Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina

This is that rare anthology where the whole is actually less than the sum of its parts. Each author felt compelled to make their character extraordinary, with most of them turning out to be latent rebels in waiting. Why couldn't someone have just written an interesting story about a depressed drunk facing a dead-end job, political oppression, lack of opportunity, and other nasty attributes of the imperial dystopia? Daniel Keys Moran's contribution, about a Devaronian with an ugly secret in his past who was trying to remain anonymous, was my favorite.

I'm re-reading some of these Tales books...I read some of them when they first came out, but not all of them. These are a lot of fun. Exactly what I wanted out of star wars at the time, and now. A bunch of short stories, each centered around a different random background alien from the Cantina scene of a New Hope. We flesh out the universe by talking about characters near but not necessarily directly involved in the big events and 'main characters' of the universe. A lot are funny, a lot give us unique perspective.

This is what Star Wars should be like.
A bunch of tight stories that are actually enjoyable to read. Each story had its own unique plot, but they all centered around the Cantina and so had a larger overall theme.
Some were better than others [the Wolfman story was just plain stupid imo], but the good ones were just plain fun.

And Star Wars should be fun!

WHEW! It feels good to finally be finished with this one; it's been on my "Currently Reading" shelf for just about 6 months. After my 4 month hiatus from this book, I'm finally finished!

I did enjoy the book, despite the fact that the length of time that I spent NOT reading it vastly dwarfs the amount of time I was reading. The stories in this book are all interesting, and varied, and center around the (apparently) most popular watering-hole in the universe.

These aren't the best written stories I've ever read, but for what they are, they serve their purpose. This book gives the reader a chance to look into the lives of all those background characters that they see in the Mos Eisley, but who never get any speaking roles in the films. show more Which, come to think of it, could be due to the fact that the film-makers weren't sure where their mouths actually were. But when you hire aliens to make a movie, you are both grateful that they showed up, and grateful that they showed up without any sort of probe... that you can remember.

Anyway, this was an enjoyable read with some interesting stories. Recommended to fans of the Star Wars franchise. :) show less

In most movies, background characters are simply background characters and have no significant reason to be there, yet in the Star Wars universe it is a whole different story. In the classic Mos Eisley cantina scene as seen in Episode IV, the cantina is crawling with scum and villainy. Along with that, most of the background characters actually have a well thought out canon reason to be there, including the events which lead to their brief appearance. Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina is an anthology of entertaining tales written by some of the largest Star Wars authors of its time, such as: Timothy Zahn, Kevin J. Anderson, A. C. Crispin and more. It is a refreshing change to pick up a book and read a short story or two every now and then.

The first of the Tales from... books; basically, a whole bunch of those weird-looking aliens from A New Hope are given motives and backstories and such. It's a mixed bag, but some of the stories are pretty cool, and it does a better job of not stepping on any toes than the vast majority of Expanded Universe stuff.

An anthology of tales following the various characters in the Mos Eisley cantina in Star Wars: A New Hope. Some of them may have only gotten a few seconds of screen time, but the various authors flesh them out with back stories that lead to them being in that particular place at that particular time. Some weave the cantina into the story, while others touch on it only tangentially; a few of the stories even interact, with events in one having effects in another.

The writing quality is a mixed bag, ranging from so-so to quite good; my favorite is Daniel Keys Moran's Empire Blues, but I must admit I was already a fan of DKM's writing when I picked up the book. Overall, the book is a fun visit to the Star Wars universe.