was actually pivotal to the continuing survival of the Rebellion. Other stories introduced us to new players--DeConnick and Fraction's "The Kloo Horn Cantina Caper" gave that fuzzy alien with the proboscus a name (the Muftak), and "Grounded" by Greg Rucka reminded us that the ground crew of the Rebellion suffered just as much as the pilots who left them behind for the sky. And still others provided insight into just how much exactly was really going on in that Cantina in Mos Eisley (so many), where Lando was while his ship was preforming heroics under Han's guiding hand (Soule's "the Angle"), and just how heartwrenching it was for Obi-wan to get to talk to Qui-Gon and Yoda again (Claudia Grey's "Master and Apprentice").
I was particularly delighted when members of the extended universe canon popped up without warning--Doctor Aphra appeared in all her chaotic neutral glory ("The Trigger" by Kieron Gillen); John Jackson Miller's Sand Person chieftan A'Yark from the "Kenobi" book was a grounding presence in the desert ("Rites")--and any mention of Rogue One or the Battle of Scarif (and there were a lot) left me more emotional than it should have. I cried several times while reading various stories (I'm going to keep coming back to Claudia Grey's rendition of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan here--seriously, I died, it was beautiful), and I laughed at more. Even the ones that I was not particularly fond of were exceptionally well-written and drew me in for the time I was reading them.
There was really nothing about this book that I didn't like. It was the freshest take on a beloved, if worn-out, story that I've ever seen, and was a truly engaging and energetic read from cover to cover. I would dearly love to see someone who hasn't seen A New Hope enough times to have it memorized try to read this book...I'm so very curious as to how they would follow the story, what they would make of the characters, who and what they would find important or lovable or annoying. How they would react to the garbage monster getting her--yes, her--own chapter, or how much the destruction of Alderaan would affect them. I was bawling my eyes out, but I'd be so interested in seeing the reactions of someone a little less steeped in Star Wars lore than myself.
Ultimately, it was fantastic in every way. It truly was the most beautiful tribute to forty years of Star Wars, forty years of a princess with steel in her backbone, a sun-drenched farmboy, a scoundrel with the brightest heart of gold, and the galaxy they saved. I couldn't imagine a better tribute, nor would I want one. Simply put, it was perfect.
There were only two of the stories that seemed completely irrelevant to the retelling in any way--Sabaa Tahir's "Reirin" and Zorida Cordova's "You Owe Me a Ride"--and even then, the latter of those served to flesh out the character of the galaxy we've delved into so many times over the 40 years it's been around. Some--like Rae Carson's "The Red One" and Pierce Brown's "Desert Son" gave us insight into characters we already knew and loved. Wonder no more what was going on in Biggs Darklighter's head when he heard Luke's voice so far from the twin suns of their home, or whether or not the little red R5 unit with the bad motivator was actually pivotal to the continuing survival of the Rebellion. Other stories introduced us to new players--DeConnick and Fraction's "The Kloo Horn Cantina Caper" gave that fuzzy alien with the proboscus a name (the Muftak), and "Grounded" by Greg Rucka reminded us that the ground crew of the Rebellion suffered just as much as the pilots who left them behind for the sky. And still others provided insight into just how much exactly was really going on in that Cantina in Mos Eisley (so many), where Lando was while his ship was preforming heroics under Han's guiding hand (Soule's "the Angle"), and just how heartwrenching it was for Obi-wan to get to talk to Qui-Gon and Yoda again (Claudia Grey's "Master and Apprentice").
I was particularly delighted when members of the extended universe canon popped up without warning--Doctor Aphra appeared in all her chaotic neutral glory ("The Trigger" by Kieron Gillen); John Jackson Miller's Sand Person chieftan A'Yark from the "Kenobi" book was a grounding presence in the desert ("Rites")--and any mention of Rogue One or the Battle of Scarif (and there were a lot) left me more emotional than it should have. I cried several times while reading various stories (I'm going to keep coming back to Claudia Grey's rendition of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan here--seriously, I died, it was beautiful), and I laughed at more. Even the ones that I was not particularly fond of were exceptionally well-written and drew me in for the time I was reading them.
There was really nothing about this book that I didn't like. It was the freshest take on a beloved, if worn-out, story that I've ever seen, and was a truly engaging and energetic read from cover to cover. I would dearly love to see someone who hasn't seen A New Hope enough times to have it memorized try to read this book...I'm so very curious as to how they would follow the story, what they would make of the characters, who and what they would find important or lovable or annoying. How they would react to the garbage monster getting her--yes, her--own chapter, or how much the destruction of Alderaan would affect them. I was bawling my eyes out, but I'd be so interested in seeing the reactions of someone a little less steeped in Star Wars lore than myself.
Ultimately, it was fantastic in every way. It truly was the most beautiful tribute to forty years of Star Wars, forty years of a princess with steel in her backbone, a sun-drenched farmboy, a scoundrel with the brightest heart of gold, and the galaxy they saved. I couldn't imagine a better tribute, nor would I want one. Simply put, it was perfect.
alexandriam_rose's review
5.0
This was one of my favorite star wars book recently! Not every story is great or my favorite, but overall a very cool idea. (A whole story about a mouse droid!?) It basically tells the story of A New Hope through different perspectives and characters, but also adding new stories, content, and back stories. Some stories that I really liked were a bittersweet enjoyment because they added context that we didn't have before, making certain things so much more tragic!
kndacus's review
4.0
Cumulative rating based only on the stories I read (see list below): 3.5
I wish I could have rated this higher -- the concept of retelling the story of the original Star Wars film from peripheral characters is fascinating. But, unfortunately, it has a tendency to get bogged down in scenes that really don't need that many viewpoints, or with characters who really aren't interesting enough to care about. (There are so many stories set in the cantina scene that I thought we'd never get off Tatooine!)
For me, the two best stories were "Born in the Storm" by Daniel Jose Older, and "Eclipse" by Madeleine Roux. And the audiobook is the best way to experience these stories!
I didn't read all of the stories in the book---and several were DNFs for me (due to the above-mentioned extended layover at the cantina). So here's what I read and how I rated them:
Whitta, Gary – Raymus – 3
Golden, Christie – The Bucket – 3
Liu, Ken – The Sith of Datawork – 3.5
McElroy, Griffin – Stories in the Sand – 3
Tahir, Sabaa – Reirin – 2.5
Carson, Rae – The Red One – 3.5
Gray, Claudia – Master and Apprentice – 3.5
Cabot, Meg – Beru Whitsun Lars – 3.5
Ahdieh, Renee – The Luckless Rodian – 3.75
Older, Daniel Jose – Born in the Storm – 5
Revis, Beth – Fully Operational – 2.5
Ortberg, Mallory – An Incident Report – 3
Wein, Elizabeth – Change of Heart – 2
Roux, Madeleine – Eclipse – 4.5
Hidalgo, Pablo – Verge of Greatness – 3
For my reading challenge, this will count as Gary Whitta's "Raymus." I will find other titles by the other authors to include, as I count individual short stories in my reading challenge numbers, but GR doesn't let me break them out when they're in an anthology like From a Certain Point of View.
I wish I could have rated this higher -- the concept of retelling the story of the original Star Wars film from peripheral characters is fascinating. But, unfortunately, it has a tendency to get bogged down in scenes that really don't need that many viewpoints, or with characters who really aren't interesting enough to care about. (There are so many stories set in the cantina scene that I thought we'd never get off Tatooine!)
For me, the two best stories were "Born in the Storm" by Daniel Jose Older, and "Eclipse" by Madeleine Roux. And the audiobook is the best way to experience these stories!
I didn't read all of the stories in the book---and several were DNFs for me (due to the above-mentioned extended layover at the cantina). So here's what I read and how I rated them:
Whitta, Gary – Raymus – 3
Golden, Christie – The Bucket – 3
Liu, Ken – The Sith of Datawork – 3.5
McElroy, Griffin – Stories in the Sand – 3
Tahir, Sabaa – Reirin – 2.5
Carson, Rae – The Red One – 3.5
Gray, Claudia – Master and Apprentice – 3.5
Cabot, Meg – Beru Whitsun Lars – 3.5
Ahdieh, Renee – The Luckless Rodian – 3.75
Older, Daniel Jose – Born in the Storm – 5
Revis, Beth – Fully Operational – 2.5
Ortberg, Mallory – An Incident Report – 3
Wein, Elizabeth – Change of Heart – 2
Roux, Madeleine – Eclipse – 4.5
Hidalgo, Pablo – Verge of Greatness – 3
For my reading challenge, this will count as Gary Whitta's "Raymus." I will find other titles by the other authors to include, as I count individual short stories in my reading challenge numbers, but GR doesn't let me break them out when they're in an anthology like From a Certain Point of View.
perseyfriend's review
4.0
A mixed bag of stories, but many gems in the bag. I loved Nnedi Okorafor's story of the creature that lives in the trash compactor. I also enjoyed the stories intersecting at the cantina, fleshing out what we only know as scum and villainy in the film. Time of Death by Cavan Scott and Contingency Plan by Alexander Freed were poignant and enriched the world for me. I'm not a big reader of Star Wars stuff, but really enjoyed this collection and looking forward to reading the Empire collection next!
njsmith91's review
4.0
Entertaining read. Comprised of forty short stories, the book aims to explore the plot of A New Hope from different perspectives (primarily side characters and other voices you otherwise would not have heard.) A read of this can potentially enhance any future viewing of Ep IV, because you'll see a wide cast of side characters have a fully fleshed idea of who they are in mind. Loved the exploration of different personalities in the Cantina (always wanted to read a book on that).