Part of the 'Journey To The Last Jedi' series of prequel books, 'Canto Bight' is an anthology of four novellas set in the seedy casino playground for the rich and corrupt. It's an enjoyable read, and is a better glimpse at goings on in the new location that is seen briefly in 'Star Wars: The Last Jedi'.
The first story, 'Rules of the Game' by Saladin Ahmed, tells the tale of Kedpin Shoklop, a vaporator salesman in town after winning the Salesman of the year. But straight away he's swindled out of his luggage and money before becoming a convenient mark for a hitman in town to complete a job. You kind of feel for Shoklop, as despite all the setbacks, his positive and optimistic attitude keeps him going, making the best of what is certainly a bad day!
The next tale, 'The Wine Of Dreams' by Mira Grant, involves Derla Pidys, a sommelier, in fact THE sommelier, the best wine merchant in the galaxy, in town to conduct a trade with the mysterious Grammus sisters. The deal is to be brokered in the exclusive nightclub owned by Ubialla Gheal, and when a client of Ubialla's forcibly requests her to obtain 'The Wine Of Dreams', things get a little bit messy.
The third novella, 'Hear Nothing, See Nothing, Say Nothing' by Rae Carson, has a renowned masseur and former assassin, Lexo Sooger, forced to get involved with corrupt politicians in order to find and save his adopted daughter.
The final story of the anthology, 'The Ride' by John Jackson Miller, features Kaljach Sonmi, a gambler who works the card tables in Canto Bight, but loses the money that is owed to a gangster and has to win the money back in one night! But his luck takes a turn when he meets three happy go lucky aliens, Dodi, Thodi and Wodi.
If you read these stories, aside from the fact that some of the characters were mentioned as aliens and from different planets, you wouldn't necessarily guess that they were set in the Star Wars Universe at all, they could easily have been set in somewhere like Las Vegas or Monte Carlo. They're just a set of stories with hardly any connection other than being based in one of the new locales. They are fun reads though, and I did enjoy the various adventures. I started the book before watching 'The Last Jedi' and finished it after, and the book does flesh out the casino city a bit more, detailing some of the inhabitants and underworld activities there, but ultimately it has no bearing on, or hints at what happens in the movie. And as a bonus, some of the characters featured in the stories also show up in 'The Last Jedi' Visual Dictionary book, giving you an idea of what they actually look like!
Its a good entertaining read and definitely worth picking up, but it's not a necessary read if you're wanting to pick up extra knowledge before watching 'The Last Jedi'.
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