'Tales from the Empire' edited by Peter Schweighofer   Bantam Press 1997   Various settings, from pre-ANH to post-Thrawn trilogy

1. 'First Contact' by Timothy Zahn (25 pages)

Nice little Talon Karrde adventure, set about 3 years after RotJ. Now, who do you think is the woman with the red-gold hair? Also stars various sleaze-balls you'd just as soon forget.
Any good? - Yup! Just love those 'missing moments' - how did two of Zahn's best characters end up working together?

2. 'Tinian on Trial' by Kathy Tyers (24 pages)

Set before RotJ, Tinian is a cool female character; her family's company have designed a 'shield' for stormtrooper armor, and rather a lot of people would like to get their hands on it! Other characters include Wrrl, her male Wookiee bodyguard (you just gotta love a Wookiee!), and Daye, her Force-sensitive boyfriend. I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say the Empire tries to pull a fast one, and chaos and adventure ensue!
Any good? - I really, really liked this story. I would love to know what happened to the characters in the grand scheme of things (any chance of a sequel, Ms. Tyers??). Yes, it's that good.

3. 'The Final Exit' by Patricia A. Jackson (33 pages)

Set between the movie trilogies, Ross is a Corellian smuggler flying a YT-1300 freighter (are these things standard issue or something?). Yes, it's a blonde, blue-eyed Han Solo character. Also stars Kierra, an excellent female droid intelligence, who knows some great insults! Baddie is Adalric Brandl (shows up in one of the 'Tales from the New Republic' stories).
Any good? - not bad - has its moments.

4. 'Missed Chance' by Michael A. Stackpole (33 pages)

An excellent little Corran and Whistler story set post-RotJ, just before they joined the New Republic. Includes a nice chick character, Dynba Tesc - the SW equivalent of a university student and net-nerd!
Any good? - brilliant 'missing moments' story - I loved it!

5. 'Retreat from Coruscant' by Laurie Burns (28 pages)

Set post-Thrawn trilogy (during the 'Dark Empire' comic series), this fast-paced adventure stars Taryn Clancy, a female Core Courier Service Captain. Bel Iblis and Colonel Bremen also show up.
Any good? - yes. Taryn is an excellent chick character, and a lot happens in just 28 pages.

6. 'A Certain Point of View' by Charlene Newcomb (22 pages)

Set during ANH, Lieutenant Celia Durasha is a superb chick character, strong but not unbelievable. There's also a couple of nice, original alien characters (sorry, but I get fed up seeing the same species over and over again).
Any good? - an excellent piece bringing out the blurred line between the Rebels and the Imperials. If you've been brought up to believe Imperial indoctrination and the Rebels hurt you, who are you going to support?

7. 'Blaze of Glory' by Tony Russo (32 pages)

Starring . . . Lex "Mad Vornskr" Kempo ('mad dog'? Pulease!), Brixie Ergo (female medic), Sully Tigereye (male Trunsk), Hugo Cutter (loony demolitions expert), and yet another modified Corellian light freighter! Baddies are a bunch of slavers (real slime-buckets! Grrr!). Set post-Thrawn trilogy.
Any good? - lots of humor (and cracking one-liners!) and BSU (blowing stuff up) - a great adventure story.

8. 'Slaying Dragons' by Angela Phillips (16 pages)

Set a few months after the battle of Hoth, Shannon Voorson is a 9-year-old chick who has a habit of slicing into files she shouldn't.
Any good? - nice little adventure-ette - I quite liked it.

9. 'Do No Harm' by Erin Endom (19 pages)

Set during the Rebellion, this is written in the first person by Dr. Aurin Leith, a female Rebel hospital-ship medic. Also stars a few other interesting characters (including a Wookiee).
Any good? - an intersting mission, with several philosophical problems to be faced. The author teaches pediatric medicine, and there is some technical stuff (but not much). Does everyone have hold-out blasters these days? They're becoming almost as common as Corellian freighters!

10. 'Side Trip' by Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole (88 pages)

This is the 'big one', the mini-novel by the major authors, what most people buy the book for. Set between ANH and ESB, this is Zahn & Stackpole's first collaboration, a 'missing moments' story.
Captain Haber Trell and his co-pilot Maranne Darmic (a nice chick character) are smuggling blasters to Derra IV for the Rebellion, along with a couple of Rebel agents (in another Corellian YT-1300 freighter! Honestly, there are so many of these in EU, whenever I watch the movies I expect to see the skies filled with them!) Captured by an Imperial Star Destroyer, they are forced to go to Corellia. Other characters include Thrawn, Hal and Corran Horn, Zekka Thynne (of 'Black Sun'), Kirtan Loor, and is that Jodo Kast?
Any good? - oh, yeah! Lots of mystery, mis-trust and double-crossing! Plot twists abound.
 

Overall review - good book, with some great stories, although the over-use of Corellian freighters bugged me (you could probably tell!), and some of the tales aren't 'from the Empire' at all! Very refreshing to read stories written by people who are obviously SW fans, and who care about the stuff they're writing. This book is probably not for you if you only want to read about Luke, Leia, Han, and the droids, but it is especially recommended for anyone who likes 'missing moments' stories. And, by the way, that's not Boba Fett on the cover. He's not in this book.

Rating -- 7 out of 10
 

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