Andrew's Review of Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor

5/5 Rancors - Star Wars books have gone in several directions over the last few years. The continuing post-Return of the Jedi timeline is now some forty years past the Battle of Endor and has taken the franchise in a rather bloody and dark direction. Beloved movie trio Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Leia Organa have been put through the proverbial wringer, suffering multiple personal tragedies and spending much of their lives embroiled in conflicts both big and small. There have also been novels rolling out set in the prequel era, one ripe with interesting characters but also a time where the ultimate fate of the primary characters is a known quantity. One thing most of the recent stories have had in common is tonal shades of gray: they present characters and situations where the lines between right and wrong are indistinct.

What we haven't had much of lately is stories in the vein of the original trilogy, focused on Luke and his friends and offering a clear vision of Good vs. Evil. When it was announced that Matthew Stover, notable author of the incredible novelization of Revenge of the Sith as well as the excellent Shatterpoint and Traitor, would be penning a novel exploring Luke Skywalker's time as a General and his decision to resign and rebuild the Jedi Order, I could barely contain my excitement. The revelation that Stover's story would deal with this theme while also revealing the events of the hitherto shadowy and catastrophic Battle of Mindor, referenced only in passing in a few older Star Wars materials, was icing on the cake. What backdrop could be better for an insightful yet exciting yarn exploring a major life change for my favorite film character?

After one of the fastest and most rewarding Star Wars reading experiences I've had in recent memory, I'm thrilled to say Stover delivers on all my expectations. What Stover has crafted here is a novel bringing back the awesome thrills and wonder of the original films. The characters behave like themselves; the story's villain, Lord Shadowspawn, is a memorable over-the-top villain in the vein of some of the Bantam era adversaries; and even though the story is inserted into the existing timeline a little less than a year after Return of the Jedi, there's a sense of true danger as the horrific battle for Mindor unfolds.

Stover's characterizations are superb. Of course the most weight is on how well he presents Luke Skywalker and he does not disappoint. Luke is confident yet unsure of himself at points, a blend of the farm boy and the newly-christened Jedi. He is torn between pursuing the military leader career the New Republic asks of him and following his own heart to explore the mysteries of the Force. The Luke Skywalker of this book is a true hero, doing everything he can to save people both from external forces and from themselves. Most of the emotional high points in the book belong to Luke, as well as several action moments that will make you want to cheer out loud.

Also, this is the best Han Solo I've ever read, with the possible exception of A. C. Crispin's Han Solo Trilogy, and the other characters aren't far behind. Han may seem like a relatively straightforward character to write, but so few authors have gotten the proper balance of sarcasm, loyalty, and intelligence mixed with a fool-hardy willingness to hurtle headlong into danger that we see here. There is a chapter, somewhat of a sideline to the main story, where we get Han's thoughts on Mandalorians that is laugh-out-loud funny, especially as a counterpoint to Karen Traviss' take on the Mandos in her various novels (which I thoroughly enjoy as well, by the way). The relationship between Han and Leia is exactly what I pictured after seeing Return of the Jedi, making the peculiar take on their romance shown in The Courtship of Princess Leia feel even more of an oddity than it already did.

If ever there was a planet in Star Wars more unpleasant than Mustafar, Mindor may be it. Mindor is a violently unstable system that no sane person should even be in, let alone a place to be trapped in and battling for survival. There were points where I had a bit of trouble picturing the system's composition, which is vitally important to understanding the fleet battles and the looming problem the gravity generator stations present. However, this all became clear as the story progressed, along with the at-first puzzling introduction of meltmassif, a substance vital to Lord Shadowspawn's schemes.

Stover shows a sound grasp on the larger Expanded Universe. Two characters with prominent roles originated in the vintage Marvel comics series from the late 1970s and early 80s. Three more are drawn from one of Stover's other novels, creating a very intriguing link. There's a Jango Fett clone acting as Group Captain for Lord Shadowspawn and we follow his rapid rise through the ranks. There are many smaller nods to various sources, including a couple of character names taken from message board posters on Star Wars fan site theforce.net and a funny line of dialogue dealing with the various spellings of Mindor that have appeared in prior sources.

As a closing thought, there are several wonderful emotional high points scattered through the story, but for me the pinnacle was near the end in a scene written from R2-D2's point of view. In a few sentences, Stover briefly illuminates a beautiful image of the scope of the entire saga by acknowledging the relationship between R2-D2 and C-3PO in a movingly insightful way. A perfect capstone to one of the best Star Wars stories I've ever read. I can't recommend Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor highly enough.