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todd_bissell's review against another edition
1.0
This is the weird bastard child book of the original Star Wars, that dates back to a time when "The Empire Strikes Back" was just a gleam in George Lucas' eye (his mind's eye, get it?). Okay, I'll stop there. No more puns: onto the task at hand.
As this was written in a existential vacuum, separate from the original trilogy, the Star Wars Expanded Universe storyline(s), and pretty much everything else Star Wars adjacent..., it stands to reason that nothing here is or was even considered to be canon. For the sake of the series, that's a good thing. But even in a bubble, separate from everything else Star Wars related, this is not a good book.
At various times Leia is beaten up, slapped, goes into PTSD mode recalling her torture aboard the Death Star, plus has doses of survivor guilt after Alderaan was turned into space chunks. At no time do we see her being the brassy and take-charge "Into the garbage chute flyboy!" rebel leader..., and too often we get a wilting princess/damsel-in-distress. This book does Leia's character no favors.
(Aside: Leia the pampered princess can't swim, but Luke the moisture farmer bumpkin straight off a desert world can; huh?)
Another character that gets spun in a totally non-canon manner is Darth Vader. He's entirely too verbose and cliched here. Another reviewer put it perfectly: you half expect him to twirl his evil character mustache while over-explaining his dastardly plot as he ties up Leia to the train tracks. I half expected him to exclaim "Curses! Foiled again!"
Luke is written as a horny teenager lusting after Leia (who wisely has pretty much zero interest). He's got his light saber (and little clue how to use it), but otherwise this novel could have been written without any references at all to Star Wars. "Farmboy and the Damsel in Distress crash land on a swamp world; wacky hi-jinx ensure!".
1.5 stars if seen as a throw-away stand-alone sci-fi pulp -- 1 star if you try to tie this to anything else Star Wars related. An utterly avoidable book, either way.
As this was written in a existential vacuum, separate from the original trilogy, the Star Wars Expanded Universe storyline(s), and pretty much everything else Star Wars adjacent..., it stands to reason that nothing here is or was even considered to be canon. For the sake of the series, that's a good thing. But even in a bubble, separate from everything else Star Wars related, this is not a good book.
At various times Leia is beaten up, slapped, goes into PTSD mode recalling her torture aboard the Death Star, plus has doses of survivor guilt after Alderaan was turned into space chunks. At no time do we see her being the brassy and take-charge "Into the garbage chute flyboy!" rebel leader..., and too often we get a wilting princess/damsel-in-distress. This book does Leia's character no favors.
(Aside: Leia the pampered princess can't swim, but Luke the moisture farmer bumpkin straight off a desert world can; huh?)
Another character that gets spun in a totally non-canon manner is Darth Vader. He's entirely too verbose and cliched here. Another reviewer put it perfectly: you half expect him to twirl his evil character mustache while over-explaining his dastardly plot as he ties up Leia to the train tracks. I half expected him to exclaim "Curses! Foiled again!"
Luke is written as a horny teenager lusting after Leia (who wisely has pretty much zero interest). He's got his light saber (and little clue how to use it), but otherwise this novel could have been written without any references at all to Star Wars. "Farmboy and the Damsel in Distress crash land on a swamp world; wacky hi-jinx ensure!".
1.5 stars if seen as a throw-away stand-alone sci-fi pulp -- 1 star if you try to tie this to anything else Star Wars related. An utterly avoidable book, either way.
abigcoffeedragon's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely can tell that this was before the franchise became popular. C-3PO is still spelled ThreePeeOh and R2 is Artoo. There is a character here that I think was pulled for Maz Katana in the Sequel series, just without Han and Chewie. Instead of "Han, my boy" it is "Luke my boy".
Vadar referring to Luke as Skywalker also shows that Vadar was Vadar and nothing more at this point.
The story is not of the quality of the original trilogy but it has some good ideas, and if the main characters were anyone other than Luke and Leia, it would have been a better story.
Vadar referring to Luke as Skywalker also shows that Vadar was Vadar and nothing more at this point.
The story is not of the quality of the original trilogy but it has some good ideas, and if the main characters were anyone other than Luke and Leia, it would have been a better story.
calbowen's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely can tell that this was before the franchise became popular. C-3PO is still spelled ThreePeeOh and R2 is Artoo. There is a character here that I think was pulled for Maz Katana in the Sequel series, just without Han and Chewie. Instead of "Han, my boy" it is "Luke my boy".
Vadar referring to Luke as Skywalker also shows that Vadar was Vadar and nothing more at this point.
The story is not of the quality of the original trilogy but it has some good ideas, and if the main characters were anyone other than Luke and Leia, it would have been a better story.
Vadar referring to Luke as Skywalker also shows that Vadar was Vadar and nothing more at this point.
The story is not of the quality of the original trilogy but it has some good ideas, and if the main characters were anyone other than Luke and Leia, it would have been a better story.
jessicachicago's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
A strange little sequel to Star Wars before The Empire Strikes Back came out. Funny little bauble where Luke and Leia are in love, Luke makes remarks about "aboriginal jurisprudence" and Leia has a duel with Vader.
Without a wider contest it's your typical pleasant sci-fi pulp nonsense. Kinda wish there was more (how the hell would this plot end, what is the crystal even for, where is Han Solo) but obviously that didn't happen.
Without a wider contest it's your typical pleasant sci-fi pulp nonsense. Kinda wish there was more (how the hell would this plot end, what is the crystal even for, where is Han Solo) but obviously that didn't happen.
ari_pot's review against another edition
1.0
this book reads like it was written by a slightly intelligent 12 year old
goobdiddy's review against another edition
1.0
After seeing The Force Awakens, I felt like exploring the Star Wars expanded universe, and went back to the beginning. This is the first SW book not based on a film, and it came out between Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back. Because of that fact, it makes for kind of a bizarre read! The plot twist of Luke and Leia being siblings had not been revealed yet, so the author has Luke falling madly in love with Leia, and hitting on her quite a bit. Awkward! Plus, the depiction of Darth Vader in this book is completely off base from the movies (he's kind of a pushover here).
I'm looking forward to the later books in the universe, that have a bit more lore behind them, but this one is really hard to recommend.
I'm looking forward to the later books in the universe, that have a bit more lore behind them, but this one is really hard to recommend.
mrginger42's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
artemisreads's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25
somehow this is both the best and worst star wars book i’ve ever read
erikbergstrom's review against another edition
2.0
Can you even IMAGINE if we got kyber crystals, fuzzy muppets, and an underground lake as a sequel instead of Hoth, Dagobah, Yoda, Lando, Cloud City, asteroid belt chase, asteroid worm monster, carbon chamber, hand dismemberment, "No, I am your father", etc.??? CAN you??
It's hard to give Foster too much guff with hindsight in mind, but given the chance to dream up a sequel to one of the most surprising movie hits of all time... THIS is what he comes up with? I hear he was tasked to come up with a possible "low budget" idea in case the first movie didn't pan out. With that as his only constraint, just seems like this could've been better than a middling sci-fi that did a proto-Find and Replace to put in Luke and Leia in a dull, go-nowhere story.
It's hard to give Foster too much guff with hindsight in mind, but given the chance to dream up a sequel to one of the most surprising movie hits of all time... THIS is what he comes up with? I hear he was tasked to come up with a possible "low budget" idea in case the first movie didn't pan out. With that as his only constraint, just seems like this could've been better than a middling sci-fi that did a proto-Find and Replace to put in Luke and Leia in a dull, go-nowhere story.
dangerousnerd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
So this book was written as a possible lower budget sequel to A New Hope. It’s so interesting to read it in that light, as the Star Wars that could have been. It’s a bit darker, a bit more violent than Empire turned out to be. It’s also less emotionally rich too. The writing is good and the story, after it gets started, is fast paced and engaging. All in all, a good book in a sort of alternate universe from the original trilogy.