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cellardoor10's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable stories of Canto Bight, aka Las Vegas in space. Underworld, gangsters, gambling, and glitz all take the main stage here. The stories lightly align with each other, which is fun to track as we go. Example: in story 1, a bar is closed unexpectedly. In a later story, we see exactly why. Some characters appear in multiple stories, etc.
I both enjoyed and disliked the audiobook production. It's fun to hear little snippets, but to have the spa music playing under an entire chapter, for example, was a little much for me.
Overall fun, if a touch forgettable.
I both enjoyed and disliked the audiobook production. It's fun to hear little snippets, but to have the spa music playing under an entire chapter, for example, was a little much for me.
Overall fun, if a touch forgettable.
morgcxn's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Most of these were fine, but something about them was missing.
isabellarobinson7's review against another edition
2.0
Rating: 2 stars
On principle, I should not have read this. I am trying my best to ignore the fact that J.J. Abrams exists, and with him all the damage he did to the Star Wars franchise (and Star Trek, for that matter). I just hope that one day I can wake up in a universe where the only modern Star Wars TV show we get is Andor, and the last Star Wars movie made was Rogue One. Anyway, on to the mini reviews:
Rules of the Game by Saladin Ahmed
This one is meh. Naive dude gets duped, but then duper is kind of nice. It was too quick and neither character felt like they embodied the archetype they were supposed to. I don't want this to sound rude or anything, but in my opinion this was not the best story to start the collection on, because it was by far the weakest. It's still better than anything J.J. Abrams has made, but the bar is in literal hell there, so not much of a compliment.
The Wine in Dreams by Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire)
There is this wine that it just so damn good that it makes everyone lose their minds with how great it is, but the winemakers are very particular as to who they sell it to. This boss lady wants the fancy wine and she wants it A LOT so she sends her "servant" (who is, for all intents and purposes, a slave) to negotiate with the seller ladies and get the wine at all costs. Though I have tried for many years, I don't really like wine, so it was hard for me to picture these people's intense desire. I mean if it was chocolate or especially ice cream then I would understand, but sour grape juice...? Either way, this story was pretty good, though I honestly expected more from a big name author like Seanan McGuire.
Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing by Rae Carson
A single dad is a masseuse and he loves his adoptive daughter a lot. His daughter gets captured by some dudes and the dad will do anything to get her back, even if it means leaning back on skills he had acquired in a previous life... This was probably the best story in the collection. It has the heart and actual proper emotional beats that a lot of modern SW lacks (take notes J.J.), even if they weren't always the strongest. Nonetheless, the attempt was made, and it moderately succeeded.
The Ride by John Jackson Miller
This guy is a compulsive gambler, and he finds these alien dudes who he thinks are good luck when they are apart but bad when they are together (or it might be the other way around, I just finished this story and I've already forgotten). Shenanigans ensue. I can think of no better explanation. This one is totally a screwball comedy in a sci fi setting. In fact, on premise, it sounds like something Connie Willis would write (though I would argue Willis would execute it better, but that's just my bias speaking).
In terms of how this all relates to The Last Jedi... I honestly cannot comment on because I have not watched that movie in years. I saw it in the theatre like everyone else, and then I rewatched it when the abomination that is The Rise of Skywalker came out, but I haven't (intentionally) seen a frame of it since. I just remember that the throne room scene was cool and Rey's parents being nobodies was a nice change from the regular Star Wars formulauntil that idea was retconned and we got the Palpatine nonsense in TRoS. And yes, I am still salty that The Last Jedi has a higher IMDb score than both Darth Maul Movie and Jedi Mullet Movie. That fact alone proves that site is not trustworthy.
On principle, I should not have read this. I am trying my best to ignore the fact that J.J. Abrams exists, and with him all the damage he did to the Star Wars franchise (and Star Trek, for that matter). I just hope that one day I can wake up in a universe where the only modern Star Wars TV show we get is Andor, and the last Star Wars movie made was Rogue One. Anyway, on to the mini reviews:
Rules of the Game by Saladin Ahmed
This one is meh. Naive dude gets duped, but then duper is kind of nice. It was too quick and neither character felt like they embodied the archetype they were supposed to. I don't want this to sound rude or anything, but in my opinion this was not the best story to start the collection on, because it was by far the weakest. It's still better than anything J.J. Abrams has made, but the bar is in literal hell there, so not much of a compliment.
The Wine in Dreams by Mira Grant (aka Seanan McGuire)
There is this wine that it just so damn good that it makes everyone lose their minds with how great it is, but the winemakers are very particular as to who they sell it to. This boss lady wants the fancy wine and she wants it A LOT so she sends her "servant" (who is, for all intents and purposes, a slave) to negotiate with the seller ladies and get the wine at all costs. Though I have tried for many years, I don't really like wine, so it was hard for me to picture these people's intense desire. I mean if it was chocolate or especially ice cream then I would understand, but sour grape juice...? Either way, this story was pretty good, though I honestly expected more from a big name author like Seanan McGuire.
Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing by Rae Carson
A single dad is a masseuse and he loves his adoptive daughter a lot. His daughter gets captured by some dudes and the dad will do anything to get her back, even if it means leaning back on skills he had acquired in a previous life... This was probably the best story in the collection. It has the heart and actual proper emotional beats that a lot of modern SW lacks (take notes J.J.), even if they weren't always the strongest. Nonetheless, the attempt was made, and it moderately succeeded.
The Ride by John Jackson Miller
This guy is a compulsive gambler, and he finds these alien dudes who he thinks are good luck when they are apart but bad when they are together (or it might be the other way around, I just finished this story and I've already forgotten). Shenanigans ensue. I can think of no better explanation. This one is totally a screwball comedy in a sci fi setting. In fact, on premise, it sounds like something Connie Willis would write (though I would argue Willis would execute it better, but that's just my bias speaking).
In terms of how this all relates to The Last Jedi... I honestly cannot comment on because I have not watched that movie in years. I saw it in the theatre like everyone else, and then I rewatched it when the abomination that is The Rise of Skywalker came out, but I haven't (intentionally) seen a frame of it since. I just remember that the throne room scene was cool and Rey's parents being nobodies was a nice change from the regular Star Wars formula
impla77's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
3.5
Fun little vignettes, though perhaps i shouldve looked up what the aliens looked like because i couldn’t really picture them. My favourite story was the wine one, but all were enjoyable to read.
lesserjoke's review against another edition
3.0
Four loosely connected Star Wars novellas, all set in the decadent casino city from The Last Jedi. They're generally solid but unremarkable little sci-fi action tales, entertaining but adding little to our understanding of Canto Bight beyond what's in the movie. The only real stand-out is Mira Grant's "Wine of Dreams" for its meditations on the power of stories and a truly alien perspective that's surprisingly uncommon in Star Wars. As a whole, though, the book can feel a bit predictable and repetitive.
gothamvorona's review against another edition
3.0
Alright so this was a great audiobook, not so great book itself. I know it’s supposed to be like Monaco but for me it came off more like Las Vegas. Both may or maybe not be the same but I’ve never been to Monaco.
I was really excited about this anthology just because I like to get more more of the planets and such within Star Wars. It did give you a feeling for how this planet/city is but to me it was missing something.
I think the actual short stories were a little too long and so it seemed to drag on. I saw a few reviews saying that it didn’t make this place fantastical at all which I disagree. Places like this always look so pretty on the outside and everyone wants to go but the exterior is just a facade to corruption, greed, trafficking, etc. I think these authors showed it perfectly. It gave you fantastical while also making it seem realistic. A man is almost killed because he’s a naive tourist, people get swindled out of their life’s work, gambling and addiction are shown, heartbreak and tough decisions are made constantly.
The order in which I enjoyed the stories from best to worst is as follows:
1. Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing
2. Rules of the Game
3. The Wine in Dreams
4. The Ride
Each gave something different and a lot bough they didn’t converge together you could still see some overlap. I highly recommend the audiobook and think you should give it a shot if you are interested in it.
I was really excited about this anthology just because I like to get more more of the planets and such within Star Wars. It did give you a feeling for how this planet/city is but to me it was missing something.
I think the actual short stories were a little too long and so it seemed to drag on. I saw a few reviews saying that it didn’t make this place fantastical at all which I disagree. Places like this always look so pretty on the outside and everyone wants to go but the exterior is just a facade to corruption, greed, trafficking, etc. I think these authors showed it perfectly. It gave you fantastical while also making it seem realistic. A man is almost killed because he’s a naive tourist, people get swindled out of their life’s work, gambling and addiction are shown, heartbreak and tough decisions are made constantly.
The order in which I enjoyed the stories from best to worst is as follows:
1. Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing
2. Rules of the Game
3. The Wine in Dreams
4. The Ride
Each gave something different and a lot bough they didn’t converge together you could still see some overlap. I highly recommend the audiobook and think you should give it a shot if you are interested in it.
xyranys's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
alexandriam_rose's review against another edition
3.0
this won me over by the last short story/novella even though they are all separate. Wasn't as into the first story and The Wine in Dreams i think was my favorite of the four.
odin45mp's review against another edition
3.0
This was a decent bit of tie-in fiction. I loved the stories by Mira Grant and John Jackson Miller, which are very different in tone and not your standard Star Wars fare, but work beautifully with the backdrop of Canto Bight.
Saladin Ahmed's story was okay but stretched things a bit for me, with just how gullible one of his main characters was set up to be. Miller's story also stretched credulity but with its subject matter it worked for me in a way that Ahmed's story didn't quite work. Which is a pity because I enjoyed the other main character and a lot of his dialogue.
Rae Carson's story was okay but didn't really grab me. It sinks into the background for me like several of the stories in the old Tales From... anthologies.
Worth a read if you want more worldbuilding that ties with The Last Jedi, but you can read this without having seen the movie, or vice versa, and not miss much, unlike the previous anthologies which since I had seen the Original Trilogy countless times by the time they had come out I can't separate the stories from the movie scenes in my head. Maybe for a future Star Wars fan who has seen The Last Jedi twenty plus times and then reads Canto Bight it will meld together for them. For me, I don't think it will, but time will tell.
Saladin Ahmed's story was okay but stretched things a bit for me, with just how gullible one of his main characters was set up to be. Miller's story also stretched credulity but with its subject matter it worked for me in a way that Ahmed's story didn't quite work. Which is a pity because I enjoyed the other main character and a lot of his dialogue.
Rae Carson's story was okay but didn't really grab me. It sinks into the background for me like several of the stories in the old Tales From... anthologies.
Worth a read if you want more worldbuilding that ties with The Last Jedi, but you can read this without having seen the movie, or vice versa, and not miss much, unlike the previous anthologies which since I had seen the Original Trilogy countless times by the time they had come out I can't separate the stories from the movie scenes in my head. Maybe for a future Star Wars fan who has seen The Last Jedi twenty plus times and then reads Canto Bight it will meld together for them. For me, I don't think it will, but time will tell.