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Winner Lose All--A Lando Calrissian Tale: Star Wars Legends (Novella) (Star Wars - Legends) Kindle Edition

by Timothy Zahn (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 368 ratings
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Timothy Zahn’s upcoming novel Scoundrels, starring Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian, returns to the excitement of the classic Star Wars films. In this thrilling prequel eBook novella, Winner Lose All, Lando and a pair of unlikely allies find themselves involved in a dangerous game. Fortunately, Lando can survive against the odds—a skill that he will need in spades.
 
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 problem: murder.
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  1. Print length
    62 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Random House Worlds
  5. Publication date
    December 10, 2012
  6. File size
    2779 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00A9ET67K
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Random House Worlds (December 10, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 10, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2779 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 62 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 368 ratings

About the author

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Timothy Zahn

Timothy Zahn

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Timothy Zahn is the Hugo Award-winning author of more than forty original science fiction novels and the bestselling Star Wars trilogy Heir to the Empire, among other works. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
368 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

James
5.0 out of 5 stars A solid foray into short fiction
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2013
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Timothy Zahn proves, as usual, he's one of the best Star Wars writers out there today. Zahn's latest e-novella, Winner Lose All, a preview of sorts for Scoundrels, is a very well written, very fast-paced, and very fun caper story about Lando Calrissian, a true favourite for most Star Wars fans.

Zahn doesn't get bogged down in technical details like he usually does here and has managed to pare it down to the essentials: great characters, great action, and a pretty solid plot. This is a great read and has renewed my faith in Zahn since Vision of the Future.
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Arnold
4.0 out of 5 stars an introduction to Bink and Tavia from Scoundrels
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2012
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Full disclosure: I read an advance copy of Timothy Zahn's  Scoundrels: Star Wars  and so I already know that story. That means I'm probably one of the few people who read Scoundrels before having read Winner Lose All. That certainly colored my perception of this novella and probably allowed me to get more out of it.

While Winner Lose All is billed as a story about Lando Calrissian, I think Zahn intended Winner Lose All to serve primarily as an introduction to Bink and Tavia, two of his new creations. Bink and Tavia are twins who are essentially cat burglars ("ghost thieves", in the lingo of Star Wars). They're spunky and have some moments of endearing humor, but I suspect a lot of readers won't really know why it's worth reading a book about these two. Winner Lose All doesn't introduce them nearly as effectively as Scoundrels does. While I love the characters as developed in Scoundrels, here you could be forgiven for wondering why Zahn felt compelled to write this story.

However, having read Scoundrels, having gotten to know Bink, Tavia, and Zerba, it was fun to see them on another escapade. This time, Lando joins a Sabacc tournament in order to win a priceless art piece, but discovers a deeper conspiracy. Lando unwittingly gets recruited in Bink and Tavia's attempt to uncover the conspiracy. Granted, the story in Winner Lose All certainly isn't necessary to understanding Scoundrels, but Zahn does a set up an intriguing heist attempt. Nothing special, but a fun romp.

Unfortunately, despite the title, this is certainly not "A Lando Calrissian Tale". Lando himself only has a bit role. Some of my favorite Lando moments are when he has to face down a table of players at a Sabacc table. The only saving grace of Neil Smith's Lando trilogy was the great Sabacc scene. However, while the plot in Winner Lose All focuses on a heist attempt during a Sabacc tournament, Zahn doesn't ever take us deep into the game. The game is clearly a sideshow. The tension never builds. I know Zahn needed to tighten the focus of this story given that it's a short novella, but, the lack of a full-scale Sabacc scene seems like a missed opportunity.

Overall, alone I'd give Winner Lose All 3.5 stars. It's a fun, quick read and definitely worth it for the price. However, I'd recommend only reading it if you like Scoundrels. It doesn't stand on its own.
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Terryn
5.0 out of 5 stars A fun and quick read.
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2013
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This novella takes place before the events of Scoundrels. It is really an independent story, but the characters other than Lando are first introduced in Scoundrels, so you will enjoy this more if you read that first.

This is a short story about a sabac tournament that goes awry when murder gets into the mix, and Lando and friends must solve the murder or take the rap for it.

Zahn is very good at bringing new characters with real depth and personality into the SWEU. Bink, Tavia, and Zerba join the other characters he has introduced in other novels. His writing has kept Star Wars fresh and opened up new avenues for future stories.
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Skuldren
3.0 out of 5 stars A Good Primer for 'Scoundrels'
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2012
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Winner Lose All is a eNovella lead-in to Timothy Zahn's upcoming book Scoundrels. The book stars Lando Calrissian and three other members of the Scoundrels cast: Tavia and Bink Kitik (twin sisters), and Zerba Cher'dak (a Balosar). The 65 page story is about a two hour read, and for a $2, it's not a bad deal.

The plot starts off pretty simple. There's a guy holding a high stakes card game in Danteel City. The main prize is a rare, stone statue worth millions of credits. Among the numerous gamblers competing for the jackpot is Lando. From there, things get complicated. Lando runs into some crooks he's familiar with, the Kitik twins. What started as an earnest attempt to win a high stakes card game spins into a complex game of cat mouse involving murder, fake statues, and a long shot at justice. In the end, it's a nice story to get introduced to some of the characters. It's also a good primer for getting readers ready for some Oceans 11 action. For the price, it's worth checking out, especially if you plan on getting Scoundrels.
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Gary B
5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of fun and quick moving
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2023
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This was really a lot of fun. Not just to read, but you could tell Zahn enjoyed writing Lando; it just comes through. The other characters he created fit seamlessly and were well developed.
Initially, I'd enjoyed the plotline. It was worth the read. When he added his twist, though... I just read faster!
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Top reviews from other countries

C Jennings
5.0 out of 5 stars Hope for a follow up!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 17, 2021
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Love these short stories that expand the star wars universe and introduce new characters. I would like to hear more of Bink and Tavia and more adventures with Lando.

A great read but then it is written by Timothy Zahn so you are always guaranteed a well written and enjoyable story from him.
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Darth Dude
5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect...
Reviewed in Germany on February 27, 2013
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...appetizer for the main novel. It was very entertaining to see Lando at his best and having Han to couple with him up in Scoundrels.
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Eric Hebert
4.0 out of 5 stars Lando Calrissian short story
Reviewed in Canada on December 2, 2014
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Nice little heist story set in the Star Wars universe.

I found this story quickly paced and a fun read to boot. This is considered a prequel story to his novel Scoundrels.

If it's anything like the short story, I'm going to be very happy with the book.
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Marc George
4.0 out of 5 stars Nice intro for 'Scoundrels'
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 14, 2013
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For all Star Wars fans this is a good introduction to Lando, who in my opinion, is somewhat overlooked as a character. The story is straight forward enough with a few twist and turns but there's nothing new or original here. Timothy Zahn is a great writer and it shows, the only downside is that he dooesn't offer any depth to Lando...doesn't get under his skin so to speak, doesn't give any depth to Lando's character.

If you're going to buy this then buy this more for character introductions to some of the newer ones featured in 'Scoundrels', the twins for example promise to be interesting. I just hope their characters are explored more.

I gave this four stars as its good enough an example of both Timothy Zahn's writing & as a taster for scoundrels.
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G. Potts
5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Little Read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 26, 2013
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Timothy Zahn is the undesputed King of EU Novels. This little read includes several twists that make the story an enjoyable read as well as expanding the story of his novel 'Scoundrels'. I hope the Kitik twins make another appearance in Star Wars Lore.
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