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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good book that explores lots of minor characters, June 9, 2001
This review is from: Star Wars: Tales from the Empire (Mass Market Paperback)
First of all, this was a good, entertaining book. Not great, but good. Most of the stories tie in some way into the "mainstream" Star Wars universe, and even those that don't still make sense. I would not however, recommend this to someone who is not well versed in the "Expanded Universe" of Star Wars, but if you have read most of the books than this one is certainly a jewel. Though I think the title is somewhat misplaced, (most of the stories take place long after the the Empire has fallen.) besides that I have no real complaints. The stories are: First Contact: My favorite, tells how Mara Jade hooked up with Talon Karrde. Tinnian on Trial: A spoiled rich girl quickly becomes a hardened fighter when her family is murdered by the Empire. The Final Exit: Yet another smuggler's confused encounter with a Jedi Knight of old. Missed Chance: A Corran Horn story taking place before he was in Rogue Squadron. Retreat from Coruscant: During Dark Empire a mail cargo captain is trapped on Coruscant during the Emperial invasion. A Certain Point of View: A young woman with Imperial upbringing meets up with an old love, but has a change of heart when she finds out his true loyalties. Blaze if Glory: A somewhat confusing story about a group of smugglers. Slaying Dragons: An interesting depiction of what it might have been like for an ordinary imperial family, and the effect the war had on them. Do No Harm: A Rebel doctor is forced to break his oath to do no harm in order to save one of his patients. Side Trip:(four parts) This long but fascinating story is a collaboration between the two best Star Wars authors, Timothy Zahn, and Michael Stackpole. Anyway, this book is highly recommendable if you know your Star Wars. Good for fans of any age.
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Yes they are from the Empire (well, sort of), November 5, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Star Wars: Tales from the Empire (Mass Market Paperback)
To the reader who said that the title Tales From the Empire was incorrect let me debate that by outlining all the stories and their tone. First Contact-not really uplifting or depressing, just a nice piece of history, but the death at the end lends a tragic tone. Do No Harm-Sure the good guys com out on top, but only by warping the mind of a nice innocent doctor. A festering wound of a story but still nice. Retreat from Coruscant-this would seem to have an uplifting ending until you remember that the New Repubilic just abandoned Coruscant to the destruction and chaos we saw in Dark Empire. Not exactly the stuff of children's slumber. Missed Chance-this is one of the two stories that has the good guys win with no cost. It serves as a very nice change of pace. Slaying Dragons-this has a supposed uplifting ending as we fly into the sunset to go slay some dragons. It is so uplifting that it is also the worst story in the bunch. A Certain Point of View-this is the third-best story because of the severely melancholy tone. Read it in a house with all the lights off on a rainy Saturday afternoon for the best effect. Stalemate. Excellent. The Final Exit-sort of happy ending. The guy was a Dark Jedi after all. I'm not going to break down in tears but not going to break into majestic song either. Blaze of Glory-the second best story. The good guys winn but at what cost. Side Trip-the best story. Not really depressing but Rebels, smugglers and Corsec agents are put through the hoops by our Mandalorian armored friend. (Not who you think) It ends with the Imperials building up to a smash to the Rebels on Derra IV, I think. From this we can see that all the stories are basically depressing. These are not tales from the physical Empire but tales from the spirit and the attitude fostered by the Empire. The feelings of gloom, despair and grief. These capture the dark downheartening feel of TESB better than just about anything. That is why they are tales from the Empire. If I missed any, forgive me.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mix of good and bad stories not particularly connected to the Empire, July 18, 2007
This review is from: Star Wars: Tales from the Empire (Mass Market Paperback)
Unlike the short story collections centered around the Mos Eisley Cantina, Episode V's bounty hunters, and Jabba's Palace, Tales from the Empire does not present content written specifically for a book. Rather, these stories are compiled from the Star Wars Adventure Journal, a periodical published in the 1990's by RPG licensee West End Games. For the most part, the authors are not from the usual gang of Bantam Spectra suspects, with the exceptions of Timothy Zahn, Kathy Tyers, and Michael Stackpole. When the Star Wars Adventure Journal began publication, they wanted a New York Times-bestselling author for the launch issue. Zahn had already completed the outstandingly successful Thrawn Trilogy and had no plans to write more in the Expanded Universe. Happily, the magazine's editor persuaded him to offer up some fresh content exclusive to the journal. Conversely, Stackpole's X-wing: Rogue Squadron had yet to be published, so his short story contribution acted as a preview for the novel to come.
Zahn's solo contribution "First Contact" tells us of how the former Emperor's Hand Mara Jade came to be in the service of rogue Talon Karrde. Talon is a well-written character and it's enjoyable to see him on one of his earlier adventures. Mara doesn't come into the story much but as always, Zahn provides an intriguing plotline, even in the brief length of this tale.
Stackpole's tale "Missed Chance" introduces former CorSec officer Corran Horn and his faithful astromech Whistler. Corran is stranded on the planet Garqi and is spearheading a scheme to simultaneously get away and damage the local representatives of the Empire. Tyers continues the saga of her character Tynian, introduced in Tales of the Bounty Hunters, with an origin story detailing the circumstances that led her to her life as a gun-for-hire and rogue.
The final story of the novel is an interesting collaboration between Stackpole and Zahn. Titled "Side Trip," the story is split into four parts (two for each author) and it more of a novella than a short story. Fan favorite Grand Admiral Thrawn is featured, along with Corran Horn once again. The labyrinthine plot has Zahn's stamp all over, and the twists and turns are good fun.
The other authors have a wide range of backgrounds and the quality of the stories is equally varied. Two that stood out are Laurie Burns' "Retreat from Coruscant" and "Do No Harm" by Erin Endom. Burns places her story right before the Empire's re-taking of Coruscant (the starting point of the famous Dark Horse comic saga Dark Empire). It involves two mail couriers swept up in the action as the New Republic attempts to evacuate the planet and move their operations to a new base. This time period would be fertile ground for a future novel. Endom's story is a first-person perspective of a medic sent along on a Rebel strike mission and learning of the horrors of warfare first-hand.
The other tales are largely solid and well-written. One which didn't hold up so well is Patricia Jackson's "The Final Exit," a story of a Dark Jedi's past which suffers from being severely over-written and a bit pretentious. It's OK to use the word "said" once in a while when a character speaks! In this story, everyone whispers, chuckles, grins, replies, demands, spits, blurts - there are so many descriptions it became a distraction to me. Using more neutral language allows the reader to interject some of their own interpretation of mood and tone, which makes for a more compelling reading experience.
Tales from the Empire is a solid if not particularly vital piece of the Expanded Universe; recommended for someone looking for a change of pace from the usual characters or someone wanting to learn more about Zahn and Stackpole's key characters.
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