Book Review: Tales From a Galaxy Far, Far Away, Vol. 1: Aliens by Landry Q. Walker

Tales From a Galaxy Far, Far Away, Vol. 1: Aliens (Star Wars)

by Landry Q. Walker
Published: April 5, 2016
Genres: Star Wars
Format: Hardcover (346 pages)
Source: Library

The worlds of Star Wars are full of countless alien species, each stranger and more fascinating than the last. Here you'll find six stories for kids about just some of the amazing aliens who appear in the smash-hit movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Featuring a dashing tale of piracy and double crosses, the story of a wise Jakku constable and an unfortunate droid, and a mystery that can be solved only by the gruff cook at Maz Kanata's castle, this collection will bring thrills and chills as it takes you deep into the corners of your favorite galaxy far, far away. . . .
Constable Zuvio must get to the bottom of things when a faithful droid commits a bank robbery in "High Noon on Jakku."
The Frigosian cryptosurgeons of Takodana give a criminal on the run just what she asks for in "The Face of Evil."
The repugnant scrap trader Unkar Plutt may finally have met his match in the twisty tale "True Love."
Bobbajo the Crittermonger spins a tale of bravery against impossible odds in the fable "All Creatures Great and Small."
When his sous chef turns up dead, the cook at Maz Kanata's castle holds an unusual competition to find the culprit in "A Recipe for Death."
And pirates, gangs, and bounty hunters alike race to find precious cargo in "The Crimson Corsair and the Lost Treasure of Count Dooku."

I read a bunch of these short stories in 2016, a year after The Force Awakens had come out.  I loved them all and I was excited to find that they were now in a book instead of digital only ebooks.  There are even two bonus stories in Tales From A Galaxy Far, Far Away that I hadn’t read yet!  The bonus stories – A Recipe for Death and True Love – are exclusive to this collection.  The four other stories can be purchased as separate ebooks (and are free on kindle prime and unlimited).  Since this is a short story collection, I’m going to review each story separately.

High Noon on Jakku

This is a cute, fun, and simple bank robbery mystery. The characters were my favorite.  Everyone thinks Zuvio is angry because he’s always squinting but it’s actually because he can’t see well and “on the harsh world of Jakku, better to let people believe he was angry. (pg 6)”  All Zuvio really wants is peace and quiet.

I loved this quote:

CZ-IG5 stared at the blaster he was golding in his stiff white hand.  Anyone who knew the droid well would have thought he looked…sad.

-Landry Q. Walker, Tales From a Galaxy Far, Far Away, Vol. 1: Aliens (pg 17)

I know droids can’t look “sad” but for some reason I can imagine exactly what this poor droid looks like.

A Recipe for Death

Well that wasn’t what I was expecting…and neither was that.  I think Landry Q. Walker is a master of short stories because he packs so many twisting plots and rich characterization in such a short time.  This story was a mix of murder mystery and a Star Wars food competition the likes of Chopped on Food Network to find out who the murderer is.  So fun.  So creative.  The main character, Strono Tuggs aka “Cookie,” works for Maz in case you were wondering, like I was, where this side character fit in.

All Creatures Great and Small

This, by far, is my favorite story in the collection.  Bobbajo is a story teller who is briefly seen on Jakku in The Force Awakens.  He tells stories about the adventures of his little pet animals and you can’t tell if they are tall tales or not.  One of his stories even has a very cute tie-in to Episode IV.  When the kids who he is telling his stories to don’t quite believe him, he says “But stories…they are powerful things. Never…discount their…strength. (pg 153)”

The stories in the collection also connect in small ways.  The kids in the story expect the constable from the first story, High Noon on Jakku, to help them.

The Face of Evil

This has a mad scientist/Frankenstein feel to it.  Like the other stories, it has a fun twist at the end. I enjoy how all these short stories get straight to the action and this one is no exception.  The faces on the cover of this story (the two little guys with furry yellow heads) look familiar to me for some reason.  I tried watching A Force Awakens and I couldn’t see them in the castle even in passing.  Like A Recipe for Death, this is also set in Maz Kanata’s castle.

True Love

Unkar Plutt stars in this story and is the most recognizable character from this collection.  It’s another creative and fun story to read.  I thought this quote was hilarious and described Unkar Plutt’s character perfectly:

Every day was the same-which was just how Unkar Plutt would have liked it if he actually liked anything.

Which he did not.

-Landry Q. Walker, Tales From a Galaxy Far, Far Away, Vol. 1: Aliens (Pg 215)

The constable from the first story shows up again.  I can’t get over how clever and delightful this whole collection is.

The Crimson Corsair and the Lost Treasure of Count Dooku

By the time I got to this last story, there have been enough twists and turns that I know this isn’t going to end the way I think.  Even expecting a twist, it was still surprising to read what happened.  This exciting pirate story takes the traditional pirate story with storms and ships and treasure hunting and makes it Star Wars with sailing barges, sand storms, and “sunken” ships.

I liked the prequel tie-in to this.  I know the prequels weren’t the best, but I like it when they are acknowledged as part of the story (and I personally like them even if I didn’t love them like the originals).

The characters in this story you can actually see in the movie.  They are the pirates that Finn wants to join in The Force Awakens.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• Star Wars Reading Challenge