★★★★ (of 5)

• Full Title: The Han Solo Trilogy
• Author: A.C. Crispin
• Year: 1997, 1998 (mine was 2017 collectible hardcover)
• Pages: 774
• Genre: Science Fiction
• Publisher: Del Rey, Random House
• ISBN 978-0-385-36569-7 (collectible hardcover)
• Wikipedia page
• Author’s Wikipedia page

 

Summary

This book is a trilogy collection of short novels that I hadn’t read previously: The Paradise Snare, The Hutt Gambit, and Rebel Dawn, the first two published in 1997 and the third in 1998 — at the same time that the first Star Wars prequel (Episode I: The Phantom Menace) was in production. When Ann C. Crispin wrote them, she was well-aware of The Han Solor Adventures. Both trilogies were eventually ret-conned as “Legends” (non-canon).

The Paradise Snare describes — for the first time — Han Solo’s early life. It begins in his late teens but flashes back to childhood several times. It tells of Han’s escape from the gang that raised him and his first adventures beyond his home world of Corellia — including freeing a slave named Bria Tharen.

The Hutt Gambit skips forward five years — using flashbacks to describe Solo’s time at the Imperial Academy and his meeting of Chewbacca — and details how he joined the smuggling community. In this book, he first meets Jabba the Hutt, Lando Calrissian, and Boba Fett. He also first sees his future ship The Millenium Falcon. The climax is a big space battle against the Empire.

Wrapping up the trilogy, Rebel Dawn tells of Solo’s acquisition of The Millenium Falcon and several other adventures. Solo is actually “off-screen” for good portions of this book — because he was in the Corporate Sector, enjoying The Han Solo Adventures, which Crispin alludes to in a series of “interludes”. Near the end, it recounts Solo’s falling out with Calrissian, how he incurred his debt to Jabba the Hutt, and even a battle in which his ex-girlfriend (Tharen) obtains plans to the Death Star. (That last part was entirely ret-conned by the film Rogue One, which happens to be my favorite Star Wars movie.) The book concludes just as Solo and Chewbacca are about to meet Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker — Solo’s first appearance in A New Hope.

 

Commentary

Compared to other Star Wars novels (and novelizations) I’ve read, these three books seemed more like literature and less like juvenile pulp. By that I mean more attention was paid to plot development and inner dialog and fewer pages were concerned with heart-pounding, edge-of-your-seat action scenes. Though I enjoy the latter as much as any appreciator of Star Wars stories, this was a welcome change of pace.

This trilogy presents Solo at his most realistic, in my opinion (about equal with his appearance in A New Hope), the most believable portrayal of the first movie character I ever idolized. There is more dialog and exposition than there is action, which is unusual in Star Wars novels; it gave Crispin the chance to fill Solo with thoughts and dreams, fears and plans — and shows us how and why he’s the way he is.

 

Points Off For...

While not the author’s fault, the weakest part of this trilogy is that the background framework for Solo’s life was already somewhat laid out by other authors before she drew the assignment — which placed stern parameters about what she could and couldn’t do with the characters, most of whom are named in previous works. In places, the story read something like a dramatized biography, and sometimes time only passed because the timeline was already laid out in advance, unbending.

Also, there’s this weird thing where certain authors will insert a rare/odd, noticeable word into the narrative, and then keep using it. In the last book, Daley was fond of “malediction”. In this one, Crispin uses “majordomo” an awful lot. That kind of thing grates on my nerves and takes me out of the story.

 

Conclusion

If you read Star Wars stories or have any interest in the fictional universe, this trilogy is an excellent one to read. I suspect that few non-Star Wars fans will enjoy it — it’s difficult to tell, but I think my background as an appreciator of Star Wars counted for quite a bit of my enjoyment of this book.

 

 

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