Author Topic: "Tales of the/from the..." Books?  (Read 2234 times)

Offline Brian

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"Tales of the/from the..." Books?
« on: March 24, 2008, 04:20 PM »
I just had a quick question regarding the "Tales of the/from the" books.  I've often heard books like Tales from Mos Eisley, Tales from Jabba's Palace, and Tales of the Bounty Hunters talked about quite a bit, and I was wondering if any/all of them were a good read.  I've really only read the Thrawn trilogy as far as Star Wars books/novels go (I also have the Han Solo trilogy, but haven't finished it yet) - and I've been looking for some other OT-era based books to check out.  These seem to be talked about a fair amount, and I was wondering if anyone had opinions on them.  Thanks for any advice.

Offline Muftak

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Re: "Tales of the/from the..." Books?
« Reply #1 on: March 24, 2008, 05:48 PM »
Hey, Brian. I really really enjoyed quite a bit of the "Tales from the Cantina" anthology. Though not so much the Muftak/Kabe story, ironically. In particular, "Empire Blues, the Devaronain's Tale" is quite simply the best Star Wars fiction I've read to date, bar none. Greedo's tale, though definitely noncanon, is also surprisingly well done (especially since we all know how that one turns out.) The Tonikka Sister's tale was fun (Zahn wrote it) and BoShek's tale was passable. The rest of it is pretty forgetable...Kevin Anderson edited, and wound up trying to pull together a bunch of the stories into some overall arc, but it really doesn't work. Of the three original Tales books, this is the best.

"Tales of the Bounty Hunters" is a barely decent read overall. The IG-88 story (another Kevin Anderson contribution) is awful in its way, but almost to the point of Holiday Special awful, so that any fan really needs to have a working idea of what its all about just to be able to make fun of it (if that makes any sense). Bossk and Dengar's tales are completely forgettable. Zuckuss and 4LOM's tale (they share one) is bland but fills in some interesting ESB continuity. The Boba Fett story is peculiar, in that it basically takes place twenty years after ESB and focuses on who and what Boba Fett really is. (Most of this is now outdated.)

"Tales from Jabba's Palace" was the worst of the bunch for me. We learn the reason the Rancor Keeper cried when Luke killed his pet. There's a whodunit-style mystery being solved by an anti-Sherlock Holmes Gammorean Guard (that description almost makes it sound fun, but it's not.) The only quality is Boba Fett's tale "A Barve Like That," which details his time in the Sarlacc.

So there are some opinions, hope you find something you like in there. I would definitely recommend those stories from the Cantina, at any rate.

Offline Nathan

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Re: "Tales of the/from the..." Books?
« Reply #2 on: March 27, 2008, 07:37 PM »
It's been several years since I read them, but I liked all three. Jabba's Palace and the Cantina were really good; Bounty Hunters was decent but definitely the weaker of the "trilogy."

Since by their nature they stick relatively closely to the OT movies, they're a good jumping-off point since you haven't read much of the Expanded Universe.

There are two other "Tales" books (Tales from the Empire and Tales from the New Republic) which are really good and are reprinted anthologies of stories from the old Adventure Journal by West End Games. The stories take place at various points all over the timeline before, during, and after the OT. While you're definitely welcome to give them a read, and most of the stories are self-contained, they do benefit from having some knowledge of the timeline after the movies.
« Last Edit: March 28, 2008, 10:44 PM by Nathan »
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Offline Jesse James

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Re: "Tales of the/from the..." Books?
« Reply #3 on: April 3, 2008, 05:43 PM »
I've not read them for a while myself so I forget a lot of the details...

My opinion though is still pretty solid in my mind on these, and I'd say, got into them with an open mind and remember you can essentially ignore it as EU...  Some of the stories are entertaining, some are neat, but all 3 as I recall are filled with the main problems (as I see them) of the EU as a whole.  Lots of characters have more importance than they ever should have, lots of characters involved in Rebel/Imperial activity, lots of people surviving things you know they should not have just for the sake of a lame story, etc., etc., etc.

Entertaining yes, but not something I consider part of the canon because of lameness at times.

It's amazing how everyone in the Cantina's part of the Empire or Alliance, or know the heroes in some way, or have some extravagant backstory they really shoul never have had. 

Sometimes you're just a guy trying to make a living in the galaxy and stopping off and having a brew, or hanging out at the wrong place with the wrong crowd.  Not everyone should or needs to be considered an important individual.  EU tries to hard to make everyone important, and that's dumb.

Bib Fortuna's brain in a B'Omar Monk's robo body?  bull****.
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