Life Day Treasury: Holiday Stories from a Galaxy Far, Far Away by George Mann & Cavan Scott - Part IV

Life Day Treasury: Holiday Stories from a Galaxy Far, Far Away written by George Mann & Cavan Scott, illustrated by Grant Griffin - Part IV

We have come to the end of this quite eclectic collection of holiday stories and I have to say that I am overall pleased. The variety of tales has included horror, family-oriented, strange romance, and just plain holiday warmth, all with surprising twists and turns! I would say that this collection is perfect for any age Star Wars fan, especially those who love to get in the holiday spirit. There's plenty of snow and cheer and compassion to go around within these tales.

Check out my reviews of stories 1 & 2 here, stories 3 & 4 here, and stories 5 & 6 here. My reviews of stories 7 & 8 are below!

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Reflection Day

This story is the strange romance I referred to above. But there's no real hint that it's a romance until the very last page. Super odd turn of events for the direction I thought the story was going in.

It takes place on Jedha the day before and the day of Reflection Day. As the story says, "once per year on this most auspicious of days, the faithful might look upon the famous Kyber Mirrors beneath the Dome of Deliverance and there be awarded a glimpse of their future path, to better understand what the Force might have in store for them. It is a day of resolutions and reaffirming, of new starts and journeys yet to be undertaken." Sounds like a really great holiday to me!! But Zallo Blaak is super grumpy about being a non-believer (kinda reminds me of A New Hope Han) and is only on Jedha because his father pushed him to go there, saying that Zallo needed to find purpose and direction in life. 

On the transport to Jedha, Zallo meets Kasmira, a woman who is the polar opposite to Zallo in that she firmly believes in the Force and its guidance in her life. She's also a scholar studying the Force and is excited to visit the Temple of Central Isopter, the Vault of the Whills, and the Crystal Chambers on Jedha. She begins an excited conversation with Zallo who essentially brushes her off rudely. 

Zallo lands on Jedha on Reflection Eve and greatly enjoys the rambunctious celebrations that stand in sharp contrast to the solemnity of Reflection Day itself. Unfortunately, Zallo gets caught up in the crowds, shoved into a parade, pushed to the ground, and almost trampled by a spamel. And who saves him from certain death?? Why, Kasmira of course! The two end up eating together and Zallo shares his reservations with the whole Force-thing while Kasmira encourages him to believe. 

Well, Zallo goes to the Kyber Mirrors, hoping to see some sort of guidance in the reflection. What he ends up seeing is not at all what I expected as a reader, but Zallo says, "I saw exactly what I needed to see." Honestly, what ends up happening is really cute...it's just that I was hoping for some magical reveal. It's like I'm left wondering what in the world the other pilgrims were seeing in the mirrors...

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The Tree of Life

Here is your classic Life Day story with a coming of age twist. Lumpy (Chewie's son), now determined to be called Waroo, is a sullen teenager(?) who has become quite cynical about Life Day since his dad, Chewbacca, is hardly ever around. We learn that Lumpy used to be all about the holiday, even "cramming a furry fist into his mouth to stop himself from shrieking in glee as the great day dawned." D'aww, too cute!...but of course this makes the cynical Waroo all the more of a tragedy.

It appears that this story takes place not too long after the Empire crumbled and the New Republic began. Itchy (Attichitcuk, Chewie's dad), Malla (Mallatobuck, Chewie's wife), and Waroo (Lumpawarrump) have recently returned to their tree house after being imprisoned by the Empire for some time. It's been years since they've properly celebrated Life Day and Malla is giddy at the thought of getting back out the family's glass orb ornaments--"each representing a memory in their family's long history." The largest of the orbs is meant to be a decoration on the "great tree" which gets adorned with all the families' of Rwookrrorro's most precious glass orbs. 

Waroo just can't seem to get in the Life Day spirit no matter how hard his mom tries...and then he drops their large orb, shattering it to pieces...only to be caught by Chewie who has appeared suddenly out of nowhere!! Chewie, being the compassionate soul that he is, finds a replacement orb (a luma-bulb from the Falcon with the original orb's light inserted into it). Despite Waroo's fears, everything turns out happily and with the whole family back together after years of oppression under the Empire, they can finally have a Life Day like the ones of old. As the penultimate sentence of the tale puts it so well, "This was what mattered, not pretty orbs hung on snow-covered branches but memories that would last a lifetime." So very true!! Reminds me of the Christmas we decided to go visit my Papa in the hospital (he was extremely ill and passed away a couple months later) instead of going to church. We did what really mattered, spending time with loved ones, soaking up every minute of time we had. Such is this tale.

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Well, there you have the Life Day Treasury collection of holiday stories!! With the diverse array of subject matter, time periods, and genres, this collection legitimately has something for everybody! 

Happy holidays to all!! May the Force bring you joy as this year comes to a close and the new year begins! Speaking of which, next week is an absolute bonkers week for me so I will not be doing any more reviews until the new year. So be on the lookout for a new Aphra's Artifacts on Jan 3rd and a new review on Jan 4th. See you on the flipside...

-Marie E. Wilson a.k.a. @AliaMorgaine