From a Certain Point of View

The Empire Strikes Back (Star Wars)

By: Seth Dickinson, Hank Green, R. F. Kuang, Martha Wells, Kiersten White

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Sean Elias-Reyes, Dion Graham, Jon Hamm, January LaVoy, Soneela Nankani, Marc Thompson, Sam Witwer, Emily Woo Zeller

Brought to you by Penguin.

Celebrate the legacy of The Empire Strikes Back with this exciting reimagining of the timeless film featuring new perspectives from forty acclaimed authors.

On May 21, 1980, Star Wars became a true saga with the release of The Empire Strikes Back. In honor of the fortieth anniversary, forty storytellers re-create 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 bestselling authors and trendsetting artists:

Austin Walker explores the unlikely partnership of bounty hunters Dengar and IG-88 as they pursue Han Solo.
Hank Green chronicles the life of a naturalist caring for tauntauns on the frozen world of Hoth.
Tracy Deonn delves into the dark heart of the Dagobah cave where Luke confronts a terrifying vision.
Martha Wells reveals the world of the Ugnaught clans who dwell in the depths of Cloud City.
Mark Oshiro recounts the wampa's tragic tale of loss and survival.
Seth Dickinson interrogates the cost of serving a ruthless empire aboard the bridge of a doomed Imperial starship.

Plus more hilarious, heartbreaking, and astonishing tales from:
Tom Angleberger, Sarwat Chadda, S.A. Chakraborty, Mike Chen, Adam Christopher, Katie Cook, Zoraida Córdova, Delilah S. Dawson, Alexander Freed, Jason Fry, Christie Golden, Rob Hart, Lydia Kang, Michael Kogge, R. F. Kuang, C. B. Lee, Mackenzi Lee, John Jackson Miller, Michael Moreci, Daniel José Older, Amy Ratcliffe, Beth Revis, Lilliam Rivera, Cavan Scott, Emily Skrutskie, Karen Strong, Anne Toole, Catherynne M. Valente, Django Wexler, Kiersten White, Gary Whitta, Brittany N. Williams, Charles Yu, Jim Zub

All participating authors have generously forgone any compensation for their stories. Instead, their proceeds will be donated to First Book-a leading nonprofit that provides new books, learning materials, and other essentials to educators and organizations 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.

(P) Penguin Audio 2020

Critic reviews

Fantastic collection of stories

One of the best Star Wars books released this year[...] With a range of styles and characters, there's a lot here to talk about. The From A Certain Point of View series, tied around the 40th anniversary of each movie, continues to be a fun event and a way to see Star Wars takes from some of today's top authors. If you liked the A New Hope installment, you'll get a lot of bang for your buck from the second book.

If you love Star Wars then this book is for you. I personally can't wait for the Return of the Jedi edition... an excellent Christmas/Hannukah gift for any Star Wars fan out there.

Absolutely recommend it ... the work that has gone into this is outstanding ... the selection of authors is wonderful, diverse, a lot of different voices to be heard

Mixed Bag

This collection of short stories is a good addition to Episode V. Some are great, others - boring. Some are hilarious, others - sad. Some provide important insights to the original story, while others are of no relevance at all. There is a strong trend towards diversity and the boundaries are pushed way further than in Ross Kemp's Lords of the Sith. I would not recommend it to the youngest Star Wars fans.

The narrators are great, there is suitable background music and the usual sound effects. However, the lack of cooperation between the different stakeholders is disappointing. Male narrators perform Princess Lea, while female - Darth Vader.

A let down compared to the first.

While the stories were all well written, it was filled with so many stories about characters who didn't even appear on screen, and we're uninteresting, while some characters who did appear on screen, such as Lobot, did not get their own story, and would have been more interesting.

Disappointing

I should’ve listened to the reviews.

I enjoyed the first one. But this was disappointing.

I finished most of the book,but then I couldn’t take it any more.

Most of the short stories weren’t engaging or needed. Some where downright confusing. I didn’t know when or why this particular story needed to be told.

There were a few hidden gems. But it doesn’t justify buying the book.

My advice is to buy this book only if you’re a big SW fan, while it’s on sale and to listen to top reviewed stories.