Since ive already reviewed the 2 full novels this will mostly be a review of the short stories

Bottleneck: a great prequel to A new dawn it helps to give tarkin a little more time in the book while also introducing us to count vidian ( while not spoiling a new dawn) a good tale that really gives perspective on the growth of the empire to me a littl boring due to it mostly being about factory working but really brought up by it's character and the contrast and simmilarities of its two protagionists. Oh and theres a non rebellion rebel plot

Mercy mission: Hera Syndula from the tv show rebels is helping an associate of her father to deliever medicine to a sick twilek village. Moff mors from lords of the sith however can't let that happen since the emporer isnt too happy with her. Takes place a year after lords of the sith and acts as a great sequel to that novel and it really helps to show heras character she is always just trying to help all that she can

Levels of power: This one is a good prequel to Aftermath. During the battle of endor Rae sloane sees The super star destroyer Executor and as the highest officer takes over the navy and orders their retreat. It helps to set the stage for what is too happen in the aftermath trilogy. Theres also a side plot between sloane and a loyalty officer who is alittle overconfident in the empire. While not a groundbreaking story it is a fun one to show why sloane is in charge.

For the book as a whole It serves a great piece for the new canon Tarkin was a 4.8/5 to me with a new dawn at 3.9/5. As a whole it works exceptionally as a prequel to rebels ( except for levels of power) as it introduces the leaders of that team as well as tells us alot about tarkin who is a major villian in that series. including the novels, stories, and the quality of the book in general i give it a 4.5/5. Ecen if you have the novels this book is only 9 bucks and is a great deal for the stories ( )

Rise of the Empire is a collection of stories, 2 novels and 3 new, unpublished short stories. The first novel is about rise of Tarkin. Of course fans know who he was, but you really get to see how became Grand Moff. Second novel vel is my favorite in this collection. It's called A New Dawn and its a prequel to the animated show, Rebels. I'm a big fan of the show but someone who's never seen the show will enjoy it since the story holds up on its own. The 3 original short stories are good but nothing that really stands out. ( )