Is it worth your time to dive into From a Certain Point of View, Star Wars fans? Aside from a few stories that don’t quite work, the answer is yes.
Yours truly has made no secret of how excited she’s been for From a Certain Point of View since the book’s official confirmation. Granted, 40 short stories may seem a little intimidating, but on the whole, there are some really high-quality pieces of Star Wars fiction in here.
In case you haven’t kept tabs on the book, the conceit here is that the book follows the path of Star Wars: A New Hope, but without telling the story from the perspectives of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa, Han Solo, or even Darth Vader. But there are characters who we do know that get their stories, and some we don’t know quite as well, too.
Perhaps the greatest fault (and the greatest strength) of From a Certain Point of View is that it follows the arc of A New Hope exactly. While reading along, don’t be surprised if you can actually picture the scenes in your head, or even hear the dialogue (because yes, some of the stories use specific dialogue from the film, as I have previously noted). But that also means that there are a lot of Tatooine stories.
If you like the Tusken Raiders and the denizens of the cantina, there’s a lot for you to like; if you’re ready to move on … well, you’ll just have to read a little faster, because there are multiple cantina stories. It bogs that section of the book down. Can we fault the writers for writing to dive into all the characters there? Probably not. It is a cool section of the movie, if brief.
Additionally, there is a lot of mention of Scarif or other plot points from a certain movie released last year in this book. In other words, the writers work hard to try and link Rogue One together to A New Hope just so we’re all very clear that the two movies actually feed right into each other. On one level, it makes a lot of sense, because From a Certain Point of View doesn’t ignore the Imperial side of things or the Rebellion, either. On another, it’s still a little pointed and obvious.
Frankly, some of the stories — Claudia Gray’s “Master and Apprentice” among them — actually prompted some deep emotional reactions while I read them. We’re talking being close to tears sometimes. It’s not just that the writing in those stories is particularly exquisite (though Gray’s, Pierce Brown’s “Desert Son,” Nnedi Okorafor’s “The Baptist,” Wil Wheaton’s “Laina”, and “The Red One” from Rae Carson are among the most emotional stories. Some of those I expected. Some of those I didn’t). It’s that their chosen subjects are particularly ripe for intriguing takes.
There’s still a lot of humor in this book, too, though, which helps balance it out. Sometimes it’s subtle. Sometimes it’s less so. I marked Charles Soule’s “The Angle” as one to watch out for, and it didn’t disappoint for its wry humor. There are a couple more stories that get funny, but I don’t want to spoil everything.
Next: Ahch-To is not that 'far, far away'
This is a book that you have to experience for yourself if you’re a Star Wars fan. Even if not all the stories quite worked for this reviewer, it’s impossible to deny that every writer felt very strongly about contributing to this project. It shows through in their writing. This is a book you could read slowly, story by story, or just consume in great big gulps, maybe even one sitting, like you would for A New Hope.