Published: November 10, 2020
Publisher: Del Rey
Authors: Tom Angleberger, Sarwat Chadda, S.A. Chakraborty, Mike Chen, Adam Christopher, Katie Cook, Zoraida Córdova, Delilah S. Dawson, Tracy Deonn, Seth Dickinson, Alexander Freed, Jason Fry, Christie Golden, Hank Green, Rob Hart, Lydia Kang, Michael Kogge, R. F. Kuang, C. B. Lee, Mackenzi Lee, John Jackson Miller, Michael Moreci, Daniel José Older, Mark Oshiro, Amy Ratcliffe, Beth Revis, Lilliam Rivera, Cavan Scott, Emily Skrutskie, Karen Strong, Anne Toole, Catherynne M. Valente, Austin Walker, Martha Wells, Django Wexler, Kiersten White, Gary Whitta, Brittany N. Williams, Charles Yu, Jim Zub
Illustrator: Chris Trevas
Formats: Hardback (576 pages), Audiobook (17 hours 59 minutes), eBooks (576 pages)
The synopsis;
Celebrate the legacy of The Empire Strikes Back with this exciting reimagining of the timeless film featuring new perspectives from 40 acclaimed authors.
On May 21, 1980, Star Wars became a true saga with the release of The Empire Strikes Back. In honor of the 40th anniversary, 40 storytellers recreate an iconic scene from The Empire Strikes Back through the eyes of a supporting character, from heroes and villains, to droids and creatures. From a Certain Point of View features contributions by best-selling authors and trendsetting artists.
All participating authors have generously forgone any compensation for their stories. Instead, their proceeds will be donated to First Book – a leading non-profit that provides new books, learning materials, and other essentials to educators and organisations serving children in need. To further celebrate the launch of this book and both companies’ longstanding relationships with First Book, Penguin Random House will donate $100,000 to First Book and Disney/Lucasfilm will donate 100,000 children’s books – valued at $1,000,000 – to support First Book and their mission of providing equal access to quality education.
The review;
With the release of From a Certain Point of View to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Star Wars: A New Hope, fans have been begging for The Empire Strikes Back to be celebrated in the same way. In November 2020, our wishes came true and what a book we have been given.
Like its predecessor, this book just delivers from the outset. Each story carefully crafted with some humour and completely different perspectives. The one thing that I did like was the number of new authors given to join the creatives for this book alongside established writers and a returning Star Wars authoring legend.
Among those new names is Michael Moreci and I wanted to give him a special mention. The Jedi News literature team have been huge fans of Moreci’s for some time now and it was great to see him added to the roster after waiting in the wings. His storytelling has been in comic book format for the Star Wars galaxy, although he has numerous novels to his name. His story showed his understanding and knowledge and I hope it is not too long before he gets his own first Star Wars novel.
I was very surprised by the stories that grabbed my attention the most. While the stories from Cavan Scott, Delilah S. Dawson, Gary Whitta, Amy Ratcliffe, Adam Christopher all stood out, I have been able to whittle a list of favourites down to 5.
Rendezvous Point by Jason Fry
Renowned for many reference books and the novelisation of The Last Jedi, Fry is no stranger to Star Wars literature. A great tale from within the Rebel Fleet that have successfully escaped Hoth but are waiting for the rest of their comrades to regroup with them. The story plays on the nervousness of the Rebels waiting for Princess Leia to turn up to guide them.
Amara Kel’s Rules for TIE Fighter Pilot Survival (Probably) by Django Wexler
Now this was a story that had a dark humour that appealed to me. We’ve all heard about the fabled lack of shields to allow for more pace with TIE Fighters, but this showed the mind set required to survive piloting the Imperial Fleet’s dependable first line of attack. Wexler really did make me smile while reading his story.
Lord Vader Will See You Now by John Jackson Miller
The return of the literary legend that is John Jackson Miller! Miller has been prolific for many years in a galaxy far far away, and this story just shows how talented and important a contributor he is. The choice of Rae Sloane as his main character of his story was inspired. A tale of the internal workings of the Imperial Fleet during the search for the Millennium Falcon in the asteroid field. It highlights her brilliance, but also the failures and errors in judgement by others in Imperial command.
Wait For it by Zoraida Córdova
This is the point where I will be accused of bias. Yes, this is a story about Boba Fett, and I was surprised this storyline was given to Zoraida Córdova. That is not meant in a derogatory way, but she absolute smashed it. She captures the cunningness of Fett perfectly and it effortlessly ties in with what we have come to expect of his character from his recent re-emergence in series 2 of The Mandalorian.
Faith in an Old Friend by Brittany M. Williams
For her first foray into Star Wars, Williams did an amazing job! There really had to be a story about the Millennium Falcon’s droid brains and the infamous hyperdrive deactivation. Of course, this also reintroduces us to L3-37. The idea used back in Solo: A Star Wars Story links in so perfectly with the events of Empire. It’s the first time we get to hear C-3PO talk about the Millennium Falcon’s droid brains dialect and somehow it came across as temperamental. This marries V5-T, ED-4 and L3-37 to become The Collective, who look after the Falcon. Williams really captures the snarky side to Elthree’s personality, by calling Han “flyboy” and when Lando boards the Falcon.
To say I found favourites was no easy task. Each time I reopen the book to my notes, I look back and think about which stories I will reread or listen to in the car on my way to work. That is a testament to the talent assembled for the book. For that reason, there is so much for everyone!
Another commendable part of this release is the generous decision for the contributing authors to waive their personal remuneration for their stories and have it donated to the charity First Book. The charity does some amazing work in getting books to under privileged children and a worthwhile cause.
The first book was a going to be a tough act to follow, but this really has delivered. A fantastic book with such diverse and wonderful storytelling. I’m already looking forward to the 40th anniversary of Return of the Jedi for the next book in the series.
The gallery below shows the story cards that were released from Del Rey to announce the story titles and their authors.
Availability;
From a Certain Point of View – The Empire Strikes Back is published by Del Rey and is available now online including Amazon UK and Amazon US and all good high street bookstores.
