Phasma

I didn't have high expectations for this novel so I was really pleased that I enjoyed it. This addition to the Star Wars universe gives Phasma a much needed back story. It helps reveal her personality, deadly ambition, and character. It was awesome. She was basically a bloodthirsty warrior on a small mostly uninhabited planet. Having grown up in the worst of environments with little to no stability, she became the fiercest warrior in her clan, willing to do whatever it takes to help her come out on top. When a strange ship crashes on her planet she goes out of her way to find the survivors, and escort them to safety; defying clan laws, encroaching on warring clans territory, and jeopardizing her people. If she can help the First Order general then perhaps she can get off her God forsaken planet and actually do more than survive, probably thrive out in the galaxy. A fascinating read.

Canto Bight

This was a quick and fun read that takes place in the Star Wars Universe. Canto Bight is the Casino planet featured in The Last Jedi and it's basically a higher stakes version of Las Vegas. It's a prosperous city with a dark underbelly that will always thrive on greed and war. This book features four short stories by notable sci-fi authors that take place on the casino planet. None of them feature any major characters from the Star Wars series, but there are a few mentions of the impending war and the First Order. The stories feature thugs, gamblers, wine sommeliers, tourists, masseuses, and more. The stories are all vastly different and contain a great number of different species, plot lines, and adventure. They were all fun and entertaining and I would definitely read another compilation like this.