With Tales from a Galaxy Far, Far Away: Aliens Volume 1, Landry Q. Walker returns to a good old element of Star Wars: short stories about the random beings we see in the background of the films. The 90s saw the publication of more than a few of these, ranging from Cantina tales to Jabba’s Palace. Walker lets the background characters from Jakku and Maz Kanata’s castle take starring roles in these six stories, helping flesh out the universe just a little more in this collection.

High Noon on Jakku
At last! We have found the elusive Constable Zuvio! High Noon on Jakku is a fun little mystery tale where, interestingly enough, the most intriguing character is a droid called CZ-1G5. It’s also a story that provokes thought about the state of droids in the galaxy far, far away. Is it still odd for some of them to not have owners? It’s definitely odd to think about the concept of a droid having free time and doing volunteer work.

A Recipe for Death*
A Recipe for Death is like the lovechild of Chopped and your detective show of choice with a dash of Star Wars. (That was a sentence I never expected to type.) This story really helps drive home that these are definitely a return to the old Tales from collections. Where else would you have a Star Wars story devoted to a whodunit tale set in a kitchen? This particular story was engaging and kept me guessing all the way to the final reveal of the murderer and the new sous chef.  Continue reading →