Smuggler's Run (Book Review)

Smuggler's Run is one of the trilogy of Adventure books that is part of the Journey to the Force Awakens publishing event. It was released on Force Friday (9/4/2015). Each of the Adventure books features one protagonist from the Original Trilogy. This book features Han Solo and Chewbacca, although the Millennium Falcon itself has a prominent role as well.

You can find plenty of book reviews, so I will keep mine short and sweet. This was a lot of fun! Rucka's characterization of Han and Chewie were right on the money.

Comparing this to the first book I read in this series, the Weapon of the Jedi, the content is a bit heavier. There is one scene in particular where some rebels commit suicide or assisted suicide rather than be captured by the Empire and forced to divulge sensitive information. Aside from this one scene, the book is otherwise in the younger end of the YA spectrum.

What I really want to capture here in this blog are the major elements of the story for future reference. Part of the marketing of these books is that hints about The Force Awakens have been planted in the story. So here it goes:

Prologue:

• Han tells the story to a group of gangsters

New Depths for Legacy Characters:

We know that a Han Solo spin-off film is in the works. There are a few tantalizing details at the beginning of the books. It leaves the door open for Han having been an Imperial before meeting Chewbacca, which I think would make for a great story.

• After the Battle of Yavin, only 2 X-Wings and 1 Y-Wing left
• Chewie was 180 during the Clone Wars
• Chewie refers to Han as the Corellian
• Han calls his selfishness "enlightened self-interest"
• After Han and Chewie met they fled to the Outer Rim
• Reward for rescuing princess and fee promised by Obi Wan more than enough to pay off Jabba
• Yavin IV a temple to gods long by people long dead or forgotten
• Han: "Got an old friend who's fond of saying that truth is greatly dependent on your point of view."

New Depths of the Falcon:

• YT-1300 is a common space ship
• Engines are overpowered for its size, even without modifications
• Sensitive controls require both a pilot and co-pilot to fly her
• The Falcon is a "gas guzzler" - half of the credits they earned went into the ship
• Multiple computers, developed their own dialect and sometimes feuded with each other
• Gravity emulators cut out during sharp maneuvers so must strap in
• FAST

New Characters:

• Lt. Ematt - leader of the Shrikes: rebel base location hunters
• Shrike is a bird of prey
• Shrikes commit suicide rather fall into hands of Empire. Only Ematt escapes.
• Shrikes ambushed at Tanaab by the ISB. ISB following Emperor's orders to sieze all rebel sympathizers. ISB had been quietly tailing the Shrikes. Rebels and sympathizers are to be shot on sight.
• Comander Alecia Beck (Imperial Security Bureau)
• Commander Hove of the Star Destroyer Vehement
• TK-828 "Torrent" is one of the last remaining clones. Very efficient.
• Delia Leighton - Captain of Miss Fortune, a starship-based cantina. Miss Fortune used to be called Durese by the original Duros owner (Serendipity). Redhead. Used to wait tables at a cantina on Lothal.
• Curtis - Delia's co-pilot and bouncer

New Locations:

• Cyrkon - 6 planets, on the edge of Hutt space

Plot Notes & Other Things:

• Imperials are anti-alien and pre-dominantly male
• Tractor beam described as a wave. Not instantaneous.
• The moon is referred to as "Yavin 4" instead of "Yavin IV"

Epilogue:

• The gang never heard of Cyrkon. Perhaps all made up?
• Gang may belong to the Irving Boys, Guavians, Ducain. - they want the Falcon.
• Han: "You tell Ducain, you tell the Irving Boys, you tell all of them this: we're not afraid of them."
• The unanswered question - What happened to Beck?

Weapon of the Jedi (Book Review)

Weapon of the Jedi is one of the trilogy of Adventure books that is part of the Journey to the Force Awakens publishing event. It was released on Force Friday (9/4/2015). Each of the Adventure books features one protagonist from the Original Trilogy. This book features Luke Skywalker.

You can find plenty of book reviews, so I will keep mine short and sweet. This was a lot of fun! Fry did a great job capturing the character of Luke as still a kid trying to deal with the world just after his victory against the Death Star.

What I really want to capture here in this blog are the major elements of the story for future reference. Part of the marketing of these books is that hints about The Force Awakens have been planted in the story. So here it goes:

Prologue/Epilogue

The book is "bookended" by a conversation between Blue Squadron pilot Jessika Pava and Threepio. This takes place after Threepio gets his red arm, so it is well into story territory beyond ROTJ.

Prologue Notes:

• Threepio now knows "almost seven million forms of communication" as opposed to "six million"
• Jessika Pava is known as Blue Three
• According to Jessika: "...everybody knows Luke Skywalker. He defeated the Emperor, and they say he's the best star pilot in the galaxy" [nice homage to Obi-Wan's reference to Anakin]
• Jessika also indicates that Artoo-Detoo is famous for being the droid to accompany Luke in the trench run

References to Battle of Yavin :

• Red Squadron was made up of 12 X-Wings for the Battle of Yavin IV
• Only two X-Wings survived: Red 3 Wedge and Red 5 Luke
• The Red Squadron leader replacement was Commander Narra (male)

Locations:

• Red Squadron protecting a freighter evacuating underground leaders from planet Giju
• The Force calls Luke to come to planet Devaron, near Giju, to the Temple of Eedit
• The closest town to the temple is Tikaroo
• Sarco suspects there are vaults under the temple

Luke & the Force

• Luke does not know how to influence minds as Obi Wan did on Tatooine
• Ben has not talked to Luke since the Trench Run
• Luke has force vision of Jedi swimming and breathing underwater - Kit Fisto?
• Luke's first time hearing Ben's voice again after the Trench Run is when he is in the temple
• The Jedi are considered evil sorcerers by the indigenous people (encouraged by the Empire)
• Ben tells Luke that anger and fear lead to the dark side (before Yoda)
• Threepio and Artoo mention that they found recordings of lightsaber training/battles?
• Luke trains against two remotes...then three remotes
• Key training learned - Let Go.
• Luke uses lightsaber for first time against eight stormtroopers & Imp officer (aided by Sarco)

Plot Points

• pikhrons - large but passive herbivores hunted for their skin
• The Empire placed a sensor perimeter around the temple to guard against people entering it
• Luke is blinded and deafened in battle against Sarco

Sarco Plank

• Sarco weilds an electrostaff that he said was made to kill Jedi
• Sarco falls down pit, but Luke senses still alive
• Luke kicks electrostaff down the pit 

Random Musings

• Scattered/randomized jumps to keep from Imperial tails - but increases risk of encounter - which happens to Luke and forces him to abandon mission that Mon Mothma assigned him (led by the Force?)

Epilogue Notes

• Luke vows to return to the temple
• Threepio confirms he did - when Farnay grown woman (highly likely post-ROTJ)

Update on the Kiddos

It has been a while since I posted anything about my two kids. I've actually restrained myself quite a bit from bringing them into Star Wars. We did watch the first season of Star Wars Rebels together - my young daughter really latched on to Hera - not so much Sabine. Perhaps because she is more maternal and less violent, which matches her personality better.

But they haven't really seen much Star Wars since the first season ended many months ago. I was very surprised when both of them picked out Star Wars-themed costumes for Halloween this year. I figured by daughter in particular would choose My Little Pony since she is so into that franchise now. But she picked out a really cool Darth Vader dress and Hudson picked an awesome Kylo Ren costume. I got a retractable tri-bladed lightsaber from Target to match it.

We trick-or-treated at Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at Disney's Magic Kingdom. We saw plenty of Star Wars costumes, but no other Kylro Rens! I got a nice compliment from the cast member who helped people off the Little Mermaid dark ride - "You are raising them right!".

My daughter is really into the John Williams music. We listen to the Imperial March on a regular basis. Normally she is very talkative, but one day when I was driving her to school and we were going through the ESB soundtrack, she was very quiet. I looked and saw her looking out the window lost in her thoughts, with a slight smile on her face. I asked her what she was thinking and she said she was imaging a Star Wars parade with her in the lead, but joined by her brother, my wife and I, and several of her friends.