Review: Tales from Jabba's Palace

Tales from Jabba's Palace by Kevin J. Anderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



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Warning: Spoilers ahead for book and The Mandalorian.

This is one of my favorite Star Wars books. As well as Tales of the Bounty Hunters and Tales From Mos Eisley. These are from the old Expanded Universe canon. So no story about how Bib Fortuna takes over, gets almost as big as a Hutt, and then gets shot by Boba Fett.
The stories all take place at the same time, which is when Leia and the gang come to Jabba's palace to save Han.
There are so many plots going on. I don't mean plot lines. I mean plots to kill Jabba. So many. I almost made a spreadsheet to keep them all straight.

Here's a list of the stories with extremely short summaries.

A Boy and His Monster: The Rancor Keeper's Tale by Kevin J. Anderson
Rancor dies. Keeper sad.

Taster's Choice: The Tale of Jabba's Chef by Barbara Hambly
Gets thrown in a cell for maybe poisoning Jabba. He wasn't...

That's Entertainment: The Tale of Salacious Crumb by Esther M. Friesner
Annoying fuck gets a dude killed.

A Time to Mourn, A Time To Dance: Oola's Tale by Kathy Tyers
She dies.

Let Us Prey: The Whiphid's Tale by Marina Fitch and Mark Budz
What happened in this one? I think he killed a monk?

Sleight of Hand: The Tale of Mara Jade by Timothy Zahn
Mara Jade fails to kill Luke Skywalker

And Then There Were Some: The Gamorrean Guard's Tale by William F. Wu
This guard ain't solving shit.

Old Friends: Ephant Mon's Tale by Kenneth C. Flint
Ephant Mon gets out before shit goes down.

Goatgrass: The Tale of Ree-Yees by Deborah Wheeler
Pretty sure this guy died...

And The Band Played On: The Band's Tale by John Gregory Betancourt
Sy let Max act as bandleader. They get paid in food.

Of the Day's Annoyances: Bib Fortuna's Tale by M. Shayne Bell
He gets his brain put in a jar.

The Great God Quay: The Tale of Barada and the Weequays by George Alec Effinger
All dead. Also, these Weequays are not smart.

A Bad Feeling: The Tale of EV-9D9 by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
Sadistic droid dies.

A Free Quarren in the Palace: Tessek's Tale by Dave Wolverton
Brain in jar.

Tongue-tied: Bubo's Tale by Daryl F. Mallett
Brain in jar. But happy about it.

Out of the Closet: The Assassin's Tale by Jennifer Roberson
No gayness. Just soup.

Shaara and the Sarlacc: The Skiff Guard's Tale by Dan'l Danehy-Oakes
Dude is telling Boba Fett a story. Then he dies.

A Barve Like That: The Tale of Boba Fett by J.D. Montgomery
Boba Fett kills the Sarlacc. Maybe.

Skin Deep: The Fat Dancer's Tale by A.C. Crispin
Escapes the palace, gets her children back, falls in love.