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Death
Stars & Smugglers & Mercs, Oh My! The newest offering of short stories, "Tales from the New Republic," gives us a good fix to assuage that Zahn and Stackpole craving. |
Editors Peter Schweighofer and Craig Carey had the unenviable task of going through all the Star Wars Adventure Journals and culling the best stories from them to present in this volume. For the most part, I think they chose well.
However, "Tales from the New Republic" is a misnomer. Many of these stories seem to be set before the New Republic was even founded, and most of them revolve around Imperials or bounty hunters. Nevertheless, I enjoyed all the stories to one degree or another. Of all the "Tales" books, I think this ranks second behind "Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina." Let's take them one by one:
Interlude at Darkknell, by
Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole
This novella reminds us yet again why we love these authors. Who would have thought yet
another story about stealing the Death Star v1.0 plans would be so much fun? Zahn and
Stackpole take turns writing chapters in this 84-page story in which you get to see a
fledgling Ysanne Isard exercise her extreme brand of ruthlessness. Hal Horn (Corran's
daddy) also shines as a sharp CorSec officer, while Senator Garm Bel Iblis has his eyes
forcibly opened to the true nature of the Empire and must make some very hard decisions.
The book is worth the price just for this story alone. A+
Jade Solitaire by Timothy
Zahn
We've seen a lot of Mara Jade lately, but so far I'm not entirely sick of her. At least
there's one kick-butt female in the Jedi universe these days, which is more than I can say
for the celluloid facet of the SW Universe. Here Mara is at her most resourceful as she
tries to free a kidnapped heiress in exchange for the freedom of her friends. Talon Karrde
makes a cameo at the end, showing us just why it's such a bad idea to mess with
his people. This one's a keeper. A
Gathering Shadows by Kathy
Burdette
On Zelos II, a mercenary and a Rebel share a pitch-black cell deep within a hidden
Imperial base. They trade stories and grow fond of each other, then the mercenary's
friends come and they break out. I just couldn't get into this one; I didn't care about
the characters, and their story made precious little difference in the overall scheme of
things. Not a total waste, but not my favorite. D
Hutt and Seek by Chris
Cassidy and Tish Pahl
Uneasy human female partners Fen and Ghitsa, a Corellian smuggler and a counselor to the
Hutts, respectively, employ the Mistryl Shada D'ukal in an elaborate scheme to
double-cross a Hutt and free a cargo-load of Twi'lek slaves. Although I had a hard time
figuring out who was scheming whom, by the end I was grinning. Not too many folks could get
away with this kind of con. Worth a read. B
The Longest Fall by Patricia
A. Jackson
Jackson irked me by referring to the main character as "the young captain" for
the first four pages before finally giving us his name: Vharing. Why the coyness? The
title of the story refers to death -- the penalty for Imperial officers who make a
mistake. The bulk of this story contains nothing but the musings of our young captain as
he awaits an appointment where he's sure he'll be summarily executed. The rest is his
delirium as his brain slowly winks out. This is not even a story; it's a vignette ... and
a singularly boring one at that. F
Conflict of Interest by
Laurie Burns
This very short piece packs a wallop. Selby, a female undercover operative for the New
Republic, faces some tough choices and learns more than she wants to about the gray area
between right and wrong in her quest to wrest control of a bacta production facility away
from the Empire. Black or white, friend or foe, she reminds herself. But things
aren't always that clear cut. I like a story that makes me think. A-
No Disintegrations, Please by
Paul Danner
An old man called the Storyteller sits in a dried-up cantina telling stories to little
children. But this story happens to be true ... "a long forgotten tale of the
greatest bounty hunter who ever lived" and the one that got away. Any story that has
Boba Fett taking on an Imperial garrison single-handedly gets a good grade from me. A
Day of the Sepulchral Night
by Jean Rabe
For some reason we're again on Zelos II, this time with a couple of Weequay bounty hunters
on a romantic "vacation" who decide to follow a treasure map to an underwater
spot only accessible during a special eclipse. Alas, the best laid plans of mice and
Weequays .... Predictable, but somewhat entertaining. C
Uhl Eharl Khoehng by Patricia
A. Jackson
First, I must say I rankle whenever yet another Jedi or Dark Jedi turns up after the
purge. But this young Jedi woman, Fable Astin, is openly walking around with a lightsaber
and working for the Rebellion. Nope. I'm sorry. There's no way I can believe she would be
left alive considering her lack of skills. The title refers to a play she witnesses -- a
tragedy with a high body count. A hunch tells her to follow the lead actor, whom she
befriends. She discovers his father was an Imperial Inquisitor, a Jedi hunter, who has
faked his own death. The father then becomes her mentor and trains her to face the Dark
Jedi who nearly killed her before. The climax gets a bit confusing, as the last battle
seems to parallel the tragic events of the play. Convoluted, and too much for my
suspension of disbelief. D
The Last Hand by Paul Danner
Apparently the only game anybody plays in the Star Wars universe is sabacc. However, I did
enjoy this little tale of the naive kid who wants to win a big pot so he can buy a
black-market lightsaber and a legendary gambler who makes his dreams come true -- and then
some. Yes, another Jedi shows up in this one, but at least she's dead. An enjoyable bit of
fluff. B
Simple Tricks by Chris
Cassidy and Tish Pahl
Con artistes Fen and Ghitsa are back. This time they're stuck on a planet for repairs, and
Ghitsa gets the bright idea of impersonating a Jedi Knight. Her con is working -- until
one of Luke Skywalker's real students shows up. To say more would spoil it, but I
did like the way the authors gave us the "common man's" perspective on a pivotal
event from the Jedi Academy novels. Jedi tricks aren't simple at all. An entertaining
read. B+
(Toryn Farr knew everything about Star Wars back in 1977 thanks to Starlog Magazine. She's been trying to keep her know-it-all reputation ever since. During the 90 minutes per day her three-year-old is napping, Toryn attempts to run an internet design business and write fantasy fiction.)
