The Rise of the Empire

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.

TARKIN

Under Governor Wilhuff Tarkin’s guidance, an ultimate weapon of unparalleled destruction—the so-called Death Star—moves ever closer to becoming a terrifying reality. Until then, insurgency remains a genuine threat. Guerrilla attacks by an elusive band of freedom fighters must be countered with swift and brutal action—a mission the Emperor entrusts to his most formidable agents: Darth Vader, the fearsome new Sith enforcer, and Tarkin, whose tactical cunning and cold-blooded efficiency will pave the way for the Empire’s supremacy—and its enemies’ extinction.

A NEW DAWN

Ever since the Jedi were marked for death, Kanan Jarrus has devoted himself to staying alive rather than serving the Force. So when he discovers a conflict brewing between Imperial forces and desperate revolutionaries, he’s not about to get caught in the crossfire. Then the brutal death of a friend forces him to choose between bowing down to fear or standing up to fight. But Jarrus won’t be fighting alone. Soon he is joined by Hera Syndulla—a mysterious agent provocateur with motives of her own—in challenging the Empire for the sake of a world and its people.