From a Certain POV: Empire Strikes Back - Part 2

[colls]

This month's book was From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back by various authors


1. Any favorites? Overall thoughts?

2. Was there a story you wanted that didn't make it to this anthology?

COMING UP NEXT
February: Rise of the Red Blade by Delilah S. Dawson
March: THEME: Film Novelization

Book & theme suggestions can be left on on this post

Comments

[brokenmnemonic]

I'm sorry for the slow response - work was definitely a thing that happened to me this week. I did enjoy this book, moreso than I'd expected. There are a few minor points that I'm not certain about, like how significant an installation Cloud City is/was; I had the impression that it'd managed to survive as an independent station for as long as it had because it wasn't a big enough operation for the Empire to take an interest in, but a couple of the stories mentioned it being a very significant trade hub in the region. If that's the case, then I have to admire Lando's talents for getting him into the position of being in charge, but it makes me wonder why the Empire didn't come for it sooner.

Are you surprised that one of my favourite stories is the one where we learn why the Falcon has such an unusual dialect? It seemed very apt that the story fell so closely in the timeline with the story about oppressed workers in Cloud City looking to unionise.

Another of my favourite stories that's also droid-related is the last in the volume, where we get to see Luke's internal conflict over his replacement hand, and learn about the medical droids - and the way that the Jedi are still a part of living memory for some of them. I really liked that. Little connections back to the Republic era are very much my thing.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the story about the dark side tree, and its interactions with Yoda. Learning about how and why it came to be what it is was quietly fascinating, and at the same time seeing Yoda's doubts but also the way he was able to use that place in a positive way was something that really stuck with me. It feels like there's no way there could ever be another Yoda.

More generally, I liked that it felt like there was more LGBTQIA+ representation in this anthology than the previous one. I'm not sure how intentional that was, but I thought it was nice to see. My favourite of those stories was the one featuring the two TIE pilots, but I've found I've been thinking about the story in which a shuttle explosion is faked using Tibanna gas canisters. It was one of a few stories where we see Imperial officers acting in ways that distinguish them the on-screen stereotypes, but it felt different to other stories like the Stormtooper who tried to help Leia and the others escape because I find myself wondering whether that Imperial officer would've done the same if it wasn't her lover aboard the ship. And I like that the story doesn't really let me make a clear decision either way.

[colls]

I hope work goes smoother for you soon.

Droid-adjacent stories and Starship/Falcon are always the best ;)

I loved the story about the tree - it was so unexpected and random and it was nice to see a different side of Yoda that we usually don't see. And I do like seeing Imperial officers who are conflicted about the Empire or outside the box of what we expect. I like it better when they defect or sabotage from within.

The last story about the Whills was rather silly, but it was a good note to end on I think.