Book Review: 'Star Wars: From A Certain Point Of View'

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of 'Star Wars' with 40 short stories from 40 different authors, 'From A Certain Point Of View' retells the classic movie from the perspective of the background characters. From Captain Raymus Antilles aboard the Tantive IV, to shady goings on in Mos Eisley, through to happenings on the Death Star and the behind the scenes of the Rebel assault from Yavin IV.

The anthology starts off fun as it traverses the 'A New Hope' cinematic timeline, especially when it lingers in the Mos Eisley cantina, as it does for quite a few stories, but by the time the stories get to Yavin IV, they get a bit more serious in tone, as the stories focus on the pilots and ground crews of the Rebel Alliance during the attack on the Death Star, and some of the stories pack a strong emotional punch!

Standout favourites from the 40 short stories include, in no particular order:

• 'Master and Apprentice' by Claudia Gray; a short story about Qui-Gon Jinn appearing to Obi-Wan Kenobi in a moment of self doubt,
• 'The Kloo Horn Cantina Caper' by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Matt Fraction; a fun tale set in the Mos Eisley cantina,
• 'The Secrets Of Long Snoot' by Delilah S Dawson; about the informant who reports the Millennium Falcon docking bay to the Stormtroopers in Mos Eisley,
• 'The Trigger' by Kieron Gillen; a story featuring Doctor Aphra and her encounter with the Empire on Dantooine (as a big fan of the Aphra comic series, it was great to see her involved!),
• 'Desert Son' by Pierce Brown; Biggs Darklighter's perspective of the Rebel assault on the Death Star,
• 'Grounded' by Greg Rucka; the Battle of Yavin from the point of view of Nera Kase, head of the flight crews back at the Rebel Base on Yavin IV.

With 40 stories in the anthology, there was always the possibility of a few that didn't quite hit the mark for me, only a couple, but fortunately there are a lot more hits than misses for me.

Great to read some of the stories that fill in some of gaps of 'Star Wars', which I guess are now all classed as canon, such as why Wuher doesn't serve droids in the cantina, Bail and Breha Organa's last moments on Alderaan, why the stormtrooper banged his head on the door, how there's a dianoga in the trash compactor in the Death Star, and why Mon Mothma wasn't at Yavin IV.

If you're a fan of the 'Star Wars' films, like myself, then I'd recommend picking this up. It's a fun read with a different spin on the classic movie. I hope this does well and we get something similar with 'The Empire Strikes Back' and Return Of The Jedi' too.