From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back (Star Wars)

By: Seth Dickinson, Hank Green, R. F. Kuang, Martha Wells, Kiersten White

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Sean Kenin Elias-Reyes, Dion Graham, Jon Hamm, January LaVoy, Soneela Nankani, Marc Thompson, Sam Witwer, Emily Woo Zeller

Celebrate the legacy of The Empire Strikes Back with this exciting reimagining of the timeless film featuring new perspectives from 40 acclaimed authors.

On May 21, 1980, Star Wars became a true saga with the release of The Empire Strikes Back. In honor of the 40th anniversary, 40 storytellers recreate an iconic scene from The Empire Strikes Back through the eyes of a supporting character, from heroes and villains, to droids and creatures. From a Certain Point of View features contributions by best-selling authors and trendsetting artists:

• Austin Walker explores the unlikely partnership of bounty hunters Dengar and IG-88 as they pursue Han Solo.
• Hank Green chronicles the life of a naturalist caring for tauntauns on the frozen world of Hoth.
• Tracy Deonn delves into the dark heart of the Dagobah cave where Luke confronts a terrifying vision.
• Martha Wells reveals the world of the Ugnaught clans who dwell in the depths of Cloud City.
• Mark Oshiro recounts the wampa’s tragic tale of loss and survival.
• Seth Dickinson interrogates the cost of serving a ruthless empire aboard the bridge of a doomed Imperial starship.

Plus more hilarious, heartbreaking, and astonishing tales from:

Tom Angleberger, S.A. Chakraborty, Mike Chen, Adam Christopher, Zoraida Córdova, Delilah S. Dawson, Alexander Freed, Jason Fry, Christie Golden, Rob Hart, E. K. Johnston, Lydia Kang, Michael Kogge, R.F. Kuang, C.B. Lee, Mackenzi Lee, John Jackson Miller, Michael Moreci, Daniel José Older, Amy Ratcliffe, Beth Revis, Lilliam Rivera, Cavan Scott, Emily Skrutskie, Karen Strong, Anne Toole, Catherynne M. Valente, Django Wexler, Kiersten White, Gary Whitta, Brittany N. Williams, Charles Yu, Jim Zub

All participating authors have generously forgone any compensation for their stories. Instead, their proceeds will be donated to First Book - a leading nonprofit that provides new books, learning materials, and other essentials to educators and organizations serving children in need. To further celebrate the launch of this book and both companies’ longstanding relationships with First Book, Penguin Random House will donate $100,000 to First Book, and Disney/Lucasfilm will donate 100,000 children’s books - valued at $1,000,000 - to support First Book and their mission of providing equal access to quality education.

Read by Jonathan Davis, Sean Kenin Elias-Reyes, Dion Graham, Jon Hamm, January LaVoy, Soneela Nankani, Marc Thompson, Sam Witwer, and Emily Woo Zeller.

©2020 Ballantine (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“An A+ list of today’s best sf/f writers explore the inner reaches of a galaxy far, far away, which is sure to appeal to sf readers and Star Wars fans alike.”—Booklist

The “scum and villainy” a highlight

A few years ago a Star Wars anthology novel called “From A Certain Point Of View” was released. Each segment detailed the stories and perspectives of background characters as well as old favorites as they passed in and out of the narrative of Star Wars: A New Hope. We got to learn things like how the band in the Mos Eisley cantina got their gig, why Greedo was so eager to kill and not capture Han, and even what it was like to be an imperial on the Death Star during its final moments. FACPOV had some misses to be sure, but on the whole it was a really fun and immersive deep dive into the world of A New Hope.
At long last we’ve been given the sequel novel and much like the original trilogy films I found The Empire Strikes back to be the superior entry. Where FACPOV: ANH was good this anthology is great. Nearly every story works and adds that little something extra to what I think is the best Star Wars film ever made. In all honesty however, I don’t think this is necessarily written for the casual Star Wars fan. You’ll need to be pretty familiar with the heroes, villains, rogues, scoundrels, and creatures of the Star Wars universe to get the most out of it.
These are really interesting stories that run the gamut from fun and frivolous to action-heavy and dark. I thought the entries dealing with the galaxy’s most dangerous bounty hunters were the most interesting and fun to read. There’s no shortage of scum and villainy in the Star Wars universe and these authors used them to incredible effect.

my review

thoroughly great and infinitely entertaining. i would totally recommend this book to my friendsandfamily. .

Star Wars At It’s Best

So, I finally finished this book. I liked it, I love the concept, did I like it as much as the first one? I don’t think so. As far As the concept goes, having the events of the story being retold through the eyes of another: Genius. There were a lot of good stories in this book. There were a few that were kind of eh, a little dragged out and kinda boring. But for the most part, it’s a Star Wars book so I enjoyed it. It wasn’t a 5 star but a very strong 4. If you’re reading this review and want my opinion, read this book. May the Force Be With You.

More Fun Stuff, Skip “Bespin Escape.”

I really am excited that this has been a new form of storytelling for the original trilogy. Unfortunately, like the New Hope version, there are some audio performances which are just impossible to listen to without hearing damage.

In “Bespin Escape,” we follow a clan of Ugnaughts debating how to leave. I don’t know what the director was thinking, because I can’t imagine this is how it’s written in the text. But literally every spoken sentence is prefaced by pig noises and squeals by the VA. And this story has a lot of dialogue.

A Fun Twist On A Classic

I really appreciate the unique way that From A Certain POV fleshes out background characters and fills in other details.

Fun for fans

Very enjoyable if you’re a lifelong fan. Creative spins on old story lines. May the force be with you.

I enjoyed it!

I really
Enjoy the telling of this story from other characters who witnessed it. It gives a depth to the saga that doesn’t otherwise exist. The only struggle I had with it was in the narration. The weight of so many angry voices was hard to take at some points. The voices of Bossk and the Ugnaughts were horribly irritating and I had to skip ahead on it. But the stories were interesting!

A story for the ages

Empire Strikes Back has been my favorite Star Wars story and being able to know other characters within point of veiw is truly amazing. The voice work that went into this novel is something else. It ties into other Star Wars stories like Rogue One, Solo, Rebels and 1-3 history. To anyone who only watched the film once and has became a fan with questions. This novel helps fill in many blanks. To all fans of Star Wars, trust me this worth your time.

Uninteresting and Disappointing

Nowhere near as good as the first “From a Certain Point of View”. This one was very disappointing. Too much unnecessary romance that went nowhere and added nothing to the stories. There was a handful of great chapters, but the rest were about uninteresting characters.

New and old faces alike, so many perspectives.

This was a fantastic listen as good as the first, so many good stories, I love the side stories featuring empire defectors and the hope that the rebels have.