mickb's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
kandicez's review
5.0
This is another one of those "gems" that put you right in Lucas' world, without advancing the saga at all. You get a better grasp of the settings, the people, aliens, cultures, everything that makes the galaxy far, far away, so accessible to us in this one!!!
jessisquirrel's review
Some of the stories were great but not all of them really hooked me.
geraldine's review
3.0
repetitive, but has its good moments. also has its bad moments.
malloc eating a dead rat while naked and sitting on the floor of his shower is iconic
if shada d'ukal isn't a lesbian, timothy zahn owes me $300,000
malloc eating a dead rat while naked and sitting on the floor of his shower is iconic
if shada d'ukal isn't a lesbian, timothy zahn owes me $300,000
twilliamson's review
3.0
In 1995, Kevin J. Anderson edited the first anthology of Star Wars short fiction, featuring characters from the Mos Eisley Cantina scene from the original film. Here, a number of well-known science fiction authors--many of whom worked with Lucasfilm to craft their own novels set in the Star Wars universe--give life to the diasporic characters seen in the background. The stories are as varied as one might imagine, from atmospheric noir to unconventional time-warping science fiction.
The stories are all of fairly similar quality, with only one or two truly standout entries. My favorite two stories, "Drawing the Maps of Peace" (which is a remarkably good Western) and "One Last Night in the Mos Eisley Cantina" (which serves up a delectable slice of ethereal science-fiction), don't appear until the end of the anthology, but the stories are surprisingly interconnected and fit together well tonally.
Nevertheless, because this anthology is so heavily focused on one particular scene set in Mos Eisley, every single one of the narratives can feel like they start to slog when it comes to the cantina scene. Having to read the fight between Luke and Evazan and then see Ben Kenobi swing a lightsaber 16 times in one anthology is just too much. These narrative hiccups keep many of the stories from really ramping up into their own weird and exciting conclusions.
That said, there's a lot of richness to this first anthology, and I wish more Star Wars fiction focused on the regular folk inhabiting the greater universe of the franchise. Though I won't likely remember most of the stories in this anthology, I think the book still delivers some of my absolute favorite Star Wars to date.
Just... don't show me that fucking cantina scene ever again, please.
The stories are all of fairly similar quality, with only one or two truly standout entries. My favorite two stories, "Drawing the Maps of Peace" (which is a remarkably good Western) and "One Last Night in the Mos Eisley Cantina" (which serves up a delectable slice of ethereal science-fiction), don't appear until the end of the anthology, but the stories are surprisingly interconnected and fit together well tonally.
Nevertheless, because this anthology is so heavily focused on one particular scene set in Mos Eisley, every single one of the narratives can feel like they start to slog when it comes to the cantina scene. Having to read the fight between Luke and Evazan and then see Ben Kenobi swing a lightsaber 16 times in one anthology is just too much. These narrative hiccups keep many of the stories from really ramping up into their own weird and exciting conclusions.
That said, there's a lot of richness to this first anthology, and I wish more Star Wars fiction focused on the regular folk inhabiting the greater universe of the franchise. Though I won't likely remember most of the stories in this anthology, I think the book still delivers some of my absolute favorite Star Wars to date.
Just... don't show me that fucking cantina scene ever again, please.
vexx's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
fast-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
4.25
colinmcev's review
3.0
One of my absolute favorite things about Star Wars is how rich and expansive its fictional universe really is. This is a story that doesn't simply end when the movies are over; there is seemingly endless potential to build upon these characters, places, and storylines. I remember watching Star Wars for the first time as a kid and wanting to know the back story of every single alien in the background at the places like Mos Eisley Cantina and Jabba the Hutt's palace. And thanks to the Expanded Universe (regardless of whether the new movies have rendered them non-canon or not) and books like these, characters who had only a few seconds of screen-time are able to come alive, adding further richness to the Star Wars universe.
That's why, even though most of the individual stories are not as well written as such novels as such Star Wars novels as Heir to the Empire or Jedi Search, I have a soft spot for books like Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina. Watching the movie, who would have thought that the Hammerhead-looking alien briefly seen in the background is an exiled priest struggling to preserve his pacifism amid a violent galaxy? Or that the guy with the devil horns is a music-loving fugitive who committed war atrocities on his home world? Or that the wolfman and snake-looking creature are actually lovers whose romance would lead them to roles in every major battle in the original trilogy of Star Wars films?
Not every story is a winner, of course. The tale that casts Dr. Evazan (the scar-faced man who picks a bar fight with Luke Skywalker, only to get lightsabered by Obi-Wan Kenobi) as some sort of grotesque mad scientist is a bit too goofy for me. But several of these stories build upon the Star Wars galaxy in quite unique ways.
For example, the story in which a moisture farmer futilely attempts to make peace with his neighboring Jawas and Sand People shows how the galactic Star Wars conflict affects local planetary politics in a way the larger novels could never dedicate time toward. And the portrayal of Davin Felth, the stormtrooper who proclaims "Look sir, droids!" in the film, being a stormtrooper wrestling with a crisis of conscience is an interesting take on the otherwise faceless bad guys, coming two decades before similar themes would play into Finn's back story in the Force Awakens film. (There are also several delightful WTF moments in this book, like the macabre nature of the pipe-smoking Dannik Jerriko character, and key ingredient bartender Wuher ultimately discovers to make his perfect drink.)
I personally prefer Tales from Jabba's Palace a bit more (although I haven't read that one since my childhood) if only because the setting is a bit more interesting for me than the Cantina. Nevertheless, Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina is likely to satisfy Star Wars lovers who are looking for more stories from this fantastic fictional universe.
That's why, even though most of the individual stories are not as well written as such novels as such Star Wars novels as Heir to the Empire or Jedi Search, I have a soft spot for books like Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina. Watching the movie, who would have thought that the Hammerhead-looking alien briefly seen in the background is an exiled priest struggling to preserve his pacifism amid a violent galaxy? Or that the guy with the devil horns is a music-loving fugitive who committed war atrocities on his home world? Or that the wolfman and snake-looking creature are actually lovers whose romance would lead them to roles in every major battle in the original trilogy of Star Wars films?
Not every story is a winner, of course. The tale that casts Dr. Evazan (the scar-faced man who picks a bar fight with Luke Skywalker, only to get lightsabered by Obi-Wan Kenobi) as some sort of grotesque mad scientist is a bit too goofy for me. But several of these stories build upon the Star Wars galaxy in quite unique ways.
For example, the story in which a moisture farmer futilely attempts to make peace with his neighboring Jawas and Sand People shows how the galactic Star Wars conflict affects local planetary politics in a way the larger novels could never dedicate time toward. And the portrayal of Davin Felth, the stormtrooper who proclaims "Look sir, droids!" in the film, being a stormtrooper wrestling with a crisis of conscience is an interesting take on the otherwise faceless bad guys, coming two decades before similar themes would play into Finn's back story in the Force Awakens film. (There are also several delightful WTF moments in this book, like the macabre nature of the pipe-smoking Dannik Jerriko character, and key ingredient bartender Wuher ultimately discovers to make his perfect drink.)
I personally prefer Tales from Jabba's Palace a bit more (although I haven't read that one since my childhood) if only because the setting is a bit more interesting for me than the Cantina. Nevertheless, Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina is likely to satisfy Star Wars lovers who are looking for more stories from this fantastic fictional universe.
srreid's review against another edition
3.0
A mixture of characters and their varied stories, all tied together by the most famous cantina in the Star Wars univese. It does get a little tedious that every story had to include the Kenobi fight or Han Solo shooting Greedo. A few of the stories intermingle with each other while others are more stand alone. Overall the stories are not too bad and give further insights into the lives of the various individuals who frequent the cantina, i'd have given this one more star if the stories hadnt all included the same scene, even if it is shown from different viewpoints, getting it 16 times is beyond dull.
m_e_ruzak's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5