***Two years have passed since Jacen Solo, seduced by the dark side and reanointed as the brutal Sith Lord Darth Caedus, died at the hands of his twin sister Jaina, Sword of the Jedi. For a grieving Han and Leia, the shadow of their son's tragic downfall still looms large. But Jacen's own bright and loving daughter, Allana, offers a ray of hope for the future as she thrives in her grandparents' care. The eager, inquisitive and Force-strong girl makes a curious discovery aboard her grandfather's beloved spacecraft -- the much-overhauled but ever-dependable Millennium Falcon. The Solo family then finds itself at a new turning point, about to set out on an odyssey into uncertain territory, untold adventure, and unexpected rewards.
To Han, who knows every bolt, weld, and sensor of the Falcon as if they were parts of himself, the strange device Allana shows him is utterly alien. But its confounding presence -- and Allana's infectious desire to unravel its mystery -- are impossible to dismiss. The only answer lies in backtracking into the past on a fact-finding expedition to retrace the people, places, and events in the checkered history of the vessel that's done everything from making the Kessel Run "in less than twelve parsecs" to helping topple an evil Empire.
From the moment the Falcon broke loose from a Corellian assembly line like an untamed creature with a will of its own, it seemed destined to seek out trouble. It wasn't long before the feisty YT-1300 freighter went from shuttling cargo to smuggling contraband. But it's a fateful rendezvous on Coruscant, at the explosive height of the Republic/Separatist uprising, that launches a galaxywide cat-and-mouse game whose newest players are Han, Leia, Allana and C-3PO. And they're not alone: Crime lords, galactic pirates, rogue politicians and fortune hunters alike loom at every turn of the quest -- each with his or her own desperate stake in the Millennium Falcon's most momentous mission.
Through the years and across the stars, from the Rim Worlds to points beyond, the race will lead them all to a final standoff for a prize some will risk everything to find--and pay any cost to possess.
The novel came out on Tuesday and I just read it earlier today in my local bookstore. Seeing as there was no official talkback thread up, I'll kick things off with my thoughts.
It's very much a thematic, if not literal sequel to Luceno's first NJO novel, Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial, or specifically the sequence when Han's going over the history of each nut and bolt of his ship after Chewie's funeral. Obviously, the history of the Falcon is center-stage and as the infamous walking EU Encyclopedia, Luceno excels in these segments. Part of the reason Luceno is my favorite EU writer is in trying to catch all the references and I found myself delighted as always with cameos/references from all corners of the EU, from Shug Ninx to the Zaan Consortium.
The only problems I hate are the sequences set within the present-day, as it inevitibly deals with the fallout from LOTF. It doesn't dominate the book, but it prevents it from standing alone. In fact, if anything, it appears to run parallel to the upcoming Fate of the Jedi I: Outcast and Blood Oath, if not serving as an active prelude. That having been said, Luceno does a good job of focusing on Han and Leia grieving over Jacen's fall and death and raising Allana.
Overall, part of me wishes that Luceno had been allowed to write that Plagueis novel instead of this, but it was a solid, if above-average outing.
3.5/5