Rating: 
Summary: OK but missing something...
Review: That something was characters from the movies, don't let a picture of Bobba Fett on the cover fool you because...remember never judge a book by it's cover. Of the 4 short stories out this was my least favorite but it's still better then a few other Star Wars books. Now that the negatives are out in the open the positive are the great tag team effort, Tony Russo's effort Blaze of Glory, and solo shorties by Zahn,Tyers, and Stackpole. I would direct you towards Tales of the Bounty Hunters first but if you have already been there and done that then might as well give Tales of the Empire a read. By the way at least one old familiar foe shows up at the end of the book....hhhmmm....who could it be......
Rating: 
Summary: This is one good book!!
Review: This book is one of the best i have ever read!!!! I especially like the story `Slaying Dragons` even though it is short and does not have much action in it. The stories all link up with other novels eg you learn how Mara Jade joins Talon Karrde`s organisation and why Corran Horn joins the rebbellion. This is a must perchase. YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: So that's why they're the dark side...
Review: This has about 10 stories in it, the last being of 4 parts, written by both master authors, Timothy Zahn(my personal favorite) and Michael A. Stackpole, a great author in his own right. This last tale takes up about 100 pages and is really good. In fact, Many of these tales are quite good. One is about a medic assisting a recue team at an Imperial prison, one describes how Mara Jade came into Talon Karrde's service, and the others are good too. I highly recommend this collection of tales.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty hit or miss.
Review: This is certainly not the best Star Wars book ever written. The plots aren't all that great, and they don't interweave the way some of the other "Tales" books do. The stories are pretty hit or miss, with many dull, slow, boring ones thrown together with a couple of diamonds in the ruff. Some of the stories also might be hard to understand for the casual fan. I would recommend Tales from Mos Eisley Cantina, or Tales from Jabba's Palace instead.
Rating:
Summary: Star Wars
Review: This is one of those collection of Star Wars short stories that mentions the main characters (Luke, Han, Leia, etc.) really only briefly, if at all. This book fills in some of the gaps in the stories of some of the less known characters. It is an interesting read though.
Rating:
Summary: A good book for those with Sar Wars knowledge
Review: This was a good book for those who have good knowledge of the Star Wars universe and its characters. Those who don't have this may want to read a few full length novels before getting to these short stories, otherwise you may not truely understand the debth that each one of these characters has. I'm a Corran Horn freak and really enjoyed Stackpole and Zahn's short novel about his escapades before joining the New Republic. I would encourage everyone to try out the X-Wing series as well as I, Jedi they are excellent. END.
Rating:
Summary: Yes they are from the Empire (well, sort of)
Review: To the reader who said that the title Tales From the Empire was incorrect let me debate that by outlining all the stories and their tone.First Contact-not really uplifting or depressing, just a nice piece of history, but the death at the end lends a tragic tone. Do No Harm-Sure the good guys com out on top, but only by warping the mind of a nice innocent doctor. A festering wound of a story but still nice. Retreat from Coruscant-this would seem to have an uplifting ending until you remember that the New Repubilic just abandoned Coruscant to the destruction and chaos we saw in Dark Empire. Not exactly the stuff of children's slumber. Missed Chance-this is one of the two stories that has the good guys win with no cost. It serves as a very nice change of pace. Slaying Dragons-this has a supposed uplifting ending as we fly into the sunset to go slay some dragons. It is so uplifting that it is also the worst story in the bunch. A Certain Point of View-this is the third-best story because of the severely melancholy tone. Read it in a house with all the lights off on a rainy Saturday afternoon for the best effect. Stalemate. Excellent. The Final Exit-sort of happy ending. The guy was a Dark Jedi after all. I'm not going to break down in tears but not going to break into majestic song either. Blaze of Glory-the second best story. The good guys winn but at what cost. Side Trip-the best story. Not really depressing but Rebels, smugglers and Corsec agents are put through the hoops by our Mandalorian armored friend. (Not who you think) It ends with the Imperials building up to a smash to the Rebels on Derra IV, I think. From this we can see that all the stories are basically depressing. These are not tales from the physical Empire but tales from the spirit and the attitude fostered by the Empire. The feelings of gloom, despair and grief. These capture the dark downheartening feel of TESB better than just about anything. That is why they are tales from the Empire. If I missed any, forgive me.
Rating: 
Summary: A disapointing collection for the Empire
Review: What the title and the cover seem to promise is far from the actual content. Sure the stories are set in the Star Wars universe, but unlike the other collections (Tales of the Bounty Hunters, Tales of the Mos Eisely Cantina, Tales from Jabba the Hutt) these stories are very bland, and uninteresting at times. Sure, some of the stories and characters were noteworthy, but a large disapointment to fans of Boba Fett, Grand Admiral Thrawn, other main characters and the ideology and structure of the Empire itself. Actually, a few stories had nothing to do with the Empire at all it seemed, maybe just a footnote, but nothing that compares to the grandeur of the Empire as depicted in the movies and some of the other recent novels. I am a huge SW fan, and have read about 80% of 'all' novels set within the universe, and this by far is one I want to forget about.
Rating:
Summary: I love reading it - it fills in the gaps.
Review: While the title is a bit misleading, the stories in it are great. Some of these tell about the people caught in the middle and others fill in some of the information gaps that are created by other books. For example, I learned that the rebels were hurt at Derra IV and that they lost a convoy but untill I read "The Side Trip" I didn't know how the Empire found them. If you like knowing all you can about the Star Wars universe, than you should get this book.
Rating:
Summary: This Is One Of the Good Ones
Review: With any collection you usually go in expecting an up and down ride. After all with most collections the styles and the quality of stories often varies quite a bit from one to the next. This one is amazingly consistant throughout. Actually the hardest thing to get through in this book is the editors foward. It's not really bad by any means it just seems to be about twice as long as necessary. It almost seemed like he needed to justify in detail why he deserved to be editor of the book. Don't worry Peter you're more than welcome among the stars in the vast Star Wars universe. The thing that definitely unites this collection is the obvious passion that everyone invloved has for the theatre in which they were allowed to perform. This was true of the best selling authors invloved as well as those who are just getting a chance to display their talents. There was also kind of a feeling of a breath of fresh air as well. Whereas it is fun to read stories that use George Lucas' main characters, it's also nice to know that there is life in his universe even when they're not around. The finale of this collection is a tag-team collaboration by Stackpole and Zahn; let's just say the Star Wars universe doesn't get much more fun than this. To all you fans out there who must feel overwhelmed at times by the amount of Star Wars literature out there who are wondering if this one will be worth your time and money I have one answer: A resounding Yes!
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