A Certain Point of View
Obi-Wan : So, what I told you was true… from a certain point of view.
Luke Skywalker : A certain point of view?
Obi-Wan : Luke, you’re going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.
This 2017 novel approaches the timeframe around Star Wars: A New Hope from 40 different points of view. The characters in the stories range from rebels to imperials, droids to scavengers, and scoundrels to bounty hunters. This is my spoiler-free review of Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View.
Concept
There are 40 short stories in this book. They appear in chronological order through the movie, though their stories may span decades of history. Most of them are about unknown or lesser known characters, but main characters also appear.
You can read Darth Sidious gloat in iambic pentameter over the death of Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan also gets a POV story, after his death. Lando Calrissian learns of the destruction of the Death Star. Mon Mothma plans for the worst. Grand Moff Tarkin reflects on his greatness. Yoda gets distracted.
There’s a log from a droid from the Death Star which recounts something of a love story. A Jawa plans his great escape to the stars. A stormtrooper searches for Princess Leia.
You get the idea. While some of the stories felt a little skippable, they were all short enough I never tired of reading them.
My Favorite Stories in From a Certain Point of View
Several stories stood out as anything but skippable. I liked these so much I’m still thinking of them days later.
The Sith of Datawork by Ken Liu
Do you remember in the movie how they didn’t shoot the escape pods with the droids over Tatooine? The Imperial who made that decision rushes to find a way to hide his mistake, and uses a brilliant desk jockey named Arvira to cover his tracks with paperwork. This story explains why he didn’t shoot at them, too, which was nice. It felt a little like Dilbert.
An Incident Report by Daniel Lavery
In more paperwork fun, Admiral Motti files an incident report after Darth Vader Force-choked him for having confidence in the Death Star. I have to admit, his report does make several good points regarding the unprofessionalism of the Sith Lord. It also has the political angle one would expect from a high ranking minion of evil.
Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray
This is the author of my recently reviewed Lost Stars novel and also authored a novel with the title Master and Apprentice. This follows the Force ghost of Qui-Gon as he interacts with Obi-Wan at the start of A New Hope. This was sad yet hopeful.
Beru Whitesun Lars by Meg Cabot
Now we get really into the feels with a post-death POV story from Luke’s aunt. I’m not sure what to say about this except it makes me love her more, which is a hard thing to do after the Obi-Wan series.
Eclipse by Madeleine Roux
The final one I’ll discuss is also all about the feels as it follows Breha Organa in her last days on Alderaan as she and her husband try to learn news of their daughter Leia. Knowing what was going to happen made reading this even more difficult.
Verdict
This is just a fun book all around. I recommend From a Certain Point of View. I did not find the ending lacking as I have in my most recent Star Wars reads.
What did you think of this novel? What should I read next?
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