Book Review: "Life Day Treasury" gets you right into the holiday spirit, Star Wars style
A very happy Life Day to you! Or Solstice Tide! Or Winter’s Heart!
Whatever you find yourself celebrating this year, Star Wars: Life Day Treasury is a worthy addition to your festivities. The third installment in George Mann’s anthologies of myths and tales from the Galaxy Far, Far Away, the Life Day Treasury also features stories by Cavan Scott, the two of them working in tandem to deliver eight stories full of light, life, and holiday cheer.
Each tale is set on a different world, across all the eras we’ve come to know and love. Some are not so clearly defined, while others take place squarely during the High Republic, the Empire’s reign, or in the early days of the New Republic.
A particular highlight for me was the first story, “A Coruscant Solstice”. Not only is it set during the High Republic era, but it stars my favourite Jedi from that time period, Stellan Gios, as he is reminded why it is he does what he does from a person who needs him the most.
Mann and Scott also brilliantly weave older stories from the Star Wars universe into the fabric of this story, with familiar faces from the Star Wars Holiday Special and the Ewoks making appearances for adventures of their own.
But no matter the era, no matter the world or who occupies it, each tale brings with it a familiar aspect of the holidays that any reader will recognize. Spending time with family, the traditions one generation passes on to the next, whether solemn or silly, the giving of gifts. And in one case, the belief in a cloaked, bearded man who travels impossible distances to bring cheer to all, whether or not they believe in him.
But not everything is lighthearted start to finish. One tale was a ghost story was very reminiscent of A Christmas Carol. Another was especially bittersweet - reminding me so much of Claudia Gray’s Lost Stars it hurt - but even then, things are left so open that you think with enough belief in the capacity of others to do good, and do the right thing, there might be some hope after all.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the authors for their determination to inject some romance into Star Wars. In more than one story no less, and ranging from puppy love to the more grown-up.
The illustrations by Grant Griffin are, as always, breathtaking. Each radiates the kind of warm, cozy style we might expect from a favourite, well-loved storybook. They set the tone without giving too much away, and to my eye have become completely inextricable from this anthology series.
And if anyone knows where I can get a giant print of that Stellan one, please do let a girl know.
A favourite quote of mine from The Last Jedi goes: “Hope is like the sun. If you only believe in it when you can see it, you’ll never make it through the night”. And hope is exactly what Mann and Scott have delivered here.
When things seem at their bleakest, or a character is at their lowest, there around the corner is just the hope they need to make it through the night. It’s an apt reminder, now more than ever, that although the whole galaxy - or even just the world we live in - can’t be set entirely to rights by the actions of one person, that doesn’t mean that a single person shouldn’t try to make the world right for a friend, a community, or a stranger in need of just a little hope.
I don’t know why people seem to be more receptive to that idea around the holidays, but that seems to just be the way it is. So if you find yourself in need of a touch of hope this Life Day, mixed with a healthy dose of adventure, heart, and Star Wars charm, add Star Wars: Life Day Treasury to your traditions this year.
Star Wars Life Day Treasury: Holiday Stories from a Galaxy Far, Far Away is out September 7, 2021.
Special thanks to Disney Books for the advance copy for review purposes.
