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Star Wars: The Lando Calrissian Adventures #2
Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon
A solar system with little more than luxury hotels catering to the underemployed filthy-rich, the Oseon was every gambler's dream come true. And so it was for Lando Calrissian, gambler, rogue, and con-artiste. Until he broke the gambler's cardinal rule: never beat a cop at high-stake games of chance.
Soon Lando and his feckless five-armed robot companion were being stalked by two enemies—one they knew but could not see, and one they saw but did not recognize…until it was too late.
Soon Lando and his feckless five-armed robot companion were being stalked by two enemies—one they knew but could not see, and one they saw but did not recognize…until it was too late.
181 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 12, 1983
11 people are currently reading
791 people want to read
About the author
L. Neil Smith
39 books69 followersL. Neil Smith was a Libertarian science fiction author and gun rights activist.Smith was born in Denver, Colorado.
Smith began publishing science fiction with “Grimm’s Law” for Stellar 5 (1980). He wrote 31 books, including 29 novels, and a number of essays and short stories. In 2016, Smith received the Special Prometheus Award for Lifetime Achievement for his contributions to libertarian science fiction.
He was editor of LEVER ACTION BBS [now defunct], founder and International Coordinator of the Libertarian Second Amendment Caucus, Secretary and Legislative Director of the Weld County Fish & Wildlife Association and an NRA Life Member.
Smith passed away on August 27, 2021 in Fort Collins, Colorado at age 75 after a lengthy battle with heart and kidney disease. Smith is survived by daughter Rylla Smith and wife Cathy Smith.
Smith began publishing science fiction with “Grimm’s Law” for Stellar 5 (1980). He wrote 31 books, including 29 novels, and a number of essays and short stories. In 2016, Smith received the Special Prometheus Award for Lifetime Achievement for his contributions to libertarian science fiction.
He was editor of LEVER ACTION BBS [now defunct], founder and International Coordinator of the Libertarian Second Amendment Caucus, Secretary and Legislative Director of the Weld County Fish & Wildlife Association and an NRA Life Member.
Smith passed away on August 27, 2021 in Fort Collins, Colorado at age 75 after a lengthy battle with heart and kidney disease. Smith is survived by daughter Rylla Smith and wife Cathy Smith.
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April 24, 2014
L. Neil Smith isn't a bad writer, and these stories aren't bad, but seemingly every decision made in their creation is totally nonsensical. We are establishing Lando's background in these stories: broadening his character, exploring his milieu, and giving him some touchstone adventures. But while we nominally start off with Lando doing his actual thing (gambling) and he occasionally returns to the sabacc table throughout the adventures, the central narrative is totally foreign to Lando. He doesn't know how to fly his ship, but he has all sorts of dogfights and narrow escapes. He's not a cargo hauler, or a smuggler, but he spends a lot of the series trying to make money carrying fancy goods. He's not a fighter and carries only a small 5-shot blaster, but there are tons of gunfights throughout.
In the movies, Han has Chewie, and you get the impression they are sort of independent operators. So in Daley's Han Solo Adventures, they work alone with Chewie as Han's sidekick. Lando, however, doesn't have much of an implicit backstory in the films. He has no partner (Lobot seems to be tied more to Cloud City than to Lando, which the EU bears out) and seems to have acquired Cloud City recently. So Smith has all the freedom in the world to develop a community, friends, a home, a mentor, a stomping grounds, habits, etc for Lando. Instead, we just get Vuffi Raa, who is basically just Lando's Chewie. He's a fine character, but he ends up standing in for far too many things. He teaches Lando to fly the ship and to appreciate the value of pacifism, he gives him an opportunity to expound his moral compass, he drives the plot along with his built-in set of enemies, and he's a deus ex machina for every skill Lando ever needs and any scrape he ever gets in. Not surprisingly, Vuffi Raa begins to feel like something of a Gary Stu. He's also an ancient alien artifact made of technologies no longer found in droid-making with correspondingly amazing abilities.
Speaking of ancient aliens with mysterious intentions, there are an awful lot of them in this series. The first of which are the Sharu. There is a very small bit of interesting Lovecraftian stuff going on with the Sharu. They have eldritch angles and incomprehensible geometries and space-time manipulating technologies beyond contemporary understanding. Their culture exists on another plane and they show no interest in interacting with lesser sentients. The central story device is neat enough, and leaves a nice opening to tie in to later ancient aliens like the Celestials and Rakatans, but Smith doesn't seem to know how to handle it. We're in the dark for 100 pages as Lando stumbles about trying to find a powerful artifact in mysterious ruins (which, again, is not really Lando's gig). Then, once the quest is duly completed, we are treated to a few pages of exposition, dense paragraphs of dialogue that explain everything that happened and why. At least it's short?
Given the number of roles Vuffi Raa plays, it's not surprising how few other characters of note populate these novels. Lando is a charmer, a man who succeeds by making friends and manipulating people to his ends. This presents endless opportunities for advancing the plot through dialogue, which would serve double-duty by characterizing other members of the cast and giving Lando some company. Smith plays him more like a strong, silent type, which is a total breach of character.
In Flamewind of Oseon, there are four characters, including an ineffectual avian Narc, a cop with a chip on her shoulder, and a rich official who likes Lando but has to put him in a dangerous situation because of money. The last one is another of Smith's unsubtle libertarian morality fables: the man is endlessly rich and therefore absurdly apathetic – without the entrepreneurial spirit, without ambition, we become sad and disgusting. Thanks, Smith, for the lesson.
The overall arc of the series is driven by Lando's nemesis, Rokur Gepta. Smith wanted Lando's nemesis to be a Sith, but settled for ancient alien magician. There is also some serious ambiguity about the forces Gepta employs. I had the impression throughout that he was an Imperial, and that the Emperor was the one sponsoring his operations and for whose position Gepta was vying. But like Daley's Solo novels, these books actually take place in a pseudo-independent polity, this one called the Centrality. This is never really explained in the books – it's played as though the Centrality is simply the local extension of the Empire. But Wookieepedia clarifies that the Centrality is actually a libertarian wet-dream, a social experiment founded by anti-authoritarians who valued hard work and ambition. It's wonderful that later EU authors decided that the experiment failed and that the Centrality plunged into poverty soon after these books. :D
Anyway, Gepta is a cartoon villain of the worst sort, driven by lust for power, characterized only by his short temper and cruel taste for revenge. He sees himself on a path to galactic domination, but stops to crush Lando under his bootheel after he foils his plot in the first book. In Flamewind of Oseon, Gepta creates an elaborate web, Lando is lured in, nearly dies, and is whisked away by Vuffi Raa. None of this makes any sense. Gepta is a melodramatic shell of a character, a classic villain for a classic hero. But Lando isn't a classic hero!
Han is a smuggler, so the challenges he and Chewie face in the Daley adventures involve jobs gone bad, run-ins with the Authorities, boom and bust cycles, and get-rich quick schemes. He loves his freedom, and roaming the stars with his best friend makes him feel at home. Lando is a gambler, a conman, an entrepreneur. The challenges he faces should involve those pursuits, those skills, those settings. There are plenty of good tropes for gambling and con artist stories. And as shallow as Smith's plotting is, he seems to at least grasp the basics of a con story: Both Sharu and Oseon are straightforward con stories – it's just that Gepta's the con artist, and Lando seems to have no recourse other than Vuffi Raa to escape them.
Lando is impossibly good at sabacc, winning tons of money on every hand he sits down to play – he has to deliberately lose hands in order to maintain the illusion of fairness. The only reason he's not rich, relaxing by a pool somewhere, is his insistence on owning the Falcon and adventuring, something he seems to do in spite of himself. He never expresses any liking for the lifestyle or provides a reason for continuing; he just does it because the plot requires it, because Smith couldn't come up with a conflict that would generate a plot in Lando's main lines of work. In fact, Lando frequently gripes about what Smith is making him do – “A plague on interstellar freight hauling! . . . He was a gambler!” But as though under some kind of enchantment, he continues hauling freight for three novels.
Smith should have established a baseline for Lando, a standard lifestyle that the moral exigencies of ESB would later jerk him out of. Instead, there is now a continuous thread of classic adventuring throughout his life. It basically erases everything that distinguished Lando from Han and Luke. After all, Lando stopped an evil sorcerer from taking over the galaxy too (Gepta even has a planet destroying super-weapon)!
Annoying tics:
“Don't call me master!” - Lando says this at least once every page, lest we forget his staunch libertarian principles
“In another place and another time would have been called” to rationalize inclusion of Earth terms
“Core” as a curse-word. Huh? It's as if Lando doesn't want to swear, for some reason. Strange way to mince an oath, too.
Libertarianism, always
In the movies, Han has Chewie, and you get the impression they are sort of independent operators. So in Daley's Han Solo Adventures, they work alone with Chewie as Han's sidekick. Lando, however, doesn't have much of an implicit backstory in the films. He has no partner (Lobot seems to be tied more to Cloud City than to Lando, which the EU bears out) and seems to have acquired Cloud City recently. So Smith has all the freedom in the world to develop a community, friends, a home, a mentor, a stomping grounds, habits, etc for Lando. Instead, we just get Vuffi Raa, who is basically just Lando's Chewie. He's a fine character, but he ends up standing in for far too many things. He teaches Lando to fly the ship and to appreciate the value of pacifism, he gives him an opportunity to expound his moral compass, he drives the plot along with his built-in set of enemies, and he's a deus ex machina for every skill Lando ever needs and any scrape he ever gets in. Not surprisingly, Vuffi Raa begins to feel like something of a Gary Stu. He's also an ancient alien artifact made of technologies no longer found in droid-making with correspondingly amazing abilities.
Speaking of ancient aliens with mysterious intentions, there are an awful lot of them in this series. The first of which are the Sharu. There is a very small bit of interesting Lovecraftian stuff going on with the Sharu. They have eldritch angles and incomprehensible geometries and space-time manipulating technologies beyond contemporary understanding. Their culture exists on another plane and they show no interest in interacting with lesser sentients. The central story device is neat enough, and leaves a nice opening to tie in to later ancient aliens like the Celestials and Rakatans, but Smith doesn't seem to know how to handle it. We're in the dark for 100 pages as Lando stumbles about trying to find a powerful artifact in mysterious ruins (which, again, is not really Lando's gig). Then, once the quest is duly completed, we are treated to a few pages of exposition, dense paragraphs of dialogue that explain everything that happened and why. At least it's short?
Given the number of roles Vuffi Raa plays, it's not surprising how few other characters of note populate these novels. Lando is a charmer, a man who succeeds by making friends and manipulating people to his ends. This presents endless opportunities for advancing the plot through dialogue, which would serve double-duty by characterizing other members of the cast and giving Lando some company. Smith plays him more like a strong, silent type, which is a total breach of character.
In Flamewind of Oseon, there are four characters, including an ineffectual avian Narc, a cop with a chip on her shoulder, and a rich official who likes Lando but has to put him in a dangerous situation because of money. The last one is another of Smith's unsubtle libertarian morality fables: the man is endlessly rich and therefore absurdly apathetic – without the entrepreneurial spirit, without ambition, we become sad and disgusting. Thanks, Smith, for the lesson.
The overall arc of the series is driven by Lando's nemesis, Rokur Gepta. Smith wanted Lando's nemesis to be a Sith, but settled for ancient alien magician. There is also some serious ambiguity about the forces Gepta employs. I had the impression throughout that he was an Imperial, and that the Emperor was the one sponsoring his operations and for whose position Gepta was vying. But like Daley's Solo novels, these books actually take place in a pseudo-independent polity, this one called the Centrality. This is never really explained in the books – it's played as though the Centrality is simply the local extension of the Empire. But Wookieepedia clarifies that the Centrality is actually a libertarian wet-dream, a social experiment founded by anti-authoritarians who valued hard work and ambition. It's wonderful that later EU authors decided that the experiment failed and that the Centrality plunged into poverty soon after these books. :D
Anyway, Gepta is a cartoon villain of the worst sort, driven by lust for power, characterized only by his short temper and cruel taste for revenge. He sees himself on a path to galactic domination, but stops to crush Lando under his bootheel after he foils his plot in the first book. In Flamewind of Oseon, Gepta creates an elaborate web, Lando is lured in, nearly dies, and is whisked away by Vuffi Raa. None of this makes any sense. Gepta is a melodramatic shell of a character, a classic villain for a classic hero. But Lando isn't a classic hero!
Han is a smuggler, so the challenges he and Chewie face in the Daley adventures involve jobs gone bad, run-ins with the Authorities, boom and bust cycles, and get-rich quick schemes. He loves his freedom, and roaming the stars with his best friend makes him feel at home. Lando is a gambler, a conman, an entrepreneur. The challenges he faces should involve those pursuits, those skills, those settings. There are plenty of good tropes for gambling and con artist stories. And as shallow as Smith's plotting is, he seems to at least grasp the basics of a con story: Both Sharu and Oseon are straightforward con stories – it's just that Gepta's the con artist, and Lando seems to have no recourse other than Vuffi Raa to escape them.
Lando is impossibly good at sabacc, winning tons of money on every hand he sits down to play – he has to deliberately lose hands in order to maintain the illusion of fairness. The only reason he's not rich, relaxing by a pool somewhere, is his insistence on owning the Falcon and adventuring, something he seems to do in spite of himself. He never expresses any liking for the lifestyle or provides a reason for continuing; he just does it because the plot requires it, because Smith couldn't come up with a conflict that would generate a plot in Lando's main lines of work. In fact, Lando frequently gripes about what Smith is making him do – “A plague on interstellar freight hauling! . . . He was a gambler!” But as though under some kind of enchantment, he continues hauling freight for three novels.
Smith should have established a baseline for Lando, a standard lifestyle that the moral exigencies of ESB would later jerk him out of. Instead, there is now a continuous thread of classic adventuring throughout his life. It basically erases everything that distinguished Lando from Han and Luke. After all, Lando stopped an evil sorcerer from taking over the galaxy too (Gepta even has a planet destroying super-weapon)!
Annoying tics:
“Don't call me master!” - Lando says this at least once every page, lest we forget his staunch libertarian principles
“In another place and another time would have been called” to rationalize inclusion of Earth terms
“Core” as a curse-word. Huh? It's as if Lando doesn't want to swear, for some reason. Strange way to mince an oath, too.
Libertarianism, always
May 18, 2017
When I started my Star Wars reading project, I was determined to read all the books, good or bad. Well, I've certainly stumbled right into the "bad" spectrum with these Lando Calrissian books. It's no surprise that the Exanded Universe books took until the early '90s to get going, because if these books represented the non-movie stories of the Star Wars universe, it deserved a quick death.
Aside from the titles of these books, which seem to have been created with combining random words from the dictionary and a box of Alpha-Bits, the stories are as dull as a fake sword. There are hints that Smith understands the character of Lando as he's presented in the movies, but then he has him be mostly passive about the events and let outside influences move him forward. Vuffi Raa, his sidekick, is the one who keeps Lando moving forward (and alive), since Lando is mostly interested in playing Sabacc and smoking cigars.
The Flamewind of the title is (I think) a solar-system-wide aurora that can have detrimental effects on beings who travel through it, so the main plot is that Lando has to fly through it to accomplish a mission he's been forced into. The antagonist from the previous novel appears again, suggesting that the entire trilogy will have him as a recurring plot, and he's a central part of this book's plot. It doesn't help that he's a Snidely Whiplash sort of character, all but twisting his mustache as he laughs maniacally. It's a bit heavy handed; give me a character with nuance and substance, not cliched traits.
As before, there's almost no characterization to the book, and there's far too much telling going on. Smith continues to reference too many real-world things, though that may be due to it being written so early in the Expanded Universe, before terms like "transparisteel" replaced "glass" and "death sticks" replaced "cigarettes". Still, it's odd, and breaks the illusion of the story, when he has a spacecraft complete what he calls, "in another time and place", the Immelman turn. I feel like the author is either showing off how much he knows about aerial maneuvers, or bring lazy and telling us what happens instead of describing the move.
The books don't even feel much like Star Wars, since there's no mention of much to connect us to the movies. Lando's name, as well as a few references to the Empire and the Emperor, are it. There's no Force, no rebel alliance, nothing to remind us that this is the Star Wars universe. On the one hand, it's refreshing, since we rarely see non-Jedi characters as the focus of the EU; on the other hand, these books are so boring and tedious that it's not worth reading them.
About the only think I like about these stories is Vuffi Raa, who feels more like a human character than Lando does. There's a part of me that's hoping Vuffi will become Lobot in the third book, tying the two trusted sidekicks together, but I get the feeling Smith isn't concerned with that kind of thing. Instead, we'll get paragraphs of pointless description and plots as thin as an after-dinner mint.
Seriously, these books aren't worth reading. They might have been more interesting had I read them during their time, but in retrospect, they represent the worst of science fiction. Even people who feel the need to read all of the EU books should skip these.
Aside from the titles of these books, which seem to have been created with combining random words from the dictionary and a box of Alpha-Bits, the stories are as dull as a fake sword. There are hints that Smith understands the character of Lando as he's presented in the movies, but then he has him be mostly passive about the events and let outside influences move him forward. Vuffi Raa, his sidekick, is the one who keeps Lando moving forward (and alive), since Lando is mostly interested in playing Sabacc and smoking cigars.
The Flamewind of the title is (I think) a solar-system-wide aurora that can have detrimental effects on beings who travel through it, so the main plot is that Lando has to fly through it to accomplish a mission he's been forced into. The antagonist from the previous novel appears again, suggesting that the entire trilogy will have him as a recurring plot, and he's a central part of this book's plot. It doesn't help that he's a Snidely Whiplash sort of character, all but twisting his mustache as he laughs maniacally. It's a bit heavy handed; give me a character with nuance and substance, not cliched traits.
As before, there's almost no characterization to the book, and there's far too much telling going on. Smith continues to reference too many real-world things, though that may be due to it being written so early in the Expanded Universe, before terms like "transparisteel" replaced "glass" and "death sticks" replaced "cigarettes". Still, it's odd, and breaks the illusion of the story, when he has a spacecraft complete what he calls, "in another time and place", the Immelman turn. I feel like the author is either showing off how much he knows about aerial maneuvers, or bring lazy and telling us what happens instead of describing the move.
The books don't even feel much like Star Wars, since there's no mention of much to connect us to the movies. Lando's name, as well as a few references to the Empire and the Emperor, are it. There's no Force, no rebel alliance, nothing to remind us that this is the Star Wars universe. On the one hand, it's refreshing, since we rarely see non-Jedi characters as the focus of the EU; on the other hand, these books are so boring and tedious that it's not worth reading them.
About the only think I like about these stories is Vuffi Raa, who feels more like a human character than Lando does. There's a part of me that's hoping Vuffi will become Lobot in the third book, tying the two trusted sidekicks together, but I get the feeling Smith isn't concerned with that kind of thing. Instead, we'll get paragraphs of pointless description and plots as thin as an after-dinner mint.
Seriously, these books aren't worth reading. They might have been more interesting had I read them during their time, but in retrospect, they represent the worst of science fiction. Even people who feel the need to read all of the EU books should skip these.
June 23, 2019
Star Wars Legends Project #205
Background: Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon was written by L. Neil Smith. It was published in September 1983. It is the second of Smith's Lando Calrissian Adventures trilogy.
The Flamewind of Oseon takes place a few months after The Mindharp of Sharu (my review), around 4 years before the battle of Yavin. The main characters are Lando Calrissian and the droid Vuffi Raa, along with Rokur Gepta, the Sorcerer of Tund.
Summary: After a bad run as a businessman, Lando accepts an invitation to gamble with the wealthy and elite of the Oseon asteroid belt. As an added bonus, he'll be there during the annual Flamewind, a stunning visual display of multi-colored radiation that periodically bathes the system in light. Unfortunately, he is soon pressed into service in a plot to arrest the wealthiest man in the galaxy, and old enemies seem determined to ensure he doesn't succeed . . . and dies trying.
Review: I think this is it, guys. This is the worst Star Wars novel ever written. It is aggressively, hatefully bad. I'm not even sure it's possible for a book to be this bad unless it's on purpose. This is a stunning example of just how uninterested everyone involved in Star Wars publishing in 1983 was in producing a quality product. It's a travesty.
I'm trying to figure out how Smith even went about planning the plots of these books. This is the second in a row where I imagine him carrying on an inner dialogue like this:
"Okay, what does Lando . . . do?"
"He gambles."
"Alright, can you write an entire story centered around him gambling?"
"No, I don't think so."
". . . Why not?"
"I just can't, okay?! I want to do a story about something else!"
"Okay, so why would a gambler stop gambling and go do this other thing?"
"He wouldn't. I'll have other characters force him to do it."
"But why would they want a gambler who can't fly a ship and doesn't carry a blaster for this job?"
"Shhhh, hush now."
But the plot of this one is so so so much worse than the last one. At no point does anything that's happening make any sense, and then a bunch of revelations come crawling out of the woodwork, apparently under the illusion that there's actually a plot for them to twist, and I realized that the last 100 pages of dull nothing was building to a climax so head-explodingly dumb that it's almost a crime. I don't even have words for how massive of a waste of time this story is. I feel like I deserve some kind of restitution for having read the whole thing. I want to go find Smith and just kick him repeatedly in the shins until he apologizes for this. I want to find every person who rated this book above one star and grab them by the shoulders and shake them until they puke, and then gently explain that that experience is still better than reading this book and WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM?!
Smith does all of the things that I hate most in Star Wars books, but he does them in ways that are so much worse than when other authors do them. I've complained before about how Michael Reaves, in particular, will insert sly references to earth culture in a joking way, and why I find that jarring and usually not very funny . . . but check out this from Smith: "Outside, a braid of raspberry red, lemon yellow, and orange orange twisted through the heavens, across a constellation locals called the Silly Rabbit." WHY?!
And at least that's just one throwaway line! Because then there's this: "It was two and a half meters tall, had an orange beak and scaly three-toed feet, was covered with bright yellow feathers, spoke in an annoying high-pitched effeminate voice" . . . IT'S BIG BIRD! IT'S FEATHERMUCKING BIG BIRD! And he's a semi-prominent character who is a COP! WHYYYYYYYY?! How is this explainable as anything other than Smith just viciously screwing with his audience?
Even Lando is baffled: "his physiology is supposed to be delicate or something, like a canary's. Don't ask me why they made somebody like that a cop--that would require an assumption that logic functions at some level of government." NO, LANDO. NO! That would require an assumption that logic functions at some level in the "BRAIN" of the "PERSON" who "WROTE" this "STORY" . . . *incoherent scream* It's worth pointing out here that Smith is a prominent writer of libertarian science fiction, hence the dig at government. And isn't that just typical libertarian, to manufacture the world's dumbest straw man and then light it on fire? "Hehehe what kind of idiot government would make Big Bird a cop hehehehe" IT WAS YOU! YOU DID THAT!
Maybe I'm just taking this dreck way too seriously, far more than he obviously did, and it's just a really very extremely poor attempt at humor . . . but this is Smith's idea of Lando's idea of a joke: "But--like his girlfriend the bootlegger's daughter--he loved her still."
Kill me.
I'm venting a lot of spleen on throwaway crap so that I'll feel I've done my due diligence warning you away from reading this book without giving away major plot details, but I don't want to totally devolve into just rubbing your faces in every terrible moment in the book. Cuz then you'd just be reading the whole book, which is the thing I'm trying to save you from! So I'll just talk about one more thing:
Rokur Gepta is the worst Star Wars villain of all time. I mentioned in my last review that he's a pathetic rip-off bargain-bin Sith Lord. What's almost funny (if it weren't so sad) is that Smith thinks Gepta is more of a badass than Vader but isn't capable of writing that. Take this scene where Gepta pulls his signature move and Smith all but explicitly says it's just like Vader's but way better:
"The sorcerer made a gesture with his gloved fist. The officer groaned, sweat sprang out on his forehead, and he sank to his knees.
"You see how much more effective it is than mere pain, don't you? Everyone has memories, little items from their past best left buried: humiliations, embarrassments, mistakes . . . sometimes fatal ones. All the ways we have failed those we have loved, the ways they have failed us!"
Gepta made another gesture.
"No, you can think of nothing else! The ignobility races round and round your mind, amplified, feeding on itself!"
See, Darth Vader just chokes people to death without touching them. What, you think that's scary? Rokur Gepta can force you to remember that one time your pants fell down in gym class! That's right! Quail in terror, pathetic mortals!
But what gives away Gepta's inadequacies more than anything is that he's supposedly a quasi-immortal godlike being with delusions of ruling the galaxy . . . and his archnemesis is a two-bit nobody who barely knows Gepta exists. Gepta himself is mystified by his obsession with Lando:
"Why, of all people, this insignificant vagabond, this itinerant gambler and charlatan should so frequently come between the sorcerer and his plans was a mystery. [...] He believed that some perverse kind of luck, some fate, karma, kismet, or destiny kept throwing Calrissian in his face. Sometimes it appeared the young gambler wasn't even aware that it was happening."
You know what's truly insane about this passage, though? At this point, Lando and Gepta have only ever encountered each other ONE. TIME. And Gepta's plan was foiled, but it was not in any way Lando's fault, either intentionally or accidentally, that that happened. Lando had nothing to do with it at all. There's only one explanation for this that makes any kind of sense: Gepta is completely out of his mind and most of the the parts of the book that are written from his point of view are also hallucinations that are transpiring entirely in his own mind.
I actually constructed this whole theory about that and how it would actually fit into the story as written, and I won't bother you with it here, but suffice to say it was way more entertaining than having to actually read this book. I'm sorry you had to experience even just the bits of it I quoted here. It's too late for me. Save yourselves.
F
Background: Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon was written by L. Neil Smith. It was published in September 1983. It is the second of Smith's Lando Calrissian Adventures trilogy.
The Flamewind of Oseon takes place a few months after The Mindharp of Sharu (my review), around 4 years before the battle of Yavin. The main characters are Lando Calrissian and the droid Vuffi Raa, along with Rokur Gepta, the Sorcerer of Tund.
Summary: After a bad run as a businessman, Lando accepts an invitation to gamble with the wealthy and elite of the Oseon asteroid belt. As an added bonus, he'll be there during the annual Flamewind, a stunning visual display of multi-colored radiation that periodically bathes the system in light. Unfortunately, he is soon pressed into service in a plot to arrest the wealthiest man in the galaxy, and old enemies seem determined to ensure he doesn't succeed . . . and dies trying.
Review: I think this is it, guys. This is the worst Star Wars novel ever written. It is aggressively, hatefully bad. I'm not even sure it's possible for a book to be this bad unless it's on purpose. This is a stunning example of just how uninterested everyone involved in Star Wars publishing in 1983 was in producing a quality product. It's a travesty.
I'm trying to figure out how Smith even went about planning the plots of these books. This is the second in a row where I imagine him carrying on an inner dialogue like this:
"Okay, what does Lando . . . do?"
"He gambles."
"Alright, can you write an entire story centered around him gambling?"
"No, I don't think so."
". . . Why not?"
"I just can't, okay?! I want to do a story about something else!"
"Okay, so why would a gambler stop gambling and go do this other thing?"
"He wouldn't. I'll have other characters force him to do it."
"But why would they want a gambler who can't fly a ship and doesn't carry a blaster for this job?"
"Shhhh, hush now."
But the plot of this one is so so so much worse than the last one. At no point does anything that's happening make any sense, and then a bunch of revelations come crawling out of the woodwork, apparently under the illusion that there's actually a plot for them to twist, and I realized that the last 100 pages of dull nothing was building to a climax so head-explodingly dumb that it's almost a crime. I don't even have words for how massive of a waste of time this story is. I feel like I deserve some kind of restitution for having read the whole thing. I want to go find Smith and just kick him repeatedly in the shins until he apologizes for this. I want to find every person who rated this book above one star and grab them by the shoulders and shake them until they puke, and then gently explain that that experience is still better than reading this book and WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM?!
Smith does all of the things that I hate most in Star Wars books, but he does them in ways that are so much worse than when other authors do them. I've complained before about how Michael Reaves, in particular, will insert sly references to earth culture in a joking way, and why I find that jarring and usually not very funny . . . but check out this from Smith: "Outside, a braid of raspberry red, lemon yellow, and orange orange twisted through the heavens, across a constellation locals called the Silly Rabbit." WHY?!
And at least that's just one throwaway line! Because then there's this: "It was two and a half meters tall, had an orange beak and scaly three-toed feet, was covered with bright yellow feathers, spoke in an annoying high-pitched effeminate voice" . . . IT'S BIG BIRD! IT'S FEATHERMUCKING BIG BIRD! And he's a semi-prominent character who is a COP! WHYYYYYYYY?! How is this explainable as anything other than Smith just viciously screwing with his audience?
Even Lando is baffled: "his physiology is supposed to be delicate or something, like a canary's. Don't ask me why they made somebody like that a cop--that would require an assumption that logic functions at some level of government." NO, LANDO. NO! That would require an assumption that logic functions at some level in the "BRAIN" of the "PERSON" who "WROTE" this "STORY" . . . *incoherent scream* It's worth pointing out here that Smith is a prominent writer of libertarian science fiction, hence the dig at government. And isn't that just typical libertarian, to manufacture the world's dumbest straw man and then light it on fire? "Hehehe what kind of idiot government would make Big Bird a cop hehehehe" IT WAS YOU! YOU DID THAT!
Maybe I'm just taking this dreck way too seriously, far more than he obviously did, and it's just a really very extremely poor attempt at humor . . . but this is Smith's idea of Lando's idea of a joke: "But--like his girlfriend the bootlegger's daughter--he loved her still."
Kill me.
I'm venting a lot of spleen on throwaway crap so that I'll feel I've done my due diligence warning you away from reading this book without giving away major plot details, but I don't want to totally devolve into just rubbing your faces in every terrible moment in the book. Cuz then you'd just be reading the whole book, which is the thing I'm trying to save you from! So I'll just talk about one more thing:
Rokur Gepta is the worst Star Wars villain of all time. I mentioned in my last review that he's a pathetic rip-off bargain-bin Sith Lord. What's almost funny (if it weren't so sad) is that Smith thinks Gepta is more of a badass than Vader but isn't capable of writing that. Take this scene where Gepta pulls his signature move and Smith all but explicitly says it's just like Vader's but way better:
"The sorcerer made a gesture with his gloved fist. The officer groaned, sweat sprang out on his forehead, and he sank to his knees.
"You see how much more effective it is than mere pain, don't you? Everyone has memories, little items from their past best left buried: humiliations, embarrassments, mistakes . . . sometimes fatal ones. All the ways we have failed those we have loved, the ways they have failed us!"
Gepta made another gesture.
"No, you can think of nothing else! The ignobility races round and round your mind, amplified, feeding on itself!"
See, Darth Vader just chokes people to death without touching them. What, you think that's scary? Rokur Gepta can force you to remember that one time your pants fell down in gym class! That's right! Quail in terror, pathetic mortals!
But what gives away Gepta's inadequacies more than anything is that he's supposedly a quasi-immortal godlike being with delusions of ruling the galaxy . . . and his archnemesis is a two-bit nobody who barely knows Gepta exists. Gepta himself is mystified by his obsession with Lando:
"Why, of all people, this insignificant vagabond, this itinerant gambler and charlatan should so frequently come between the sorcerer and his plans was a mystery. [...] He believed that some perverse kind of luck, some fate, karma, kismet, or destiny kept throwing Calrissian in his face. Sometimes it appeared the young gambler wasn't even aware that it was happening."
You know what's truly insane about this passage, though? At this point, Lando and Gepta have only ever encountered each other ONE. TIME. And Gepta's plan was foiled, but it was not in any way Lando's fault, either intentionally or accidentally, that that happened. Lando had nothing to do with it at all. There's only one explanation for this that makes any kind of sense: Gepta is completely out of his mind and most of the the parts of the book that are written from his point of view are also hallucinations that are transpiring entirely in his own mind.
I actually constructed this whole theory about that and how it would actually fit into the story as written, and I won't bother you with it here, but suffice to say it was way more entertaining than having to actually read this book. I'm sorry you had to experience even just the bits of it I quoted here. It's too late for me. Save yourselves.
F
January 8, 2021
This is just bonkers; I believe this novel is more a snapshot of the mind of L. Neil Smith than it is a straightforward attempt at storytelling. His characters absolutely sing...and none more so than Lando himself. Every time he's on the page, it's a joy to be in his company...his droid best friend included. But the plot -- where it actually exists -- is secondary to an endless series of repair jobs, escapes, incidents of sabotage...repeated ad nauseum. Over and over...punctuated by a surprising amount of assassinations that all but remove most of the supporting characters. I'm not sure I can adequately explain this book...but I do wish Smith was assigned a co-author. If you combined his character work with a solid plot, it would make for the most exceptional of Lucasverse novels.
April 9, 2021
Reading Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon after reading Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu is a lot like eating a Domino's pizza after a steady diet of Little Caesar's. It's almost entirely the same food, except one after the other feels fresher, a little more attentive to the spice blends, a palate refresher. Both will give you diarrhea, and your doctor resolutely wants you to stop eating so much damned pizza, but if you're going to eat nothing but that hot 'za, at least you might go for the place that includes a couple of vegetables on that single-topping deal.
This is to say that there's still nothing literary or philosophically profound about Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon, but it's far from the steaming pile of dogshit that was the novel's predecessor. Here, Lando feels a little more like Lando, the adventure's plot doesn't feel like the dream of a crackpipe salesman, and while the cartoonish villains are still just as one-dimensional as Smith's political philosophy, one at least understands the stakes of the plot enough to root for Lando.
But like Domino's pizza, there are just better options available than what the book has to offer. What, ultimately, is the goal of the novel? It reads like a cheap cash grab novel for a much larger intellectual property because that's all it really is. There's no nuance here, there's no character development or thematic backbone; those elements of literary nutrition belong to other, better novels of science fiction and fantasy.
This, the Star Wars fiction, is the junk food aisle of the grocery store, the fast food chains with no identity other than soulless, nutrition-free entertainment (and even that manages to disappoint). If Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon appears at all enjoyable, it's only because your palate has taken such a thorough degradation.
This is to say that there's still nothing literary or philosophically profound about Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon, but it's far from the steaming pile of dogshit that was the novel's predecessor. Here, Lando feels a little more like Lando, the adventure's plot doesn't feel like the dream of a crackpipe salesman, and while the cartoonish villains are still just as one-dimensional as Smith's political philosophy, one at least understands the stakes of the plot enough to root for Lando.
But like Domino's pizza, there are just better options available than what the book has to offer. What, ultimately, is the goal of the novel? It reads like a cheap cash grab novel for a much larger intellectual property because that's all it really is. There's no nuance here, there's no character development or thematic backbone; those elements of literary nutrition belong to other, better novels of science fiction and fantasy.
This, the Star Wars fiction, is the junk food aisle of the grocery store, the fast food chains with no identity other than soulless, nutrition-free entertainment (and even that manages to disappoint). If Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon appears at all enjoyable, it's only because your palate has taken such a thorough degradation.
February 6, 2021
This was a disappointing book and not just because the author kept referencing Earth objects and whatnot when trying to describe something or referencing something as "what people in another time and place might call . . . " . I know this book was written before the EU and he had to come up with his own terms, but at least he could have used some of the terms that Brian Daley came up with (such as "synthflesh") and helped tie the two series together better. The characterization is sketchy; Lando still doesn't "feel like" the Lando of the Empire Strikes Back, and it is hard to see how he develops into that character. The secondary characters are disappointing as well, which defeats some of the purpose of their being in the story. The only things going for it were that it was a fast read and I did love the descriptions of the Flamewind.
The plot was weak.
I will finish the third novel just because. I can only hope it is better than this one. This one felt like it was full of mistakes and plot-holes and irrelevancies and farcical situations, like the author really did not have an idea on how this story was going to go, so he rambled about a bit until deciding upon an ending. It should have built upon Lando's introduction in Empire by providing more of his backstory and fleshing out his character more. This series has failed to do that so far. Instead of the cool, calculating character in the movie, he comes across as a stumbling, bumbling stooge he naively finds himself in situations beyond his control and yet still comes out ahead through no fault of his own. I would rate this 1.5 stars generously rounded up to 2 stars.
The plot was weak.
I will finish the third novel just because. I can only hope it is better than this one. This one felt like it was full of mistakes and plot-holes and irrelevancies and farcical situations, like the author really did not have an idea on how this story was going to go, so he rambled about a bit until deciding upon an ending. It should have built upon Lando's introduction in Empire by providing more of his backstory and fleshing out his character more. This series has failed to do that so far. Instead of the cool, calculating character in the movie, he comes across as a stumbling, bumbling stooge he naively finds himself in situations beyond his control and yet still comes out ahead through no fault of his own. I would rate this 1.5 stars generously rounded up to 2 stars.
July 9, 2025
This is definitely a case where the sequel is better than the original. I hadn't read this book since it first came out in 1983 and couldn't remember anything from except I enjoyed it. That was exactly what happened during my second read.
After the (boring and too far fetched) escapades of the first novel, Lando has some money and has been using it to naturally acquire more money. However, he's being nickel and dimed at every port and is feeling the itch to get back into a sabacc game. He finds one, does exceedingly well, and something happens.
It's this something that gets the book going on it's story and it's a perfect reason for Lando to get involved and a perfect place for him to show his character. I was impressed that the Lando in this book would fit in very nicely with the Lando shown in the one-off movie Solo. That attitude, thoughts, and lines are perfect. The action is also very good and I thought that everything that occurred was true to the character and the Star Wars universe.
My only nit is that the villain from the first book is in this book and there's no resolution for the character, meaning he'll shown up in the final book of this series. However, after how good this book was I could let it slide because I'm pumped to read the final book.
After the (boring and too far fetched) escapades of the first novel, Lando has some money and has been using it to naturally acquire more money. However, he's being nickel and dimed at every port and is feeling the itch to get back into a sabacc game. He finds one, does exceedingly well, and something happens.
It's this something that gets the book going on it's story and it's a perfect reason for Lando to get involved and a perfect place for him to show his character. I was impressed that the Lando in this book would fit in very nicely with the Lando shown in the one-off movie Solo. That attitude, thoughts, and lines are perfect. The action is also very good and I thought that everything that occurred was true to the character and the Star Wars universe.
My only nit is that the villain from the first book is in this book and there's no resolution for the character, meaning he'll shown up in the final book of this series. However, after how good this book was I could let it slide because I'm pumped to read the final book.
March 22, 2023
Maybe the rating is a bit generous, but this one just felt like such an improvement over the last. Not poorly written, but definitely dripping in pulp (ew?). Lando is pretty much Lando, though some of the weird calls to real life break the immersion.
Also...still NOT Star Wars. It doesn't capture the themes and aesthetic and heart of the movies which later books do.
Also...still NOT Star Wars. It doesn't capture the themes and aesthetic and heart of the movies which later books do.
August 8, 2021
Stars: 2-2.5
Reread: No
Recommend to: People who are interested in the very early EU.
This was, much like the previous book in the series, primarily a victim of the timing of publication. The Lando series were written during the wild wild west of Star Wars lore where the authors clearly were allowed a great amount of freedom to do whatever they wanted regardless of how that would fit with the rest of the EU, that didn't exist yet. Heir to the Empire was released 8 years later, and thankfully, they'd improved pretty much every aspect of the product.
Like my opinion of the previous book, I don't think Smith did great at capturing the personality of Lando. Even worse, he was mostly irrelevant in the story.
The plot sounds good on paper, but ended up being pretty bland in execution.
The character of .
A couple of things were completely ridiculous. At the end of the previous book, .
Lando also became an expert pilot, but only at very specific times.
I also laughed when .
I am so sick of the "and don't call me master" line.
I wasn't annoyed by the author being a libertarian like so many other people were. There are plenty of things that, if you already knew his political beliefs, you could point out and say that this is just because of his beliefs. I don't think they are objectionably bad though, and if you didn't know the author's beliefs, you probably wouldn't think anything of it.
Reread: No
Recommend to: People who are interested in the very early EU.
This was, much like the previous book in the series, primarily a victim of the timing of publication. The Lando series were written during the wild wild west of Star Wars lore where the authors clearly were allowed a great amount of freedom to do whatever they wanted regardless of how that would fit with the rest of the EU, that didn't exist yet. Heir to the Empire was released 8 years later, and thankfully, they'd improved pretty much every aspect of the product.
Like my opinion of the previous book, I don't think Smith did great at capturing the personality of Lando. Even worse, he was mostly irrelevant in the story.
The plot sounds good on paper, but ended up being pretty bland in execution.
The character of .
A couple of things were completely ridiculous. At the end of the previous book, .
Lando also became an expert pilot, but only at very specific times.
I also laughed when .
I am so sick of the "and don't call me master" line.
I wasn't annoyed by the author being a libertarian like so many other people were. There are plenty of things that, if you already knew his political beliefs, you could point out and say that this is just because of his beliefs. I don't think they are objectionably bad though, and if you didn't know the author's beliefs, you probably wouldn't think anything of it.
January 19, 2016
Second book syndrome, maybe? Although I enjoyed the first Lando novel, this one just seemed poorly written, with a plot that only got interesting towards the final act.
The reason why this gets 3 stars is because you find a little more about Vuffi Raa, clearly climbing higher and higher on my favourite droid list.
The reason why this gets 3 stars is because you find a little more about Vuffi Raa, clearly climbing higher and higher on my favourite droid list.
July 29, 2020
I joked about not liking the first Lando book after discovering that L. Neal Smith was known as a libertarian science fiction writer. But that was a joke! I actually did like the first book! Not in the way I like a John Barth book, of course! I'm not a simpleton! I'm just an honest book reviewer who uses way too many exclamation points! But sticking with that honesty, I have to say this second Lando book was terrible. I used a period there to represent the gravitas I feel for having to report that a book I read and stuck with until the end wasn't worth reading nor sticking with to the end. It is a sadness which I will feel until the day I die (especially on the day I die because I'll be thinking of all the cool things I could have done instead of reading this book).
I can be absolutely sure that I wouldn't have enjoyed this book if I hadn't read that L. Neal Smith was a libertarian but I definitely wouldn't have found a number of passages as grating as I did knowing that he was. At the end of the last book, Lando Calrissian found himself a wealthy man. But when this book starts, he's practically a pauper because of taxes and government regulations and corrupt politicians. Sure, there's some hint that maybe he's not a great businessman. But there's an even larger winking suggestion that nobody can really be a great businessman with all of these gosh-darned government regulations and taxes! By gum, poor Lando couldn't even make it in business while starting out with a huge cash advantage. I guess the only thing he can do is go back to gambling because it's sort of illegal which means if he isn't caught, the government can't stop him from making a living at it! What a hero!
In the end though, we discover that the villain, Rokur Gepta (or whatever. I don't care enough to remember his actual name or, if I did get it right, care enough that I still remember it. Either way, I'll be haunted by it on my deathbed) was causing a lot of these financial problems for Lando. He was lowering market prices on fishing rods when Lando wanted to sell fishing rods. Or he was informing hangars that the Lando was a smuggler so Lando would get hit with lots of petty surcharges. Or he was manipulating entire economies so that Lando would get the worst return on his investments.
In other words, Rokur Gepta is the most boring villain to ever be imagined by a libertarian science fiction writer. Lando was basically in a life and death struggle with a petty bureaucrat.
Luckily Lando's droid had once committed genocide on some backwater planet and the survivors of that genocide were hunting him down. I say luckily because that vendetta is the only reason there is any action at all in this book other than Lando cursing having to pay another docking fee for the Falcon.
In the end, Rokur disguises himself as an obese drug-addled bajillionaire (I use that word because the man is suspected to be the richest man in the galaxy. But he's dead now because Rokur killed him to pretend to be him so he could create a really elaborate ploy to get Lando into his grasp). He causes all sorts of chaos and murders dozens if not hundreds of people and ruins as many lives for those left living, just to strap Lando onto a picnic table so he can get into Lando's head to try to make him cry. It works a little bit but Lando still gets away by sticking a chopstick in Rokur's eye. That leaves Rokur even more angry for a third book!
Look, I'm already going to regret so much wasted time when I find myself dying that I can't be too hard on myself that I'm going to read the last book of the trilogy. Maybe things will pick up!
P.S. You might be wondering why I gave this two stars instead of one. Well, I'm not sure I've read a one star book to the end yet! I mean, maybe Catcher in the Rye. But I'll have to reread that one to make sure!
I can be absolutely sure that I wouldn't have enjoyed this book if I hadn't read that L. Neal Smith was a libertarian but I definitely wouldn't have found a number of passages as grating as I did knowing that he was. At the end of the last book, Lando Calrissian found himself a wealthy man. But when this book starts, he's practically a pauper because of taxes and government regulations and corrupt politicians. Sure, there's some hint that maybe he's not a great businessman. But there's an even larger winking suggestion that nobody can really be a great businessman with all of these gosh-darned government regulations and taxes! By gum, poor Lando couldn't even make it in business while starting out with a huge cash advantage. I guess the only thing he can do is go back to gambling because it's sort of illegal which means if he isn't caught, the government can't stop him from making a living at it! What a hero!
In the end though, we discover that the villain, Rokur Gepta (or whatever. I don't care enough to remember his actual name or, if I did get it right, care enough that I still remember it. Either way, I'll be haunted by it on my deathbed) was causing a lot of these financial problems for Lando. He was lowering market prices on fishing rods when Lando wanted to sell fishing rods. Or he was informing hangars that the Lando was a smuggler so Lando would get hit with lots of petty surcharges. Or he was manipulating entire economies so that Lando would get the worst return on his investments.
In other words, Rokur Gepta is the most boring villain to ever be imagined by a libertarian science fiction writer. Lando was basically in a life and death struggle with a petty bureaucrat.
Luckily Lando's droid had once committed genocide on some backwater planet and the survivors of that genocide were hunting him down. I say luckily because that vendetta is the only reason there is any action at all in this book other than Lando cursing having to pay another docking fee for the Falcon.
In the end, Rokur disguises himself as an obese drug-addled bajillionaire (I use that word because the man is suspected to be the richest man in the galaxy. But he's dead now because Rokur killed him to pretend to be him so he could create a really elaborate ploy to get Lando into his grasp). He causes all sorts of chaos and murders dozens if not hundreds of people and ruins as many lives for those left living, just to strap Lando onto a picnic table so he can get into Lando's head to try to make him cry. It works a little bit but Lando still gets away by sticking a chopstick in Rokur's eye. That leaves Rokur even more angry for a third book!
Look, I'm already going to regret so much wasted time when I find myself dying that I can't be too hard on myself that I'm going to read the last book of the trilogy. Maybe things will pick up!
P.S. You might be wondering why I gave this two stars instead of one. Well, I'm not sure I've read a one star book to the end yet! I mean, maybe Catcher in the Rye. But I'll have to reread that one to make sure!
December 5, 2017
Picking up where we left off from the previous story (Star Wars: Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu), we find Lando experiencing difficulties with moving his goods (due to taxes, fines, bribes, etc.) and finding that the life of a trader isn't all it's cracked up to be. To his delight, he receives an invitation to participate in a sabacc game in Oseon region. The Oseon region being home to rich inhabitants, was also home to "the Flamewind". The Flamewind was considered to be one of the most beautiful wonders of the galaxy. It occurred once a year and lasted three weeks. Not being able to resist participating in this rare occasion, he orders Vuffi Raa to set a course for the Oseon region.
It's nice to see Lando get his trilogy, which I was hoping was going to flesh-out his character more, but I'm getting sorely disappointed as the series progresses. Lando is depicted here as more of a gambler (and a terrible, terrible smuggler... He doesn't even try to smuggle things! He's more of a trader in this book) BUT he is one helluva gambler! Which brings me to question, how did he lose the Falcon to Han?!
Another complaint of mine is the big bad of this trilogy: Rokur Gepta, the Sorcerer of Tund. Not sure if any of you've read "The Magician's Nephew", but he's basically like Jadis, Empress of Charn. The dude wipes out his entire planet's civilization (not sure how), making him the sole survivor. And like Jadis, he's very old, but you couldn't tell just by looking at him. However, unlike Jadis, he's happily contented to position himself behind the head honcho of certain systems (instead of taking over them all), and then there's his unhealthy fixation on Calrissian.
Rokur Gepta goes through tremendous amount of effort & resources just to inconvenience Lando. He could've hired hundreds of assassins to take him out or just downright capture him... But noooooo! Here's a sample:
"I dogged your footsteps! Everywhere you went, I saw to it that the prices were a little higher, the rates you could resell at were a little lower! I warned the authorities anonymously that you were a smuggler, increasing the number of fees you had to pay, raising the amount in bribes!
And that was only part of his grand plan... You're just going to have to read the book to find out for yourself the lengths he took to get to Lando.
Rokur Gepta as Dr. Evil: "I'm going to place him in an easily escapable situation involving an overly elaborate and exotic death."
And just like Scott Evil, I questioned Gepta's methods while reading through his monologue
Scott Evil: "I have a gun, in my room, you give me five seconds, I'll get it, I'll come back down here, BOOM, I'll blow their brains out!"
Lando even commented on the monologue: “Why do jerks like you always have to go into this thespian routine? If you're going to kill me, do it with the gun instead of boredom, there's a good fellow.”
Here's hoping the next book ends this trilogy well.
It's nice to see Lando get his trilogy, which I was hoping was going to flesh-out his character more, but I'm getting sorely disappointed as the series progresses. Lando is depicted here as more of a gambler (and a terrible, terrible smuggler... He doesn't even try to smuggle things! He's more of a trader in this book) BUT he is one helluva gambler! Which brings me to question, how did he lose the Falcon to Han?!
Another complaint of mine is the big bad of this trilogy: Rokur Gepta, the Sorcerer of Tund. Not sure if any of you've read "The Magician's Nephew", but he's basically like Jadis, Empress of Charn. The dude wipes out his entire planet's civilization (not sure how), making him the sole survivor. And like Jadis, he's very old, but you couldn't tell just by looking at him. However, unlike Jadis, he's happily contented to position himself behind the head honcho of certain systems (instead of taking over them all), and then there's his unhealthy fixation on Calrissian.
Rokur Gepta goes through tremendous amount of effort & resources just to inconvenience Lando. He could've hired hundreds of assassins to take him out or just downright capture him... But noooooo! Here's a sample:
"I dogged your footsteps! Everywhere you went, I saw to it that the prices were a little higher, the rates you could resell at were a little lower! I warned the authorities anonymously that you were a smuggler, increasing the number of fees you had to pay, raising the amount in bribes!
And that was only part of his grand plan... You're just going to have to read the book to find out for yourself the lengths he took to get to Lando.
Rokur Gepta as Dr. Evil: "I'm going to place him in an easily escapable situation involving an overly elaborate and exotic death."
And just like Scott Evil, I questioned Gepta's methods while reading through his monologue
Scott Evil: "I have a gun, in my room, you give me five seconds, I'll get it, I'll come back down here, BOOM, I'll blow their brains out!"
Lando even commented on the monologue: “Why do jerks like you always have to go into this thespian routine? If you're going to kill me, do it with the gun instead of boredom, there's a good fellow.”
Here's hoping the next book ends this trilogy well.
February 26, 2025
Better Than The First
I'm reading every Star Wars book by release date, and these 3 books by Neil Smith are what's next. If you weren't doing what I'm doing, I would say the first 2 (Mindharp of Sharu and Flamewind of Oseon) are skippable.
So far, it seems these stories are so far from anything Star Wars as to not really matter, and as straight-up generic Sci-Fi, they are just ok.
Lando himself doesn't seem like I'd imagine a Pre Rebel Alliance Lando to be. That Lando sold out his friend to the Empire, this Lando seems more like the Generic Good guy who likes to gamble. Maybe this was an editorial decision to make him that way, but I think It would have been better to have him be a bit more hard edged to others before growing into the Lando of Bespin.
Vuffi Rah is the only other recurring character in the first 2 books other than the villain. A tentacle droid whose basically a do all Swiss Army Knife. The get out of jail free card when you've written yourself in a corner. Have nanites rebuild him and have his limbs work independently from his body when you need to, but have some generic radiation disable him when you need to get rid of him.
Rokur Gepta, the villain. The Sorcerer of Kund. By far the most intriguing aspect of these 2 books, but IMO is ultimately wasted. How does he compare to the Sith? Do his powers run off the force? What exactly is a Sorcerer of Kund? None of these questions are answered in any meaningful way. He's a bad dude, he's connected to the Empire by some mechanism that's not clear at all, and he has some otherworldly powers that have to do with emotions.
Every other character in the first book besides these 3 is paper thin to the point you don't care about them one way or another. Specifically in Flamewind of Oseon Lando the droid and 2 cops are confronting the billionaire to entrap him with drug charges, and the bird cop they had been berating the whole time blows the other cop away in a double cross and I just didn't care. The double cross was set up on the ship, but there's only 2 options to choose from. I thought it was so obvious that maybe I was being set up for the opposite.
A lot of the second book is a mystery, but it didn't flow well. A lot of the time, I was taken out of the book and asking why the writer included this section. What point does it have to the story. I would find later on that it was set up. The setup for the clues should just fit seamlessly into the story, and it just doesn't here.
Also, minus 1 entire star for the Trix Cereal reference.
I'm reading every Star Wars book by release date, and these 3 books by Neil Smith are what's next. If you weren't doing what I'm doing, I would say the first 2 (Mindharp of Sharu and Flamewind of Oseon) are skippable.
So far, it seems these stories are so far from anything Star Wars as to not really matter, and as straight-up generic Sci-Fi, they are just ok.
Lando himself doesn't seem like I'd imagine a Pre Rebel Alliance Lando to be. That Lando sold out his friend to the Empire, this Lando seems more like the Generic Good guy who likes to gamble. Maybe this was an editorial decision to make him that way, but I think It would have been better to have him be a bit more hard edged to others before growing into the Lando of Bespin.
Vuffi Rah is the only other recurring character in the first 2 books other than the villain. A tentacle droid whose basically a do all Swiss Army Knife. The get out of jail free card when you've written yourself in a corner. Have nanites rebuild him and have his limbs work independently from his body when you need to, but have some generic radiation disable him when you need to get rid of him.
Rokur Gepta, the villain. The Sorcerer of Kund. By far the most intriguing aspect of these 2 books, but IMO is ultimately wasted. How does he compare to the Sith? Do his powers run off the force? What exactly is a Sorcerer of Kund? None of these questions are answered in any meaningful way. He's a bad dude, he's connected to the Empire by some mechanism that's not clear at all, and he has some otherworldly powers that have to do with emotions.
Every other character in the first book besides these 3 is paper thin to the point you don't care about them one way or another. Specifically in Flamewind of Oseon Lando the droid and 2 cops are confronting the billionaire to entrap him with drug charges, and the bird cop they had been berating the whole time blows the other cop away in a double cross and I just didn't care. The double cross was set up on the ship, but there's only 2 options to choose from. I thought it was so obvious that maybe I was being set up for the opposite.
A lot of the second book is a mystery, but it didn't flow well. A lot of the time, I was taken out of the book and asking why the writer included this section. What point does it have to the story. I would find later on that it was set up. The setup for the clues should just fit seamlessly into the story, and it just doesn't here.
Also, minus 1 entire star for the Trix Cereal reference.
February 22, 2025
This is book 28 on my read-through of the Star Wars Legends books.
This book is very bad...but at least it isn't "Mindharp of Sharu".
Unlike the previous book, the prose is not physically painful to read. In fact, for the most part, it is pretty good. The first book's writing was way too clever for its own good, full of unnecessary alliteration and jarring turns of phrase. Here, it's been scaled back to just the right amount of clever.
This book is also relatively coherent. I understood what was happening for the most part. I know that sounds like an incredibly low bar, but, given the previous entry, it's honestly a miracle.
And furthermore, I'll say this: this book contains a bunch of cool ideas. In the hands of someone like Brian Daley, the author of the Han Solo Adventures, I could easily imagine a great novel based around this same basic plot. There were a couple moments during the climax that I thought were legitimately brilliant, if only for their audacity.
But there's no escaping the fact that I just didn't care about anything that happened. The plot and characters are incredibly thinly sketched. Plot points don't flow naturally into each other and many of them are non-sequiturs. I didn't particularly like any of the characters and their motivations often barely made sense. This book is too slow-paced to be a fun pulp novel, too shallow to be a piece of "thoughtful" sci-fi, and too tame to be a psychedelic mind-f***. The author's libertarian views are also awkwardly jammed into the plot, in a way that's more of a caricature of government than a meaningful critique.
In my opinion, a 4/10 book is one that you can objectively recognize as bad, but you could imagine a good version of it lurking somewhere inside (if given a full rewrite or handed to another author). I think that makes this the textbook example of a 4/10 book.
I have to admit: before starting this endeavor to read every Star Wars book, I basically never finished reading a book I considered below a 6/10. (I'm someone with zero shame about abandoning books). This challenge has really opened my eyes to the levels of badness in the literary world. Normally, once a book falls below a certain level of badness, it enters a category of "Do not read." And so practically speaking, for most people, there is little difference between a 4/10 and a 1/10. But I am now starting to understand the subtle differences between a 3/10 and a 4/10 the same way I would understand the more familiar differences between a 7/10 and an 8/10. I suppose my palette for trash has been expanded.
This book is very bad...but at least it isn't "Mindharp of Sharu".
Unlike the previous book, the prose is not physically painful to read. In fact, for the most part, it is pretty good. The first book's writing was way too clever for its own good, full of unnecessary alliteration and jarring turns of phrase. Here, it's been scaled back to just the right amount of clever.
This book is also relatively coherent. I understood what was happening for the most part. I know that sounds like an incredibly low bar, but, given the previous entry, it's honestly a miracle.
And furthermore, I'll say this: this book contains a bunch of cool ideas. In the hands of someone like Brian Daley, the author of the Han Solo Adventures, I could easily imagine a great novel based around this same basic plot. There were a couple moments during the climax that I thought were legitimately brilliant, if only for their audacity.
But there's no escaping the fact that I just didn't care about anything that happened. The plot and characters are incredibly thinly sketched. Plot points don't flow naturally into each other and many of them are non-sequiturs. I didn't particularly like any of the characters and their motivations often barely made sense. This book is too slow-paced to be a fun pulp novel, too shallow to be a piece of "thoughtful" sci-fi, and too tame to be a psychedelic mind-f***. The author's libertarian views are also awkwardly jammed into the plot, in a way that's more of a caricature of government than a meaningful critique.
In my opinion, a 4/10 book is one that you can objectively recognize as bad, but you could imagine a good version of it lurking somewhere inside (if given a full rewrite or handed to another author). I think that makes this the textbook example of a 4/10 book.
I have to admit: before starting this endeavor to read every Star Wars book, I basically never finished reading a book I considered below a 6/10. (I'm someone with zero shame about abandoning books). This challenge has really opened my eyes to the levels of badness in the literary world. Normally, once a book falls below a certain level of badness, it enters a category of "Do not read." And so practically speaking, for most people, there is little difference between a 4/10 and a 1/10. But I am now starting to understand the subtle differences between a 3/10 and a 4/10 the same way I would understand the more familiar differences between a 7/10 and an 8/10. I suppose my palette for trash has been expanded.
August 23, 2025
Lando Calrissian is back playing sabacc in the Oseon on a different asteroid than where we met him in his previous adventure in Book #1 “Mindharp of Sharu”.
There’s some subtle character developments here that are simple but nice. Lando, with Vuffi Raa’s help, is growing more experienced as pilot of the Millennium Falcon than he was in Book #1 (where he’d just acquired the Falcon). Sidenote: It’s mentioned here that the Falcon was originally built specifically for smuggling. Lando has also just started growing his characteristic mustache “a few weeks ago”. Apparently he didn’t have that during the “Sharu” adventure.
After the Sharu adventure, Lando and his droid companion, Vuffi Raa (also acquired in Book #1), attempt a freelance legitimate freight-hauling business. But Lando soon misses the life of a gambler and con artiste too much and returns to his roots. Which is where we find him here at the beginning of Book #2. It’s been about a year between books.
These and other elements make this prequel backstory for the Lando we originally first met in The Empire Strikes Back more interesting. They make sense as we know he eventually becomes a mix of con artiste, gambler and businessman, striving to live within legal means but always a little bit on the edge of it all. At one point here Lando muses how maybe this con artiste life isn’t for him and, while he loves the Falcon, perhaps after this adventure he should try another line of work. Another subtle indication of his future shift into becoming a businessman.
This novel includes more direct Star Wars lore references than “Mindharp of Sharu” did, including using an old decommissioned Imperial Cruiser (the Wennis), reference to the Old Republic, Imperial colonization, and others.
I found this story to be better written than the first book in this series. I loved the journey through the Flamewinds! I also thought Lando’s solution to escape from the Falcon’s asteroid hiding location was inventive and cool.
All in all, I really enjoyed this story. It’s my favorite of the series!
There’s some subtle character developments here that are simple but nice. Lando, with Vuffi Raa’s help, is growing more experienced as pilot of the Millennium Falcon than he was in Book #1 (where he’d just acquired the Falcon). Sidenote: It’s mentioned here that the Falcon was originally built specifically for smuggling. Lando has also just started growing his characteristic mustache “a few weeks ago”. Apparently he didn’t have that during the “Sharu” adventure.
After the Sharu adventure, Lando and his droid companion, Vuffi Raa (also acquired in Book #1), attempt a freelance legitimate freight-hauling business. But Lando soon misses the life of a gambler and con artiste too much and returns to his roots. Which is where we find him here at the beginning of Book #2. It’s been about a year between books.
These and other elements make this prequel backstory for the Lando we originally first met in The Empire Strikes Back more interesting. They make sense as we know he eventually becomes a mix of con artiste, gambler and businessman, striving to live within legal means but always a little bit on the edge of it all. At one point here Lando muses how maybe this con artiste life isn’t for him and, while he loves the Falcon, perhaps after this adventure he should try another line of work. Another subtle indication of his future shift into becoming a businessman.
This novel includes more direct Star Wars lore references than “Mindharp of Sharu” did, including using an old decommissioned Imperial Cruiser (the Wennis), reference to the Old Republic, Imperial colonization, and others.
I found this story to be better written than the first book in this series. I loved the journey through the Flamewinds! I also thought Lando’s solution to escape from the Falcon’s asteroid hiding location was inventive and cool.
All in all, I really enjoyed this story. It’s my favorite of the series!
December 24, 2024
My Reading Log
Plot Summary
In Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon by L. Neil Smith, Lando embarks on another daring adventure, this time in the luxurious yet perilous Oseon system. While indulging in high-stakes gambling, Lando gets entangled in a deadly plot involving powerful figures who want him eliminated. With the help of his trusty droid companion, Vuffi Raa, Lando must navigate the mesmerizing but dangerous Flamewind phenomenon while outsmarting assassins and unraveling a conspiracy. The novel showcases Lando’s wit, charm, and ability to turn the odds in his favor, even in the most dire circumstances.
Characters
Lando Calrissian - The suave gambler and captain of the Millennium Falcon, taking on high risks for greater rewards.
Vuffi Raa - Lando’s intelligent and versatile droid companion, providing critical assistance and loyalty.
Rokur Gepta - The manipulative sorcerer who continues to scheme against Lando.
Bassi Vobah - A wealthy Oseon resident whose involvement complicates Lando’s situation.
Bohhuah Mutdah - An eccentric and reclusive billionaire, adding intrigue to the Oseon’s mysteries.
Flamewind Phenomenon - A natural yet hazardous spectacle in the Oseon system, forming the story’s breathtaking backdrop.
Assassins and Bounty Hunters - Various foes hired to eliminate Lando, providing action and tension throughout.
Quotes
"The Flamewind is like the galaxy itself—beautiful, dangerous, and full of surprises." — Lando Calrissian
"Being charming only gets you so far; after that, you better have a blaster and a plan." — Lando Calrissian
"Even the wealthiest system has secrets that no credits can buy." — Vuffi Raa
Plot Summary
In Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon by L. Neil Smith, Lando embarks on another daring adventure, this time in the luxurious yet perilous Oseon system. While indulging in high-stakes gambling, Lando gets entangled in a deadly plot involving powerful figures who want him eliminated. With the help of his trusty droid companion, Vuffi Raa, Lando must navigate the mesmerizing but dangerous Flamewind phenomenon while outsmarting assassins and unraveling a conspiracy. The novel showcases Lando’s wit, charm, and ability to turn the odds in his favor, even in the most dire circumstances.
Characters
Lando Calrissian - The suave gambler and captain of the Millennium Falcon, taking on high risks for greater rewards.
Vuffi Raa - Lando’s intelligent and versatile droid companion, providing critical assistance and loyalty.
Rokur Gepta - The manipulative sorcerer who continues to scheme against Lando.
Bassi Vobah - A wealthy Oseon resident whose involvement complicates Lando’s situation.
Bohhuah Mutdah - An eccentric and reclusive billionaire, adding intrigue to the Oseon’s mysteries.
Flamewind Phenomenon - A natural yet hazardous spectacle in the Oseon system, forming the story’s breathtaking backdrop.
Assassins and Bounty Hunters - Various foes hired to eliminate Lando, providing action and tension throughout.
Quotes
"The Flamewind is like the galaxy itself—beautiful, dangerous, and full of surprises." — Lando Calrissian
"Being charming only gets you so far; after that, you better have a blaster and a plan." — Lando Calrissian
"Even the wealthiest system has secrets that no credits can buy." — Vuffi Raa
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 7, 2017
I still stand by what I wrote in the previous reviews. Somehow, in a strange way I like this trilogy more (still) from the Han Solo one.
The book was pretty fun to read, and even though I probably should not continuously admit this, I liked the first one as well.
Plot: 3
I thought the plot line was solid. Not too complex and not too simple. Things happened at a good pace and I had fun reading through it. Some good twists, and overall I felt that this book was like a guilty pleasure. I know I'm not supposed to like it, but I did.
Setting: 2
So my biggest gripe with setting of the early Str Wars stories is that they're not really Star Wars stories. Strip away the names and it's just a fast paced sci-fi travelogue. I feel like when I read Star Wars on the cover, I should feel like I'm in a Star Wars setting, and I did not.
Characters: 4
Now. I don't care. About any raised eyebrows at 4 stars rating here. I have a very simple answer. Vuffi Raa. That's it. I want one...so bad!!!
Clearly I cannot read 2 books in a trilogy and not read the last one, so I'll be back to finish this up sometimes in the future. I have a feeling ahead of time that I will like it. As long as Vuffi Raa is in it, of course.
Roman "Ragnar"
The book was pretty fun to read, and even though I probably should not continuously admit this, I liked the first one as well.
Plot: 3
I thought the plot line was solid. Not too complex and not too simple. Things happened at a good pace and I had fun reading through it. Some good twists, and overall I felt that this book was like a guilty pleasure. I know I'm not supposed to like it, but I did.
Setting: 2
So my biggest gripe with setting of the early Str Wars stories is that they're not really Star Wars stories. Strip away the names and it's just a fast paced sci-fi travelogue. I feel like when I read Star Wars on the cover, I should feel like I'm in a Star Wars setting, and I did not.
Characters: 4
Now. I don't care. About any raised eyebrows at 4 stars rating here. I have a very simple answer. Vuffi Raa. That's it. I want one...so bad!!!
Clearly I cannot read 2 books in a trilogy and not read the last one, so I'll be back to finish this up sometimes in the future. I have a feeling ahead of time that I will like it. As long as Vuffi Raa is in it, of course.
Roman "Ragnar"
December 26, 2019
Absolutely a popcorn read, which is why I enjoyed it. I read this on Boxing Day, sluggish like a crocodile that's just swallowed a wildebeest, which is pretty much the effect that Christmas dinner generally has on me. So you can see I was not up to much, and this is the kind of brainless entertainment that's really appealing today. Smith continues to do for Lando Calrissian what Daley consistently failed to do for Han Solo, which is to provide a fun, character-building prequel story. It's not subtle at all and minor elements are overplayed - at one point I briefly wondered if Smith was aware of this tendency, as he has a droid complain to Lando that his quip wasn't funny the first hundred times he said it and hasn't improved on the hundred and first, but honestly I think that's probably a little too much narrative awareness for this.
It's slight, but it's fun. That's all I ask for and more than I expected, honestly. Roll on the next in the series.
It's slight, but it's fun. That's all I ask for and more than I expected, honestly. Roll on the next in the series.
April 11, 2022
"I liked it" - 3 of 5 star rating.
High stakes Sabacc games that are really well done, on the run with someone trying to kill him, lots of droid-human relationships that are on the strange side. Vuffi Raa, the companion/main droid character in this series, is very well done and super fun.
This has a good start and a fun ending, but sags a bit in the middle. Some Lando backstory on his family was injected into this, adding some depth to his character. There's also pirates and a unique villain that was interesting and overall pretty good too.
It is interesting to see how Lando evolved over the years with these books from the 80's I am assuming being the building blocks of that evolution, which I am very pleased as they are pretty spot on.
I am still holding my ground though and do not forgive the Bespin sellout on this guy.
Fun, light, not a big commitment page count wise, and a fun look back into the 80's era of Star Wars
High stakes Sabacc games that are really well done, on the run with someone trying to kill him, lots of droid-human relationships that are on the strange side. Vuffi Raa, the companion/main droid character in this series, is very well done and super fun.
This has a good start and a fun ending, but sags a bit in the middle. Some Lando backstory on his family was injected into this, adding some depth to his character. There's also pirates and a unique villain that was interesting and overall pretty good too.
It is interesting to see how Lando evolved over the years with these books from the 80's I am assuming being the building blocks of that evolution, which I am very pleased as they are pretty spot on.
I am still holding my ground though and do not forgive the Bespin sellout on this guy.
Fun, light, not a big commitment page count wise, and a fun look back into the 80's era of Star Wars
December 15, 2025
It has basically the same strengths and weaknesses as the first one did. Most disturbing is the manner in which Lando is characterized; he still doesn’t seem to be the smooth rogue of “The Empire Strikes Back”, nor does he even seem to be growing into it. There remains a strange disconnect and “Earthyness” to the dialogue that makes the story feel less like it takes place “in a galaxy far, far away” and more like it’s taking place in a human future.
The story isn’t bad, and the Flamewind has an impressively “Star Wars” sort of visual aesthetic, and some of the space battle scenes are evocative and - again - feel like they’re approaching the sort of “space dogfight” stylings of the original trilogy. It’s probably the most satisfying of the three stories, but it still feels just a bit out of sync to what you’d expect - from both the character, and the universe it ostensibly takes place in.
The story isn’t bad, and the Flamewind has an impressively “Star Wars” sort of visual aesthetic, and some of the space battle scenes are evocative and - again - feel like they’re approaching the sort of “space dogfight” stylings of the original trilogy. It’s probably the most satisfying of the three stories, but it still feels just a bit out of sync to what you’d expect - from both the character, and the universe it ostensibly takes place in.
October 11, 2019
The second in the early 80s Lando trilogy it keeps following Lando and his mysterious droid Vuffi Raa through adventures, gambling and smuggling through the galaxy. This is actually a bit of a difficult book to judge. There are whole sections which are pretty dull and then you get whole sections which are exciting and revealing.
There's also some interesting side-characters, one which is some kind of agent clearly modeled on Big Bird from Sesame Street, and a bunch of others. Still the focus is very much on Calrissian and Vuffi, who are by far the most interesting characters here.
Lando gets blackmailed into doing a job he doesn't want to do, only to find it was all a ruse. Not exactly surprising, but the story does end up with an interesting cliffhanger promising interesting things involving Vuffi Raa for the third volume!
June 14, 2024
Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon by L. Neil Smith disappointingly falls short, earning just two stars for its lackluster storytelling and underdeveloped plot. While the book attempts to capture the charm and roguish appeal of Lando Calrissian, it struggles with pacing and coherence, often bogged down by convoluted subplots and flat characterizations. The narrative, set in the visually intriguing yet inadequately explored setting of Oseon, fails to deliver the excitement and depth expected from a Star Wars adventure. Despite a few moments of wit and adventure, the novel's overall execution feels uninspired, leaving readers yearning for a more engaging and dynamic journey with one of the galaxy's most beloved scoundrels.
Sara | Book Confessions of an ExBallerina | Instagram
Sara | Book Confessions of an ExBallerina | Instagram
June 1, 2018
Once again L. Neil Smith slogs the story along, taking over 80+ pages to get to anything even remotely resembling action. Lando's interaction with his droid, Vuffi Raa is stilted (his continued jibing with the droid in which he calls him "old pencil sharpener" or "old tin can" is just hollow and lame). The villain, held over from the previous novel is uninspiring, not to mention his vendetta with Lando seems thin; for a being that is suposedly superior to humans, his grudge holding is of elementary school caliber. So far these books are dry and a bit too serious for the subject matter, unlike Brian Daley's high-octane romps that knew how to provide maximum non-stop action and well-rounded characters and storylines from page 1.
June 19, 2019
Ugh! So boring. Typically, I love star wars books. In fact, with the exception of the Mindharp of Sharu, every Star Wars book I've read has gotten a "positive" review.
That is not the case with this book.
The description was too much and boring. The dialogue was not interesting, and the characters were boring(except for Vuffi Raa!). Because most of these characters don't carry over, the only one who really mattered was Lando and you know what happens to him.
The stakes were low and you knew Lando would be fine. The last 20 pages were kind of exciting, but not near enough to make the book worth reading.
Overall, disappointing book. 4.8 out of 10(normally would be 3.8 out of 10, but gets an additional point because it meets the "classic" test).
That is not the case with this book.
The description was too much and boring. The dialogue was not interesting, and the characters were boring(except for Vuffi Raa!). Because most of these characters don't carry over, the only one who really mattered was Lando and you know what happens to him.
The stakes were low and you knew Lando would be fine. The last 20 pages were kind of exciting, but not near enough to make the book worth reading.
Overall, disappointing book. 4.8 out of 10(normally would be 3.8 out of 10, but gets an additional point because it meets the "classic" test).
February 11, 2020
Even more of a blast than Mindharp of Sharu!
In this story, Lando and Vuffi Raa are blackmailed into working with the police to track down a wealthy illegal drug-buyer, and must navigate the Flamewind - a beautiful yet deadly storm of multicolored radiation. Along the way, they have to contend with pirates, starfighters with a grudge, and Lando's old nemesis, the sorcerer Rokur Gepta.
It's a fun, thrilling adventure filled with Lando's usual charm and panache. Definitely a recommended read for Lando fans!
In this story, Lando and Vuffi Raa are blackmailed into working with the police to track down a wealthy illegal drug-buyer, and must navigate the Flamewind - a beautiful yet deadly storm of multicolored radiation. Along the way, they have to contend with pirates, starfighters with a grudge, and Lando's old nemesis, the sorcerer Rokur Gepta.
It's a fun, thrilling adventure filled with Lando's usual charm and panache. Definitely a recommended read for Lando fans!
December 20, 2021
Well written, well thought out. Bit weird compared to modern Star Wars, but much of the lore was yet to be established.
Felt the authors political identity as a libertarian stood out, although, this was in all regards tastefully done.
To my great distaste though was the excessive usage of tobacco by all the characters. It both broke my immersion in the story as well as made it significant harder to empathize with the characters. If I hadn't deemed these required reading, I would have skipped out after the first book because of this.
Felt the authors political identity as a libertarian stood out, although, this was in all regards tastefully done.
To my great distaste though was the excessive usage of tobacco by all the characters. It both broke my immersion in the story as well as made it significant harder to empathize with the characters. If I hadn't deemed these required reading, I would have skipped out after the first book because of this.
December 28, 2023
I read the first one. I think this was a lot less successful and author is running out of ideas which makes me consider whether I will finish trilogy though the novels are pretty short. The interest is the relationship between Lando and his robot, here roped in (in exactly the same way as in novel 1) to participate in a police sting operation (doesn't make much sense). The super villain of the first novel is waiting for him instead (is that really necessary). The escape is facile. Interesting relationships being built with other participant police officers really don't go anywhere.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2025
I'd say another strong 3.5 stars. Really enjoying these adventures. A little episodic maybe, but again, a lot of fun. Looking back, I think Disney missed the boat and would've served themselves well adapting stories like this. Could've really capitalized on the younger gambler hijinks with the Millenium Falcon with a beloved character that with the right creative minds behind it could've fleshed out all kinds of new ground that has gone mostly unexplored. But unfortunately Disney, Star Wars, and the "right creative minds" have yet to satisfyingly coalesce.
January 12, 2020
The second entry in the Lando Calrissian trilogy is very marginally better than the first, because there isn't quite as much abstract spatial kookiness going on that absorbs a couple chapters of the book. There is instead, a barely-sensical crime plot, a tremendous fat man, a fairly pointless torture sequence, and some none-too-thrilling space travel. It's ok, and just that. The high points are mostly the brief climax and the sabacc, as usual.
November 30, 2020
I mean, this is fine, but except for the fact that he's Lando and flying the Millennium Falcon, it's pretty much just like every pulp space cowboy sort of book I've ever read. Also, for a guy who doesn't have money or much pull in the universe, how does everyone know who Lando is? I mean, he gets called to fly across the galaxy to play a card game, and it just seems like hardly anyone would ever have heard of him.
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