[close] Yet another Star Wars Tales collection, Tales from the New Republic rescues a sheaf of stories that never saw publication in West End's now-kaput Official Star Wars Adventure Journal, with the addition of a tag-team novella by Star Wars fiction demigods Timothy Zahn (Hugo-winning author of Specter of the Past) and Mike Stackpole (founding member of the Rogue Squadron). This above-average anthology delivers on the same promise as other Tales collections, fleshing out hidden details in the Star Wars universe, with notable appearances by Mara Jade, Senator Garm Bel Iblis, Hal Horn, Talon Karrde, Kyp Durron, and the book's only true heavy-hitter--Boba Fett, in a fun, comic-book style frontal assault on a not-so-invincible Imperial garrison. The stories prove to be winners for the most part, with a good mix of old-hand authors and new bloods, but the Zahn-Stackpole collaboration is undoubtedly the star of the show. --Paul Hughes [close]