A review by esseastri
From a Certain Point of View, by Elizabeth Schaefer
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.