Star Wars: Life Day Treasury - Holiday Stories From a Galaxy Far, Far Away by George Mann & Cavan Scott

George Mann and Cavan Scott present Star Wars stories set during the Wookiee holiday known as Life Day. Other than Boba Fett, Life Day has become the most enduring contribution to the Star Wars universe to come from the infamous 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. This treasury of tales show how different cultures and solar systems celebrate Life Day in regards to the winter solstice. As each populated planet has their winter solstice begin at different times, potentially you could celebrate the holidays every day. Coruscant, Tattioone, Alderaan, even the forest moon of Endor celebrate the beginning of winter and the New hope of warm, fertile days ahead.

I like that this book is set during different periods of time. The story on Coruscant occurs during the days of the Old Republic. My favorite story, 'The Song of Winter's Heart' takes place during the early days of the rebellion, showing how a pair of best friends can grow apart on different sides of the political spectrum, with one becoming a storm trooper and the other a rebel, and yet, the shared cultural heritage of the holidays can make even the worst of enemies brothers once more.

I also like that a majority of these stories star established characters. While my favorite tale had all-new characters, whom I hope to one day encounter again, other stories feature some of the most beloved characters across all 3 trilogies. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Wicket and the rest of his tribe are amongst those who appear. You won't get Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker or Princess Leia. But as you could probably guess, Chewbacca and his family, including son Lumpy, star in the Life Day story set on Kashyyyk that closes out this collection. Yup! Han Solo is there too!

Some characters from before Episode I, who have been established in the pages of either Dark Horse or Marvel comics publications appear here too. One such character is Jedi Knight Stellan Gios, who appears on the cover. I only know that Stellan is an established character thanks to a Google search. I'm wondering if he was meant to be based on actor David Tennant. Because that's who he looks like in profile in the beautifully painted cover image by Grant Griffin. All of the artist's paintings were fantastic and added greatly to the intended theme of each story which range from humorous and heartfelt to suspenseful and scary. 

I wouldn't mind a second volume of Life Day stories. Maybe we could see what Life Day festivities are like on Cloud City or when observed by the Hutts. But I would also like to see some sequels. I really would like to know what happened to the opposing main characters of my favorite tale. Did both survive? Did they reconcile? I really want to know more about their story. If that's not reason to believe that is a great read, I don't know what is! And there are several characters, who are not Han or Chewie, in this book that I wanted to know more about.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars