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Star Wars: The Corellian Trilogy #3
Showdown at Centerpoint
In this third and final volume of the Corellian trilogy, Han and Luke lead the Alliance in a mad scramble against the Selonian rebels for control of the planetary technology.
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 1995
80 people are currently reading
2640 people want to read
About the author
Roger MacBride Allen
55 books102 followersRoger MacBride Allen is a US science fiction author of the Corellian Trilogy, consisting of Ambush at Corellia, Assault at Selonia, and Showdown at Centerpoint. He was born on September 26, 1957 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He grew up in Washington D.C. and graduated from Boston University in 1979. The author of a dozen science-fiction novels, he lived in Washington D.C., for many years. In July 1994, he married Eleanre Fox, a member of the U.S. Foreign Service. Her current assignment takes them to Brasilia, Brazil, where they lived from 2007 to 2009.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
May 7, 2023
What an epic finale! This is what sagas such as Star Wars are all about! Even though, in a good-versus-evil story, you know who will win from the get-go, this was still a sweeping ending! This is the kind of story Disney should be bringing to the big screen, not the mess that was The Last Jedi!
August 28, 2015
Roger MacBride Allen's Corellian Trilogy had a promising start with his first book, "Ambush at Corellia". It was exciting, well-paced, and did an excellent job setting up the characters and events. The second book in the series, "Assault at Selonia" was slightly less-than-stellar, only because it suffered from the second-book syndrome: very little action, lots of rambling exposition, and a sole purpose of being nothing more than a transition novel between the first and third books.
The third book, "Showdown at Centerpoint" had many of the elements that helped the first book succeed, but something was missing. There was plenty of action and the requisite space battle scenes that readers come to expect from "Star Wars". There was the necessary balance of pathos and humor that was in keeping with the spirit and fun of "Star Wars". There was even full closure with the numerous story lines and character arcs.
So, it's hard to put my finger on exactly what made the third book in an otherwise well-written trilogy so disappointing.
Although I'll start by suggesting that Allen kind of cops out at the end with regard to the narrative arc involving the ancient alien race that basically jettisons the plot in the first book. Allen seems to be setting us up for a climactic "reveal" in the third book, but it never actually arrives.
Maybe he was going for an ambiguous ending on purpose, to illustrate that some things are inexplicable and have an air of mystique even within the Star Wars Expanded Universe. I can dig that.
Of course, the other explanation is much more believable: Allen left it purposely vague and without closure because he plans on coming back to it someday in another series of novels.
Okay. I can understand that, although it still left me wanting more of an explanation, or at least a hint of an explanation, for why the ancient aliens left these fascinating artifacts in the first place, and how and why they "created" the Corellian Sector.
But, the more I think about it, the more I realize this is kind of a silly complaint. The trilogy is still immensely readable and enjoyable, and "Star Wars" fans will love it. So, I will just shut up now...
The third book, "Showdown at Centerpoint" had many of the elements that helped the first book succeed, but something was missing. There was plenty of action and the requisite space battle scenes that readers come to expect from "Star Wars". There was the necessary balance of pathos and humor that was in keeping with the spirit and fun of "Star Wars". There was even full closure with the numerous story lines and character arcs.
So, it's hard to put my finger on exactly what made the third book in an otherwise well-written trilogy so disappointing.
Although I'll start by suggesting that Allen kind of cops out at the end with regard to the narrative arc involving the ancient alien race that basically jettisons the plot in the first book. Allen seems to be setting us up for a climactic "reveal" in the third book, but it never actually arrives.
Maybe he was going for an ambiguous ending on purpose, to illustrate that some things are inexplicable and have an air of mystique even within the Star Wars Expanded Universe. I can dig that.
Of course, the other explanation is much more believable: Allen left it purposely vague and without closure because he plans on coming back to it someday in another series of novels.
Okay. I can understand that, although it still left me wanting more of an explanation, or at least a hint of an explanation, for why the ancient aliens left these fascinating artifacts in the first place, and how and why they "created" the Corellian Sector.
But, the more I think about it, the more I realize this is kind of a silly complaint. The trilogy is still immensely readable and enjoyable, and "Star Wars" fans will love it. So, I will just shut up now...
November 22, 2024
This whole trilogy was just so bland. It’s only worth spending the time to mention one issue. This author will write like 20 pages of a pointless situation that we all know is going to work out. Like this random new character didn’t know if her ship was going to crash. First of all, we don’t even care about this random girl. Secondly, she’s obviously going to make it. So the anticipation just wasn’t there and then you have to just drudge through all of those pages that you have zero interest in. This was like a worse Thrawn trilogy. I have no interest whatsoever in reading this ever again. What a waste of time.
One more thing and I don’t care that this is a spoiler because no one reading this will ever read this book, especially after seeing my review of the trilogy. The whole book they’re hinting at an “Agent A” who will be showing up at the last minute to help. Anyone who takes two seconds to think about it will obviously be like “oh, that’s probably Admiral Ackbar”. Lo and behold, it is Admiral Ackbar. Wow big reveal. Just goes to show you how lame of a story this guy put together.
On a positive note, Han and Leia’s kids were well written here and I’m interested in their development moving forward.
One more thing and I don’t care that this is a spoiler because no one reading this will ever read this book, especially after seeing my review of the trilogy. The whole book they’re hinting at an “Agent A” who will be showing up at the last minute to help. Anyone who takes two seconds to think about it will obviously be like “oh, that’s probably Admiral Ackbar”. Lo and behold, it is Admiral Ackbar. Wow big reveal. Just goes to show you how lame of a story this guy put together.
On a positive note, Han and Leia’s kids were well written here and I’m interested in their development moving forward.
June 3, 2021
I own this book.
This is the finale to The Corellian Trilogy, and what a finale it was. Not only did we get to see what happened to the Human League, and how the dream team of the Solos, Luke, Lando and their allies fought for the Corellian system, I think we really got to know the characters more. Luke especially. I like that Luke had become less immature, more worldly by the time of this series but you could tell he was still Luke, still the soft-hearted boy we loved in the original trilogy. I do think the ending of this book was a little ambiguous and it left the reader kind of grasping for something more, which is why this isn't a five star book. It was missing something, but what that was, well I can't fully grasp. We seemed to lose something we were promised, a ROTJ type ending perhaps?
This is the finale to The Corellian Trilogy, and what a finale it was. Not only did we get to see what happened to the Human League, and how the dream team of the Solos, Luke, Lando and their allies fought for the Corellian system, I think we really got to know the characters more. Luke especially. I like that Luke had become less immature, more worldly by the time of this series but you could tell he was still Luke, still the soft-hearted boy we loved in the original trilogy. I do think the ending of this book was a little ambiguous and it left the reader kind of grasping for something more, which is why this isn't a five star book. It was missing something, but what that was, well I can't fully grasp. We seemed to lose something we were promised, a ROTJ type ending perhaps?
June 8, 2020
For 2020, I decided to reread (in publication order) all the Bantam-era Star Wars books that were released between 1991 and 1999; that shakes out to 38 adult novels and 5 anthologies of short stories & novellas.
This week’s focus: Showdown at Centerpoint by Roger MacBride Allen.
SOME HISTORY:
October 1995 saw the release of the final volume of the Corellian trilogy. Cover-wise, it’s a bit of an upgrade from the Jedi Academy trilogy—Drew Struzan did the covers for all the hardcover books since The Truce at Bakura, but the Corellian trilogy marked the first time that he created paperback covers as well. Showdown at Centerpoint made it to number five on the New York Times paperback bestseller list for the week of October 1, 1995, and was on the NYT list for four weeks.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
Other than the death of a minor character, I didn’t remember most of this. I was hoping that the climax would be worth all the setup. Was it? Well...
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
Luke, Lando, and company head to Centerpoint Station to uncover the mystery of the starbuster plot. Meanwhile, Han Solo is forced to make a crash landing on Selonia, and the Solo children discover the buried repulsor on Drall—only to be captured by Thrackan Sal-Solo and the Human League.
THE CHARACTERS:
On the galactic gender parity front, I thought that Allen did pretty good! We have Leia, of course, and then previous characters like Mara Jade and Gaeriel Captison, but then we also have a number of newly introduced women as well. There’s Dracmus the Selonian—and actually all of the Selonians we meet are female—and Aunt Marcha the Drall, Belindi Kalenda the intelligence officer, and sweet Tendra Risant. In this book we also meet Jenica Sonsen, the sole remaining officer aboard Centerpoint Station. It’s much better representation compared to some of the other Bantam books I’ve read so far.
Allen also has a good grasp on the main trio: they sound like themselves, they act like themselves. They don’t change or anything, but at least they seem similar to their movie selves.
Except Han...he’s just so grouchy here. Perhaps it’s understandable, since he was imprisoned, then crawled through tunnels, then flew in an ill-equipped spaceship that ultimately crashed, but he’s a total grump. And for books that highlighted how central he would be to the story—he’s the focal point on all the covers—he wasn’t important in the end? There’s a scene after they recapture Thrackan, where Han goes to speak with him, but there’s minimal resolution there. I guess I expected more insight into Han’s family and upbringing than we actually received.
The Solo children played a pivotal role in stopping Centerpoint. But should they have? In book one, I thought that Anakin was portrayed as younger than his actual years, and that continued here. He’s preternaturally gifted in the Force, but he also can’t read? He’s almost eight! In the United States, that’s second grade, and you can certainly read at that point! The Solo twins also go back and forth between seeming too babyish, and then accomplishing tasks far beyond their years. Jacen flies the Falcon—Jaina disables the Human League ship. And they’re nine?
Tendra and Belindi had little to do in this book. Tendra sets an alarm to let her know when the interdiction field goes down; she travels via lightspeed to Centerpoint Station; and then she just sits there until Lando picks her up before the final battle. Belindi goes along with Luke and co. when they visit Centerpoint, but she’s not really needed. After her thrilling escapades in book one, she’s been increasingly sidelined in the next two books.
Poor Gaeriel. I liked how her reunion with Luke was addressed in book two, but she’s similarly useless here. Bakura sends her as their plenipotentiary, but she doesn’t do any diplomatic things. I would say that her death is only designed to cause Luke manpain, but we don’t get his immediate reaction to her death--the only people who remark on it at the time are Lando and Tendra, and they’re like “ohhhh no the Intruder.” Luke thinks about how he promised her daughter that he’d keep her mother safe, but--you didn’t! Gaeriel is a widow with a small child, and there’s no resolution with her death at all. (Years ago, I wrote a fanfic about Gaeriel’s spirit visiting her daughter one last time, and it wasn’t good, but clearly I wanted resolution the first time I read this.)
Lando suddenly has a lot of knowledge in this book, about polluted air safety and physics. The first I can accept, but the second? He’s a businessman, not a scientist. He’s also surprisingly nasty to C-3PO. Does Allen hate Threepio? Lando’s mean to him, Jenica’s barely met Threepio yet insults him, and even the Bakuran admiral yells at him. Perhaps Allen was going for the relationship between Han and Threepio, but Lando doesn’t have that same history with him. (Poor annoying droid.)
ISSUES:
The final battle is far too short. It’s a single chapter, and it’s not a dogfight or a strategic mastermind à la Thrawn. There are three Bakuran ships, and three ships on the heroes’ side. The Saccorians have eighty ships. Everyone just flies around and shoots and tries to get the bad guys turned around for an hour, and then “Source A” (obviously Admiral Ackbar) shows up. We know that nothing will happen to our main three and Lando, and Mara Jade is competent enough to look out for herself. It goes by far too quickly, and there’s scant wrap-up afterwards.
The Saccorian Triad are a remarkably opaque enemy. Even by the end, we know very little about them. Who are the members of the Triad? What are their aims, other than mayhem and control of the repulsors? How long have they been planning this? How did they discover how Centerpoint Station worked? I can’t view them as a huge threat, because we literally never meet them. They don’t make broadcasts like Thrackan, they just have a bunch of ships and sit behind the scenes.
The mythology of the Corellian system is also a little confusing. In book two, it was confirmed that the system was created, and that each planet has a huge buried repulsor that was used to maneuver them into place. In this book, we discover that Centerpoint Station (the size of a small planet! Which makes Han’s conviction in A New Hope that the Death Star is way too big for a space station a little confusing, since apparently there was a huge station in his home system all along!) is actually a hyperspace repulsor, which means that it pulled the planets from their unknown origins through hyperspace to the Corellian system. Who were the architects of this great feat? Allen leaves things open-ended for future writers, but later Legends books took this in a frankly bizarre direction.
IN CONCLUSION:
Books one and two were stuffed with setup. Did book three’s conclusion feel like a fitting wrap-up to everything that came before? Not so much. The true bad guys are a faceless threat. The starbuster plot is foiled by a seven year old child. The final battle starts and finishes in one chapter. And a minor character is killed, seemingly only to illustrate the cost of war. Having finished the Corellian trilogy, I definitely agree that this could have been one or two books at most. In the end, the climax just wasn’t long enough or exciting enough for me.
Next up: the second book in the unofficial Callista trilogy, Darksaber by Kevin J. Anderson.
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/hquQV1ZghHs
This week’s focus: Showdown at Centerpoint by Roger MacBride Allen.
SOME HISTORY:
October 1995 saw the release of the final volume of the Corellian trilogy. Cover-wise, it’s a bit of an upgrade from the Jedi Academy trilogy—Drew Struzan did the covers for all the hardcover books since The Truce at Bakura, but the Corellian trilogy marked the first time that he created paperback covers as well. Showdown at Centerpoint made it to number five on the New York Times paperback bestseller list for the week of October 1, 1995, and was on the NYT list for four weeks.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
Other than the death of a minor character, I didn’t remember most of this. I was hoping that the climax would be worth all the setup. Was it? Well...
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
Luke, Lando, and company head to Centerpoint Station to uncover the mystery of the starbuster plot. Meanwhile, Han Solo is forced to make a crash landing on Selonia, and the Solo children discover the buried repulsor on Drall—only to be captured by Thrackan Sal-Solo and the Human League.
THE CHARACTERS:
On the galactic gender parity front, I thought that Allen did pretty good! We have Leia, of course, and then previous characters like Mara Jade and Gaeriel Captison, but then we also have a number of newly introduced women as well. There’s Dracmus the Selonian—and actually all of the Selonians we meet are female—and Aunt Marcha the Drall, Belindi Kalenda the intelligence officer, and sweet Tendra Risant. In this book we also meet Jenica Sonsen, the sole remaining officer aboard Centerpoint Station. It’s much better representation compared to some of the other Bantam books I’ve read so far.
Allen also has a good grasp on the main trio: they sound like themselves, they act like themselves. They don’t change or anything, but at least they seem similar to their movie selves.
Except Han...he’s just so grouchy here. Perhaps it’s understandable, since he was imprisoned, then crawled through tunnels, then flew in an ill-equipped spaceship that ultimately crashed, but he’s a total grump. And for books that highlighted how central he would be to the story—he’s the focal point on all the covers—he wasn’t important in the end? There’s a scene after they recapture Thrackan, where Han goes to speak with him, but there’s minimal resolution there. I guess I expected more insight into Han’s family and upbringing than we actually received.
The Solo children played a pivotal role in stopping Centerpoint. But should they have? In book one, I thought that Anakin was portrayed as younger than his actual years, and that continued here. He’s preternaturally gifted in the Force, but he also can’t read? He’s almost eight! In the United States, that’s second grade, and you can certainly read at that point! The Solo twins also go back and forth between seeming too babyish, and then accomplishing tasks far beyond their years. Jacen flies the Falcon—Jaina disables the Human League ship. And they’re nine?
Tendra and Belindi had little to do in this book. Tendra sets an alarm to let her know when the interdiction field goes down; she travels via lightspeed to Centerpoint Station; and then she just sits there until Lando picks her up before the final battle. Belindi goes along with Luke and co. when they visit Centerpoint, but she’s not really needed. After her thrilling escapades in book one, she’s been increasingly sidelined in the next two books.
Poor Gaeriel. I liked how her reunion with Luke was addressed in book two, but she’s similarly useless here. Bakura sends her as their plenipotentiary, but she doesn’t do any diplomatic things. I would say that her death is only designed to cause Luke manpain, but we don’t get his immediate reaction to her death--the only people who remark on it at the time are Lando and Tendra, and they’re like “ohhhh no the Intruder.” Luke thinks about how he promised her daughter that he’d keep her mother safe, but--you didn’t! Gaeriel is a widow with a small child, and there’s no resolution with her death at all. (Years ago, I wrote a fanfic about Gaeriel’s spirit visiting her daughter one last time, and it wasn’t good, but clearly I wanted resolution the first time I read this.)
Lando suddenly has a lot of knowledge in this book, about polluted air safety and physics. The first I can accept, but the second? He’s a businessman, not a scientist. He’s also surprisingly nasty to C-3PO. Does Allen hate Threepio? Lando’s mean to him, Jenica’s barely met Threepio yet insults him, and even the Bakuran admiral yells at him. Perhaps Allen was going for the relationship between Han and Threepio, but Lando doesn’t have that same history with him. (Poor annoying droid.)
ISSUES:
The final battle is far too short. It’s a single chapter, and it’s not a dogfight or a strategic mastermind à la Thrawn. There are three Bakuran ships, and three ships on the heroes’ side. The Saccorians have eighty ships. Everyone just flies around and shoots and tries to get the bad guys turned around for an hour, and then “Source A” (obviously Admiral Ackbar) shows up. We know that nothing will happen to our main three and Lando, and Mara Jade is competent enough to look out for herself. It goes by far too quickly, and there’s scant wrap-up afterwards.
The Saccorian Triad are a remarkably opaque enemy. Even by the end, we know very little about them. Who are the members of the Triad? What are their aims, other than mayhem and control of the repulsors? How long have they been planning this? How did they discover how Centerpoint Station worked? I can’t view them as a huge threat, because we literally never meet them. They don’t make broadcasts like Thrackan, they just have a bunch of ships and sit behind the scenes.
The mythology of the Corellian system is also a little confusing. In book two, it was confirmed that the system was created, and that each planet has a huge buried repulsor that was used to maneuver them into place. In this book, we discover that Centerpoint Station (the size of a small planet! Which makes Han’s conviction in A New Hope that the Death Star is way too big for a space station a little confusing, since apparently there was a huge station in his home system all along!) is actually a hyperspace repulsor, which means that it pulled the planets from their unknown origins through hyperspace to the Corellian system. Who were the architects of this great feat? Allen leaves things open-ended for future writers, but later Legends books took this in a frankly bizarre direction.
IN CONCLUSION:
Books one and two were stuffed with setup. Did book three’s conclusion feel like a fitting wrap-up to everything that came before? Not so much. The true bad guys are a faceless threat. The starbuster plot is foiled by a seven year old child. The final battle starts and finishes in one chapter. And a minor character is killed, seemingly only to illustrate the cost of war. Having finished the Corellian trilogy, I definitely agree that this could have been one or two books at most. In the end, the climax just wasn’t long enough or exciting enough for me.
Next up: the second book in the unofficial Callista trilogy, Darksaber by Kevin J. Anderson.
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/hquQV1ZghHs
July 18, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Showdown at Centerpoint Station brings Roger MacBride Allen’s Corellian Trilogy to a fast-paced, action-heavy close as the Corellian system stands on the brink of civil war. Our heroes race to uncover the secrets of Centerpoint Station, an ancient superweapon capable of wiping out entire worlds.
The story moves quickly and wraps up most of the major plotlines in a satisfying way. The legacy characters—like Han, Leia, and Luke—are written true to form, and the newer Legends characters are handled well. One of the trilogy’s biggest strengths is how much time it spends developing Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin Solo. Each of them starts to come into their own here, setting the stage for their larger roles in future stories. A few surprising deaths near the end also raise the emotional stakes and remind you that the danger is real.
That said, a few things are left unresolved. The ancient alien race hinted at throughout the trilogy, and the mystery behind the creation of the Corellian system, never really get a clear answer. It feels like the story was building to something more that we never quite get. It’s also hard to believe the New Republic would be so unaware of something as massive and dangerous as Centerpoint Station. And while the ending ties up the main conflict, it feels like it pulls back at the last moment—almost like there were plans for future books that never came to be.
Still, for Legends fans, this is a fun, engaging trilogy that blends action, intrigue, and character growth—especially for the next generation of Solos. It’s a solid conclusion, even if it leaves a few mysteries behind.
7 out of 10
Showdown at Centerpoint Station brings Roger MacBride Allen’s Corellian Trilogy to a fast-paced, action-heavy close as the Corellian system stands on the brink of civil war. Our heroes race to uncover the secrets of Centerpoint Station, an ancient superweapon capable of wiping out entire worlds.
The story moves quickly and wraps up most of the major plotlines in a satisfying way. The legacy characters—like Han, Leia, and Luke—are written true to form, and the newer Legends characters are handled well. One of the trilogy’s biggest strengths is how much time it spends developing Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin Solo. Each of them starts to come into their own here, setting the stage for their larger roles in future stories. A few surprising deaths near the end also raise the emotional stakes and remind you that the danger is real.
That said, a few things are left unresolved. The ancient alien race hinted at throughout the trilogy, and the mystery behind the creation of the Corellian system, never really get a clear answer. It feels like the story was building to something more that we never quite get. It’s also hard to believe the New Republic would be so unaware of something as massive and dangerous as Centerpoint Station. And while the ending ties up the main conflict, it feels like it pulls back at the last moment—almost like there were plans for future books that never came to be.
Still, for Legends fans, this is a fun, engaging trilogy that blends action, intrigue, and character growth—especially for the next generation of Solos. It’s a solid conclusion, even if it leaves a few mysteries behind.
7 out of 10
June 8, 2024
This book is a perfect 3.5 stars. It's enjoyable and well written, but it has some flaws. My biggest problems are that by the end of this trilogy, we still don't have a whole lot of answers. Some mysteries are meant to be left as such, but to me, the biggest plot point from these three books is left incredibly vague. It's shocking that we see incredible detail when it comes to an alien ship and how it runs, but the main mystery and plot is left so unsatisfied. I felt like with the books being as short as they were, a little extra detail or motivation being fleshed out would have added to the impact of these books.
June 2, 2023
It tries hard to rescue the trilogy...but this book has too much of the baggage from the previous volumes to deal with. I'm afraid I find this to the nadir of the old "Legends" continuity...it makes the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy read like War & Peace.
October 22, 2023
Overall a decent trilogy, albeit a bit dated like pretty much all Star Wars novels from this era. But I can still enjoy them for what they are.
3.5 stars for this book and for the trilogy as well.
3.5 stars for this book and for the trilogy as well.
June 25, 2025
Showdown at Centerpoint? I guess that was a clue that the book would be mid.
It just never really got going, felt like I was really exerting myself to get through a plot that just didn't move until the last ten pages or so... of a 1000 page trilogy.
It just never really got going, felt like I was really exerting myself to get through a plot that just didn't move until the last ten pages or so... of a 1000 page trilogy.
August 4, 2025
Really enjoyed this trilogy! well written with an interesting setting and plot. I do wish the Solo twins had been utilized more.
November 29, 2025
FINALLY FINISHED UGH
What a slog this trilogy was! It started off with a decent, if not great, premise and just never materialized at all. Just pages turning without going anywhere. By the end, I still had no clear grasp of the antagonists or what they wanted. Even on the final page, the main characters shrug and say “we’ll never know the answers to some of the mysteries here.”
What a slog this trilogy was! It started off with a decent, if not great, premise and just never materialized at all. Just pages turning without going anywhere. By the end, I still had no clear grasp of the antagonists or what they wanted. Even on the final page, the main characters shrug and say “we’ll never know the answers to some of the mysteries here.”
April 17, 2022
Showdown at Centerpoint is a better conclusion to Roger MacBride Allen's The Corellian Trilogy than Assault on Selonia was a middle chapter, but it is hardly a good book.
The main issue of the entirety of Allen's trilogy boils down to its lack of focus. A fairly common criticism of the novel seems to be that fans of the series don't believe the trilogy was all that necessary, that its major plot points could easily have been condensed into a single novel and the trilogy scrapped for something else. I agree with this sentiment, and Centerpoint is a perfect example of why.
Most of the book is best described as fairly useless bloat. Why do we need, for example, a twenty-page chapter describing a freefall from Selonia's orbit to the ground, when the climactic battle at the end of the novel spans a full thirty pages? Is Allen really saying to us that each action sequence should be as weighty as the other? There's also a matter of reviving old characters from previous novels--namely Gaeriel Captison of Bakura--only to do absolutely nothing with their character (except maybe set-dressing) only to write them off completely by the end of the trilogy. Why? What was the point in that?
I also need a moment to complain about all the wasted space in the trilogy that could have served a much greater purpose. For example, why do we spend so much space on the intrigue of the Human League when they aren't even the main baddies of the trilogy? Why do we even have a villainous organization if the entire trilogy does absolutely nothing to address who they are or what their goals are? It's almost masterfully bad plotting, and I can't believe Lucasfilm allowed the drafts to proceed forward for publication.
Moreover, why drag additional characters into the trilogy if they aren't even going to be utilized well? What's the point of Thrackan Sal-Solo if a) he isn't the trilogy's central antagonist, and b) he interacts with Han and his family in barely 10% of the trilogy's total length? Why drag Gaeriel Captison into the novel at all when her express purpose is just to get killed off? Why include any of these characters at all when we could have been spending more time, for example, getting to know Lando Calrissian's new wife, Tendra?
The problem with The Corellian Trilogy is that the decisions Allen makes to tell the story don't remotely serve the purpose of the book. Problems in the narrative are invented in ways that don't impact the larger scope of the story trying to be told, and the resulting narrative is cluttered with details that don't contribute to anything, don't end up mattering, and could have been removed from the trilogy without any significant consequence. Moreover, anything that could have been interesting is so woefully underserved by the direction the plot takes as to be functionally useless to the whole of Star Wars.
Allen is clearly able to tell a good, action-packed story, but this trilogy begins with tremendous promise and ends a heaping fireball of bantha poodoo.
The main issue of the entirety of Allen's trilogy boils down to its lack of focus. A fairly common criticism of the novel seems to be that fans of the series don't believe the trilogy was all that necessary, that its major plot points could easily have been condensed into a single novel and the trilogy scrapped for something else. I agree with this sentiment, and Centerpoint is a perfect example of why.
Most of the book is best described as fairly useless bloat. Why do we need, for example, a twenty-page chapter describing a freefall from Selonia's orbit to the ground, when the climactic battle at the end of the novel spans a full thirty pages? Is Allen really saying to us that each action sequence should be as weighty as the other? There's also a matter of reviving old characters from previous novels--namely Gaeriel Captison of Bakura--only to do absolutely nothing with their character (except maybe set-dressing) only to write them off completely by the end of the trilogy. Why? What was the point in that?
I also need a moment to complain about all the wasted space in the trilogy that could have served a much greater purpose. For example, why do we spend so much space on the intrigue of the Human League when they aren't even the main baddies of the trilogy? Why do we even have a villainous organization if the entire trilogy does absolutely nothing to address who they are or what their goals are? It's almost masterfully bad plotting, and I can't believe Lucasfilm allowed the drafts to proceed forward for publication.
Moreover, why drag additional characters into the trilogy if they aren't even going to be utilized well? What's the point of Thrackan Sal-Solo if a) he isn't the trilogy's central antagonist, and b) he interacts with Han and his family in barely 10% of the trilogy's total length? Why drag Gaeriel Captison into the novel at all when her express purpose is just to get killed off? Why include any of these characters at all when we could have been spending more time, for example, getting to know Lando Calrissian's new wife, Tendra?
The problem with The Corellian Trilogy is that the decisions Allen makes to tell the story don't remotely serve the purpose of the book. Problems in the narrative are invented in ways that don't impact the larger scope of the story trying to be told, and the resulting narrative is cluttered with details that don't contribute to anything, don't end up mattering, and could have been removed from the trilogy without any significant consequence. Moreover, anything that could have been interesting is so woefully underserved by the direction the plot takes as to be functionally useless to the whole of Star Wars.
Allen is clearly able to tell a good, action-packed story, but this trilogy begins with tremendous promise and ends a heaping fireball of bantha poodoo.
August 20, 2023
This book marks a new epoch for me; I had only previously read one Star Wars book. This book was by far well worth the time; now I need to go back and read the first two books in the series. The plot revolves around the usual cast of characters including Han Solo, Luke and Leia and of course Chewbacca. The main story involves a plot by the bad guys to blow up some planets. Pretty standard fair. But a very compelling story!!!
May 6, 2016
I read this years ago so don't remember it in detail. I do remember enjoying it though.
August 2, 2024
Stars: 3
Re-read? Yes, but low on the list.
Recommend to: It's worth reading if you're into the Star Wars EU, but it's a mid-level trilogy.
This was a decent book but most of the setup from the previous books led to let-down resolutions.
So many questions asked in the first two books were answered in a very disappointing manner.
Gaerial and Kalenda were both far less likeable characters in this book.
I did like that there was a nice payoff for something written in the first book.
Allen got really lazy with creating realistic reasons for his characters to be where he wants them to be.
I thought Allen did fine with dialogue for most of this trilogy, but he suddenly went way overboard in the last half of this book. Conversations go on and on and they often add nothing at all to the book.
The trilogy ultimately went downhill from one book to the next. It started with promise and ended up being very average.
First Reads: 5 Stars (2001/2004)
Re-read? Yes, but low on the list.
Recommend to: It's worth reading if you're into the Star Wars EU, but it's a mid-level trilogy.
This was a decent book but most of the setup from the previous books led to let-down resolutions.
So many questions asked in the first two books were answered in a very disappointing manner.
Gaerial and Kalenda were both far less likeable characters in this book.
I did like that there was a nice payoff for something written in the first book.
Allen got really lazy with creating realistic reasons for his characters to be where he wants them to be.
I thought Allen did fine with dialogue for most of this trilogy, but he suddenly went way overboard in the last half of this book. Conversations go on and on and they often add nothing at all to the book.
The trilogy ultimately went downhill from one book to the next. It started with promise and ended up being very average.
First Reads: 5 Stars (2001/2004)
October 13, 2025
This was the final conclusion of the Corellian trilogy and though I enjoyed the book I think it kind of fell short of the previous two books. There were a lot of moments I enjoyed like the continued growth of the characters Jacen, Jaina, and Anakin and Lando's subplot and his dynamic with C-3PO. I think the only downside was that the plot resolved itself pretty quickly and the big bad of the story was weaker than other books.
July 24, 2010
Events are boiling down to the wire. Luke, Lando, and Gaeriel investigate Centerpoint Station and begin to learn its secrets. Anakin unleashes the power of the artifact he helped find on Drall. And Han, Leia, and Mara attempt to rouse the Selonians to action.
I Liked:
Although it had a weak middle, this book picks up nicely. The characters are now joined by a Jenica Sonsen, an administrator of Centerpoint. I am amazed at how Allen has created so many new ladies (Belindi Kalenda, Dracmas, Aunt Marcha, Tendra Risant, Jenica) or used old ladies (Gaeriel, Mara, and, of course, Leia) and never once did I mistake one lady for another. Each was special and unique, ranging from slightly timid and very lady-like (Tendra) to no-nonsense kick butt (Mara). And I like how each one plays a role that fits her character. It doesn't feel forced one bit. And I want to commend him for using Gaeriel and Mara, both previous additions that haven't been used at all or very often since they were first introduced into Star Wars EU.
Of course, Allen's handling of the characters itself is impressive. He has a huge cast, and could get easily lost, but he does a nice job manipulating all of them and still making it feel like each character is spot on. I haven't felt this good about the characters since Timothy Zahn!
I really must applaud Allen on the story. I found the mystery of the Corellian system, the uprisings in the sector new, interesting, and fun! We don't have a sniff of the Empire in sight, and while the galaxy is sorta pulled into it (when the baddies start blowing up stars), this conflict is heavily Corellian, not a galaxy-wide "life or death" threat. Further, he does the unthinkable and has an EU character die in a very heart-pulling way (causing me to tear up!). And the ending is very nice, tying up loose ends but not in a dorky, over-the-top, clichéd way. It left things open (cleaning up the Corellian system, figuring out the repulsors and Centerpoint), but it didn't leave major plot points open.
Lastly, I really enjoyed the kids. They worked together, they had adventures and yet they still acted like children, running and playing and pouting at the most inopportune time.
I Didn't Like:
Okay, so there's another superweapon. That was more than a little annoying. Also, Lando comes off as far too knowledgeable about things he really shouldn't. I swear, he should be teaching a physics or quantum physics class based on his knowledge here! And I really think that Anakin sometimes acted way more mature and knowledgeable than he should have been. As for Han and Leia being okay with their kids helping out with the repulsor...uh, they capitulated way too easily for good parents.
Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Some d*** and h***.
Sparks fly between Lando and Tendra.
Several characters die or are injured. There is an epic space battle at the end.
Overall:
This whole trilogy puts a smile on my face. I am entertained, I am happy, heck, I even laughed a bit. There are intense action sequences, quite, moving, heart-rending sequences, a hint of lost love between Luke and Gaeriel, the hint of future love for Lando, the awakening of Force powers in Anakin, Jaina, and Jacen, and the revelation of one of the most interesting systems in the galaxy. So what if it includes a superweapon? It's a nice, fun novel, and that's more than anyone could ask for.
I Liked:
Although it had a weak middle, this book picks up nicely. The characters are now joined by a Jenica Sonsen, an administrator of Centerpoint. I am amazed at how Allen has created so many new ladies (Belindi Kalenda, Dracmas, Aunt Marcha, Tendra Risant, Jenica) or used old ladies (Gaeriel, Mara, and, of course, Leia) and never once did I mistake one lady for another. Each was special and unique, ranging from slightly timid and very lady-like (Tendra) to no-nonsense kick butt (Mara). And I like how each one plays a role that fits her character. It doesn't feel forced one bit. And I want to commend him for using Gaeriel and Mara, both previous additions that haven't been used at all or very often since they were first introduced into Star Wars EU.
Of course, Allen's handling of the characters itself is impressive. He has a huge cast, and could get easily lost, but he does a nice job manipulating all of them and still making it feel like each character is spot on. I haven't felt this good about the characters since Timothy Zahn!
I really must applaud Allen on the story. I found the mystery of the Corellian system, the uprisings in the sector new, interesting, and fun! We don't have a sniff of the Empire in sight, and while the galaxy is sorta pulled into it (when the baddies start blowing up stars), this conflict is heavily Corellian, not a galaxy-wide "life or death" threat. Further, he does the unthinkable and has an EU character die in a very heart-pulling way (causing me to tear up!). And the ending is very nice, tying up loose ends but not in a dorky, over-the-top, clichéd way. It left things open (cleaning up the Corellian system, figuring out the repulsors and Centerpoint), but it didn't leave major plot points open.
Lastly, I really enjoyed the kids. They worked together, they had adventures and yet they still acted like children, running and playing and pouting at the most inopportune time.
I Didn't Like:
Okay, so there's another superweapon. That was more than a little annoying. Also, Lando comes off as far too knowledgeable about things he really shouldn't. I swear, he should be teaching a physics or quantum physics class based on his knowledge here! And I really think that Anakin sometimes acted way more mature and knowledgeable than he should have been. As for Han and Leia being okay with their kids helping out with the repulsor...uh, they capitulated way too easily for good parents.
Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Some d*** and h***.
Sparks fly between Lando and Tendra.
Several characters die or are injured. There is an epic space battle at the end.
Overall:
This whole trilogy puts a smile on my face. I am entertained, I am happy, heck, I even laughed a bit. There are intense action sequences, quite, moving, heart-rending sequences, a hint of lost love between Luke and Gaeriel, the hint of future love for Lando, the awakening of Force powers in Anakin, Jaina, and Jacen, and the revelation of one of the most interesting systems in the galaxy. So what if it includes a superweapon? It's a nice, fun novel, and that's more than anyone could ask for.
October 4, 2023
I still think that this & the Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy are the most underrated Legends EU novels. Part of that is that Lando is well written in both and part of that it that there isn't a Dark Jedi of the Book/Series flaw (like X-Files, Supernatural, etc's Monster of the Week), although it does fall prey to the Superweapon of the Series flaw. I also think that this book has the best cover of all of the Legends EU books, not to mention of its unique color scheme and superb detail on the droids (who graced the spine too if I remember correctly).
At one point my local library had one or more books in the series on abridged audio cassette, but at some point very early on they went missing. In part because I didn't have access to the audiobook version, this is one of the few novels that I actually read the unabridged paper version. I don't remember if I first did that in junior high or High School, but I do know that I only had context for "The Truce at Bakura" from reference books, despite owning it I didn't read it. Nonetheless, I still remember crying when Gaeriel sacrificed herself. I also always loved how expertly James Luceno pulled in from the whole universe, rather than just the movies and his own creation. Sometime when elements are reused it seems to shrink the universe, but he found a great balance. His first duology and used the Corellian system and Centerpoint Station as key components to the story, further cementing the importance of this trilogy. This trilogy is also one of the few that I have not listened to dozens if not hundreds of times, because it was forever before I found access to the audiobooks. I still wish they would go back and do more on a bridge Legends EU novels.
At one point my local library had one or more books in the series on abridged audio cassette, but at some point very early on they went missing. In part because I didn't have access to the audiobook version, this is one of the few novels that I actually read the unabridged paper version. I don't remember if I first did that in junior high or High School, but I do know that I only had context for "The Truce at Bakura" from reference books, despite owning it I didn't read it. Nonetheless, I still remember crying when Gaeriel sacrificed herself. I also always loved how expertly James Luceno pulled in from the whole universe, rather than just the movies and his own creation. Sometime when elements are reused it seems to shrink the universe, but he found a great balance. His first duology and used the Corellian system and Centerpoint Station as key components to the story, further cementing the importance of this trilogy. This trilogy is also one of the few that I have not listened to dozens if not hundreds of times, because it was forever before I found access to the audiobooks. I still wish they would go back and do more on a bridge Legends EU novels.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 21, 2011
This was kind of disappointing to say the least. At least the cover had them looking like their age... But it was a little bit of a stretch having the kids doing what they did, beating the villian of the books. The battle at the end seemed a little far fetched and they really didn't talk about the other bad guys all that much on who they really were in detail per se (no officers names, who what they were all about). They just had like 85 or 90 ships against the small fleet, but yet still lost. I never really understood how there really wasn't any readiable ships for the New Republic and how they had to borrow from the Bakaru's. I mean if you are the New Republic you have an army, enough said. Also the Centerpoint station was weird.
Lastly, the "love" story for Lando in the whole series was lame.
Lastly, the "love" story for Lando in the whole series was lame.
December 25, 2024
Showdown at Centerpoint is the (in my opinion somewhat underwhelming) conclusion to the Corellian Trilogy. The Corellian sector with its unusually large number of inhabitable planets and its three very different native species remains a very interesting setting and this series’ premise of an in-system conflict with potential dire consequences for the galaxy at large is a basis for a potentially great story. However, the series – its final novel in particular – tends to get lost in the details of the small sub-quests the main characters get tangled in that it often loses track of the overarching conflict.
At the onset of this novel, the main cast is still scattered across the Corellian system: after the daring rescue of Han’s ailing Selonian transport, Han and Leia are reunited on Selonia. Luke and Lando are off to Centerpoint Station aiming to confirm the suspicion that it plays a central role in the conflict and is the source of the all-system jamming, the interdiction field, and the destructive surge of energy that has the power to obliterate entire planets. In unearthing the secrets of this mysterious space station, they hope to find a means of stopping the Starbuster plot. Meanwhile, the kids and Chewbacca are still holed up inside Drall’s planetary repulsor attempting to figure out how it works.
As the story progresses it flits back and forth between the different settings piece by piece uncovering more information about the Starbuster plot, its connection to the rebel groups, and the planetary repulsors. Luke and Lando quickly discover that – as suspected – Centerpoint Station itself is the Starbuster and they almost become incinerated in the process as they stumble into the station’s power core that is currently recharging as the planned destruction of the next planet on the list draws near. Time is pressing and knowing that the next time the weapon will strike it will cost millions of lives a solution must be found quickly. One obvious remedy would be to blow up Centerpoint Station. However, given its enormity and the limited fire power at their disposal, this is a task that cannot be achieved in time. Similarly, it would be a miracle if anyone were to discover the station’s controls in time. Luckily for them, a third option presents itself via the planetary repulsors. It turns out that these can be used to interfere with Centerpoint Station’s power beam, thereby thwarting the destruction. Since one repulsor is sufficient to achieve this, all they need to do is to take control of and reactivate one of them in time.
By the time they figure this out, Anakin has singlehandedly managed to reactivate the one on Drall (side note: how come his insane abilities are never really a subject again?). The reactivation was accompanied by a major power surge visible from outer space, and therefore not exactly an inconspicuous act. Accordingly, it drew the attention of everyone previously devoted to uncovering a planetary repulsor. This includes Thrackan Sal-Solo and his Human League thugs, who promptly show up on Drall, proceed to take control of the repulsor and take the children alongside Chewbacca and the two Drall in their company hostage. Thrackan can hardly believe his luck, for he has not only accomplished the task of obtaining a repulsor, but also has the Chief of State’s children in his control to blackmail her with. However, he did not anticipate the children’s extraordinary abilities allowing them to escape their confinement and then take the Millennium Falcon to fly to safety. Granted, their flight is bumpy to say the least, but the children do manage to fly the ship without crashing and are even able to shoot down their pursuers before eventually being rescued by the Bakuran fleet.
During the final showdown Anakin alongside several technicians sets up the Drall repulsor to intercept the Starbuster’s imminent attack, while everyone else becomes involved in the space battle that ensues between the Bakuran forces and the Sacorrian fleet sent by the brains behind the Starbuster plot, the Sacorrian Triad. Naturally, everything is resolved in the end, but not without losses: the Bakuran flagship is lost and, alongside it, Luke’s former flame, Gaeriel Captison, and Admiral Ossilege of the Bakuran Navy. With the impending crisis averted and the main cast reunited, the story ends leaving open what the future will look like for the Corellian system that was heavily disrupted by the events.
While in principle everything is explained in the end with the Sacorrian Triad orchestrating the crisis for their own ends, the conclusion is not really satisfying. Personally, I take issue with having a faceless enemy who not even once makes an appearance or directly voices their demands. Also, the motive behind wreaking such havoc on the entire galaxy is a bit hazy. Apparently, the Triad’s ultimate goal was to take control of the entire Corellian Sector with complete autarky from the New Republic. Still, the Starbuster plot comes across more like a mindless act of terrorism rather than an elaborate blackmailing scheme. The Triad’s terms are not really stated clearly, and the progression of the plot seems inevitable as they voice no concrete action they would want the New Republic to take that would in turn lead them to stop the destruction. I understand that given Thrackan’s special relationship with Han it makes sense to set him up as the primary villain in the story. Still, at least some space should have been given to the actual brains behind the ploy for the sake of a more concise story.
On top of that it kind of bugs me that the consequences of this ordeal for the Corellian system are completely left open. In the first novel an underlying social conflict between the three principal species is hinted at and the Triad’s ability to credibly set up insurgent groups on all planets, in some cases building off existing structures (e.g., the Human League), shows that there really are some speciesist tendencies on the planets. Now that the Starbuster plot has busted we must assume that the smaller on-planet disputes have been magically resolved as well. Leia plans to appoint a new governor general, the Drall Marcha, and with that everything apparently is back to normal from a New Republic point of view. Putting aside how this act screams of nepotism and how an external force appointing the highest ranking official completely undermines any democratic framework that may exist in the Corellian system, it seems that doing so contributes nothing to solving any latent animosities. The three-species-dynamic is unique to the Corellian system and bound cause friction, and it seems like a missed opportunity that after hinting at it in the first novel, it was not explored any further in the series.
In my opinion Showdown at Centerpoint is the weakest novel of the series. It feels like a patchwork of different suspenseful scenes (e.g., Han’s landing on Selonia, Luke and Lando’s last-minute escape from Centerpoint Station’s power core, the kids’ escape aboard the Millennium Falcon, the final showdown) that are glued together with lots of filler material and do not necessarily contribute a lot to the overarching storyline. It concludes the series in a not entirely satisfactory manner and is the book I had the hardest time getting invested in. For me, Showdown at Centerpoint warrants a 2.5-star rating. The series as a whole is based off of some very interesting ideas that, unfortunately, get sidetracked as it progresses. Regardless, it is mostly enjoyable and at around 900 pages in total relatively short for a Star Wars series. In my opinion the Corellian trilogy is no must read, but a decent enough one that warrants picking up.
At the onset of this novel, the main cast is still scattered across the Corellian system: after the daring rescue of Han’s ailing Selonian transport, Han and Leia are reunited on Selonia. Luke and Lando are off to Centerpoint Station aiming to confirm the suspicion that it plays a central role in the conflict and is the source of the all-system jamming, the interdiction field, and the destructive surge of energy that has the power to obliterate entire planets. In unearthing the secrets of this mysterious space station, they hope to find a means of stopping the Starbuster plot. Meanwhile, the kids and Chewbacca are still holed up inside Drall’s planetary repulsor attempting to figure out how it works.
As the story progresses it flits back and forth between the different settings piece by piece uncovering more information about the Starbuster plot, its connection to the rebel groups, and the planetary repulsors. Luke and Lando quickly discover that – as suspected – Centerpoint Station itself is the Starbuster and they almost become incinerated in the process as they stumble into the station’s power core that is currently recharging as the planned destruction of the next planet on the list draws near. Time is pressing and knowing that the next time the weapon will strike it will cost millions of lives a solution must be found quickly. One obvious remedy would be to blow up Centerpoint Station. However, given its enormity and the limited fire power at their disposal, this is a task that cannot be achieved in time. Similarly, it would be a miracle if anyone were to discover the station’s controls in time. Luckily for them, a third option presents itself via the planetary repulsors. It turns out that these can be used to interfere with Centerpoint Station’s power beam, thereby thwarting the destruction. Since one repulsor is sufficient to achieve this, all they need to do is to take control of and reactivate one of them in time.
By the time they figure this out, Anakin has singlehandedly managed to reactivate the one on Drall (side note: how come his insane abilities are never really a subject again?). The reactivation was accompanied by a major power surge visible from outer space, and therefore not exactly an inconspicuous act. Accordingly, it drew the attention of everyone previously devoted to uncovering a planetary repulsor. This includes Thrackan Sal-Solo and his Human League thugs, who promptly show up on Drall, proceed to take control of the repulsor and take the children alongside Chewbacca and the two Drall in their company hostage. Thrackan can hardly believe his luck, for he has not only accomplished the task of obtaining a repulsor, but also has the Chief of State’s children in his control to blackmail her with. However, he did not anticipate the children’s extraordinary abilities allowing them to escape their confinement and then take the Millennium Falcon to fly to safety. Granted, their flight is bumpy to say the least, but the children do manage to fly the ship without crashing and are even able to shoot down their pursuers before eventually being rescued by the Bakuran fleet.
During the final showdown Anakin alongside several technicians sets up the Drall repulsor to intercept the Starbuster’s imminent attack, while everyone else becomes involved in the space battle that ensues between the Bakuran forces and the Sacorrian fleet sent by the brains behind the Starbuster plot, the Sacorrian Triad. Naturally, everything is resolved in the end, but not without losses: the Bakuran flagship is lost and, alongside it, Luke’s former flame, Gaeriel Captison, and Admiral Ossilege of the Bakuran Navy. With the impending crisis averted and the main cast reunited, the story ends leaving open what the future will look like for the Corellian system that was heavily disrupted by the events.
While in principle everything is explained in the end with the Sacorrian Triad orchestrating the crisis for their own ends, the conclusion is not really satisfying. Personally, I take issue with having a faceless enemy who not even once makes an appearance or directly voices their demands. Also, the motive behind wreaking such havoc on the entire galaxy is a bit hazy. Apparently, the Triad’s ultimate goal was to take control of the entire Corellian Sector with complete autarky from the New Republic. Still, the Starbuster plot comes across more like a mindless act of terrorism rather than an elaborate blackmailing scheme. The Triad’s terms are not really stated clearly, and the progression of the plot seems inevitable as they voice no concrete action they would want the New Republic to take that would in turn lead them to stop the destruction. I understand that given Thrackan’s special relationship with Han it makes sense to set him up as the primary villain in the story. Still, at least some space should have been given to the actual brains behind the ploy for the sake of a more concise story.
On top of that it kind of bugs me that the consequences of this ordeal for the Corellian system are completely left open. In the first novel an underlying social conflict between the three principal species is hinted at and the Triad’s ability to credibly set up insurgent groups on all planets, in some cases building off existing structures (e.g., the Human League), shows that there really are some speciesist tendencies on the planets. Now that the Starbuster plot has busted we must assume that the smaller on-planet disputes have been magically resolved as well. Leia plans to appoint a new governor general, the Drall Marcha, and with that everything apparently is back to normal from a New Republic point of view. Putting aside how this act screams of nepotism and how an external force appointing the highest ranking official completely undermines any democratic framework that may exist in the Corellian system, it seems that doing so contributes nothing to solving any latent animosities. The three-species-dynamic is unique to the Corellian system and bound cause friction, and it seems like a missed opportunity that after hinting at it in the first novel, it was not explored any further in the series.
In my opinion Showdown at Centerpoint is the weakest novel of the series. It feels like a patchwork of different suspenseful scenes (e.g., Han’s landing on Selonia, Luke and Lando’s last-minute escape from Centerpoint Station’s power core, the kids’ escape aboard the Millennium Falcon, the final showdown) that are glued together with lots of filler material and do not necessarily contribute a lot to the overarching storyline. It concludes the series in a not entirely satisfactory manner and is the book I had the hardest time getting invested in. For me, Showdown at Centerpoint warrants a 2.5-star rating. The series as a whole is based off of some very interesting ideas that, unfortunately, get sidetracked as it progresses. Regardless, it is mostly enjoyable and at around 900 pages in total relatively short for a Star Wars series. In my opinion the Corellian trilogy is no must read, but a decent enough one that warrants picking up.
April 5, 2019
Star Wars: Showdown at Centerpoint takes place years after the sixth Star Wars film Return of the Jedi. It features the most prominent characters in the original trilogy, such as Chewbacca, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Lando Calrissian, C3PO, and R2-D2. It is the third book in the Corellian Trilogy, and begins right where book two left off. Han Solo and his crew have formed a new alliance with the so called “Republicists” of Corellia. The crew and the Republicists continue to battle any threat that attempts to invade the planet. Throughout the book, multiple threats attempt to attack Corellia. Two threats were defeated, though a third made it through the Republicists final defense and landed on the planet. The threat did not have an official name; they were just considered to be terrorists. The terrorists’ plan was to head to the capital of the planet called Centerpoint. As they were journeying there, the Republicists ordered Solo and the crew to fly in an attack them on a very specific route. The idea was to attack them as they from the air as they believed the terrorists were on foot. Little did they know they were actually in a stolen imperial freighter in the air. As Solo and his crew were flying in, the imperial freighter ambushed them and attacked them from behind. This lead to a high speed fighter-to-fighter chase throughout the atmosphere of Corellia. The chase finally ended after Solo and his crew shot down the freighter (which ironically happened right at Centerpoint). The freighter crashed but the terrorists were still alive and attempted to flee the scene. Solo and his crew correlated where the terrorists were and landed right in front of them. This began the showdown at Centerpoint. Both Solo and his crew and the terrorists were hesitant at first, though Solo finally fired first and killed them all in a short, fast-paced battle. The Republicists were victorious. Overall, the book was entertaining though it was slow at times. I would recommend this book to any Star Wars lover however.
August 8, 2019
Really two and a half stars.
As I've said about the past two books, my positives are that I feel that Allen has a good grasp of the main SW characters and they speak and behave the way I would think that they would. The last half of the books was fairly good and more interesting to read than the rest of the trilogy.
My concerns. The Solo children are not written age appropriately. We are told that Anakin is seven, yet he behave more the way I would expect a four year old to, and the other two children seem too young as well. Also, as mentioned elsewhere this trilogy could have been condensed into one book. For being a Han Solo trilogy there is really very little that Han Solo does in this trilogy.
*spoilers*
I have some specific content concerns...
The real bad guys are revealed in the last book, but they are faceless and it felt to me like a very weak plot device, unless this is a group that shows up in later books I don't really get the point in their use here.
Mara Jade's participation in the final battle seems pretty lame, considering her position throughout that this isn't anything that really involves her. When I was thinking this, Allen threw in a brief paragraph about her possible loss of crew earlier in the story that was never addressed.
Kidnapped children who have heroes as parents (not to mention a super force wielding Uncle, who come to think of it, doesn't wield the force much in this trilogy) can likely expect an attempted rescue immediately, even if it hurts the intended plot of the story.
(Almost forgot to mention) Allen has a serious hate thing going on for 3PO. I found it quite strange.
If you want to casually read Star Wars I wouldn't start with this trilogy.
As I've said about the past two books, my positives are that I feel that Allen has a good grasp of the main SW characters and they speak and behave the way I would think that they would. The last half of the books was fairly good and more interesting to read than the rest of the trilogy.
My concerns. The Solo children are not written age appropriately. We are told that Anakin is seven, yet he behave more the way I would expect a four year old to, and the other two children seem too young as well. Also, as mentioned elsewhere this trilogy could have been condensed into one book. For being a Han Solo trilogy there is really very little that Han Solo does in this trilogy.
*spoilers*
I have some specific content concerns...
The real bad guys are revealed in the last book, but they are faceless and it felt to me like a very weak plot device, unless this is a group that shows up in later books I don't really get the point in their use here.
Mara Jade's participation in the final battle seems pretty lame, considering her position throughout that this isn't anything that really involves her. When I was thinking this, Allen threw in a brief paragraph about her possible loss of crew earlier in the story that was never addressed.
Kidnapped children who have heroes as parents (not to mention a super force wielding Uncle, who come to think of it, doesn't wield the force much in this trilogy) can likely expect an attempted rescue immediately, even if it hurts the intended plot of the story.
(Almost forgot to mention) Allen has a serious hate thing going on for 3PO. I found it quite strange.
If you want to casually read Star Wars I wouldn't start with this trilogy.
May 4, 2020
Love the escape, and this is by far my favorite post Battle of Endor series. It would make a great movie. Han, Leia and their kids travel to his home world during civil unrest and the adventure begins including all the cast of Star Wars favorites and a planet destroying weapon.
I like to keep notes of the plot to reference later. My rough book notes with plot highlights with Spoilers following.
I like to keep notes of the plot to reference later. My rough book notes with plot highlights with Spoilers following.
February 13, 2024
Book number 23 in my EU readthrough!
This was a fun conclusion to a fun trilogy. The corellian trilogy overall is certainly some of the better stuff in the Bantam era of Star Wars publishing in my opinion. Just like I often say about the NJO books, the best thing about this one is the Organa-Solo kids. They have one scene in particular that really shines.
This was a fun conclusion to a fun trilogy. The corellian trilogy overall is certainly some of the better stuff in the Bantam era of Star Wars publishing in my opinion. Just like I often say about the NJO books, the best thing about this one is the Organa-Solo kids. They have one scene in particular that really shines.
February 25, 2025
This is book 26 on my read-through of the Star Wars Legends books.
In retrospect, I went a little easy on the last book "Assault at Selonia". Objectively, this book is probably better than that one, but it FEELS worse, because now I know where all this is leading: namely, nowhere.
These books aren't atrocious -- the writing is fine, the characters are pretty well-sketched, and there are some good ideas. There just isn't much there. The series seemed to be leading to a big reveal of who was behind it all, but the answer is so wildly underwhelming, it left me scratching my head. I just don't understand what the point of all this was.
It's actually crazy how little this series does with its central conceit. Prior to this book, we knew two things about Corellia: it was Han Solo's birthplace and they make a lot of ships there. Other than a few references in the first book, neither of these facts are relevant to the story at all. Thrackan Sal-Solo's status as Han's cousin is barely explored.
There are some decently thrilling scenes in this book, but they often rely on excessive amounts of sci-fi mumbo-jumbo. For instance, the book opens with an extended crash landing that is pretty good, but it goes on for nearly fifty pages, and the book is constantly throwing around sci-fi technology words, as if I'm supposed to understand them.
Also, in general, everything takes twice as long as it should: scenes that should be 10 pages go on 20. There's a lot of tell-instead-of-show, where information is conveyed in the least interesting way possible. It was a problem in the last books, but here it's even worse. I found large portions of this book a slog.
All that said, this isn't the worst book I've ever read. The parts with the Solo children were endearing and the ending was pretty good, even if a *certain* character's death felt pointless and cruel. This is a 5/10 book, but I'm going to round up to 3 stars.
Prior to reading this series, I wondered why people barely talked about it, but now I perfectly understand why -- there’s hardly anything to say.
In retrospect, I went a little easy on the last book "Assault at Selonia". Objectively, this book is probably better than that one, but it FEELS worse, because now I know where all this is leading: namely, nowhere.
These books aren't atrocious -- the writing is fine, the characters are pretty well-sketched, and there are some good ideas. There just isn't much there. The series seemed to be leading to a big reveal of who was behind it all, but the answer is so wildly underwhelming, it left me scratching my head. I just don't understand what the point of all this was.
It's actually crazy how little this series does with its central conceit. Prior to this book, we knew two things about Corellia: it was Han Solo's birthplace and they make a lot of ships there. Other than a few references in the first book, neither of these facts are relevant to the story at all. Thrackan Sal-Solo's status as Han's cousin is barely explored.
There are some decently thrilling scenes in this book, but they often rely on excessive amounts of sci-fi mumbo-jumbo. For instance, the book opens with an extended crash landing that is pretty good, but it goes on for nearly fifty pages, and the book is constantly throwing around sci-fi technology words, as if I'm supposed to understand them.
Also, in general, everything takes twice as long as it should: scenes that should be 10 pages go on 20. There's a lot of tell-instead-of-show, where information is conveyed in the least interesting way possible. It was a problem in the last books, but here it's even worse. I found large portions of this book a slog.
All that said, this isn't the worst book I've ever read. The parts with the Solo children were endearing and the ending was pretty good, even if a *certain* character's death felt pointless and cruel. This is a 5/10 book, but I'm going to round up to 3 stars.
Prior to reading this series, I wondered why people barely talked about it, but now I perfectly understand why -- there’s hardly anything to say.
December 19, 2025
I wanted this book to turn this trilogy around so much, but unfortunately that just didn't happen.
Alike books 1 & 2, the final book in the Corellian Trilogy felt like 'filler.' 90% of the word count was consumed by characters talking endlessly about species' traditions (that had no direct relevance to the plot), conspiracies about who they thought the villain was (but we never got to see the final villain themselves OR learn their true motives), or how they disliked C3P-0 (who didn't deserve to be bullied so much!). Not much really happened aside from the chatter, despite this being the conclusion to a 'war' between about 3 different puppet sectors, 1 overall sector, the New Republic, and local planets.
There were some interesting ideas involved in this trilogy, but it would have worked far better as a duology (or even a standalone with some of the more convoluted elements removed).
Alike books 1 & 2, the final book in the Corellian Trilogy felt like 'filler.' 90% of the word count was consumed by characters talking endlessly about species' traditions (that had no direct relevance to the plot), conspiracies about who they thought the villain was (but we never got to see the final villain themselves OR learn their true motives), or how they disliked C3P-0 (who didn't deserve to be bullied so much!). Not much really happened aside from the chatter, despite this being the conclusion to a 'war' between about 3 different puppet sectors, 1 overall sector, the New Republic, and local planets.
There were some interesting ideas involved in this trilogy, but it would have worked far better as a duology (or even a standalone with some of the more convoluted elements removed).
April 20, 2021
A rollicking conclusion to the varied and many plot threads that intersect through the Corellian trilogy, smart enough to get out of its own way and let an entire enemy faction go near-completely faceless on the basis that they weren't really worth exploring in any event and the narrative was already crowded with way too many characters. The dense plotting and interweaving of disparate stories all comes together in a really satisfying way, especially for the kids. The least satisfying parts are perhaps some not-entirely-justified character deaths, a near-redundant character (I still don't really understand why Lando's love interest was there other than to be Lando's love interest and not do anything) and a perhaps too-brief epilogue. But as a vehicle for pulp storytelling: I blew through it in an afternoon and didn't regret it, which is pretty much what you want out of this kinda book.
April 25, 2025
Underwhelming for the same reasons as the previous two. Specific issues are…
Issue one: too many characters. The core of the movie characters plus the kids is already a lot. Adding others compounds this; Tendra and the Intelligence Agent both do little, and Captison’s role is underplayed because there’s just not enough room to fully focus on her.
Two: repetition. Again we get characters having to recap information the reader already knows, as they share previous scenes to the other players as and when they meet up. Dull.
Three: the ‘big bad’ is (a) a group we’ve not heard of until half way through book three and (b) faceless, since we never meet them.
With the exception of Lando getting jiggy with a new lover, and Captison dead, nothing changes. (And were these changes made just to set up Luke having a clear road to Jade? Presumably so.)
Issue one: too many characters. The core of the movie characters plus the kids is already a lot. Adding others compounds this; Tendra and the Intelligence Agent both do little, and Captison’s role is underplayed because there’s just not enough room to fully focus on her.
Two: repetition. Again we get characters having to recap information the reader already knows, as they share previous scenes to the other players as and when they meet up. Dull.
Three: the ‘big bad’ is (a) a group we’ve not heard of until half way through book three and (b) faceless, since we never meet them.
With the exception of Lando getting jiggy with a new lover, and Captison dead, nothing changes. (And were these changes made just to set up Luke having a clear road to Jade? Presumably so.)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2018
I'm giving this novel and series a grudging three stars simply because it entertained me and I have generally low expectations for Star Wars novels. For starters, there is no reason for this to have been a trilogy. It has enough material to have been released as a duo logo, or even, with some creative editing, a single book. The plot is ludicrous. In the Star Wars universe there are superweapons, far more powerful than the Death Stars, star destroying, planet moving superweapons hidden all over the place. It stretches the bounds of reason, even for a made up universe. The plot line involving Han Solo's evil, rebellion-leading, empire-loving cousin had serious potential, but ultimately does not go anywhere. All that said, the series was entertaining enough for mindless summer reading.
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