The kids loved this book. It was perfect read for Star Wars lovers. A little more of a story for The Clone Wars and new perspective. My son a 5th grader, who is not a reader, but loves Star Wars was taken by this book and did not put this book down.

A very exciting mixture of Star Wars stories by different authors featuring some of the franchise's most beloved characters. It is action-packed from beginning to end and a must read for fans of the SW universe.

A wonderful collection of small stories throughout the galaxy during the Clone Wars. What a powerhouse collection of people too!

This anthology is unique in where it enters canon and the long history of Star Wars anthologies, and it rocks. Not only is it so carefully edited, it's clear that heart went into each story from each author.

I think this rocks as a fun extra romp into Clone Wars for fans of the show, and a wonderful introductory tease for folks who love the characters but maybe haven't delved into the show.

I wanted to like this more than I did. I was really hoping it would be like the "From a Certain Point of View" books, but mostly, it was just straight retellings of different episodes from the clone wars. Good retellings! Like, if you enjoyed Clone Wars you will find things to enjoy! But not much that was NEW. Also not nearly enough Ahsoka, but that's a personal preference.

The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark is a middle grade adaptation of several episodes from the animated series. I was expecting new stories, so I was surprised (as someone who has watched the show) that they were essentially novelizations of episodes. For readers who have not seen the show, these will be new and exciting stories. For those who have, they will still enjoy getting a new perspective on some of the events. I really enjoyed the original story, Bug, and it made me think that the collection would have been strengthened by including a few more of these. The book itself is lovely, with watercolor illustrations. For even more enjoyment, I recommend checking out the audiobook. It is amazing, with the voice actors from the series reading their characters.

Today is the release of The Clone Wars anthology book, Stories of Light and Dark. Unfortunately this is probably my least favorite Star Wars release in a while. None of the stories are poorly written or anything, but I don’t think this book was written for me in mind. Which is fine. Normally I love anthology books. I think From A Certain Point of View is so much fun, and I cannot wait to read the new one later this year. But that book works so well because, as the name implies, it offers up new points of view for a story we know and love. We get to learn more about lesser known characters. But for the most part, Stories of Light and Dark stay focused on the major players.

I will point out that the story by Sarah Beth Durst was my favorite of the bunch exactly because it chooses to focus on Katooni. While revisiting the arc with Ahsoka and Hondo and all the younglings, we get to learn about one of the kids. We see her struggles and her triumphs and what they mean to her, and I found it to be really effective. I felt like I learned something new that I wouldn’t have picked up from the episode itself.

But for all the other stories it seemed like I might as well just watch The Clone Wars. There are still some cool moments sprinkled throughout. Jason Fry’s Yoda story covers the very first episode of the series, but has a more ominous tone since we now know how it all ends. Or a story with Dooku mentions Rael Aveross. I’ll always appreciate stuff like that. And PADME’S STORY is strangely very relevant to today’s political and economical landscape.

But when it comes down to it, I think this book is primarily not for people who have seen the series. It’s written for ages eight to twelve, or grades three through seven. I could see this book being an entry point to The Clone Wars for younger fans. Maybe new Star Wars fans who were introduced to Star Wars through the sequel trilogy or Star Wars Resistance, and they’re growing into the age where The Clone Wars would be perfect for them. And I am all for that. But as an older fan? As someone who is already very familiar with the stories in here? I didn’t feel like I personally got much out of it.

I should point out that the review copy of the book that was sent out only had ten stories in there. For some reason the very last one, titled Bug and written by E. Anne Covery, was excluded. I admit I’m intrigued by that. I definitely want to know why it’s being kept secret for now. It could change my tune on the book for sure. But as of right now, if you’re a fan my age, and you’re not a completionist, I’d say skip this one. On the other hand, if you’ve got a young reader that you’re hoping to usher into the world of The Clone Wars, this might just be perfect for them!

This book was a stunning example of short stories in a shared world. Not all of the stories were my favorite but they all brought something different to the table. It was a greatly enjoyable read.

Synopsis
An epic clash between the forces of light and dark, between the Galactic Republic and the Separatists, between brave heroes and brilliant villains…the fate of the galaxy is at stake in the Emmy Award–winning animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. In this exciting anthology, eleven authors who are also fans of the series bring stories from their favorite show to life. Relive memorable moments and stunning adventures, from attempted assassinations to stolen bounties, from lessons learned to loves lost. All your favorite characters from The Clone Wars are here: Anakin Skywalker, Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka Tano, Captain Rex, Darth Maul, Count Dooku, and more!

Overall Thoughts
While I enjoyed reading this book, I must admit that it did not meet my expectations. Besides the final story, the majority of the book was retellings of Clone Wars episodes that are already widely known. Even the last story, which was brand, was a bit confusing for me to understand. The retellings were enjoyable, and it was interesting to experience the story through a different format, but I came in believing that the book would offer more details or insight about the specific stories beyond a cool thought here or there.

Retellings
My major disappointment with this book was that each story didn’t offer more details that were never seen in the episode. It was great to experience the story through a book and audiobook, especially the Umbara arc, but reflecting back on it I feel like I could’ve gotten the same level of enjoyment from rewatching the episodes. Part of this likely has to do with my expectations coming in though, and I think if I ever reread the book I’ll appreciate it more for what it offers than what it doesn’t.

Point of View
One of the few positive aspects of this book was that each story was told, for the most part, from a single character’s perspective, allowing the reader to get inside their head and know what they were thinking, something that can’t be seen in an episode. While this perspective only added details in a few of the stories, Yoda’s retelling of the episode Ambush stood out to me because of his unique way of looking at the universe.

Audible
For the most part I enjoyed this Audible production. The themes for different characters enhanced the experience, although there were a few times that the music used was distracting and not suitable for the specific scene. The voice actors narrating their own story was a nice touch and made it feel like the character was telling a story.

Recommendation
Unless you’re a diehard Clone Wars fan or prefer books over television, this is a book that you can skip without missing much. Other than a deeper look into the minds of familiar characters like Yoda or Ahsoka, and one brand new tale about the Dathomir witches, there isn’t much new lore that you’ll gain from this book.

Final Grade
5.5/10
Stories of Light and Dark retells some of our favorite Clone Wars episodes, but adds little to the story beyond perspective

I loved this anthology! It was really interesting to see different episodes of the Clone Wars from different perspectives and it definitely added more overall depth to the stories. The illustrations were also incredible!

SUMMARY
The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark is a retelling of existing Clone Wars episodes. It’s worth getting if you want more insight from the point of view of the characters you love, to revisit iconic moments from the series or to get to know the current slate of Star Wars authors.

The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark retells episodes of The Clone Wars in a similar way to a novelization. The downside to this is that very little new is added including dialogue. However, the highlight of these stories is getting the point of view of characters we love in stories we already enjoy and getting more content from some of my favorite Star Wars authors!

Each of the stories in the anthology is unique not only in terms of story and characters, but also how they’re written by the variety of authors and the emotions they invoke.

“Dooku Captured” by Lou Anders has some truly hilarious moments including when Count Dooku says Anakin and Obi-Wan were, “as overconfident as ever, strutting like a pair of preening tip-yips.”

Getting to see Anakin’s fear of loss on full display in “Hostage Crisis” by Preeti Chhibber and Obi-Wan’s feelings for Satine in “Kenobi’s Shadow” by Greg van Eekhout was great.

Although Padmé is often portrayed as a confident politician, it was refreshing to see her doubting herself in “Pursuit of Peace” by Anne Ursu, while still rising to the occasion because she believes in a bigger cause.

“The Lost Nightsister” by Zoraida Córdova successfully captures all of the complex and conflicted emotions that make Asajj Ventress so iconic and ties nicely to Jason Fry’s story earlier in the anthology when Yoda senses the pain and hunger for belonging that Ventress feels.

My personal favorite stories in the anthology were “The Lost Nightsister” by Zoraida Córdova and “Dark Vengeance” by Rebecca Roanhorse where Maul’s voice jumps off the page.

Since it’s a new story, a novel set in the Clone Wars era like Dark Disciple by Christie Golden will still be the type of Clone Wars content I prefer, but this anthology is worth checking out for all the die-hard Clone Wars fans.

Episodes List
“Sharing the Same Face” by Jason Fry – Yoda Season 1, Episode 1 “Ambush”
“Dooku Captured” by Lou Anders – Dooku Season 1, Episode 11 “Dooku Captured”
“Hostage Crisis” by Preeti Chhibber – Anakin Skywalker Season 1, Episode 22 “Hostage Crisis”
“Pursuit of Peace” by Anne Ursu – Padmé Amidala Season 3, Episode 10 “Heroes on Both Sides”
“The Shadow of Umbara” by Yoon Ha Lee – Rex Season 4, Episodes 7,8, 9, and 10
“Bane’s Story” by Tom Angleberger – Cad Bane Season 4, Episode 15 “Deception”
“The Lost Nightsister” by Zoraida Córdova – Asajj Ventress Season 4, Episode 20 “Bounty”
“Dark Vengeance” by Rebecca Roanhorse – Maul Season 4, Episodes 21 and 22
“Almost a Jedi” by Sara Beth Durst – Katooni Season 5, Episode 9 “A Necessary Bond”
“Kenobi’s Shadow” by Greg van Eekhout – Obi-Wan Kenobi Season 5, Episode 16 “The Lawless”
*** “Bug” by E. Anne Convery Season 4, Episode 19 “Massacre”

*** This is an original story but unfortunately was not available yet for review.

The audiobook for The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark will be performed by many of the original voice actors from the show.

This volume contains a number of interesting stories from the Clone Wars period of Star Wars and while I mostly bought it for Cad Bane, I greatly enjoyed each and every story and was glad to add this to my Star Wars collection. It’s a fun book for people that are newer to the fandom and also for fans of the Star Wars universe.

While the stories within this anthology aren't new to readers who have seen The Clone Wars, my library can never have too many Star Wars books. I appreciate the wide variety of authors included as a way to pivot my Star Wars only readers to other works by the same authors.

The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark is an anthology book that brings together a number of impressive authors (many who’ve written for Star Wars already): E. Anne Convery, Greg van Eekhout, Jason Fry, Lou Anders, Preeti Chhibber, Rebecca Roanhorse, Sarah Beth Durst, Tom Angleberger, Yoon Ha Lee, and Zoraida Córdova.

For all but one of the short stories included, these are retellings of different episodes presented throughout the series, over various seasons. While it’s kind of a bummer that we aren’t getting all new stories from the Clone Wars, I have to say I loved how these stories were presented.

Much like any adaptation, readers are offered a bit more insight into the mind frame of the characters. We get to read what characters are thinking about in these familiar situations, bringing a deeper connection to the action overall. This was especially true for the short that adapted the Umbara arc, where we see the viciousness of Pong Krell from the perspective of Rex and his Clone brethren.

It was always one of my favorite arcs in the series. It offers a poignant theme on war and the Jedi ethics in general, while setting the stage for some incredible action. The prose in the book conveys this well, but being from the perspective of the Clones makes it far more emotionally impactful.

This is the case for pretty much all the stories, though that’s not the only thing that makes them engaging. Sometimes the narrator puts a unique spin on the tale, making the straightforward episode feel fresh as we see it from an all new perspective. Whether it’s Count Dooku composing a letter to his Master, Sidious, or Cad Bane spinning a tale for fellow bounty hunters, these aspects make even familiar stories feel new.

There is one brand new tale included in the anthology, offering a glimpse at one of the Nightsisters who survived the destruction of the clans on Dathomir. While I won’t go into too many details on it, I can happily tell you it was one of the more engaging stories in the book (for me). I loved how it dealt with the aftermath of something we don’t get nearly enough time with in the show, and it’s done in a way that feels like it fits in perfectly with the other stories.

I enjoyed how each short never felt too long. While they each delivered all the pertinent details, they sped along at breakneck pace. This makes it easy to breeze through the novel in a relatively short time, but structured in a way that fans can pick and choose what story they want to revisit.

As for the physical book itself, I both love and loathe how the book itself is handled. On one hand, we’re given yet another Star Wars book (e.g. Star Wars: Dark Legends) that doesn’t follow any previously released format. It’s both taller and wider than other Disney Press releases, so it won’t fit in nicely on your bookshelves with the rest of them. Sure, it’s a minor gripe, but it continues to throw me off.

The GOOD part of that, however, is that the different size allows the interior to shine. The artwork sprinkled throughout, kicking off each story, is impressive and gorgeous. The cover art is mimicked on the book itself, so even if you take off the dust/slip cover you can view it and it looks incredible. It’s a small detail, but something I’d love to see more books do.

The larger size allows them to really stand out, but it also means the text format is a bit bigger. On top of making it way easier to read (must be getting old), the format gave the book a more “fairy tale” quality. Like something you could read a story from each night before going to bed.

If you’re a fan of The Clone Wars, there’s no reason to skip out on this. Despite pulling (mostly) from episodes we already know, it manages to add enough new perspective to make them feel fresh. Combined with great artwork, and an overall impressive presentation there’s a lot for fans to love.

The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark turned out to be the perfect complement to The Clone Wars. Whereas I believed the only real new content that would come from this anthology would be the new original story, each retelling turned out to add so much to the episodes they were retelling. While I never had many problems with any episode of The Clone Wars, this book helped fill in the gaps that needed filling the most within each arc covered. The most crucial thing this book helped to uncover were the thoughts of numerous characters throughout the events of the Clone Wars. I had never thought about how much we were missing from the show by being blindsided to certain thoughts during crucial character moments. Sometimes these inclusions even filled in problems I had in the show that confused me, clearing up issues elsewhere to bolster up the book itself.
This book also helps to pioneer new voices in the Star Wars canon. About half the writers on this anthology are new writers for Star Wars, while the other half are mostly one-time novel writers getting their second dose in this universe. Not only are we given diverse new opportunities for new Star Wars authors, but a diversified team of Star Wars authors from many different backgrounds. The main problem I faced with these stories had to do with length issues. While I knew each story would be restricted due to the book being an anthology and the book being restricted to a certain length, the pace of each story went by so fast to the point of having to skip over crucial moments that were important to the covered episodes. Being meant for younger readers though, it's easy to see why the book had to be stylized in this fashion. The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark takes what is amazing about The Clone Wars and ends up amplifying it to even higher acclaim. Its minor issues can easily be cast aside by how much is added to the lore of the series. One could only wish that each arc of the show could be explored like they are in this anthology novel.

My review of Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark

With such a non-descript title, this book could be about anything, couldn’t it? And that’s kind of what this book turns out to be: an anthology of just about any kind of story from The Clone Wars TV series. Each chapter is a portion of an arc or an episode from the show, except for a unique story at the end of the printed volume, written by someone outside of the show’s writing team.

The influx of new writers treating pre-written material means that we are given a few new points-of-view into the episodes themselves. These authors usually take these chances to bolster a specific point from the episode or give a character a little more agency. The chapter that covers the episode about Yoda and Thire is morphed from a fun introductory episode to the show to a tragedy about Yoda’s compassion for the clones and their eventual turning on them in Order 66. The chapter about Padme, from Hostage Crisis, focuses a little more on her interior life than the episode did, which was more concerned about making Cad Bane a formidable villain. I generally enjoyed these points of view, as these authors have a good eye on what parts of the episode need to be teased out a little bit more.

Now, maybe the bigger question is, since these are slightly charged adaptations, do they accomplish the adaptation role well? The answer to that is….probably not. Now, before I go too deep into this, I need to preface my thoughts a little. I’m not sure if these were written with the thought that you could read them without seeing the episode. Maybe they were designed to be read after watching the episode. So let me talk about it for both possibilities:

If these books were designed to be read by someone who hasn’t seen the episode, I’m not sure the reader would have a good enough understanding of the episode. Lots has to be skipped in favor of the specific point of view and in favor of keeping the page count from sprawling out. I’m not sure this was the case.

Assuming that these books were designed to be read by someone who has seen the episode, I would say that they generally function well as “flavor boosters” to the main course, the episode. A few really are duds, not adding much to the episode, not changing how I see the episodes or the events depicted. But some do give the episodes a little extra flair, but the jury’s out on whether or not “a little extra flair” is worth the entry price.

If you were reading these just to re-experience the episodes, the time that it takes to read them might be about the same length as the episode, so it might be worth firing up Disney Plus and re-watching them. You would miss out on the stand alone story, Bug, which follows up on the story of the Nightsisters after Grievous’ attack on Dathomir, though. That’s what makes this book really tough to recommend: the standalone story is great, and I’m sure we’ll see the characters again someday, but does that make it worth the entry price? Maybe not. If you love the show and consume everything around it, come in! It’s a fun book and you’ll experience your favorite show from new angles. If not, it’s probably worth passing right now.

I do want to mention that there is some fantastic art in the book. Between chapters, we are treated with some great character studies of a character from the upcoming chapter.

You can purchase a copy of this book from Barnes and Noble or through a local book store, and it is also available on Amazon. I was provided a digital copy from NetGalley in return for an honest review. I also bought the physical copy because, well, it’s Star Wars.

I was a little disappointed this was mostly stories from Clone Wars episodes but I would definitely recommend it to students whether they had seen Clone Wars or not. My favorite story was Bug by E. Anne Convery.

Who would have thought that 2020 would be the Year of The Clone Wars especially back when the series was cancelled after the Disney acquisition? And yet the Year of The Clone Wars it continues to be as Disney-Lucasfilm Press bring us the middle grade anthology Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark featuring stores by Lou Anders, Preeti Chhibber, Zoraida Córdova, Jason Fry, Rebecca Roanhorse, Greg Van Eekhout, Tom Angleberger, E. Anne Convery, Sarah Beth Durst, Yoon Ha Lee, and Anne Ursu. Each story also features a gorgeous illustration by Ksenia Zelentsova with whose fan art you might already be familiar. Is this a book that fans of the show are going to love? Definitely! And if you’re not already a fan? Well, let’s dive into that.

The eleven stories are retellings of episodes from The Clone Wars. This is a double-edged sword because on the one hand, it’s always great to get a new perspective on a story we already know especially since books let you get into a character’s head. Some of the stories even give us first person. On the other hand… it’s a story we already know and only so much can be added especially in the short story format. On an individual basis, these stories aren’t nearly as successful as retellings as the full-length novels that tackled each of the Original Trilogy movies a few years back.

For me, the two true standouts from the anthology were “The Shadow of Umbra” by Yoon Ha Lee and “Dark Vengeance” by Rebecca Roanhorse. The stories star Captain Rex and Maul respectively and manage to truly soar beyond being retellings. Roanhorse in particular is a great fit for Maul telling his story to an unknown someone (I’m headcanoning that it’s Ezra). Lee is one of those authors that I’m thrilled to see writing in the Star Wars universe and when I double-checked to see who’d written the Rex story, my immediate response was, “Oh, of course it’s Yoon Ha Lee.” Maybe if we’re very lucky, we’ll get to see more Star Wars stories from him.

That’s not to say that any of the stories are bad. If anything, one of the true strengths of this anthology lies in the diversity of voices. Editor Jen Heddle assembled a fantastic team of both Star Wars veterans like Jason Fry and those new to writing in the galaxy like Anne Ursu. There’s no one involved here that I wouldn’t be intrigued to see more work by in the galaxy far, far away especially if they are given the chance to tell a new story.

Ultimately though… Listen, I’ll be blunt with all of you: there is an audience for this book and it is not me. If you’re a big The Clone Wars fan or if you have a younger reader who’s looking in dive into Star Wars books, this is definitely the book for you. If, however, you’re like me and watched the show but never really connected with it, the book is more to akin to one you might read once but not come back to which truly sounds harsher than I intended it to be. Not every Star Wars book has to or possibly can be for everybody and that’s okay!

So should you pick this book up? Sure! I’m always in favor of people reading more books in Star Wars and being introduced to new authors. Will you definitely love it? Your mileage may vary.

Thank you to Disney Lucasfilm Publishing for providing an early copy of the book for review purposes.

The Clone Wars: Stories of Light and Dark takes readers through many popular episodes of TCW.....from a certain point of view. This anthology for middle grade readers acts as both a perfectly easy read for avid TCW fans and newcomers alike of all ages, with accessible descriptions that allow readers to envision the worlds even if they haven't already seen them in the show.

On top of the text itself, the audiobook version of this book is incredible! Narrated by a full cast, each brings the character's point of view to life so vibrantly! Star Wars audiobooks are not to be missed, and this one ranks high among the many fantastic narrations. Sam Witwer as Maul is a high point!

The Clone Wars returns in a new light.. and dark! This book features short stories from many of my favourite Star Wars authors and plenty of new ones. As a big fan of the Clone Wars television series this book was a must read, and it was great to see my favourite episodes back, now with fresh perspectives from inside the minds of the characters. If you've already seen and enjoyed the show, this is your opportunity to relive it in a fantastic and in depth new way. Highly recommended!