Book Review: Star Wars Return of the Jedi: From a Certain Point of View, Anthology

So let me get this out of the way first. I bought the first two "From a Certain Point of View" books at the Star Wars Launch Bay in Hollywood Studios. I was looking forward to doing the same with the latest one; the Launch Bay had just re-opened from the pandemic before our last trip to Disney World, so I was eager to pick it up; unfortunately Launch Bay was only open for pictures (although they've got some cool exhibits inside of it too - check it out if you get a chance). But never fear - we took our first-ever family trip to Disneyland earlier this month - surely I could find a copy there! I checked every store I could find - the Batuu stores, the Star Tours store, the Tomorrowland stores, the main Disney stores, the Star Wars store in Downtown Disney - nothing. It wasn't so long ago that just about every store in Disney had at least a couple of books (that's how I ended up reading a 500 page Captain Jack Sparrow adventure for adults - true story!). But I guess books aren't great money-makers because apparently (checks notes) people don't read anymore. Hmmph!

Anyway, this is the only book in the series that I read on the Kindle (and yes, I know I could have picked it up at Barnes & Noble, and no, it wouldn't have been the same!).

If you're not familiar with the series, the "From a Certain Point of View" books take the people (used loosely)/events from the original trilogy (AND LET'S KEEP IT THAT WAY) and give 40 authors (since they're published on the 40th anniversary of their respective movies) the chance to write 40 tangential short stories, breathing even more life into the storytelling.

I'm not sure how much direction is given to the authors - there has to be enough to cover the major events, but sometimes it seems like stories can just about overlap (in this book, for example, there are two stories about the throne room scene - there are also two stories specifically about the Executor crashing into the Death Star). The stories can sometimes be a bit repetitive too - in the first book alone we found out that both the R5 unit that the Jawas tried to sell to the Lars family AND the dianoga garbage monster were BOTH Force sensitive.

I'm also not sure how canon the events should be considered (although everything can be considered canon...FROM A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW!!!! Okay I'll stop.) or how much canon needs to influence the stories. For example, the planet Sullust, where Nien Nunb is from, was apparently where the Rebellion was hiding out prior to the Death Star attack. It was mentioned in a couple of stories, but none of them mentioned its distinct geographic feature - because the sunlight of its star is deadly, the entire Sullustan civilization is within one giant-size cave. Not being mentioned doesn't mean it doesn't exist within the stories, but you'd think it would be mentioned somewhere (note: I'm a huge fan of Sullust!). This could be important (note: not actually important) because the first book includes a story describing how Obi Wan was able to disappear during his fight with Vader and become a Force ghost. This book also includes a story of how Vader re-appeared as Anakin on the moon of Endor - if that story is supposed to be canon, that's the last we'll see of him.

Anyway, these books rule, this one just as hard. Yes, with the afore-mentioned caveats the book can be a bit shaggy, it seems like it takes forever to get off of Jabba's sail barge, and not all the stories work (the one on Max Rebo, for example, should have been awesome but just kept dragging on and on). But the ones that do are amazing! Some of the highlights include:

• What Vader meant when he said the Death Star needed to be "fully operational"

• The story of a bird reacting to Yoda's death

• What happened to the Storm Troopers that were captured by the Ewoks

• The story of the one Ewok we saw die in the movie

• What was going through the Emperor's mind during the throne room scene

The last few stories go a bit beyond the movie, as they discuss the aftermath (and tie into Aftermath!) of the next few days, with the final story being the entry into the Journal of the Whills (and if you don't know what that is...you probably have an active social life).

I think this is an enjoyable book no matter who you are, although there are Easter eggs for Aftermath, the Prequels, the Ewok movies, Rebels, the High Republic, and even the now-"Legends" comics. I don't think you HAVE to know those to enjoy the book, with one exception - one of the last stories concerns Dexter, they guy who owned the diner in Attack of the Clones (UGGGHHH!!!!) and throughout the story he kept mentioning that his interaction with a kid on another planet was the reason that the whole Galactic Civil War took place - I have no idea what interaction that is or where it's from (I suppose it might have happened in Attack of the Clones but I'm not going back to check).

Anyway, the mark of a good book is that you're sad when it's over, and I've got the feelings right now. Nine out of ten hot dogs (at least from the Star Wars fan point of view). May the Force be with you!