| Title | : | Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 433 |
| Publication | : | First published October 31, 2017 |
Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker Reviews
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I wanted to love this book. Luke is my favorite character from Star Wars. With the Last Jedi coming out I was hoping for more on Luke’s journey and what he has been up to since Return of the Jedi.
The book looks great in hardcover format, with great art work at the start of the story, and the red blank pages look great. Even the jokes about messing up famous Star Wars quotes and mixing up legends was all good and funny. However out of 5 stories there were only 2 I really liked. Yes I know this was aimed at younger readers but it is Luke so every Star Wars fan would read it.
On the Star Wars universe Luke has become the stuff legend, tails of his exploits have been told so many times and by so many people it is had to tell fact from fiction. One thing remain everyone loves hearing about him.
There was just something missing in this book. It was readable and enjoyable but (maybe I am being greedy) I wanted more about Luke’s journey/training or even adventures. To be honest I am not sure if I liked this book or I am convincing myself I liked it because it was about Luke Skywalker. Though unless I miss my guess I think this might also setup another book in the journey to the last Jedi series. I would give this one 3.5 stars but being about Luke and the Tide story rounds it up to 4 stars. -
I didn't get what I was hoping for with this collection of short stories about the Star Wars franchise's most important character (subjective), Luke Skywalker. Rather than delving deep into his past exploits to fill the gaps between his early training as a Jedi and battles won/lost in the lead up to The Force Awakens, the collection focuses on a bunch of largely nonsensical 'events' with, one story aside, have no distinct time or place.
Of the stories, The Tale of Lugubrious Mote which is a retelling of the famous Jabba the Hutt scene told from the perspective of a parasite, I, Droid in which Luke dons armor to impersonate a droid in order to rescue R2-D2 from slavers, and Big Inside, a tale of survival inside a giant space slug are the standouts but really, none of them are essential reading nor are they particularly deep reads.
My rating: 2.5/5. The Legends of Luke Skywalker is a quick read which is targeted at young adult readers. The writing is ok, and the stories are ok which really sums it up - it's average. On a side note, the artwork at the start of each short story is fantastic and nearly worth the price of purchase alone. -
"Legends about our heroes don’t matter as much as what we choose to make of our own lives when the legends move us."
Less than a week left until the release of The Last Jedi. My excitement levels are going through the roof, so reading this book as part of my mental preparation felt appropriate, especially since it's been written by an author I admire. Ken Liu! Luke Skywalker! Everything sounded right about this.
For somebody who has not read a book based in the Star Wars universe before, I was worried how well the format would work for a story that relies heavily on its visuals, but the transition worked surprisingly well. In a literal sense, too: the hardcover version of this is stunning, especially with the lovely watercolour illustrations by J.G. Jones.
So this is a collection of myths and stories about Luke Skywalker. It's an enthralling concept, because as a viewer we've obviously met him as a character, a somehow relatable heroic Jedi, but to the average sentient of the galaxy he's a larger than life hero. They have all heard about him, all have spun their theories about his existence and it gives us a sense of the perception people have of him within that world.
"Luke Skywalker? That's a name I haven't heard in a while. There are lots of stories about Luke Skywalker. Some of them might even be true."
It's particularly fun as the tales that the characters here tell each other are as different as can be: we've got one person with a conspiracy theory that Luke Skywalker is a mere con-artist, another one that drastically changes our understanding of what happened in Jabba's palace in Return of the Jedi (which I didn't like the idea of, I must admit) and others that paint the picture of a classic heroic youngster.
I liked gaining that understanding for Luke, the kind of perspective on him as a myth and a vehicle people use to gain hope and inspiration themselves. It subtly leaves you with the notice that everyone is in charge of their own destiny, as they use Skywalker to vehicle their own actions more than to just to admire him like some kind of celebrity.
If you're looking for clues about what might happen in The Last Jedi, this might be the wrong place. The narrators are clearly unreliable, so I took everything with a pinch of salt. And yet - I can't wait for the upcoming film, so in terms of leading up to it, this book has definitely done its job more than well.
Original review:
Oh my God, my favourite Ken Liu is writing a Star Wars story? Can this even be real? I can feel my palms getting sweaty out of excitement just thinking about it.
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There's some real gems in here, all written with a self knowing efficacy that elevates the material from other Canon releases.
Weakest story is probably the one with the flea, with the best being tied between the opening story, or the water planet one. Really enjoyed it as a whole though. -
Some ok stories or myths about Luke Skywalker as told by some travelers on a ship. Fun at times, YAish in style but wont set the world on fire. Star Wars nerds like myself will enjoy it for some background reading.
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This book is a 3 star in terms of enjoyment, but seeing it as a middle grade book, I really liked what its doing. It's also *such* a Ken Liu book, which maybe explains the low rating because Ken Liu does not write in a style that screams Star Wars, hahaha. This is a Canterbury Tales-style story about a bunch of people on a ship who trade stories about Luke Skywalker. I think this book handles the concept of hero-worship and stories we tell about figures and how that shapes us collectively (something Liu always delves into), and whether the story someone tells about us is more important than what actually happened, very well. It's something that I don't feel a lot of media for younger audiences really gets into, especially in a fun and lighthearted way, and I think this book has a lot to offer to kids and teens about how the world can be viewed differently by others, and how stories shape our entire worldview.
I will say though that this book definitely peaked with the first story for me, which is about a conspiracy theory where the entire original trilogy events were propaganda put out by the rebellion and that Luke Skywalker was actually a part of a band of thieves and con artists who accidentally became mascots of the rebellion. This story was absolutely hilarious, and none of the other ones held as much magic for me as this one. -
Oh!!!!!! I can't wait! Liu writing a Star Wars book! Heck yes!!!
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These were all SO INTERESTING? I HAVE FEELINGS?
UNRELIABLE NARRATORS YAAAAAS -
Most of the stories are interesting. However, they just ruined the Han rescue for me.
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Once again, Star Wars is trying something new in its storytelling, and I applaud this.
The Legends of Luke Skywalker is a series of anecdotes told by group of disparate travelers on a journey in the fashion of The Canterbury Tales. It seems that everyone has a Luke Skywalker story to share. Some are funny (such as the tale by a conspiracy theorist who argues that Luke and company were con artists, and all we know about them is a lie), some are ridiculous (such as the tale of a flea who claims to have perched on Luke's scalp, impersonated the Force to influence him, and saved the day in Jabba's Palace on Tatooine), and some are moving (such as the tale of a wounded Imperial who was saved on Jakku by a Rebel he believes was Luke).
I am a Star Wars fan for both the stories and the lore that unites them and serves as their foundation. On the one hand, this book is an unusual entry in the canon, due to its many unreliable narrators. Did any of these stories really happen? Does it matter?
On the other hand, regardless of the specifics, this certainly does add to our understanding of larger Star Wars lore, especially in the way it continues the current trend of complicating and enriching our understanding of not only Force, but also the different peoples/cultures that revere/understand/interpret it differently. The story of the people of Lew'el and their faith in the Tide (not a Dark or Light side, but a coherent, complete power), and Luke's training with them, is one gem in this book; another is the story of a whole galaxy within one creature's body and what is known as the Luminous Mist (which I won't spoil here).
There are -- if you choose to believe them -- some specific details that appear to inform upcoming films. For instance, the book explains how Luke may have lost the synthetic flesh on his prosthetic hand. For the most part, however, this is "big picture" stuff. I especially appreciate how I see echoes of Qui-Gon Jinn at certain points, and how this illustrates why Rey might think of Luke as a myth. For the time being, at least, I will be adopting some of these tales for my own headcanon and rejecting others, and I'll muse on all the ways in which the book's refrain and challenge may continue to resonate in the 'verse: We're all Luke Skywalker.
Edited to Add: The "What the Force?" podcast interview with Ken Liu about this book and the intentions behind it, Star Wars as mythmaking, and his larger commentary on the 'verse is indispensable. If you read this wonderful novel, be sure to listen to the interview
here. -
If I had to pay for this Audiobook I probably would have committed suicide by now!!!
This is the worst Star Wars Book ever, its short stories by others about their encounters with Luke.
Not even one of those short stories is good, not even just ok! It's awful like robots telling stories but their voice is human, I can't explain how bad it is without spoilers so please just trust me. -
The Good: Luke has always been one of my favorite Star Wars characters, and this book tells some great stories from unique perspectives. Instead of just rehashing the original trilogy, as some of the tie-in books have done, this brings in new characters and locales. The interior illustrations were very well done.
The Bad: Too much wasted space, especially the quotations from other characters from the films and the wide margins. I shouldn't be able to finish such a thick book that quickly. -
Just when I thought Lucasfilm and Disney had learned their lesson with the (mostly) disastrous rollout of related material leading up to TFA, Liu's Legends of Luke Skywalker comes along and nearly destroys what Disney had been doing so well with The Last Jedi.
At first glance, the idea behind Legends of Luke Skywalker seems like a good one. You have a bunch of shipmates telling tall tales about the famous Jedi to pass time. Each story is unique and its up to the reader to trust the unreliable narrator. In and itself, that's not really a problem, and I liked where Liu was trying to go with it. The issue, however, is that as these stories progress, they just continue to grow stupider and stupider.
I know this book was geared more towards young adults and intermediate readers, and I'm totally fine with that. I mean, Harry Potter was originally a YA franchise, as was The Hunger Games and freakin' Twilight. Plus, there have already been some fantastic YA titles in the new Star Wars canon already with Paula Gray's Lost Stars and Leia, Princess of Alderaan. My problem is that it was like Liu intentionally made these "legends" grow progressively more comedic and outright dumb. Perfect example being the long and totally unnecessary tale of how Luke went to a water planet and learned the ways of The Force by watching the ocean tides. There's a story of how he finds himself stuck in the belly of one of those massive space worms from The Empire Strikes Back in where he just so miraculously finds the remains of ancient time weaver Jedi people who just want to be killed. Worst of all is the laughably ridiculous "Lugubrious Mote" that tells the version of what went down at Jabba's palace during Return of the Jedi. Only this time it's from the POV of a sentient flea (yes, you read that right, a GD intelligent FLEA) who takes all the credit for leading Luke through the perils of the Rancor attack the battle over the Sarlaac pit. I'm serious! Why Liu went for the stupid instead of just entertaining is beyond me. Just cuz a book is written for a less mature audience doesn't mean you have to scrimp and write a set of asinine tall tales...especially when they're supposed to reveal the character of Luke Skywalker...not make him look a bumbling, rebellious simpleton.
The decent things this book has to offer fail in comparison with the negatives but they do still exist. Even though Legends of Luke Skywalker is 430 pages, it's still a super quick read (look at me, I read it, cover to cover in just over 24 hours). It's also simple and has pretty large print so the pages fly by and it's easy to flip through 100 pages in like half an hour or so. It's also not badly written per se. Yes, the way Liu chose to write about Skywalker was dumb, and yes, there was only one story that was halfway good, but still, Liu himself isn't a horrible author. And, lastly, it retails for under 12 bucks if you get it at Wal Mart or Target, so you're not dropping a whole bunch of hard earned cash on a disappointing book. -
I was able to purchase a copy early at New York Comic-Con, and it didn’t disappoint!
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This book contains short stories that have the same central character of Luke Skywalker. It is told by a crew that recount different stories they have heard and shows how someone's name outgrows the actual person.
I liked the concept of this book as we get different stories and we see how the common folk feel about a hero of the Rebellion. The problem with this book is the stories. I only liked one from this collection. The others were not memorable and two of them were a retelling from the movies. The one I liked was about inhabitants on a planet and a different way with the force. I liked how this contrasted with what Luke has learned and expands on his knowledge. The low point of this collection is how a sentient flea is the reason that our favorite rebels survived their ordeal with Jabba. I understand what the author was aiming for but this story was borderline stupid.
This adds nothing to the overall arc and one could skip this with no problems. I applaud Disney for trying new concepts for their novels. This just didn't work as the majority of the stories seemed more like fan fiction. -
I considered reading this prior to the release of The Last Jedi, and then I decided never to read it after I saw The Last Jedi. I didn't want any part of a "journey" to a movie in which Luke has turned into a grouchy, defeated has-been who abandoned everything he loved and had fought to protect, a story about a Luke Skywalker who had lost the capacity to hope. Then I saw it available while I was browsing OverDrive. I hesitated, my thoughts cycling from "But Luke!" to "But Last Jedi!" and back and forth again. I started to click to the next page, but all my instincts screamed "But! LUKE!" and next thing I knew, I had clicked "Borrow." Then I braced myself and started to listen, and I'm so happy I did, because these stories turned out to be a real balm after the bizarre Last Jedi version of Luke.
Ken Liu puts a fun, playful spin on the Skywalker legend as a crew of misfit youngsters glean stories from second and third-hand sources about Luke's exploits during and after the original trilogy. However, although the stories stray often into ridiculous territory, bright glimmers of the real Luke shine through in each tale—even that weird one with the talking flea. Once again we have Luke as the adventurer, the student, the one who never gives up hope. Liu captures him perfectly even when spouting insane bullshit (on purpose, that is). The rundown, with my favorite aspects but without story titles because I listened in audio and there's not a table of contents:
Story 1: An engineer tells an elaborate and hilarious conspiracy theory version of Luke's past to an anonymous hooded man in a bar whom readers will find familiar. Luke points earned for showing Luke's sense of humor, humility, and respect for Leia, the smartest one in the family.
Story 2: A former Imperial tells his story of the Battle of Jakku, where he claims to have seen Luke doing some truly bonkers Force wizardry. Stranded on the planet after the destruction of his ship, the Imperial finds himself taken captive by Luke. I have two favorite parts of this book, but one of them is in this story. The Imperial asks Luke what he wants with him, and Luke asks him what one person would ever want with another person in a desert. The Imperial assumes Luke is going to either eat or sell him, and of course Luke means that he's going to help him. To me, that little moment of crossed wires had so much emotional impact and illustrated the selfishness vs selflessness aspect of the Empire vs Luke. Of course, the Imperial develops a grudging yet raging bro-crush on Luke because how could you not? Luke points earned for showing Luke's sense of mercy and forgiveness for enemies, but also his sarcastic, easily exasperated side.
Story 3: A human in an X-Wing with 5 red bars shows up on a watery world where he saves the young female narrator's life. The planet's citizens know about the Force, which they call the Tide, and the human whom they name Seeker has come to learn their ways. To convince their reluctant elders, he offers to pass the same trials their children must pass to become initiates. This story seems to have really happened, judging by a bit in the end of the book. Luke points earned for showing Luke's continued devotion to learning and keeping an open mind, and also for Luke treating a younger female as an equal.
Story 4: This story, passed from droid to droid, may be true since droids can pass on stories word for word. A former slave droid tells the story of a blue and silver R2 unit whose owner posed as a slave droid and went willingly into a deadly acid mine to save the R2. Luke points for Luke treating droids with respect and collaborating with them, instead of ordering them around like everyone else in the freaking galaxy. Bonus Luke points for the mention that Luke is kinda, sorta part droid himself.
Story 5: Soooo nuts. A sentient flea claims to have orchestrated the Han rescue in Return of the Jedi, having used Luke as a puppet—literally—for the sake of helping Leia, whom the flea admired. Clearly we're not meant to take this story seriously, as the flea's a circus performer (flea circus, oh Ken Liu you really, really shouldn't have) who's out to make a buck and will say anything, and the dialogue spoken isn't the same as in the film. And yet, even here, glimmers of Skywalker. Luke points for showing Luke's boundless ability to stay hopeful and keep fighting. Bonus points for feminist flea giving Leia due credit.
Story 6: A biology student hitches a ride with Luke, who's looking for Jedi ruins and artifacts and wants some company. They wind up trapped in an exogorth. Ever wonder what would've happened if the Millennium Falcon hadn't escaped the asteroid creature? Well, now you can find out! It's pretty gross! My other favorite part of the book happens in this story, in which Luke's steadfast heart keeps the heroine alive and fighting to stay that way. This story proves Luke is both the best person to have by your side if you're trapped in a space slug, and the most annoying person to have by your side if you're trapped inside a space slug. Luke points for Luke as an adventurer, lifelong learner, never-say-die hero, and loyal friend who has compassion for all life forms.
The youngsters telling and hearing the stories learn that it doesn't even matter whether stories about our heroes are true. The point is what we get from those stories and what we choose to do with it. I'm so grateful to Ken Liu for keeping the spirit of Luke Skywalker alive for those of us who truly love him. I know which stories I believe.
(This review sponsored in part by my enabling friend who encouraged me to be That Geek who writes long reviews of Star Wars books.) -
Luke was always too golly geez for me, so I was a little surprised by how much I enjoyed this collection of short stories from different points in Luke's life. Ken Liu has a number of characters relate stories/myths to each other about the Jedi, and the PoV of each of these tales is pretty interesting. And one of of the stories takes place on a planet that reminded me of where Luke's hanging out at the end of "The Force Awakens".
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[2.5]
Appena sotto la mediocrità, e devo dire che nel giudizio la qualità della scrittura ha influito non poco: scrittura un po' pigra e troppo raccontata, che non si presta alla varietà delle voci delle differenti storie presenti nel libro.
L'inizio sembrava promettente, c'era atmosfera, ma proseguendo con il libro si perde in una narrazione noiosetta, con personaggi assolutamente di poco conto. Luke Skywalker a volte sembra di contorno. -
♥LUKE♥
Luke is the best no lie, and while I enjoyed all of these stories, I especially enjoyed the ridiculous lengths to which he went to rescue Artoo. I will never tire of stories of Skywalkers doing ludicrous things to save their droids. -
I thought the combination of Star Wars and Ken Liu would be awesome. Instead it's almost painfully silly. I have a long bus ride tonight, and was looking forward to a nice long book, but I'd rather play games on my phone than read any more of this garbage.
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The Force was weak with this one.
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I’m sorry Luke "Jedi twink" Skywalker... they did you dirty with these boring stories 😔
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Star Wars - The Legends of Luke Skywalker – Ken Liu
The Legends of Luke Skywalker is a collection of tales about Luke as told by a group of kids aboard a freighter on a long haul mission. The kids are all under the care of a Matriarch type figure who looks after them, and in turn, the kids (who are all in the young teens by human comparison, but there are a variety of the various Star Wars aliens represented), do work for her. It is a good arrangement, and the kids would be on the street getting lost in the filth of somewhere like Canto Bight or somewhere similar otherwise.
Each night when making the evening meal, the cook regales them with a tale about the universe, and tonight, it is about Luke Skywalker. And thus begins ‘The Interlude Tale’. As the story progresses, the kids are involved in their own storyline, broken up into multiple ‘Interludes’ and between each of them is a Luke Skywalker story, one of the Legends. The actual Interlude story was not too bad, aimed obviously at a YA audience, as most of the stories are, but unfortunately, the quality of the Luke Skywalker Legends is absolutely dreadful for the most part and does not do the Interlude Tale justice.
The Myth Buster – 1/5 – is a short story told from the point of view of an old alien in a cantina, about how the entire series of events in A New Hope, Episode IV were actually made up by a bunch of con-men. She is actually running a con herself, using the stories to get food and drinks, which is amusing. Her story is how they entire thing is a lie upon a lie, and that the Empire made up the Death Star, and then the Rebellion made up Yavin 4 with the help of a bunch of con-men, who end up being Ben, Han, Chewie and of course, the poster boy Luke. The story had a lot of potential, but just became silly, and even worse when you work out that Luke is sitting there listening the whole time. Bad conspiracy theories told by a bitter Scully wannbe in a grubby pub where Luke would never be.
The Starship Graveyard – 3/5 – This one is about the battle over Jaku, and how Luke was actually there, jumping from ship to ship, killing Star Destroyers with his lightsaber?? It kind of left you wondering ah what?
After the battle he is on the planet, and rescues a seriously wounded Imperial Gunner, and the story is told from the point of view of the Gunner as they trek through the deserts trying to find help and rescue. The Gunner is of course against our Hero, but at the same time is enamoured by him. It is a bit strange in parts, and towards the end became silly with one aspect of the story, detracting from the whole thing. It could have been done better and certainly ended better providing a much better ‘Legend’. Disappointing.
Fishing in the Deluge – 4/5 – is about how Luke visits a planet to learn about ‘The Tide’, what the inhabitants of this planet call ‘The Force’. It is actually one of the better stories in this collection, showing Luke on a journey to learn about the ways of the Force on his path to become a better Jedi. This was an interesting read, with some good characters and some really great world building. The clever use of The Force and The Tide as to social and cultural constructs of the same life giving entity were very well done. This was easily the best of the stories. Some beautiful descriptions of the creatures as well.
I, Droid – 3/5 – This story was about this elitist group of people who like to think they are special, and to do so, they need to mine a special gem that they can sell to maintain their luxurious lifestyle. Only droids can do this, so they constantly kidnap droids and put them to their deaths in this mining trap, where they only last a few months mining this rare gem. R2-D2 is one of them, and eventually Luke comes for him. It was OK, given most of the stories in this collection, it was actually not bad, but given what we normally expect, it was pretty poor.
The Tale of Lugubrious Mote – 1/5 – This one is a short story about when Luke came to Jabba’s Palace, told from the point of view of a tiny flea that is a sentient creature that lives on the skin of Kowakian Monkey Lizard, namely Salacious Crumb. The little worm claims that he is the inspirations for Salacious Crumb, as Crumb was totally useless at telling jokes, and that he helped Leia and Luke as they were idiots and would have died without his help. The story kind of grated on me as it made Luke out to be this dim-witted moron who sat in the Rancor cave going, ‘The Force will save me’, and other equally stupid comments, making Gamorrean Guards look intelligent. It just didn’t fit into a set of stories about how Luke is a Legend, when the entire tale was how he was the biggest idiot in the whole Galaxy (even dumber than Lois Lane). And the flea was really irritating apart from that. This could have been clever, but was just annoying.
At the end of the all ‘So Called Legends’ the Interludes wrap up with the last bit, and I have to point out a bit that annoyed me, attention to detail. When people are climbing through sewers and mud, as they walk off, their White dress is NOT going to gleam brightly in the sunlight, no matter how much you rinse it, not even if you bleach it.
Not unless it is made from some special fabric that every cleaner in the universe wants to get hold of. -
Em considero fan però no freak d'Star Wars, és a dir, que vaig créixer amb la trilogia original i sempre he gaudit de les pel·lícules, de fet tenen reservat un petit lloc al meu cor, però més enllà dels episodis 4, 5 i 6 mai he prestat gaire atenció a altres projectes relacionats amb aquest univers cinematogràfic.
Si us sóc sincer em vaig penedir només comprar el llibre, ja que va ser una acció no premeditada. Precisament pel que comentava: no sóc consumidor de subproductes de la saga (menys encara les signades per Disney) més enllà de la trilogia original. Però el nom de Ken Liu és com la Força, t'empeny a prendre decisions arriscades, potser eixelebrades i tot, i els relats que havia llegit anteriorment de l'autor m'havien fet xalar (i molt).
Un cop acabat aquest llibre sobre Luke Skywalker us puc dir que he gaudit (d'alguns) dels relats de Liu. La majoria tenen una gran riquesa visual, i l'autor planteja tergiversacions més que originals de l'univers original de George Lucas (la banda de Benny O'Kenoby és un crossover magistral entre The A-Team i Star Wars!!!!); de fet no cal ser gaire expert en la saga per pillar moltes de les referències que es fan i això fa que qualsevol pugui gaudir del llibre. El que és el text que fa d'unió dels relats, en canvi, m'ha semblat inconnex i d'allò més insubstancial.
Un altre tema és que com a consumidor, un cop pagada una quantitat important de diners (ja se sap que Lucas i Disney no cobren pas poc), esperava una certa qualitat en el producte. Doncs bé, l'edició és més aviat justeta (un 5 pelat que en diríem els que tenim una edat) però l'evident falta d'una correcció de la traducció (pràctica molt habitual en segons quines multinacionals) és una llosa que enfonsa gairebé qualsevol bona reacció que hagi ocasionat el llibre. Un cop passada l'última pàgina em queda la sensació d'haver sigut estafat per un munt de gent (tret del pobre Liu) que, lluny d'estimar-se la saga d'Star Wars, només en volen treure un sucós benefici. Per sort sóc un simple fan, i no un freak acèrrim, cosa que fa que l'emprenyada no arribi més enllà. Això sí, com a editor em cauria la cara de vergonya si algun dia fes una cosa així.
Que la força us acompanyi! -
I’m glad I left this book a while before reading it—it has helped to restore my faith in the new canon novels (somewhat) after the mild disappointment that was Queen’s Shadow.
The Legends of Luke Skywalker is a collection of short stories for children, tied together by a linking narrative of a group of deckhands on a voyage to Canto Bight. Each story tells of some encounter with Luke Skywalker, from various different perspectives, e.g. a droid, a conspiracy theorist and an Imperial, among others.
Some of the stories are better than others, but none is terrible (certainly this collection had better quality control than the old ‘90s KJA- edited Tales from... collections), and if some Star Wars fans feel that they don’t all seem consistent, or fit with their view of Luke, that is ok because they are all meant to be tall tales with differing levels of in-universe veracity.
None of the stories is too long, but each is an interesting tale that is carefully crafted to show a different aspect of the character of Luke Skywalker. They are often whimsical and always fun, and present aspects of Luke that would be revisited in The Last Jedi (a much better movie than the reception it has received would indicate).The stories are never dull, which I have found to be the principal sin of the new canon, so this book measures up well.
It is not groundbreaking, and it clearly written for children, but there is nothing at all wrong in being perfectly pitched at your audience. I would recommend this book for younger readers, and it shouldn’t be too onerous for adult Star Wars fans, either.
It is good to spend more time with Luke Skywalker. -
Still not sure if this is 2.5 or 3.5 stars to me.
The writing and the stories are perfectly fine and I enjoyed them for the most part. However, this was such a miss that it was frustrating to read. We have so many gaps in Luke’s story and I was really hoping for some stories that I could hold as true even if they’re just “in universe legends.”
If you’re thinking about buying this book for some serious Luke action then it’s not what you’re looking for. He’s either hoping to learn about the force or the stories literally hold no worth whatsoever... -
Très peu d’enjeux, ni vraiment de secrets dévoilés dans ce recueil d’anecdotes et histoires à propos de Luke Skywalker. C’est tout de même assez fun et divertissant, rythmé par les changements de narration et la diversité parfois comique des narrateurs. C’est court, et ça se lit vraiment tout seul, je recommande si vous êtes particulièrement attachés au meilleur Maître Jedi de la saga (oui c’est une hot take que j’assume).
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'The Legends of Luke Skywalker' by Ken Liu.
Briefly, just before his cognitive circuits went into free association, he wondered what the deckhands would dream of when they slept. He hoped that their dreams would be filled with adventure in a galaxy more wondrous and beautiful than the wildest tales could conjure.
He was certain they would be the heroes of those adventures, each of them a Luke Skywalker.
I'm not much of a big fan of the Disney sequel trilogy, but this canon book was something. After lying unread for more than a year, I decided to give it a chance, and sailed easily through the 400+ pages within a day.
The first story, 'The Myth Buster', is told from the perspective of an in-world engineer who thinks that the whole Rebel and Jedi business is a huge sham done to fool the common folk. This story is absolutely hilarious and makes up for most of the good ratings (on my behalf) for the book.
The other notable good stories are 'The Starship Graveyard', 'Fishing in the Deluge', and 'I, Droid'. There is a central framework story that connects all these stories, and it is kind of cute. The main themes of these stories are having faith and hope, and believing in good.
Going on to the cons of the book, 'The Tale of Lugubrious Mote' is absolutely atrocious and is a retelling of Luke's attempt to free Han from the point-of-view of a mole-flea, who takes the entire credit of orchestrating the escape. I know that the stories are legends of Luke Skywalker, and some of them might be fabricated by unreliable narrators, but this is weirdly atrocious. The whole story has a Ratatouille-like feel with the mole-flea pulling Luke's hair and sucking his blood to give him advice to escape his predicament.
The next story, 'Big Inside', is better than the mole-flea one, but is equally ridiculous. Luke and a biologist find themselves trapped inside a space worm, and them find all kinds of flora and fauna inside it along with a Jedi-esque altar. Uhh, weird.
Anyway the book ends with these two stories (apart from wrapping up the central story), and that's not a strong way to end up the collection that otherwise began on a strong note. Still, I would recommend this book just for the initial stories, especially the 'The Myth Buster'.
3.25/5.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Here are some of the hilarious snippets from the first story of the collection.
1) “Not unless the kid was lazy! Any real mechanic can tell you that power converters for moisture-farming equipment are designed to be rugged and easy to repair in the field. Buying new power converters once a year as they wear out may be excusable, but having to go multiple times a month meant that he was either incapable of fixing them or merely using them as an excuse to go to town to waste time with his similarly lazy friends.”
The hooded man chuckled. “I guess I knew someone who would agree with you on that. Sorry to interrupt. Please continue.”
* * *
2) The head of the gang was Benny “Wiseman” O’Kenoby, an old con man who was the brains of the band. Other members included Hansel “Lightning Hands” Shooter, a seasoned Corellian smuggler and habitual liar who never kept a bargain, and Chewie “Shaggy” Baccarat, a Wookiee with a gambling addiction who served as the group’s muscle and means of intimidation.
How did Luke “Babyface” Clodplodder fit in? He was the one who charmed the gang’s victims and ensnared them in various schemes.
I know the New Republic doesn’t like to mention it, but the Empire, for all its faults—and there were many—did try to keep this sort of petty criminal who preyed on the innocent in check. Once the Rebellion started, chaos reigned everywhere, and the O’Kenoby gang, riding around the galaxy in the Century Turkey, a rattling piece of junk held together with gum and wires, just had a field day.
* * *
3) “I’ve always found the Han Solo legend a bit hard to believe myself,” my Togruta seatmate chimed in. “I heard rumors that he used to be a bit of a rogue and would shoot first—”
“Exactly,” interrupted Redy. “But the official version from the New Republic government was purged of anything that would make him seem less than heroic. All this just goes to show you that governments are the biggest con artists of them all.”
* * *
4) But evidence that it was faked showed up everywhere to a trained eye. I’ve studied the leaked “schematics” from the Death Star, and they make no sense. Think about the exhaust port vulnerability that ended the Death Star: even a second-year engineering student at the Imperial Academy wouldn’t have made that kind of mistake. And even if the mistake somehow had been made, it couldn’t have survived the layers of bureaucratic assessments and simulations. Even the design for a latrine on a starship was subjected, by Imperial regulation, to seventeen rounds of engineering reviews!
* * *
5) “Speaking of Naboo sardine fritters, did you know that Senator Jar Jar Binks and Lord Vader were the same person?”
As Redy’s audience gasped and whistled appreciatively, the bartender wheeled back to deliver Redy her food and drink.
* * * * * * * * * * * * -
I can't believe I took such a 180 with this book! The framing device with the Wayward Current (+the interludes) was soooo boring. But now that I look at the stories proper, I actually loved all of them. My favourite one has to be the Ratatouillefication of Luke Skywalker in Jabba's Palace... I will never ever watch the Return of the Jedi the same way again. Even though these stories are told and framed in such a way that they're both canon and non-canon at the same time (legends? nudge nudge wink wink), Lugubrious Mote pulling Luke's hair and pretending to be a disembodied force voice will be forever etched into my brain. "Big Inside" was AMAZING and I want to know more about these ancient beings stuck inside an exogorth for millenia. And finally "I, Droid" was just: chef's kiss! Luke chrome-coating his prosthetic to make it more like a protocol droid! Amazing! Spectacular! Also, freeing and rescuing a tormented droid??? Just delicious stuff, all this. I was pretty sure this book would be insanely boring because of "Fishing in the Deluge" as this one couldn't hold my attention that well, but I was instantly hooked with the droid tale. Very good read!
