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Star Wars: Life Day Treasury Book Review

“Star Wars: Life Day Treasury” could have been so much more.

Written by George Mann and Cavan Scott, “Star Wars: Life Day Treasury” is a holiday themed anthology book comprised of 8 stories titled “A Coruscant Solstice,” “An Old Hope,” “The Kindling,” “The Kroolok,” “The Song Of Winter’s Heart,” “The Spirit Of Life Day,” “Reflection Day,” and “The Tree Of Life.” The stories themselves revolve around a Jedi confronting a thief, an astromech being saved from Jawa thieves, a Twi’lek legend who stood up to a Sith Lord, Ewoks and an infamous troll legend, longtime friends on separate sides of war, a planet haunted by the past, a man searching for answers, and a family reunion. Obviously, I’m being purposefully vague here so as to not spoil the stories too much.

Upon hearing the title of this book, I was expecting an anthology that revolved around the titular holiday introduced in the “Star Wars Holiday Special.” Sadly, “Star Wars: Life Day Treasury” is entirely misleading. Only 2 of these stories are actually about Life Day. The rest involve other similar holidays, festivals, legends, and traditions that are spread across the galaxy. 

While I appreciate the positive messages of love, family, happiness, friendship, kindness, and inspiration within these 8 tales, most of these stories are very slight. Sure, the stories do touch on several cultures and time periods from the High Republic to the Galactic Empire, but only “The Tree Of Life” and “An Old Hope” have a real impact. That’s not to say the others are bad (they’re not), they’re just rather forgettable. ‘Hope’ is a story about a certain Jedi on Tatooine that rescues a stolen droid. It feels more in line with other tales from recent past anthology Star Wars books if you’ve been reading those. ‘Tree’ is essentially a follow-up to the “Star Wars Holiday Special” in that we catch up with Itchy, Lumpy, and Malla who are celebrating Life Day. Lumpy is older, sadder and he misses his father who is out on important adventures. I won’t spoil what happens next, but it’s a heartwarming story. Personally, I think it would have been more appealing if the book was all Wookiee or even Chewbacca family Life Day stories. It would have been more emotionally rewarding and it would have made the book more focused as a whole.

The book is aided by wonderful artwork by Grant Griffin. The artist did the cover art and provided a detailed full-page piece for each story that essentially sets the tone for the story the reader is about to check out.

September 9, 2021 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Book review | Anthology Book, Chewbacca, Ewoks, Jedi, Star Wars, Star Wars Book, Star Wars: Life Day Treasury Book Review