Star Wars: The Legends of Luke Skywalker – Ken Liu
For the last two months I’ve been making an extra-long commute to work. This has cut into my gaming time drastically. But on the upside, I’ve had more time during the day to read. I’m still grinding through “The Last Jedi” companion novels, but I’m almost to the end. Today, I’m going to share my thoughts on an interesting little book; The Legends of Luke Skywalker.
This is a strange entry in the new canon. Here, we have what is essentially a collection of short stories – all about Luke Skywalker. However, instead of being completely factual, the tales found in this book are presented as myths or “legends” if you will. Like someone who might hear these tales recited at a table in some far away cantina, the reader has no way of knowing if the content of these stories is historically accurate or not. The only thing “canon” about the tales included in this book is the fact that they represent the type of tall tales passed around the galaxy regarding the now infamous Luke Skywalker.
In total, this book contains six separate stories They vary from plausible to completely ridiculous. Having read these, I believe it is intended for readers to feel that some elements of truth can be found in most of these stories, but I also tend to think that each tale also contains a bit of embellishment by the storyteller. I found the concept to be quite original and entertaining. Most importantly, this book establishes the fact the the heroic deeds of Luke Skywalker are known to many beings across the galaxy. Many believe in him, but just as many consider him to be nothing more than a myth. When you think about it, this provides the perfect set up to Luke’s presentation in The Last Jedi. Something that I feel the fan-base desperately needs.
Story: Entertaining, with a good presentation. Some of the tales are more interesting than others. But all of them are very well done.
Recommended: This is a must-read for older fans who are struggling with Luke’s portrayal in The Last Jedi. Also recommended for general TLJ fans. More casual Star Wars fans may not get much from this type of book.
