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A review by rakoerose
The Hutt Gambit by A.C. Crispin
4.0
Like I said in my review for The Paradise Snare, I’ll never get tired of learning more about Han Solo.
I went into this with zero expectations and only a desire to keep following his journey. I got what I wanted: a fun adventure in the Star Wars universe! I always have thought of Star Wars as a soap opera but in space, and this series is like getting a little minisode spin-off that isn’t canon but still 100% enjoyable.
Sure, it glazes over Han’s time in the Academy and how he saved Chewie, but Crispin has her own story and focus for this series. I still definitely want to keep an eye out for a book that covers that aspect of his life! Yet I still really enjoyed seeing how Han and Brie are both either avoiding or fighting the Ylesian slave business they escaped in the first novel. Chewie’s appearance in this series also made it incredibly fun to see what the duo got up to. I’m looking forward to seeing how it will all wrap up in the last book.
I think the facet of this series I enjoy the most is how Crispin highlights language. Han knows many a language and I always find it fascinating to learn which he can speak and which he can only understand. In a universe with so many alien species with different speech anatomy, it only makes sense that some languages just can’t be spoken by humans and vice versa. I appreciated the explanation on Hutt speech and gender as well.
Speaking of the Hutts, somehow I got sucked into the political drama of this. I ate up all the fights between the clans and liked seeing the hierarchy and reasoning behind what they do. Jabba, as a character, is (from what I can remember) not highly explained in the movies so it’s nice to gain some insight into how their systems work. The concept of Durga (another Hutt) being “abnormal” because he does things out of love for his parent instead of greed was fascinating. Also Hutts are Lords until they decide to have children and then become Ladies? How interesting. Exploring different Star Wars cultures is always fun!
Overall, I adore this series and can’t wait to see how it ends.
I went into this with zero expectations and only a desire to keep following his journey. I got what I wanted: a fun adventure in the Star Wars universe! I always have thought of Star Wars as a soap opera but in space, and this series is like getting a little minisode spin-off that isn’t canon but still 100% enjoyable.
Sure, it glazes over Han’s time in the Academy and how he saved Chewie, but Crispin has her own story and focus for this series. I still definitely want to keep an eye out for a book that covers that aspect of his life! Yet I still really enjoyed seeing how Han and Brie are both either avoiding or fighting the Ylesian slave business they escaped in the first novel. Chewie’s appearance in this series also made it incredibly fun to see what the duo got up to. I’m looking forward to seeing how it will all wrap up in the last book.
I think the facet of this series I enjoy the most is how Crispin highlights language. Han knows many a language and I always find it fascinating to learn which he can speak and which he can only understand. In a universe with so many alien species with different speech anatomy, it only makes sense that some languages just can’t be spoken by humans and vice versa. I appreciated the explanation on Hutt speech and gender as well.
Speaking of the Hutts, somehow I got sucked into the political drama of this. I ate up all the fights between the clans and liked seeing the hierarchy and reasoning behind what they do. Jabba, as a character, is (from what I can remember) not highly explained in the movies so it’s nice to gain some insight into how their systems work. The concept of Durga (another Hutt) being “abnormal” because he does things out of love for his parent instead of greed was fascinating. Also Hutts are Lords until they decide to have children and then become Ladies? How interesting. Exploring different Star Wars cultures is always fun!
Overall, I adore this series and can’t wait to see how it ends.