New 'Star Wars' Book That Slipped Under Everyone's Radar

If it has been said once or a million times, Star Wars is a massive universe with infinite potential for stories. The sheer size and depth of the universe make it the perfect place for anthology stories. That is something that Lucasfilm seems to have realized in recent years. With shows like Star Wars Visions and the recently announced Tales of the Jedi and Young Jedi Adventures, Lucasfilm has finally seen the potential of stand-alone stories that happen throughout the galaxy far, far away. But, of course, television isn’t the only place getting great anthology stories. Star Wars: Stories of Jedi and Sith is a new novel that may have flown under several fans’ radars, but it is an absolutely fantastic anthology that is worth checking out.

Stories of Jedi and Sith is an anthology collection of short stories that follow various characters from the Star Wars saga. It is also completely canon and could be considered a literary predecessor to the Tales of the Jedi series coming soon. The book consists of 10 short stories, each focusing on a different character central to the main Star Wars story seen in the nine saga films. The book features everyone from Yoda to Palpatine and even includes a nice side-story for Rey. Fans of The Clone Wars will be excited to know that it consists of a story centered around Barriss Offee, who was given an excellent arch in the animated series.

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The book is technically considered middle-grade fiction, but like C.S. Lewis once said, “No book is really worth reading at the age of 10 which is not equally - and often far more - worth reading at the age of 50 and beyond.” Just because it is published for a younger age doesn’t mean there is nothing there for older Star Wars fans. For older fans of Star Wars who have younger kids who also enjoy Star Wars, these short stories would make excellent bedtime stories for them. However, the younger reading level makes them the perfect bite-sized, literary Star Wars snacks. It is ideal for picking up, reading a story or two, and putting back down for a while. Each story is a short adventure that returns to some fan-favorite characters.

It is also worth noting that each story is written by a different author, including Michael Kogge, Vera Strange, Alex Segura, Karen Strong, Michael Moreci, Delilah S. Dawson, Roseanne A. Brown, Tessa Gratton, Sarwat Chadda, and Sam Maggs. This means that not only does each story feature a different character, but they also feel different from each other. Each story also has its own tone and question it is trying to answer. The book’s authors seem to have a good understanding of each character, or at least know the story they are trying to tell with said character. Having the restriction of a “short story” allows each author to hone in on what they want their story to be about. That means no story ever overstays its welcome. Every story is canon too, so it also helps to further the lore of the series. That being said, there aren’t really any mind-melting reveals.

All in all, it is worth picking up for anyone looking for some excellent Star Wars stories to share with their kids or crave some light Star Wars adventures. The book has garnered some fantastic reviews so far, hopefully encouraging Disney Publishing to further pursue small anthology stories for young and old readers. Stories of Jedi and Sith provide some fascinating looks at fan-favorite characters, and it will scratch the itch of anyone who might be craving a dose of The Clone Wars.

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Written by Alex Lenzini

Source(s): DorkSideoftheForce, FanthaTracks

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