The novels of Star Wars: The Han Solo Adventures capture the spirit of serial pulp novels, true to the retro adventure story feel of the Classic Trilogy. These novels must be considered Classic Star Wars themselves, published as they were between 1979 and 1980. And they are deserving of reading decades later because they are really fun, self-contained action-adventures.Han Solo has always been one of my favorite Star Wars characters, the iconic scoundrel with the heart of gold. And this series shows Han at a pivotal point in his life, filling in the blanks in the period antecedent to his fateful encounter with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker. Han is a secret idealist hiding behind a wall of cynicism; as his friend Badure observes at the end of Han Solo and the Lost Legacy, Han “always want[s] to do the right things for the wrong reasons.” There is the sense that Han’s emotional wall is maybe a little bit weaker after the end of each novel, but of course it is not until the first film that he finds himself truly reforming. This means that while there is some character growth, each adventure is episodic and isolated.The isolation of the series is actually wonderful. Brian Daley carved out the Corporate Sector and the Tion Hegemony, populating them with interesting worlds and aliens and organizations. He also created many old smuggler friends for Han to interact with. As with the Classic Trilogy, Daley’s novels have a sense of being lived in. Everything is a little bit faded and a little bit old, even Han’s allies, who are past their glory days. Han himself is noted to be a bit of an anomaly, somewhat old for a still-active smuggler who hasn’t ended up dead or in prison. And because the adventures are so isolated, Daley can go wild with innovation, making the galaxy genuinely feel like a galaxy, with a tremendous amount of diversity and space to cover.The episodic nature of the stories is clearly cultivated within each novel’s narrative, as well. The story structure of each of the books is basically as follows: Han and his first mate Chewbacca have an adventure, which has some consequences requiring a change in pace, which leads to the main adventure of the novel, which eventually culminates in some sort of resolution and another need for a change in pace, which leads to the duo heading off for another adventure. This episodic cycle also makes each story fly by. This is a strength—it’s engaging reading—but also a weakness, in that the pace moves forward so quickly that each novel hurtles itself at the resolution. I would have preferred some more development, perhaps more complications in the plot or more tension, but given that my complaint regarding many novels is that they meander toward the end, I cannot complain too much.Han almost becomes a space pirate James Bond over the course of this trilogy. He meets women, seduces them, and moves on. He uncovers some secret, gets into some fights, and saves the day. And he does it all with an air of disinterest. I’m fine with this interpretation (although I would certainly have preferred more developed female characters, rather than a parade of the strong and beautiful type, waiting to be wooed). In fact, having read these books, I regret even more that Star Wars 1313 was canceled. I would have loved to hop into an immersive experience that captures the gritty exploits of someone eking out an existence within the underbelly of the Star Wars galaxy.Daley appears to be rather fond of Chewbacca, which results in some really epic moments of Chewbacca’s prowess and heroism. He has some opportunities to show his melee talents, quite bombastically. And he actually gets to show how good he really is with that crossbow of his. Chewbacca proved to be as fun to read about as Han, improving my opinion of him (not to say that I disliked Chewbacca before).The characters of Bollux and Blue Max, two droids who become crew mates for the course of the novels, are quite enjoyable, too. Bollux is a labor droid who has constantly sought out modifications to stay relevant, and he speaks in a slow drawl, a vocoder defect that he has insisted on keeping to seem more personable. And Blue Max is a super-intelligent super-computer, Blue because he’s blue and Max because he has maximum computing capacity; Blue Max has a childish voice and a childish attitude, but he’s incredibly clever and often able to come up with quick solutions to aid the rest of the crew. They serve as the C-3PO and R2-D2 of the novels, but I almost prefer them, given their more pragmatic approaches and their own philosophical searching for identity despite being droids. I would have loved to see more of them, and I wonder why they have been relatively ignored by Star Wars canon.There is also a pretty interesting recurring antagonist in the form of the experienced gunslinger Gallandro. He is developed into quite the imposing figure, one who can easily outdraw Han when Han cannot play any tricks. And unlike Han, he is truly amoral. In a way, Gallandro represents what Han could have become if he never ended up meeting the Rebels. Unfortunately, Daley writes him out so easily at the end of the last adventure that it is almost disappointing. The positive side is that his end is less pathetic than that of Boba Fett in Return of the Jedi.And then there are Atuarre and Pakka. And Rekkon. And Spray. And Skynx. And Badure. And Jess. And Hasti. And Fiolla. And Sonniod. And Roa. Really, I could go on and on about all of the fantastic characters that Han encounters in these books, but you should really just read about them on your own. I had a lot of fun, and these characters will continue to populate my imagination.My main complaint is that the quality dropped off slightly between the first two books and Han Solo and the Lost Legacy. The third book has some annoying quirks, especially continuity errors and erratic descriptions, that occasionally derail the momentum. But these are small complaints when everything is taken into account.I would definitely recommend this book series, even to the most casual of Star Wars fans—and honestly, even to those completely indifferent to the film saga. They’re just that much fun.
The Han Solo Adventures penned by Brian Daley were the first "spin-off" novels allowed by Lucas and the Star Wars Franchise. Daley saw Star Wars and, like many of us, instantly fell in love with the story.For me, Star Wars was alot like watching the old black and white Harol Flynn movies of pirates and Spanish Galleons, treachery and swashbuckling heroes. Always a beautiful compatriot in the mix and crazy hair raising stunts born out of deaparation that only comes with a band of heroes up against an overwhelming force that's blessed with a little luck.The first book introduces some characters from the Clone Wars animated series, though, they existed here first, and gives us some idea of what Han was like before he met Laya and Luke and became emeshed in the revolution against the Empire. Jess, the black market tech-creator-seller and one time romantic interested for Solo, but not so much anymore joins forces with the smuggler...okay, hires the mercenary smuggler to find out what's happening to the underworld figures that do more than break laws. We get a glimpse of where Solo came from.We also get to find out that a very tall tower can be put into space... by accident... if power is rerouted to certain systems... (ahem) and why wookies don't fly single small fighters.The next story pits Han against slavers, and a skip chaser looking to claim the Falcon because "somebody" hasn't been making the payments. Han teams up with a wonderful character, a lady, who isn't a fan of pirates either. Yet, since she is a corporate type, can she be trusted?...well...hmm..Lastly the good old fashioned treasure hunt, with pirates and huge sentient seals that battle over teamster union rights and long shoreman. Blasters abound, adventure, old friends and yet another wonderful story about Han that nobody would know about otherwise.These three stories are lots of fun. They are told in the spirit of the movies, and, like all books, have room for so much more detail. They take place before the first movie (likely between 3 and 4 (Four being the first made). Solo is well done, and the stories are funny. In the Daley tradition, a new story is preceded by an anecdotal tale and I particularly like the intro-tale in the second story. Solo's a better pilot than he is a business man. Chewie is interesting, and ferocious. As in the movies, he grunts growls and chortles and, those who speak wookie talk back whilie we get no idea what he really said. These stories are fun, completely in the spirit of the first three movies and do a wonderful job of adventuring with Han Solo. Worth the time reading, if you are a Star Wars friend, if not, ...well...they are still fun stories. Solo is dashing after all and the characters are all well done and endearing.
What do You think about The Han Solo Adventures (1994)?
Brian Daley's "The Han Solo Adventures" is among the very earliest books ever published that expanded upon the world of "Star Wars." A trilogy published between 1979 and 1980, they detail a few of Han Solo and Chewbacca's adventures prior to the original film. In "Han Solo at Stars' End," they set out to find a famous illegal ship builder who has disappeared and things become even more personal when Chewie is captured by the enemy. In "Han Solo's Revenge," the smugglers try to find out who set them up to transport illegal slaves, in the process uncovering a slavery ring that may involve the local government. In "Han Solo and the Lost Legacy," Han and Chewie are reunited with an old friend and set off in search of a fabled ancient treasure on a forgotten backwater world.Over three decades later, these remain some of the best and most enjoyable "Star Wars" stories. Very quick reads (each runs barely 200 pages), Daley keeps them free of excess and simply tells some tightly-written stories that are exciting and filled with colorful characters. They aren't deep, but they're fun space adventures, which include a wild swoop bike chase, a cool and ultra-slick gunman/bounty hunter named Gallandro who gives Boba Fett a run for his money and an army of battle droids. Daley also captures the essence of Han and Chewie better than most. While many later authors would lazily treat the Wookiee as little more than the family pet, he does a terrific job writing not just their partnership, but their friendship as well.Because of Lucasfilm's restraints that allowed him to only use Han Solo, Chewbacca and the Millennium Falcon, Daley introduces a variety of new worlds, ships and characters to populate his stories, and offers a suitable stand-in for the Empire in the form of a smaller government called the Corporate Sector. He really captures the pulpy feel that "Star Wars" originally had and which many authors would later fail to capture. I first discovered these stories when they were packaged in this omnibus edition in 1992. I've read them many times over the years and they never fail to entertain. If you're a "Star Wars" fan who has never read them or are just looking for a trio of breezy but exciting space adventures, I definitely suggest giving these a read.
—Michael
I don't know how Brian Daly got involved in writing a series of prequel books featuring the adventures of Han Solo and his wookie partner but he was the perfect man for the job. Each of these books is distinguished by fast paced action, snappy dialog and old fashioned cliffhanger plotting to keep the reader interested. I read these as a teenager and liked them very much and then read them again after 30 years as an an adult and I was very pleased to see that my memory was not playing me false and they were as well-written and enjoyable as I remembered. With spin-off books like this the quality really depends on the talent of the author who gets the gig and Brian Daly did a fantastic job. I was sad to hear of his passing from cancer...R.I.P
—Doctor Edward Diesel
This is a collection of three stories based on the character Han Solo. These take place before episode IV and their intent is to show how Han slowly becomes the character we see in the first movie. He is a smuggler who supposedly only cares about himself and Chewbacca but he finds himself in situations where he is helping others.This was one of the first books written after Star Wars: A New Hope. Therefore, we did not have over a handful of movies, two different cartoon series, and hundreds of books. This situation is what made this book enjoyable. It had a nostalgic feeling to it and it brought me back to my childhood. It was as if I was 7 years old again and just watched the first movie in the theaters. Sure, the writing is not the strongest and the tie-in with the rest of the whole universe is weak. I think the word "Empire" and "stormtrooper" was mentioned a total of three times. But this book accomplished what it was suppose to do. It relayed its message about everyone's favorite nerf herder as a free spirit who spans the galaxy being selfish and out for number one but in reality he is a hero.If you are looking for an adventure novel that has an old time feeling of a radio serialized show this is that book. It is a fun adventure that does not have ramifications to the whole universe.
—Jim C
