★★★★ Stories In The Sand, by Griffin McElroy, (pg. 35-49)

Told from the perspective of a Jawa named Jot, this covers the Jawas’ finding and collecting the two famous droids, but also gives the previously untold story of how R2-D2’s memory was intact afterward (instead of being wiped like most Jawa-collected droids): Jot did it. It was warm and well told.

★★★★ The Red One, by Rae Carson, (pg. 59-68)

From the perspective of R5-D4, the red droid in the hull of the Jawa’s sandcrawler, we see the story of Luke and his uncle buying the other two droids in a different light, and how the red droid secretly helped save the galaxy.

★★★★ Not For Nothing, by Mur Lafferty, (pg. 101-111)

One of the Bith musicians (from the famous cantina scenes) tells her side of the story, from arriving on Tatooine to playing in Jabba’s grimy palace, from finding a gig in Chalmun’s Cantina to watching those cantina stories play out. It ends at Greedo’s death. (The author, Mur Lafferty, also wrote the novelization of the movie Solo — which I haven’t read yet, but will soon.)

★★★★ We Don’t Serve Their Kind Here, by Chuck Wendig, (pg. 113-122)

From the perspective of Wuher, the bartender in the Mos Eisley cantina, this tale covers the day that made the cantina famous — when Ben Kenobi and Luke arrived and when Han Solo killed Greedo. (The title is from the famous line when Wuher won’t let the droids into the cantina.) It turns out Wuher has a powerful backstory involving droids and Jedi knights on Arkax Station.

★★★★ The Secrets Of Long Snoot, by Delilah S. Dawson, (pg. 169-181)

If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll remember the goggled, long-snooted spy (named Garindan) who snitched on Ben and Luke to the Empire. This is his side of the story, and it’s well-told.

★★★★ Born In The Storm, by Daniel José Older, (pg. 183-196)

Written in the form of an incident report by stormtrooper TD-7556 (name: Sardis Ramsin), this funny and fun story covers the scenes when the stormtroopers repeatedly fail to catch the two droids on Tatooine.

★★★★ Laina, by Wil Wheaton, (pg. 197-203)

At the Rebel base on Yavin IV, most movie-viewers will recall the helmeted man atop a lookout tower, observing as a transport flies away. This is his — Ryland’s — story, in which he records a video message to his daughter Laina, explaining why he’s just sent her away, what happened to her mother, and why he joined the Rebellion. It’s heartfelt and powerful.

★★★★★ An Incident Report, by Daniel M. Lavery, (pg. 213-219)

From the perspective of Admiral Motti (the Imperial officer whom Darth Vader force-choked in the film), this is the incident report of the force-choke. Motti stiffly and haughtily makes it clear that Vader was in the wrong, and seems to honestly believe that this report will somehow clear his name.

“I wish to take this opportunity to point out that I have no objections to the gentleman’s religious beliefs... Moreover, I am not a bigot... I myself am a man of faith, as it happens... I would welcome, under more appropriate circumstances, the opportunity to learn more about Lord Vader’s understanding of the Force, and how it enriches his daily life. I do not welcome Lord Vader quite literally attempting to shove his religious beliefs down my throat... I will not apologize for asking Lord Vader to refrain from commandeering the conversation into a referendum on his religious devotion.”

—pg. 214-5

★★★★★ The Baptist, by Nnedi Okorafor, (pg. 317-331)

Remember that slimy creature in the Death Star’s trash compactor? It turns out her name is Omi, and she’s sentient and Force-sensitive. This story begins with her capture and removal from her homeworld, and tells how she came to be in the compactor in the first place — and what she thought about it. It turns out that dragging Luke underwater was for his own good.

★★★★ Grounded, by Greg Rucka, (pg. 407-421)

As experienced by Nera Kase, who’s in charge of the Rebel ground crew, this story shows the battle of Yavin from the perspective of those who stayed at the base, unable to do anything but watch screens, listen to the radio calls, and wait.

★★★★ Contingency Plan, by Alexander Freed, (pg. 423-432)

By the same author who wrote Rogue One and Alphabet Squadron, this one is about Mon Mothma, as she leaves the base on Yavin IV and considers the various possible futures of the Rebellion, including a speech of surrender to the Empire.

★★★★ The Angle, by Charles Soule, (pg. 433-446)

Just after the battle of Yavin, this story isn’t in the film, nor are its characters: it takes place in a casino on an unnamed planet, as Lando Calrissian plays a game of Klikklak and learns of Han Solo’s involvment in the destruction of the Death Star.

★★★★ Whills, by Tom Angleberger, (pg. 455-459)

An unidentified Whill begins to write The Journal Of The Whills — a plot device that was originally dropped from the original film, but which was included in the Alan Dean Foster novelization of that film, and later in The Force Awakens. Here, as the Whill begins to write, a second Whill criticizes the text (the text of the opening scroll of A New Hope. It’s funny and well done.