The Empire Strikes Back (Star Wars)

From a Certain Point of View

One of the best Star Wars books released this year[...] With a range of styles and characters, there's a lot here to talk about. The From A Certain Point of View series, tied around the 40th anniversary of each movie, continues to be a fun event and a way to see Star Wars takes from some of today's top authors. If you liked the A New Hope installment, you'll get a lot of bang for your buck from the second book.

If you love Star Wars then this book is for you. I personally can't wait for the Return of the Jedi edition... an excellent Christmas/Hannukah gift for any Star Wars fan out there.

Absolutely recommend it ... the work that has gone into this is outstanding ... the selection of authors is wonderful, diverse, a lot of different voices to be heard

Hank Green is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing and A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor. He's also the CEO of Complexly, a production company that creates educational content, including Crash Course and SciShow, prompting The Washington Post to name him "one of America's most popular science teachers." Complexly's videos have been viewed more than two billion times on YouTube. Hank and his brother, John, are also raising money to dramatically and systematically improve maternal health care in Sierra Leone, where, if trends continue, one in seventeen women will die in childbirth. 
 
R. F. Kuang is the Nebula, Locus, and World Fantasy award nominated author of The Poppy War and The Dragon Republic (HarperVoyager). She has an MPhil in Chinese studies from the University of Cambridge and is currently pursuing an MSc in contemporary Chinese studies at Oxford University on a Marshall Scholarship. She also translates Chinese science fiction to English. Her debut The Poppy War was listed by Time and The Guardian as one of the best books of 2018 and has won the Crawford Award and Compton Crook Award for Best First Novel. 
 
Martha Wells has been an SF/F writer since her first fantasy novel was published in 1993, and a Star Wars fan since she saw A New Hope in the theater in 1977. Her work includes The Books of the Raksura series, The Death of the Necromancer, the Ile-Rien trilogy, The Murderbot Diaries series, media tie-ins for Star Wars and Stargate: Atlantis, as well as short fiction, YA novels, and nonfiction. She was also the lead writer for the story team of Magic: The Gathering's Dominaria expansion in 2018. She has won a Nebula Award, two Hugo Awards, and two Locus Awards, and her work has appeared on the Philip K. Dick Award ballot, the BSFA Award ballot, the USA Today bestseller list, and the New York Times bestseller list. 
 
Kiersten White is the New York Times bestselling, Stoker Award-winning author of many books, including the And I Darken trilogy, the Slayer series, the Camelot Rising trilogy, and The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein. She owns a perfectly reasonable number of lightsabers, and sometimes even lets her kids play with them.

Celebrate the legacy of The Empire Strikes Back with this exciting reimagining of the timeless film featuring new perspectives from forty acclaimed authors. 
 
On May 21, 1980, Star Wars became a true saga with the release of The Empire Strikes Back. In honor of the fortieth anniversary, forty storytellers re-create an iconic scene from The Empire Strikes Back through the eyes of a supporting character, from heroes and villains, to droids and creatures. From a Certain Point of View features contributions by bestselling authors and trendsetting artists: 
 
 Austin Walker explores the unlikely partnership of bounty hunters Dengar and IG-88 as they pursue Han Solo. 
 Hank Green chronicles the life of a naturalist caring for tauntauns on the frozen world of Hoth. 
 Tracy Deonn delves into the dark heart of the Dagobah cave where Luke confronts a terrifying vision. 
 Martha Wells reveals the world of the Ugnaught clans who dwell in the depths of Cloud City. 
 Mark Oshiro recounts the wampa's tragic tale of loss and survival. 
 Seth Dickinson interrogates the cost of serving a ruthless empire aboard the bridge of a doomed Imperial starship. 
 
Plus more hilarious, heartbreaking, and astonishing tales from: 
Tom Angleberger, Sarwat Chadda, S.A. Chakraborty, Mike Chen, Adam Christopher, Katie Cook, Zoraida Córdova, Delilah S. Dawson, Alexander Freed, Jason Fry, Christie Golden, Rob Hart, Lydia Kang, Michael Kogge, R. F. Kuang, C. B. Lee, Mackenzi Lee, John Jackson Miller, Michael Moreci, Daniel José Older, Amy Ratcliffe, Beth Revis, Lilliam Rivera, Cavan Scott, Emily Skrutskie, Karen Strong, Anne Toole, Catherynne M. Valente, Django Wexler, Kiersten White, Gary Whitta, Brittany N. Williams, Charles Yu, Jim Zub 
 
All participating authors have generously forgone any compensation for their stories. Instead, their proceeds will be donated to First Book-a leading nonprofit that provides new books, learning materials, and other essentials to educators and organizations serving children in need. To further celebrate the launch of this book and both companies' longstanding relationships with First Book, Penguin Random House will donate $100,000 to First Book and Disney/Lucasfilm will donate 100,000 children's books-valued at $1,000,000-to support First Book and their mission of providing equal access to quality education.

The Fox and the Devil

An obsession with a beautiful serial killer entangles a vampire hunter’s daughter in an immortal sapphic romance in this mesmerising new gothic fantasy from the bestselling author of Lucy Undying. 
 
Anneke has a complicated relationship with her father, Abraham Van Helsing – doctor, scientist, and madman devoted to studying vampires – up until the night she comes home to find him murdered, with a surreally beautiful woman looming over his body. 
 
It soon becomes clear that her father isn’t the only inexplicably dead body. So, obsessed with vengeance, and armed with the latest in forensic and investigatory techniques, Anneke puts together a team of detectives to catch her mysterious serial killer. 
 
But, for reasons even she can’t explain, Anneke keeps some crucial evidence to herself: infuriatingly coy letters, addressed only to her, occasionally soaked in blood, and always signed Diavola. Devil. The obsession is mutual, and all the more dangerous for it. 
 
And the closer Anneke gets to her devil, the less sense the world makes. Could her father have been right all along? Could Diavola be something even more deadly than a serial killer? Because as Anneke unearths more of Diavola’s tragic past, she suspects there’s still a heart somewhere in that undead body. 
 
A heart that beats for Anneke alone.

Kiersten White is the New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award-winning, and critically acclaimed author of many books, including The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein, the And I Darken trilogy, the Slayer series, the Camelot Rising trilogy, and her adult debut, Hide.

Kiersten White

A suspenseful, spooky tale that resonates with contemporary anxieties

Kiersten White gave me a serious case of the heebie-jeebies that I couldn't shake long after I'd put this book down! The sense of dread starts off as a whisper and builds into a full-blown scream as pieces of the mystery surrounding Mister Magic fall into place in this terrifying novel. It had me questioning and requestioning my childhood memories and television shows during this suspenseful, creepy ride.

Amanda Jayatissa, author of You're Invited

IT meets The Stepford Wives in this wildly compelling story that explores whether or not it's possible to recapture the magic of childhood friendship, and what happens when you discover the darkness hiding underneath your memories. White's writing is guaranteed to hook you. Be careful cracking this open; Mister Magic will pull you in like a riptide.

Mallory O'Meara, bestselling author of The Lady from the Black Lagoon

In this skin-crawling story of pop-cult fandom and 90s nostalgia, White fully delivers on her gripping premise: the troubled reunion, thirty years later, of the cast of a magical kids' show that exists only in its viewers' memories. Mister Magic walks the twilit line between wonder and terror where all the best childhood games are played.

I found myself thoroughly drawn in by Mister Magic, a unique thriller with a compelling cast of characters whose past hides long-buried secrets.

Karen Cleveland, Sunday Times bestselling author of Need to Know

Few books I've read capture the wonder and terror of childhood as brilliantly as Mister Magic. Both creepy and profoundly nostalgic, it's guaranteed to unsettle anyone who grew up with Barney, Sesame Street, or other children's shows - or anyone who's ever been a child. This book gave me nightmares in the best possible way.

Ana Reyes, bestselling author of The House in the Pines

Mister Magic is a propulsive, exciting, often genuinely scary, endlessly compelling mystery. Imagine a trip through Twin Peaks by way of Stranger Things and Stephen King's IT.

Who is Mister Magic? Former child stars reunite to uncover the tragedy that ended their show - and discover the secret of its enigmatic host - in this dark supernatural thriller from the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of Hide. 
 
Thirty years after a tragic accident shut down production of the classic children's program Mister Magic, the five surviving cast members have done their best to move on. But just as generations of cultishly devoted fans still cling to the lessons they learned from the show, the cast, known as the Circle of Friends, have spent their lives searching for the happiness they felt while they were on it. The friendship. The feeling of belonging. And the protection of Mister Magic. 
 
But with no surviving video of the show, no evidence of who directed or produced it, and no records of who - or what - the beloved host actually was, memories are all the former circle of friends have. 
 
Then a twist of fate brings the castmates back together at the remote desert filming compound that feels like it's been waiting for them all this time. Even though they haven't seen each other for years, they somehow understand one another better than anyone has since. 
 
After all, they're the only ones who hold the secret of that circle, the mystery of the magic man in his infinitely black cape, and, maybe, the answers to what really happened on that deadly last day. But as the Circle of Friends reclaim parts of their past, they begin to wonder: Are they here by choice, or have they been lured into a trap? 
 
Because magic never forgets the taste of your friendship. . . .

Kiersten White

Praise for Mister Magic

A suspenseful, spooky tale that resonates with contemporary anxieties

Kiersten White gave me a serious case of the heebie-jeebies that I couldn't shake long after I'd put this book down! The sense of dread starts off as a whisper and builds into a full-blown scream as pieces of the my ...

IT meets The Stepford Wives in this wildly compelling story that explores whether or not it's possible to recapture the magic of childhood friendship, and what happens when you discover the darkness hi ...

A suspenseful, spooky tale that resonates with contemporary anxieties

Kiersten White gave me a serious case of the heebie-jeebies that I couldn't shake long after I'd put this book down! The sense of dread starts off as a whisper and builds into a full-blown scream as pieces of the my ...

IT meets The Stepford Wives in this wildly compelling story that explores whether or not it's possible to recapture the magic of childhood friendship, and what happens when you discover the darkness hi ...

A suspenseful, spooky tale that resonates with contemporary anxieties

Kiersten White gave me a serious case of the heebie-jeebies that I couldn't shake long after I'd put this book down! The sense of dread starts off as a whisper and builds into a full-blown scream as pieces of the my ...

IT meets The Stepford Wives in this wildly compelling story that explores whether or not it's possible to recapture the magic of childhood friendship, and what happens when you discover the darkness hi ...

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