Star Wars: Winner Lose All

Star Wars Legends: Novels

by Timothy Zahn

Lando Calrissian’s no stranger to card tournaments, but this one has a truly electrifying atmosphere. That’s because the prize is a rare sculpture worth a whopping fifty million credits. If Lando’s not careful, he’s going to go bust, especially after meeting identical twins Bink and Tavia Kitik, master thieves who have reason to believe that the sculpture is a fake. The Kitiks are beautiful, dangerous, and determined to set things right—and they’ve convinced Lando to help them expose the scam. But what they’re up against is no simple double cross, nor even a twisted triple cross. It is a full-blown power play of colossal proportions. For an unseen mastermind holds all the cards and has a fail-proof solution for every murder.

Genres: Star Wars, Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Novella, Space Opera, Media Tie In

62 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Timothy Zahn attended Michigan State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 1973. He then moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and achieved an M.S. degree in physics in 1975. While he was pursuing a doctorate in physics, his adviser became ill and died. Zahn never completed the doctorate. In 1975 he had begun writing science fiction as a hobby, and he became a professional writer. He and his wife Anna live in Bandon, Oregon. They have a son, Corwin Zahn.

Reviews

[DiscoSpacePanther · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sabaac games, gamblers, cheaters, grifters, thieves and murderers - what more could you ask for in a Lando Calrissian novella?

Most enjoyable!

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun Lando story.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is simply a fun tale of Lando getting mixed up in a plot involving forged artwork, dirty thieves, gamblers, and ghost assassins. Timothy Zahn's expanded universe writing is always some of the finest to capture the classic Star Wars "feel", and here it fares well. My only disappointment is that Lando is not so much involved in the story as I thought he could have been, and instead left on the fringes in favor for a couple of sisters who steal the show. That said, the sisters Bink and Tavia Kitik are great fun, and carry the tale extremely well.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent little heist tale, featuring Lando. He's not a principle character, despite being critical to the story, so readers wanting more Lando should look elsewhere, but it's a Zahn story, so it feels more like classic Star Wars than most other writers.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can trust Timothy Zahn too

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last week I reviewed the newest Star Wars novel by Timothy Zahn, Scoundrels. A couple days ago I finally got the chance to read the ebook novella he wrote as a prequel, Winner Lose All. It was enjoyable, on the whole, and if you’ve already read Scoundrels you should give it a shot. However, while it was released before Scoundrels and happens before Scoundrels, it was clearly written after Scoundrels and would be best read after finishing that excellent novel. Why? Because it features several of the characters Zahn created for that novel, and the novel serves as a better introduction to them than this shorter work does. Also, and I hate to speak ill of a Zahn story, this story moved a bit slowly for me in places. Just my opinion though. Scoundrels is set in the first couple months after the destruction of the Death Star. Winner Lose All is set an indeterminate amount of time before that–probably about a year, give or take, but it never says. Don’t worry about it, the timeframe isn’t really that important.

Lando Calrissian is in need of money once again. This time his scheme to get rich quick centers on winning a seat in a high-stakes sabacc tournament being hosted by a local gambler and casino owner. The first crack in these plans shows up when he spots old friends in attendance at the tournament–Bink & Tavia Kitik, along with their partner Zerba Cher’dak. Wherever they show up valuable objects go missing…objects like the ultimate prize at the tournament, a priceless sculpture of mysterious origins. Lando is somewhat mollified by their reassurances that the sculpture isn’t their target, but soon enough things go south once again. Murder, frame-ups, gambling, conniving and thievery, it’s all here!

Content: PG language and violence.

[Daniel Millard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella is included in the mass market paperback edition of Scoundrels, but for the sake of recognition and completion, I wanted to separate it out.

A short, 60-ish page story that is allegedly a prequel to, but really has very little bearing on (and therefore could be read fully independently of) the main story of Scoundrels; Winner Lose All is a short, action-packed story that really embodies a good pulp fiction novella. There is no fat to trim here - everything about the story is concisely set up, run through, and nicely resolved within the story's pages, and very little background knowledge of the Star Wars EU is required as well.

This makes for a great sideshow for Star Wars fans who enjoy the Robin Hood-style criminal aspect of Star Wars, Lando Calrissian as a character, or even just a good mystery/crime scene investigation style story. Excellent fun.

[Jim C · Rating 4 out of 5]

My actual raring is 3.5 stars. This is a prequel to Scoundrels. In this short story, Lando enters a sabbacc tournament where the prize is an expensive sculpture. Other characters in this book are conspiring to steal from the casino head and soon Lando is mixed up with these characters as they stumble on more nefarious happenings.

I liked this short story and I actually enjoyed it more than the novel that follows it. It has a caper movie feeling. There are no force sensitive beings or lightsaber duels in this story. It is just an old fashioned story that takes place in our favorite universe. I did like how it introduced us to characters that are prevalent in the following novel and I would suggest reading this first just for background information.

This is one of the better short stories that I have read.

[Mphecker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is more like a 3.75 than a full 4 stars. After finishing up the Legacy of the Force series, this was a nice change from the angsty lightsaber swinging Darth Caedus action I've read for 9 straight novels. As a tie-in before I try to read Scoundrels, I liked being introduced to a few of the new characters for that novel in a short story beforehand. A neat little heist novel, but aside from the mention of some alien races and Lando, it lacked a "Star Wars" feel.

[Caleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having just finished Scoundrels (the book this novella serves as a prequel to), the characters were enjoyable and the plot short and sweet. I really like Zahn's depiction of Lando, I think he does a great job with his character. I wouldnt bother reading this unless you 1) already read Scoundrels or 2) just really love Lando. Overall a fun novella.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got a copy of this included in the Kindle version of Timothy Zahn's "Scoundrels." This is even billed as a prequel to "Scoundrels." The stories of the two aren't really connected, but they do share a few characters. This was a really short read, but fun. A couple plot developments came a bit too easily in my opinion, but it was an interesting and fun read.

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

Star Wars Legends Project #236

Background: Winner Lose All was written by Timothy Zahn and published in December 2012, first as an e-book, then alongside the novel Scoundrels. Zahn is the author of many of the most popular Star Wars novels, along with several shorter works such as this one.

Winner Lose All takes place sometime after the Battle of Yavin, but well before the Battle of Hoth. The main characters are Lando Calrissian and Bink and Tavia Kitik. The entire story takes place on Danteel.

Summary: Lando Calrissian can't resist the prospect of a Sabacc tournament with one of the priceless Tchine figurines as the grand prize. As the competition gets underway, he is surprised to run into the Kitik sisters, a pair of highly-accomplished thieves after some other pieces in the tournament runner's extensive collection. The pair have stumbled across a troubling secret: the coveted prize that has drawn in gamblers from all over the galaxy and tens of millions of credits, might be a fake! Curiosity and self-interest draw Lando into a web of intrigue much more dangerous than anything he had originally bargained for.

Review: What an incredibly fun little bit of light reading. This is closer to what I wanted out of Scoundrels. It's just the right length, with a more manageable cast of characters, and the twists are surprising and clever without being hard to follow. It's just an all-around fantastic read that you can enjoy in about half of an afternoon. I'd hate to say much more about it for fear of giving anything away, but I highly recommend it!

A

[Dave and Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was riveted to this novel like no others in the last year or so.
I was drawn into a time with believable characters, descriptions, and events!
William F. Brown has novel to be proud of.
Set near the end of the Second World War you find a spy’s life that has to lived minute by minute.
No tomorrow is on the horizon until events before them come to a positive conclusion.
Not always the way though.
A second life can be created but what of your first life.
Do you get to keep any of it?
Read this book and forget about todays world for a while

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm about to read Scoundrels, and heard this was a prequel to that, so I decided to read it.
I'm a Star Wars fan since 1977, but I'm not into all the novels.
I did enjoy this. Landon is an underutilized character, so I love seeing him.
Lando enters a card game tournament with a very expensive prize. But he soon finds himself in the middle of something else.
Quick moving and fun.
Lando is on the edge of the action at times, but the story is still fun.

[Jaipal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short fun read about Lando Calrissian teaming up (got shanghaied) work a group of thieves looking to steal priceless artifacts from a casino. It gets complicated, with a few twists and turns. It's a fun read and Lando plays a minor part in the caper. His character could have been replaced with anyone else and the story would have still read the same so it was a minor part.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not prepared for how much I enjoyed this book. It's an excellent short story con adventure, brilliantly unraveled on each page. In short, the perfect Star Wars beach read, if it were possible for such a genre to exist.

(I'm well aware that Star Wars beach reads are out of the question... Sand is too course, rough, and irritating, and it gets everywhere.)

[Jeff Crosby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very tidy little caper featuring Lando. There is nothing particular tying this story to the Star Wars universe other than Lando, a brief mention of the emperor and sabaac. Still, it was well crafted and fun.

[Vaughan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and of little consequence. Thieves and scoundrels who could have scored big while showing they have a good side, but they stepped out of character and didn't even recognise the opportunity. Take the story as what it is... a short fun romp that'll be easily forgotten.

[The Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a nice little prequel story with Lando, Zerba, Bink and her sister Tavia. There was a cool twist that Lady Vanq being dead and killed. She was found in her bed deceased. That was a creepy and dark twist. Didn’t see that coming. Overall, I really liked it! I would give it a read!

[Danny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ebook novella that's a prequel to Scoundrels. Fun, short read.

[Britain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read. It gives depth to Scoundrels' cast while putting a nice spotlight on Lando.

[Paxton Holley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ebook prequel to Zahn's Scoundrels. Not bad. I look forward to the actual book. Focuses on what Lando is doing before Zahn's book.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun read with Lando as the main character, along with three new ones that we become familiar with, in the Star Wars book 'Scoundrels' by the same author.

[Joshua Chipchase · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short (novella), fun, sort of heist book, with a Star Wars flair. A prequel to the "Scoundrels" Star Wars book.

[Philly Kash · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was promised a Lando adventure, not a dollar store heist eBook about new side characters with zero character.

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun mini-heist to go along with Scoundrels. Its shorter length makes it more palatable and the story itself is more interesting than the one found in the novel.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun, short story about Lando and several familiar faces from Zahn’s Scoundrels book. The stakes were small, but it had some nice characterization nevertheless.

[Sarai Henderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Star Wars: Winner Lose All by Timothy Zahn is a quick, entertaining heist story set in the galaxy far, far away, but it lacks the depth and stakes of Zahn’s best work. The novella captures the charm of its criminal protagonists and delivers clever twists, yet the plot feels too light to leave a lasting impact. Fans of Zahn’s intricate storytelling may find this a bit underwhelming, as the narrative doesn’t explore much beyond the immediate heist. While it’s a fun diversion for devoted Star Wars readers, it’s more of a snack than a full-course meal in the expanded universe.

Sara | Book Confessions of an ExBallerina | Instagram

[Chrian Santos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent prequel, a taste of what’s to come in Scoundrels.

[Pablo Cardenas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Between Shadow of The Sith and now this, Lando is becoming even more of a favorite character of mine.