Book Review: Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View (A New Hope)

 

From a Certain Point of View is a collection of short stories set during A New Hope, but told from the perspective of characters that were ancillary and/or in the background of the various scenes. For example, the first story is told from the point of view of Raymus Antillies who was the officer on board Princess Leia's ship whom Darth Vader kills after he comes aboard looking for the Death Star plans. There is also a story from the point of view of the droid with the bad motivator that allows R2 to be purchased by Owen and a story from the point of view of one of the Jawas. We also get a story from the point of view of the stormtroopers who got mind-tricked by Obi-Wan, and a couple of stories set inside the cantina. There are also stories that include Qui-Gon (appearing as a force ghost to Obi-Wan) and Palpatine after Vader informs him of Obi-Wan's death.

The book is very entertaining. Some of the stories are better than others, but I would not say that there are any bad stories among the bunch. Of course, none of the stories change the plot of A New Hope but do flesh out the story a bit. It will appeal to most Star Wars fans, but will probably appeal the most to the people in their 40s and 50s who grew up on the original trilogy. The book is almost 500 pages long, and the stories vary in length. On the whole, it is a fairly easy read, although some of the stories are easier to get through than others. I definitely recommend it.