Authors Book
Titles Star Wars Novels Home
Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry
Set in between The Empire Strikes Back and Return
of the Jedi, this book introduces a new evil element to the resources of the
empire.
Luke, Leia, Lando and Chewbacca are desperately trying to locate Han Solo. Han was frozen in carbonite and taken by the
bounty hunter Boba Fett. They feel that Fett will eventually take Han to
Jabba the Hutt to collect the bounty, so they have been waiting on Tattooine for
Fett to appear. Meanwhile, Darth Vader has pledged to the emperor to bring
Luke to him alive so the emperor can force Luke's conversion to the Dark Side.
The emperor is also working with Prince Xizor.
Xizor is a lizard-like humanoid that controls a galaxy spanning criminal
organization called the Black Sun. Xizor harbors a secret grudge against
Vader and thinks he has found a means of disgracing him in the eyes of the
emperor. He means to accomplish this by the assassination of Luke
Skywalker!
Although this was a good idea for a book plot, I
thought it was rather poorly executed. Xizor is an interesting character,
but the first 200 pages of the book meander along with a lot of repetitive
scenes that don't really add anything to the plot. The action picks up in
the last third of the book, but the book could have easily been 150 pages
instead of 340. If you are the kind of person that needs to know everything
about the Star Wars universe, then you should read it. Otherwise, spend
your time reading some of the more well written Star Wars novels.
Reviewed by: Alan
Authors Book
Titles Star Wars Novels Home
Top
The Truce at Bakura by
Kathy Tyers 
Just after the battle of Endor and the destruction
of the Emperor and the second death star, the Rebel Alliance intercepts a
message from a remote Imperial outpost. They are under attack by reptilian aliens called the Ssi-ruuk. The mission of the aliens is
total domination of the human race. The Ssi-ruuk use a process called
"entechment" to drain human beings of their mental energy and use that
energy to power their droids and ships' circuitry.
Leia sees this as an opportunity for the rebels to
save Bakura and convince the planets inhabitants to join the Rebellion.
But to defeat the Ssi-ruuk, the rebels must enter into an uneasy alliance with
the Imperial forces based on Bakura. Even though the Imperial garrison on
Bakura is almost defeated and will accept help from any source, can they be
trusted not to betray the rebels after defeating the Ssi-ruuk?
Luke is severely injured from his battle with the
Emperor. But when Obi-Wan Kenobi appears at the foot of his hospital bed
to urge Luke to go to Bakura, Luke convinces the rebel leaders to let him
command the rebel force sent to assist Bakura. Will Luke be healed
sufficiently by the time they reach Bakura to command? Or will his
weakened condition allow him to fall prey to the insidious Ssi-ruuk?
This was an enjoyable novel with plenty of
action. The plot moves along swiftly and does not drag. The major
focus of the book is on Luke, with less emphasis on Leia and Han.
However, there is not a lot of character development in this book. It is a
good continuation of the Star Wars saga and really drives home the point that
despite the destruction of the second Death Star and the Emperor, the war with
the Empire is far from over.
Reviewed by: Alan
Authors Book
Titles Star Wars Novels Home
Top
The New Rebellion
by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Suddenly millions of people die, creating a huge
disturbance in the Force. When it is felt by Luke and Leia, they both
wonder if there is another super-weapon, like the Death Star, being used in the
Galaxy. Then an explosion rocks the New
Republic Senate chamber killing a number of senators. Calls are made for
Leia's resignation as president of the New Republic. Even worse, some
senators are trying to blame Han Solo for the explosion. Are these two
incidents related, and if so, who is behind them?
While Leia desperately works to clear Han's name
and find the source of this threat to the New Republic, Han and
Chewbacca must travel to the asteroid cluster know as Smuggler's Run to investigate rumors of a sinister plot against the New Republic. Meanwhile,
Luke attempts to track down Brakiss, a former student at his Jedi Academy who
abandoned his training and turned his talents to the dark side. But
Brakiss is just bait in a trap for Luke that has been launched by an evil master
of the dark side. His dreams of galactic conquest include ruling as
emperor with Luke at his side acting as his "Darth Vader." To
accomplish this, Luke must be turned to the dark side...or die!
Rusch crafts an interesting, fast paced story
without having to use the Empire as the usual source of problems for the New
Republic. The main focus of the story is on Luke and his attempts to
recover his lost student. During training, each student must confront their
own inner fears and weaknesses, much like Luke had to in the cave during his
training with Yoda. Not everyone passes this test and some students are lost
to the dark side. Although Luke recognizes that each person is master of
their own destiny and responsible for their own actions, he feels responsible
and guilty for losing a student. Luke optimistically assumes that anyone
can be turned back from the dark side, just as his father was at the end of his
life. Is this a correct assumption? Rusch creates an interesting
story to answer this question.
The side plot involving Han and Chewbacca provides
some interesting action. There are no superfluous scenes or characters in
this book and no parts of the book dragged. All in all, it is a well-crafted story that flowed smoothly. Star Wars fans will love this book and
I believe even non-fans would find it engaging.
Reviewed by: Alan
Authors Book
Titles Star Wars Novels Home
Top
The Crystal Star
by Vonda N. McIntyre
Han and Leia's three children-Anakin and the twins
Jaina and Jacen-are kidnapped. Leia is advised to wait for a ransom note,
but since she can no longer sense the children through the force, she charges
off in search of them. She discovers a disabled refugee ship whose
children are also missing. The leader of the refugees is sure that
Hethrir, a powerful imperial officer who was once a student of Darth Vader's, has
them. Hethrir dreams of restoring the Empire to its former glory with
himself as the new Emperor. Unaware of the kidnapping, Luke and Han are on
the planet Crseih to investigate rumors of a lost group of Jedi. Crseih is
suffering from odd quantum effects caused by the death of a nearby star.
The star is steadily freezing itself into a perfect crystal. The
crystallization process is causing a disruption in the Force, which dulls Luke's
power. Han and Luke find a mysterious alien named Waru on the planet who
seems to wield magical healing powers and who attracts a fanatical following
of loyal believers. Is Waru the benevolent being he seems to be, or is
there a darker force at work here?
There seems to be an almost endless supply of dark
Jedis running around the galaxy that used to be attached to the Empire.
Despite reusing this theme, the author carries it off very well in this
novel. The two separate story lines converge at the end in a satisfying
conclusion. Hethrir is an interesting villain and I always enjoy Luke and
Leia going up against the dark side. The book once again proves that
despite the defeat of the Empire, the repercussions of its death will send
ripples throughout the galaxy for years to come. I found Waru to be more
of a distraction than an integral part of the story, but it is always
disconcerting to know that there are other strange beings from outside the
galaxy that can threaten the safety of the New Republic. There is not a
great deal of character development in this novel, but all the characters are
familiar to us by now. A rapidly moving, well-constructed plot makes up
for the lack of character development.
Reviewed by: Alan
Authors Book
Titles Star Wars Novels Home
Top
I, Jedi by Michael
A. Stackpole 
Corran Horn is the grandson of a legendary,
Corellian Jedi hero and he has latent force powers that have never been
developed. Formerly an officer in the Corellian Security Force, Corran has
distinguished himself as a pilot in Rogue Squadron, the X-wing fighter force
that has plagued the Empire and pirate bands for so long. However, the
latest pirate band to terrorize the universe seems unstoppable. Lead by an
ex-Moff in an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, the pirates seem to have an
uncanny knack for avoiding the traps set for them by the New Republic. Is
there a security leak or is someone with the power of the dark side aiding
the pirates?
Suddenly, Corran's wife disappears on a secret
mission to locate the pirates' base. He begins to train at the Jedi
academy that Luke Skywalker has just established, hopeful that developing his
force powers will help him locate his wife. But disagreements with Luke
over training methods cause him to leave the academy prior to finishing his
training. He falls back on his security training and launches a dangerous
plot to infiltrate the pirates and learn where his wife is being held. Can
he fulfill his mission without abandoning himself to the dark side?
Corran Horn is an interesting character who has
appeared before in the X-wing series. Stackpole does an excellent job of fleshing
out his character in this novel. The first half of this book takes place
at the Jedi academy and presents a view of the action in Jedi Academy Trilogy
from Horn's perspective. You should read the trilogy first however, as
the action in this book gives away a lot of that plot very quickly. The
second half of the book contains fast paced action and exciting space combat
sequences when Horn joins the pirates and goes on missions with them.
Although I felt the book was rushed to a conclusion, it is still an interesting
novel about a truly unique character. Hopefully, we will be seeing more of
Corran Horn in upcoming novels.
Reviewed by: Alan
Authors Book
Titles Star Wars Novels Home
Top
The Courtship of
Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton
This novel takes place 8 years after Star Wars: A New Hope (the original
movie). The New Republic has defeated the Emperor, but is still struggling to
defeat the remnants of the Empire, which is still fighting on under the
direction of various Grand Admirals and Warlords. The Hapes consortium is a
group of sixty-three worlds that opposed the Empire, but have kept themselves
closed off from the rest of the galaxy. They are rich, high-tech worlds that
boast some of the finest military power in the galaxy. Now Queen Mother, leader
of the consortium, has offered the military might of her worlds in support of
the New Republic. But there is a price…Princess Leia must marry Prince Isolder,
the Queen Mother’s dashing son. The majority of the galaxy cannot see how
Princess Leia can refuse, including a jealous Han Solo.
Seeing himself as unworthy of Princess Leia’s hand, especially in the face
of such a worthy adversary, Han Solo decides to take a major risk. Winning the
planet Dathomir in a high-stakes sabacc game, Han kidnaps Leia and whisks her
away for a romantic getaway to his newly acquired world in an attempt to win her
heart again. Fearing strong reprisals from the Queen Mother, Luke Skywalker
forms an alliance with Prince Isolder to pursue Leia and Han and bring them
back. But the planet Dathomir presents a few challenges of its own, including an
Imperial prison, a group of force-trained witches and an Imperial warlord’s
shipyard. Can our intrepid heroes prevail once again?
The problem faced by the author of a Star Wars novel is that he must use the
same familiar characters that we have all grown to love. To compensate, the
author needs to develop an interesting plot line and unique settings for the
novel. Wolverton does this admirably. The planet Dathomir is breathtaking while
at the same time being extremely deadly. In the witches, he has created
formidable foes (and friends?) for our heroes. The Imperial troops are the usual
overconfident and lovably inept foes we have come to expect in the Star Wars
novels. Most of the character development focuses around Han and Leia (not
surprisingly) and their coming to grips with the fact that they actually are in
love with each other. We are also treated to a few insights about Luke and his
views on the Force, which set the stage for his creation of the Jedi academy in
future volumes. The action is non-stop and, refreshingly, is not an endless
series of space battles. However, the one space battle that is described in
detail (when Han and Leia arrive at Dathomir), is cleverly done with Han pulling
off one of the amazing stunts that kept him alive as a smuggler all these years.
This novel is a solid addition to the Star Wars universe and I thoroughly
enjoyed it.
Reviewed by: Alan
Authors Book
Titles Star Wars Novels Home
Top
