Product Description

A collection of short stories takes place in the dog-eat-dog palace of the infamous Jabba the Hutt and includes the works of such authors as Kevin J. Anderson, A. C. Crispin, Barbara Hambly, Jennifer Roberson, and Timothy Zahn.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #213492 in Books
• Published on: 1995-12-01
• Released on: 1995-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 464 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780553568158
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Amazon.com Review
One of the more prolific--and proficient--Star Wars authors, Kevin J. Anderson, edits and contributes to this anthology of ... well, tales from Jabba's palace. Each of the 19 short tales focuses on a different personality, from the rancor keeper to Salacious Crumb, putting faces and facts on the internecine intrigue swirling around everyone's favorite Huttese crime lord. (As it turns out, you can find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than Mos Eisley.) Find out how Bib Fortuna hoped to overthrow Jabba, or hear the philosophical ramblings of a not-so-bright teenage skiff guard. Or, perhaps best, learn how Boba Fett escaped the Sarlacc in the Great Pit of Carkoon. Style, mood, and quality vary by author, but these Tales are mostly funny and mostly well done, including those by Anderson, Star Trek author A.C. Crispin, Nebula-winner George Alec Effinger, and Hugo-winner Timothy Zahn. --Paul Hughes

Customer Reviews

Tales From Jabba's Palace
I've read this book a few times now. It is essentially a collection of stories coming from the various residents of Jabba's palace. I would not recommend this to everyone, but instead those of you who want to explore every detail, in which case you are probably a big fan (such as myself) and don't want to miss out on anything.

Stories come from Oola the Dancer, Gartogg the Gamorrean Guard, Bib Fortuna, Salacious Crumb, Mara Jade and Boba Fett amongst many others (19 in total). It may be surprising to some that there is no tale from Jabba himself.

A lot of the stories detail many of the same events, such as Oola being fed to the rancor and Jabba being strangled by Princess Leia. A murder mystery (which Gartogg sets out to solve) also surfaces in a few tales. While it is interesting to see these events from other characters' point of views, it does make the book repetitive at times, as you feel like you're reading the same events happen all over again. This, for me, is about the only flaw with this book (and it probably is to be expected given that this is an anthology of tales from characters who were at the same place at the same time).

Other than that, there is some really good stuff here. The tale of Malakili the rancor keeper is one of the highlights. You also learn of how Boba Fett escapes the Sarlacc and, less importantly in the grand scheme of things, how the B'omarr monks overtake Jabba's palace (well it did belong to them originally). A few stories end with someone's brain being put into a jar...

If you're interested in learning more about the residents of Jabba's palace then I'd definitely recommend this. Even if you're not all that keen, you'll probably still find enjoyment in this. Learning about Boba Fett's escape may be worth the price tag alone for some people.

Hope you find this useful ... 4/5

More scum, more villains, more stories.....
Tales From Jabba's Palace is one of several anthologies of short stories set in George Lucas' "galaxy far, far away" that delve into the cast of supporting characters that were seen in specific scenes of Classic Trilogy Episodes IV, V, and VI. Edited by prolific Star Wars author Kevin J. Anderson (Darksaber, The Jedi Academy Trilogy, and various Dark Horse comic book series), this volume contains 19 entertaining stories set within the walled palace of Tatooine crime boss Jabba the Hutt.

Although (curiously) none of the stories are about Jabba the Hutt per se, the slug-like gangster's presence is evident in most of the tales. Almost all the members of Jabba's court -- majordomo Bib Fortuna, Oola (the ill-fated dancing girl fed to the rancor), Salacious Crumb (Jabba's annoying pet monkey-lizard), and Boba Fett, the galaxy's most infamous bounty hunter -- are described vividly not only by such noted Star Wars writers as Dave Wolverton, Timothy Zahn, Kathy Tyers, and editor Anderson (who contributed "A Boy and His Monster: The Rancor Keeper's Tale"), but also by prominent Star Trek authors A. C. Crispin and Judith and Garfield Reeves Stevens.

The overall tone of this anthology can be best described as a combination of Rashomon and The Godfather set in the Star Wars galaxy. Although a few of the characters are innocent victims of Jabba's huge appetite for wealth and shady deals (see Kathy Tyers' "A Time to Mourn, A Time to Dance: Oola's Tale") or antiheroes such as Mara Jade ("Sleight of Hand: The Tale of Mara Jade" by Timothy Zahn), most are underhanded and venal mob underlings whose desire to topple Jabba from his throne is matched only by their fear of the ruthless Hutt crime lord. And while the rescue of Han Solo by Luke Skywalker and his friends is dealt with as well, the focus isn't on the heroes for a change; after all, we saw what they did in Return of the Jedi. No, the fun here is in discovering the untold stories from behind the fortress-like walls of Jabba's Palace, and believe me, this anthology is well-written and enjoyable for both the die-hard and casual Star Wars fan alike.

Jabba's Posse
Tales from Jabba's Palace is a collection of 19 stories by a number of different authors with the common ground being the presence of the main characters in Jabba's palace at the time of the rescue of Han Solo from his carbonite slab. As is true with the other Tales collections in the Extended Universe, the concept is sound. Take a particular place at a particular point in time and interweave stories of the characters involved, no matter how insignificant. Previously we have been through Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina and Tales of the Bounty Hunters, and we still have a couple more books to go.

The authors developing these tales for Jabba's characters had mixed results. The first tale is "A Boy and His Monster: The Rancor Keeper's Tale" by Kevin Anderson, and it gets the book off to a good start, particularly for those of us in the Rancors Love to Read program. A good rancor story is hard to beat. The book also finishes well with "Skin Deep: The Fat Dancer's Tale" by A. C. Crispin. The tales in between deal with such characters as Salacious Crumb, Ephant Mon, Ree-Yees, Bib Fortuna, EV-9D9, and Boba Fett. Most of the stories are interesting, and I admire the editing that enables the stories to fit together. It is somewhat like putting together a literary Jabba's palace jigsaw puzzle.

Of course, all of the stories can't be good. For example, as was true in Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina, we have another tale about Dannik Jerriko and his addiction to soup - not vegetable or chicken noodle, but the fluid he withdraws from unwilling victims. The story from Mos Eisley was bad. This one ("Out of the Closet: The Assassin's Tale") is worse. It can be skimmed or just skipped entirely. Another bad one is "And Then There Were Some: The Gamorrean Guard's Tale". Apparently, one of the guards is so stupid that he carries two dead bodies around with him for days or weeks until he can decide what to do with them. Entirely preposterous.

Tales from Jabba's Palace is worth reading, but some judicious tale selection can be worthwhile.