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A review by gothicgunslinger
The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton
3.0
Heather's Epic Star Wars EU Novel Reread
Book Two: The Courtship of Princess Leia
Read as a kid?: Maaaybe, partially. I definitely remember my friend had it. She may have told me the majority of the plot, or I read about it in other Star Wars sourcebooks I had as a kid. Parts of it seemed familiar, but the rest was a mystery, so who knows.
My opinion then: Considering I knew it was the book where Han and Leia officially got together, I was pretty for it.
My opinion now: It's mixed. There was definitely a lot I shamelessly loved, especially in the first half of the novel. The world-building was top-notch, adding a bunch of iconic elements to the Star Wars universe I remember and love. The Hapes Cluster is a pretty fascinating place, and I unabashedly loved the courtship plot between Leia and Isolder that forced Han to make increasingly absurd moves to win Leia's heart. I also appreciated that the New Republic was locked in a series of skirmishes with fallen Imperial leaders who had declared themselves warlords over different parts of the galaxy. That felt rather realistic in terms of what the newly formed government was trying to accomplish in the wake of the war with the Empire. I enjoyed Dathomir, and thought the witch clans and the Nightsisters were a neat twist on Force users.
However, when the disparate plot lines converged on Dathomir about halfway through, the story got pretty muddled. The chapters went from two to three important characters in a scene together to five plus – Luke, Han, Leia, Isolder, Teneniel, Chewie, the droids – it was hard to keep track. And the POV shifts work when the characters are doing separate things, but when everyone was together, I often got the feeling we were in the POV of a less interesting character than we should have been. I liked Teneniel and Isolder fine, but considering the premise of the novel was the fight to win Leia's heart, I thought that focus often got sidelined for actiony sci-fi shenanigans more than it should have. There was a lot of early back and forth between Han and Isolder about how they planned to compete for Leia – and then didn't really do much of it. This was further complicated by Teneniel and her weird love triangle between Luke and Isolder that also wasn't very developed. That plus the fact that these five characters spent much of the latter half of the book together created some very convoluted romantic drama that I had a difficult time following. Han, Leia, Isolder and Isolder, Luke, Teneniel – what does that make it? A love hexagon? I'm confused. In the end, it wraps up rather neatly, too, with Leia of course choosing Han; the other characters are okay with it without a fight . Eh. I dunno how I feel about it.
Also, the time spent on Dathomir almost feels too long. It's a backwater planet in the middle of nowhere, taking the main characters away from the political intrigue of the core worlds, which honestly was the more compelling plot for me. There was all this setup about the many worlds of the Hapes cluster, but then we never go there. That's sixty-four guns on the wall that never go off. At least make Dathomir one of the Hapes worlds, so that the impact of what happens there has more immediate plot significance. Instead, it feels like Han, Luke and especially Leia - an ambassador with a lot of responsibilities – get waylaid out in the wilderness for the rest of the book. The fact that the main over arcing conflict regarding Warlord Zsinj ends up getting resolved on and around this little nothing world feels somewhat anti-climactic, too.
All in all, I like the disparate parts of this one, but they come together in a rather clunky manner, often forcing well-known characters to act inconsistently. It reminds me of how I felt about The Last Jedi, to be honest. But it's still a decently fun romp, and worth it for the larger EU world-building.
Book Two: The Courtship of Princess Leia
Read as a kid?: Maaaybe, partially. I definitely remember my friend had it. She may have told me the majority of the plot, or I read about it in other Star Wars sourcebooks I had as a kid. Parts of it seemed familiar, but the rest was a mystery, so who knows.
My opinion then: Considering I knew it was the book where Han and Leia officially got together, I was pretty for it.
My opinion now: It's mixed. There was definitely a lot I shamelessly loved, especially in the first half of the novel. The world-building was top-notch, adding a bunch of iconic elements to the Star Wars universe I remember and love. The Hapes Cluster is a pretty fascinating place, and I unabashedly loved the courtship plot between Leia and Isolder that forced Han to make increasingly absurd moves to win Leia's heart. I also appreciated that the New Republic was locked in a series of skirmishes with fallen Imperial leaders who had declared themselves warlords over different parts of the galaxy. That felt rather realistic in terms of what the newly formed government was trying to accomplish in the wake of the war with the Empire. I enjoyed Dathomir, and thought the witch clans and the Nightsisters were a neat twist on Force users.
However, when the disparate plot lines converged on Dathomir about halfway through, the story got pretty muddled. The chapters went from two to three important characters in a scene together to five plus – Luke, Han, Leia, Isolder, Teneniel, Chewie, the droids – it was hard to keep track. And the POV shifts work when the characters are doing separate things, but when everyone was together, I often got the feeling we were in the POV of a less interesting character than we should have been. I liked Teneniel and Isolder fine, but considering the premise of the novel was the fight to win Leia's heart, I thought that focus often got sidelined for actiony sci-fi shenanigans more than it should have. There was a lot of early back and forth between Han and Isolder about how they planned to compete for Leia – and then didn't really do much of it. This was further complicated by Teneniel and her weird love triangle between Luke and Isolder that also wasn't very developed. That plus the fact that these five characters spent much of the latter half of the book together created some very convoluted romantic drama that I had a difficult time following. Han, Leia, Isolder and Isolder, Luke, Teneniel – what does that make it? A love hexagon? I'm confused. In the end, it wraps up rather neatly, too, with Leia of course choosing Han
Spoiler
after his failed attempt at becoming a suicide bomber – WHOASpoiler
because Isolder and Teneniel hook up in another way that doesn't feel very earnedAlso, the time spent on Dathomir almost feels too long. It's a backwater planet in the middle of nowhere, taking the main characters away from the political intrigue of the core worlds, which honestly was the more compelling plot for me. There was all this setup about the many worlds of the Hapes cluster, but then we never go there. That's sixty-four guns on the wall that never go off. At least make Dathomir one of the Hapes worlds, so that the impact of what happens there has more immediate plot significance. Instead, it feels like Han, Luke and especially Leia - an ambassador with a lot of responsibilities
Spoiler
who was reportedly kidnapped by Han, no less! The official manhunt for them never comes up again, eitherAll in all, I like the disparate parts of this one, but they come together in a rather clunky manner, often forcing well-known characters to act inconsistently