by Fernando Mendez

They were on screen for less than five minutes. Yet, despite their little screen time, Darth Vader’s hired bounty hunters have gained a sizeable fan following. The anthology Tales of the Bounty Hunters contains five short stories about the Star Wars universe’s most deadly killers.

This collection of short stories is a good introduction for the reader just getting acquainted with the Star Wars extended universe. The stories occur during the time frame of the original trilogy and many familiar characters make cameos, so having no knowledge of events prior to or after the movies’ time frames is not a problem. The other tales in the series——Tales from Jabba’s Palace and Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina——are also good introductions to the Star Wars extended universe.

From the reptilian Bossk, to the bandaged android Dengar, to the infamous Boba Fett, Tales of the Bounty Hunters offers some background on these silent mercenaries. All five of the tales are well written and very entertaining, enjoyable for both longtime fans of the original film trilogy as well as new fans who want to know more about characters in the Star Wars universe that did not get much screen time.

And, finally, fans of Boba Fett will be able to find out whether or not he survived his fall into the Sarlacc in Return of the Jedi.