3/5 Rancors - Han Solo and the Lost Legacy concludes Brian Daley's Han Solo Adventures, although like the first two books, it is a standalone tale. Bollux and Blue Max continue to be a part of the Millennium Falcon's crew, and the feared gunslinger Gallandro returns from Han Solo's Revenge, but otherwise you don't have to have read the prior volumes to enjoy this one. Daley also continues to mix up the style of adventures; we've had a prisoner rescue story and a tale of revenge, and now we have a quest for a legendary lost treasure hoard accumulated by Xim the Despot millenia earlier.
The first few chapters of Han Solo and the Lost Legacy focus on assembling our new cast of characters. As per the other two novels, the story kicks off with a deal of Han and Chewie's going bad. From there they find themselves on the run and in dire need of funds. The new characters include Badure, an old smuggler acquaintance of Han's; Hasti, a younger woman Badure has partnered with; and Skynx, a Ruurian academic interested in pursuing the lost treasure for the sake of adventure and knowledge rather than monetary gain.
Once this group has assembled, they head off to Dellalt to try and unlock the secret of Xim's vaults. The notion of huge empty vaults Xim left behind being dotted all over the galaxy is evocative, and I found it easy to picture Han being swept up in this sort of quest (maybe due to Harrison Ford having played a certain notable archeologist…). There are many action sequences occurring one after another on Dellalt, but the story largely maintains its energy and focus.
I was amused by a sequence mid-book that took place on a lake involving giant dinosaur-like creatures towing rafts of humans across for money. My visuals for this scene kept blending with the Doomworld arc of the Star Wars Marvel comics, in which Luke and Co. encounter large dinosaurs on a world of water. Not totally the same, but the goofy factor in this sequence in the book rivaled that of many of the Marvel tales.
The Gallandro arc draws to a satisfying conclusion in this book. It's hard to instill a sense of danger in these prequel stories, where we know perfectly well Han and Chewie will be OK, but there is a moment in their final confrontation that comes closes. The book ends well and the last page really feels like you're heading back into the events of A. C. Crispin's Han Solo Trilogy (which she gets credit for, as her books were written many years later).
Like the Lando Calrissian Adventures before them, all three of the Han Solo Adventures stand somewhat detached from the Star Wars universe as established in the films. A few elements are brought into each, but the Empire seems very far away throughout. Happily, there's plenty of room for side stories in such a large galaxy. If you are looking for a story closely tied to the films' primary thematic elements, these two series don't fit the bill and may feel more like a diversion. However, if you're interested in expanding your Star Wars universe and taking a break from the epic struggles of Jedi vs. Sith, give one of them a try.
1 comments:
I was not a big fan of this novel. The adventure is a fairly predictable treasure hunt using the MacGuffin of Xim the Despot's lost fortune to drive the story. Han, Chewie and company go searching for this treasure which was last seen millenia ago aboard Xim's flagship - the Queen of Ranroon. Compared to the villains in the two previous outings - the "twins" - J'uoch and R'all - owners of a criminal mining operation on Dellalt, seemed a bit sub-par. I was pleased when it is revealed that they hired the gunslinger Gallandro as a sort of bodyguard/advisor. However, while Gallandro is introduced early on, he is basically a non-entity until the last quarter of the book. I felt that the boat race and fight involving the sauroids was just plain silly. It basically boils down to a family squabble. The chapters involving the "Survivors" were kinda weird. What this book does have going for it are some very funny bits of dialogue. Several scenes involving the Ruurian professor Skynx are hilarious - especially the scene where overcome with emotion Skynx uses the nastiest Ruurian cuss he knows against a Dellaltian landlord haggling with Han over warehouse rent. The puzzled reactions of Han and the landlord to the insult are priceless. I continue to really enjoy Bollux and Blue Max - truly welcome additions to the SW family of droids. The conclusion of the rivalry between Han and Gallandro is decent. Overall though, this is a treaure hunt you've probably read before - the places and names are different - but you can guess the outcome if you've seen Episode IV (was Han stinking rich when he agreed to do the milkrun to Alderaan?).
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