Sixteen stories from the most infamous cantina in the universe...by some of today's leading writers of science fiction. In a far corner of the universe, on the small desert planet of Tatooine, there is a dark, nic\-i\-tain\-filled cantina where you can down your favorite intoxicant while listening to the best jizz riffs in the universe. But beware your fellow denizens of this pangalactic watering hole, for they are cutthroats and cutpurses, assassins and troopers, humans and aliens, gangsters and thieves.... Featuring original stories by: Kevin J. Anderson \ Doug Beason \ M. Shayne Bell \ David Bischoff \ A.C. Crispin \ Kenneth C. Flint \ Barbara Hambly \ Rebecca Moesta \ Daniel Keys Moran \ Jerry Oltion \ Judith \& Garfield Reeves\-Stevens \* Jennifer Roberson \ Kathy Tyers \ Tom Veitch \& Martha Veitch \ Dave Wolverton \ Timothy Zahn

In a wild and battle\-scarred galaxy, assassins, pirates, smugglers, and cutthroats of every description roam at will, fearing only the professional bounty hunters\-\-\-amoral adventurers who track down the scum of the universe...for a fee. When Darth Vader seeks to strike at the heart of the Rebellion by targeting Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon, he calls upon six of the most successful\-\-\-and feared\-\-\-hunters, including the merciless Boba Fett. They all have two things in common: lust for profit and contempt for life.... Featuring original stories by Kevin J. Anderson, M. Shayne Bell, Daniel Keys Moran, Kathy Tyers, Dave Wolverton.

In the dusty heat of twin\-sunned Tatooine lives the wealthiest gangster in a hundred worlds, master of a vast crime empire and keeper of a vicious, flesh\-eating monster for entertainment (and disposal of his enemies). Bloated and sinister, Jabba the Hutt might have made a good joke \-\- if he weren't so dangerous. A cast of soldiers, spies, assassins, scoundrels, bounty hunters, and pleasure seekers have come to his palace, and every visitor to Jabba's grand abode has a story. Some of them may even live to tell it... Featuring original stories by: Kevin J. Anderson, M. Shayne Bell, John Gregory Betancourt, Mark Budz and Marina Fitch, A.C. Crispin, Dan'l Danehy\-Oakes, George Alec Effinger, Kenneth C. Flint, Esther Friesner, Barbara Hambly, Daryl F. Mallett, J.D. Montgomery, Judy and Gar Reeves\-Stevens, Jennifer Roberson, Kathy Tyers, Deborah Wheeler, Dave Wolverton, William F. Wu, Timothy Zahn.

Culled from the pages of the Star Wars Adventure Journal, one of the most popular Star Wars magazines in the field today, comes this exciting new short\-story collection. Here are stories from such award\-winning and New York Times bestselling authors as Timothy Zahn, Michael A. Stackpole and Kathy Tyers as well as exciting newcomers, including Erin Endom, Laurie Burns, and Patricia A. Jackson. From the desperate flight of a civilian mail courier carrying vital Rebel intelligence through an Imperial blockade, to a suicidal commando raid on an impregnable Imperial prison, to a Corellian smuggler mysteriously hired by an actor turned Jedi Knight turned Imperial assassin for one final transformation, these tales capture all the high adventure, imaginative genius, and nonstop action that are the hallmarks of the Star Wars saga. What's more, the centerpiece of this magnificent collection is the short novel Side Trip, the first\-ever collaboration between Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole, in which a freighter smuggling arms for the Rebels is commandeered by an Imperial Star Destroyer led by a mysterious helmeted figure who claims to be the notorious bounty hunter Jodo Kast. It is all part of a devious plan that includes Hal and Corran Horn, who are working undercover to nail the infamous Corellian warlord Zekka Thyne. But one slip\-up can get them all killed. Collected for the first time, Star Wars(r): Tales from the Empire is one book no fan will want to be without. (r), TM and (c) 1997 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. Used under authorization.

Written by some of today's leading science fiction writers, these tales sweep us into a world where the only laws are cunning, force, and power\-\-and only the bravest, craziest, and deadliest dare to tread. Here mercs and smugglers, gangsters and warriors fight toe to toe, side by side, and behind each other's backs in the backwaters of a universe ripped apart by war. On Zelos II a man and a woman are held prisoner in a dark cell, each fighting in their own way for survival at the hands of Imperial captors\-\-and a chance for escape that could cost one of them their life. On the tortured landscape of Ryloth, Fenig Nabon awaits a ship of women warriors to complete a dangerous deal: the smuggling of a troupe of dancers to the homeworld of the Hutts\-\-only to get more than she bargained for. And in a stunning novella written especially for this collection by Hugo Award\-winning, New York Times bestselling author Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole, Senator Garm Bel Iblis, believed dead at the hands of an Imperial assassin, teams up with Hal Horn in a duel against the Empire's most dangerous agent. At stake are the plans for a terrifying new weapon called the Death Star\-\-and the fate of both the Empire and the New Republic. Including these stories of intergalactic derring\-do: "Interlude at Darkknell" by Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole "Jade Solitaire" by Timothy Zahn "Gathering Shadows" by Kathy Burdette "Hutt and Seek" by Chris Cassidy and Tish Pahl "The Longest Fall" by Patricia A. Jackson "Conflict of Interest" by Laurie Burns "No Disintegrations, Please" by Paul Danner "Day of the Sepulchral Night" by Jean Rabe "Uhl Eharl Khoehng" by Patricia A. Jackson "The Last Hand" by Paul Danner "Simple Tricks" by Chris Cassidy and Tish Pahl