This is a very unique compilation of two full-length canon novels, A New Dawn, and Tarkin, plus three short stories exclusive to this oversized collection. All-Star Star Wars writers John Jackson Miller and Jason Fry, along with Melissa Scott—newcomer to the galaxy far, far away—penned the short stories. Scott’s short story, “Mercy Mission,” features Hera Syndulla on a dangerous mission to her homeworld of Ryloth before her introduction in A New Dawn or Rebels. Miller writes “Bottleneck,” shows Tarkin in a test of whits with A New Dawn’s Count Vidian. Finally, Fry’s story, “The Levers of Power,” is about Admiral Rae Sloane as she commands a Star Destroyer at the Battle of the Second Death Star at Endor.

Star Wars short stories have become notoriously difficult to track down. Some are available in the backs of certain paperback novels, others are available only in Star Wars Insider Magazine, and some, like these, are collected in a compendium. If you’re a completionist, The Rise of the Empire remains the only way to collect these three short stories.