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Star Wars: Jedi Prince #5
La reine de l'Empire
The battle against the evil Empire rages on as heroic men, women, and aliens of the Rebel Alliance continue their struggle to end the era of darkness. But the ultimate defeat of the Imperial forces could come from within the Empire itself.The Imperial grand moffs are in revolt against the Prophets of the Dark Side. As the Alliance struggles with its latest weapon, project Decoy, Princess Leia is kidnapped by an old enemy, then menaced by the surprise appearance of another evil foe--one obsessed with tuming Leia to the Dark Side and making her the...
Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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About the author
Paul Davids
16 books8 followersPaul Jeffrey Davids is an American independent filmmaker and writer, especially in the area of science fiction. Often collaborating with his wife Hollace, Davids has written and directed several films. He has also written episodes for the television show Transformers, as well as a Star Wars spin-off book series for young readers, known informally as the Jedi Prince series.
The Davids have two children together, Jordan and Scott.
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Paul^^Davids
The Davids have two children together, Jordan and Scott.
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Paul^^Davids
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
July 25, 2020
7/23/20
Y’ALL I think the series peaked with this one. The writing has improved (it’s still not GREAT, but still), and there is enough batshit clownery to keep me invested.
This is where we really start to diverge from the Zahn Timeline, and, dare I say it…possibly for the better in some ways? I know, right? I’ll tell you more in the bullet points.
• “He then made the mistake of falling in love with Princess Leia.” FAM I don’t think I’d call it love. What is genuine love is my love for the very threatening vibes of this sentence lol.
• The Rebel facility on Dagobah has 13+ LEVELS. How long must it have taken to dig through 13+ levels of that bullshit mountain??? And then build stuff in it????
• Not for the first time, I think, someone asks “UH how did this literal child get the security clearance necessary to be in this room??” only for one of the OG trio to make a face at them and say some variation of “Ken is SPECIAL! He KNOWS SHIT!” like they’re the asshole. Ugh. Anyway.
• Rebel scientists have been working on a Human Replica Droid as a decoy for Leia and boy do I have Thoughts
o Why come only Leia gets a decoy? Why not Mon Mothma or Luke?
o IT SHOOTS FRICKIN LASER BEAMS OUT OF ITS FRICKIN EYES
o The demonstration of the above goes about as well as you would expect
o Is this really the book that introduced the concept of Human Replica Droids to the Star Wars universe hgsdjhsjd
o Chekov’s murder robot
o “’Meet Princess Leia Organa II.’”
• “’Threepio will make an excellent caretaker for Fandar while he recovers from his operation.’” WILL HE THO??? Also…they don’t even leave him at the hospital to do that?
• The Ecological Lesson of the Week has to do with greenhouse gases and global warming! It doesn’t have as much of an impact on the plot as past books, but still.
• “But Artoo kept rolling away, veering left and right like a drunken alien on hover skates.” This mental imagery is both delightfully vivid and very xenophobic
• The authors go out of their way multiple times to remind readers that Leia is Force sensitive, and they even have her refer to herself as a Jedi! My crops are watered and I am thriving. Four for you, Paul and Hollace Davids. You go, Paul and Hollace Davids.
• Han and Leia decide to elope and have aDisneyland Hologram Fun World wedding. I am not a fan of the name “Hologram Fun World” but OH WELL
• Han’s proposal is ASS. It is, at best, half a proposal. Still better than uhhhhh fuckin kidnapping her*.
• I’m pretty sure Hologram Fun World pops up in the Galaxy of Fear** series, but I never read them because I thought they’d be 2 spooky 4 me as a child. It’s so wild that this series connects with other Star Wars series in any way?? Anyway.
• Zorba’s financial advisor droid has a droid assistant and wears a suit but like the bottom half is shorts, and it’s honestly a Look?
• I think we took another shot at being feminist and…we missed
• “’Luke would love Hologram Fun World too,’ Han replied. ‘He’s always wanted to go hover-skiing down the side of an exploding volcano.’” LMAOOO this is a very specific, elaborate fantasy, but…also pretty on-brand, I guess. Luke Skywalker must have a buckwild bucket list.
• “THX Ultrasound Speakers” OK 1) I understood that reference, 2) “ULTRASOUND????”
• In the Star War, men do not get boring metal wedding bands. They get dope ones with gems in them too, and I am here for that.
• Also Lando runs HFW, thought that might worth mentioning. Good for him.
• AGAIN WITH THE ZOOCHBERRIES
• Han gets Leia a bouquet of purple roses, and ten-year-old Kristen thought that was Peak Romance. THEY’RE FUCKING PURPLE OKAY
• PLOT TWIST: the main antagonist in this on is Bureaucracy (because Han is a dipshit and did not think to bring along the important documents you would need when getting married lol)
• Leia gets stage fright, aw
• Leia has to come up with cover names for herself and Han and “Zelda Gizler” and “Zack Kluggerhorn” are what she comes up with???? And Han can’t contradict her lmaoooooo
• HFW security is just absolute garbage btw
• “’It’s a waste of time and precious energy that could be used for better things. Like eating.’” Zorba Gets It
• I wish someone would point out to the people threatening to feed them to sarlaccs that they would die of dehydration in like three days and would not, in fact, suffer for a thousand years. (Also please go look at this tumblr post if you haven’t already.)
• “The grand moffs were holding a secret conference – a Mofference.”
o MOFFERENCE! MOFFERENCE! MOFFERENCE!
o WoG is that this was supposed to be silly, although whether or not that’s true is up to you lol
o V disappointed that no other Star War authors took this and ran with it? Aaron Allston would have appreciated it, I think.
• Hmmmmm “confined to a hover-chair” sounds ableist, y’all. Don’t like that.
• The Dark Book of Imperial Justice*** coversdark weddings. What else does it cover, do you think? Parking violations? Mooka licensing?
• “’This could turn out to be like looking for a microchip lost in a field of zoochberries.’” W H A T
• “’Even now, I can detect the vibrations of her biorhythm.’” Is….is that a thing?? I don’t think that’s a thing. Sounds gross, tho
• Literally all Leia does is hurl verbal abuse at Trioculus, he is clearly Into That
• The Empire is so committed to its Aesthetic that it has goth weddings, sounds like. Also wives are property, gross.
• UHHH if you're the emperor, doesn't that make your wife an EMPRESS, not a queen???
• Leia rattles off a list people she’d like to have at her wedding annnnnd she names Ken before Chewie
• Han tries to argue for like, a no-guest wedding, and, according to him, Chewie isn’t a man, he’s a Wookiee, and therefore can’t be a best man and I guess doesn’t need an invite? I…we don’t have time to unpack all that. I’m so tired.
• Everyone needs to be nicer to Chewie, FUCK
• LET 👏 R2-D2 👏 BE 👏 BEST 👏 DROID
• Would you like another unfunny meme? Too bad, here it is
• I hope Trioculus doesn’t die yet. I know he eats it at some point between now and the end of the next one, but his wacky, horrible bullshit delights me, and I am not ready for him to go yet.
• Zorba was so fuckin nasty that tHE SARLACC SPIT HIM BACK OUT LMAOOOO
The only thing I remember about the next one is the ending, so yeah. Should be interesting.
*I wish I was kidding. I looked back at the kidnapping bit and it’s SO BAD, y’all. There’s even like this Chekov’s bullshit taser gun that makes the victim susceptible to persuasion~ that he (unpremeditatively, I hope) uses on Leia to get her onboard the Falcon and into the SECRET CARGO HOLD. Even Chewie thinks its bad enough to offer to beat the shit out of Han for her. Like this book introduces two dope matriarchal societies, but at what cost?
I honestly would have married Prince Beefcake out of spite at this point. Anyway.
**Star Wars, but make it Goosebumps
***In 1993, we didn’t know that the Empire had only been around like 20ish years. But in 2020 we DO, and that makes everything SO MUCH FUNNIER to me. If you choose to frame your reading experience this way, then they have all these Dark Rituals that have actually not been around that long and are Complete Bullshit and that delights me
~Fun fact! Wookieepedia says these are sometimes used as a means of execution: the person is zapped with it and then ordered to shoot themselves in the head! WHAT THE FUCK, GEORGE?
7/21/20
Brb with a review
Y’ALL I think the series peaked with this one. The writing has improved (it’s still not GREAT, but still), and there is enough batshit clownery to keep me invested.
This is where we really start to diverge from the Zahn Timeline, and, dare I say it…possibly for the better in some ways? I know, right? I’ll tell you more in the bullet points.
• “He then made the mistake of falling in love with Princess Leia.” FAM I don’t think I’d call it love. What is genuine love is my love for the very threatening vibes of this sentence lol.
• The Rebel facility on Dagobah has 13+ LEVELS. How long must it have taken to dig through 13+ levels of that bullshit mountain??? And then build stuff in it????
• Not for the first time, I think, someone asks “UH how did this literal child get the security clearance necessary to be in this room??” only for one of the OG trio to make a face at them and say some variation of “Ken is SPECIAL! He KNOWS SHIT!” like they’re the asshole. Ugh. Anyway.
• Rebel scientists have been working on a Human Replica Droid as a decoy for Leia and boy do I have Thoughts
o Why come only Leia gets a decoy? Why not Mon Mothma or Luke?
o IT SHOOTS FRICKIN LASER BEAMS OUT OF ITS FRICKIN EYES
o The demonstration of the above goes about as well as you would expect
o Is this really the book that introduced the concept of Human Replica Droids to the Star Wars universe hgsdjhsjd
o Chekov’s murder robot
o “’Meet Princess Leia Organa II.’”
• “’Threepio will make an excellent caretaker for Fandar while he recovers from his operation.’” WILL HE THO??? Also…they don’t even leave him at the hospital to do that?
• The Ecological Lesson of the Week has to do with greenhouse gases and global warming! It doesn’t have as much of an impact on the plot as past books, but still.
• “But Artoo kept rolling away, veering left and right like a drunken alien on hover skates.” This mental imagery is both delightfully vivid and very xenophobic
• The authors go out of their way multiple times to remind readers that Leia is Force sensitive, and they even have her refer to herself as a Jedi! My crops are watered and I am thriving. Four for you, Paul and Hollace Davids. You go, Paul and Hollace Davids.
• Han and Leia decide to elope and have a
• Han’s proposal is ASS. It is, at best, half a proposal. Still better than uhhhhh fuckin kidnapping her*.
• I’m pretty sure Hologram Fun World pops up in the Galaxy of Fear** series, but I never read them because I thought they’d be 2 spooky 4 me as a child. It’s so wild that this series connects with other Star Wars series in any way?? Anyway.
• Zorba’s financial advisor droid has a droid assistant and wears a suit but like the bottom half is shorts, and it’s honestly a Look?
• I think we took another shot at being feminist and…we missed
• “’Luke would love Hologram Fun World too,’ Han replied. ‘He’s always wanted to go hover-skiing down the side of an exploding volcano.’” LMAOOO this is a very specific, elaborate fantasy, but…also pretty on-brand, I guess. Luke Skywalker must have a buckwild bucket list.
• “THX Ultrasound Speakers” OK 1) I understood that reference, 2) “ULTRASOUND????”
• In the Star War, men do not get boring metal wedding bands. They get dope ones with gems in them too, and I am here for that.
• Also Lando runs HFW, thought that might worth mentioning. Good for him.
• AGAIN WITH THE ZOOCHBERRIES
• Han gets Leia a bouquet of purple roses, and ten-year-old Kristen thought that was Peak Romance. THEY’RE FUCKING PURPLE OKAY
• PLOT TWIST: the main antagonist in this on is Bureaucracy (because Han is a dipshit and did not think to bring along the important documents you would need when getting married lol)
• Leia gets stage fright, aw
• Leia has to come up with cover names for herself and Han and “Zelda Gizler” and “Zack Kluggerhorn” are what she comes up with???? And Han can’t contradict her lmaoooooo
• HFW security is just absolute garbage btw
• “’It’s a waste of time and precious energy that could be used for better things. Like eating.’” Zorba Gets It
• I wish someone would point out to the people threatening to feed them to sarlaccs that they would die of dehydration in like three days and would not, in fact, suffer for a thousand years. (Also please go look at this tumblr post if you haven’t already.)
• “The grand moffs were holding a secret conference – a Mofference.”
o MOFFERENCE! MOFFERENCE! MOFFERENCE!
o WoG is that this was supposed to be silly, although whether or not that’s true is up to you lol
o V disappointed that no other Star War authors took this and ran with it? Aaron Allston would have appreciated it, I think.
• Hmmmmm “confined to a hover-chair” sounds ableist, y’all. Don’t like that.
• The Dark Book of Imperial Justice*** covers
• “’This could turn out to be like looking for a microchip lost in a field of zoochberries.’” W H A T
• “’Even now, I can detect the vibrations of her biorhythm.’” Is….is that a thing?? I don’t think that’s a thing. Sounds gross, tho
• Literally all Leia does is hurl verbal abuse at Trioculus, he is clearly Into That
• The Empire is so committed to its Aesthetic that it has goth weddings, sounds like. Also wives are property, gross.
• UHHH if you're the emperor, doesn't that make your wife an EMPRESS, not a queen???
• Leia rattles off a list people she’d like to have at her wedding annnnnd she names Ken before Chewie
• Han tries to argue for like, a no-guest wedding, and, according to him, Chewie isn’t a man, he’s a Wookiee, and therefore can’t be a best man and I guess doesn’t need an invite? I…we don’t have time to unpack all that. I’m so tired.
• Everyone needs to be nicer to Chewie, FUCK
• LET 👏 R2-D2 👏 BE 👏 BEST 👏 DROID
• Would you like another unfunny meme? Too bad, here it is
• I hope Trioculus doesn’t die yet. I know he eats it at some point between now and the end of the next one, but his wacky, horrible bullshit delights me, and I am not ready for him to go yet.
• Zorba was so fuckin nasty that tHE SARLACC SPIT HIM BACK OUT LMAOOOO
The only thing I remember about the next one is the ending, so yeah. Should be interesting.
*I wish I was kidding. I looked back at the kidnapping bit and it’s SO BAD, y’all. There’s even like this Chekov’s bullshit taser gun that makes the victim susceptible to persuasion~ that he (unpremeditatively, I hope) uses on Leia to get her onboard the Falcon and into the SECRET CARGO HOLD. Even Chewie thinks its bad enough to offer to beat the shit out of Han for her. Like this book introduces two dope matriarchal societies, but at what cost?
I honestly would have married Prince Beefcake out of spite at this point. Anyway.
**Star Wars, but make it Goosebumps
***In 1993, we didn’t know that the Empire had only been around like 20ish years. But in 2020 we DO, and that makes everything SO MUCH FUNNIER to me. If you choose to frame your reading experience this way, then they have all these Dark Rituals that have actually not been around that long and are Complete Bullshit and that delights me
~Fun fact! Wookieepedia says these are sometimes used as a means of execution: the person is zapped with it and then ordered to shoot themselves in the head! WHAT THE FUCK, GEORGE?
7/21/20
Brb with a review
December 15, 2025
2,5 stars
it was such a fun hanleia story!
it was such a fun hanleia story!
December 28, 2019
I have to give this series a point of credit: They bring up environmental concerns in every book. On the other hand, they write out the sound effects and Artoo's beeps and whistles, so the books read like watching an old episode of "Batman".
The authors tied the series in with the Galaxy of Fear books, which is about what I would expect. They also place 1,138 THX speakers in a theme park, and call a conference of grand moffs a "mofference".
A MOFFERENCE.
This is indefensible, even for a juvenile book.
The authors tied the series in with the Galaxy of Fear books, which is about what I would expect. They also place 1,138 THX speakers in a theme park, and call a conference of grand moffs a "mofference".
A MOFFERENCE.
This is indefensible, even for a juvenile book.
March 12, 2022
Did I see the ending from a mile away... Yes. Did I enjoy this book... Maybe.
The more I read of this series, the more I realize that the sequel trilogy/canon borrows from legends, just wish that the section of legends or borrowed from wasn't this series.
The more I read of this series, the more I realize that the sequel trilogy/canon borrows from legends, just wish that the section of legends or borrowed from wasn't this series.
December 7, 2023
I have nothing even vaguely witty left to say. Kind stranger, heed this tale of woe from a weary traveler: there are only so many middlegrade books from 30 years ago a reasonable adult can consume at a time. Even a nostalgic attachment can't sustain this folly.
But there's just one left... surely I can rest my brittle, aching bones after that?
But there's just one left... surely I can rest my brittle, aching bones after that?
June 27, 2025
Either I got finally got more drawn into the story or this volume got noticeably better...
Or maybe it's because there was more Leia and Han Solo in it ;)
Either way, I liked the story of this one the most so far and hope the last, sixth, volume will be written in a similar vein.
It's still a quick, easy read with a simple plot but the dialogue has improved and I really liked some concepts introduced in this instalment like the Hologram Fun World (setting) or human-replica droids (character).
Or maybe it's because there was more Leia and Han Solo in it ;)
Either way, I liked the story of this one the most so far and hope the last, sixth, volume will be written in a similar vein.
It's still a quick, easy read with a simple plot but the dialogue has improved and I really liked some concepts introduced in this instalment like the Hologram Fun World (setting) or human-replica droids (character).
February 21, 2019
I stan a dark queen
December 10, 2025
I wasn't ready for this one... ok, Spoilers...
The plot of this one mostly revolves around Han attempting to elope with Leia by taking her to Holgram Fun World (run by Lando). It's a rollercoaster ride of poignant moments like Leia taking Han on a walk through holographic Alderaan, pure cringe of her wanting Han to say "bride and groom" instead of "husband and wife" cause it puts the woman first... and then delightful camp of Leia making up fake names like "Zelda Gizler" and "Zack Kluggerhorn" on the fly.
The Alliance has crafted a Human Replica droid of Leia that shoots lasers from her eyes. ...yup, replica of Leia that shoots laser from her eyes. Which nearly kills one of its makers, a Chadra-Fan scientist, as plot vehicle to Chad and our environmental issue.
Environmental issue introduced in this book is greenhouse gas effect, rather specifically targeting Lactil (space cow) poop. But it's only relevant for a chapter or two.
Like I suspected, Trioculus was alive. (Most realistic thing in the book is the museum display being a fake.) More shockingly, Hissa survived being melted in toxic waste, though he lost all his limbs, so he shows up in a hover chair with mechanical arms. Hissa is so excited that Trioculus is alive that it almost reads like a love scene.
Unfortunately for Hissa, Trioculus dies again after droid replacement Leia laser eyes him through the heart on their wedding day. Honestly the interplay between the different villains was the best part of this book. Zorba kidnaps Leia, Hissa captures Zorba, Trioculus betrays Zorba as payback for sticking him in carbonite, meanwhile the moffs are jockeying for power with prophets of the dark side.
Worst part of this book is our heroes just know stuff. Han is able to guess where Zorba takes Leia not because he finds clues but because he "knows how he thinks". Luke just shows up where Han and Leia had run away to and know things that happened shortly before because of rumors (which make less sense as Leia gave a false name before her kidnapping). Their infiltration of the Moffship is super easy, barely an inconvenience. Twelve-year-old Ken has no trouble overpowering a fully armed stormtrooper, and while there's a comic moment of him being way too short for a stormtrooper, this has no impact on the story.
Zorba continues to be a delight. He's tossed in the Sarlacc pit and escapes by giving the Sarlacc indigestion.
Triclops is pretty under utilized but continues to be an ominous enigma, who may have a split personality or may simply suffer from being overly Force sensitive... I find the latter possibility more interesting.
Only one book left. I'm hoping it manages to wrap up the series and doesn't just leave things hanging.
The plot of this one mostly revolves around Han attempting to elope with Leia by taking her to Holgram Fun World (run by Lando). It's a rollercoaster ride of poignant moments like Leia taking Han on a walk through holographic Alderaan, pure cringe of her wanting Han to say "bride and groom" instead of "husband and wife" cause it puts the woman first... and then delightful camp of Leia making up fake names like "Zelda Gizler" and "Zack Kluggerhorn" on the fly.
The Alliance has crafted a Human Replica droid of Leia that shoots lasers from her eyes. ...yup, replica of Leia that shoots laser from her eyes. Which nearly kills one of its makers, a Chadra-Fan scientist, as plot vehicle to Chad and our environmental issue.
Environmental issue introduced in this book is greenhouse gas effect, rather specifically targeting Lactil (space cow) poop. But it's only relevant for a chapter or two.
Like I suspected, Trioculus was alive. (Most realistic thing in the book is the museum display being a fake.) More shockingly, Hissa survived being melted in toxic waste, though he lost all his limbs, so he shows up in a hover chair with mechanical arms. Hissa is so excited that Trioculus is alive that it almost reads like a love scene.
Unfortunately for Hissa, Trioculus dies again after droid replacement Leia laser eyes him through the heart on their wedding day. Honestly the interplay between the different villains was the best part of this book. Zorba kidnaps Leia, Hissa captures Zorba, Trioculus betrays Zorba as payback for sticking him in carbonite, meanwhile the moffs are jockeying for power with prophets of the dark side.
Worst part of this book is our heroes just know stuff. Han is able to guess where Zorba takes Leia not because he finds clues but because he "knows how he thinks". Luke just shows up where Han and Leia had run away to and know things that happened shortly before because of rumors (which make less sense as Leia gave a false name before her kidnapping). Their infiltration of the Moffship is super easy, barely an inconvenience. Twelve-year-old Ken has no trouble overpowering a fully armed stormtrooper, and while there's a comic moment of him being way too short for a stormtrooper, this has no impact on the story.
Zorba continues to be a delight. He's tossed in the Sarlacc pit and escapes by giving the Sarlacc indigestion.
Triclops is pretty under utilized but continues to be an ominous enigma, who may have a split personality or may simply suffer from being overly Force sensitive... I find the latter possibility more interesting.
Only one book left. I'm hoping it manages to wrap up the series and doesn't just leave things hanging.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 26, 2022
I must hate myself and feel the need for self flagellation because even though I hate this series and continue to be shocked at just how shitty Star Wars could be, I still keep reading the “Jedi Prince” expecting different results.
I guess I must be the poster child for insanity.
Regardless, Queen of the Empire is the perfect example of just how awful Star Wars was in the early 90’s. Yes, this series was geared toward a younger audience, but still, that’s no excuse for the sheer garbage it is.
The story is absolute crap, with dumbed down versions of Luke, Han, Leia, and everyone else. They do asinine things, go on pointless missions, and face some of the stupidest antagonists masquerading as “evil” Imperials. And of course, since this is an early 90’s young reader novel, it just HAS to have some thinly veiled PSA about environmentalism that has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the ridiculously moronic plot.
Seriously, even for hardcore Star Wars lit fans, this, and the rest of the Jedi Prince series are complete wastes of time. And yet, since I’m a glutton for making myself miserable, I’ll still end up reading the next one.
I guess I must be the poster child for insanity.
Regardless, Queen of the Empire is the perfect example of just how awful Star Wars was in the early 90’s. Yes, this series was geared toward a younger audience, but still, that’s no excuse for the sheer garbage it is.
The story is absolute crap, with dumbed down versions of Luke, Han, Leia, and everyone else. They do asinine things, go on pointless missions, and face some of the stupidest antagonists masquerading as “evil” Imperials. And of course, since this is an early 90’s young reader novel, it just HAS to have some thinly veiled PSA about environmentalism that has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the ridiculously moronic plot.
Seriously, even for hardcore Star Wars lit fans, this, and the rest of the Jedi Prince series are complete wastes of time. And yet, since I’m a glutton for making myself miserable, I’ll still end up reading the next one.
October 7, 2021
Please this scene between Han and Luke was just 🥺
"Aha!" Han exclaimed. "The real Leia would know it’s not a surprise, because I already saw the ring when we were in the jewelry store. You’re the Project Decoy Human Replica Droid." Suddenly Luke Skywalker popped out from behind the large, horizontal stabilizer at the rear of the cockpit. "I never could fool you, Han," Luke said. Ken poked his head out too, smiling with delight at being able to surprise Han and Lando.
And we get this delightful line from Han concerning Zorba: "That slimy, foul, disgusting, ugly, odorous, slobbering, dirty rotten slug!"
Han proposes an elopement to Leia in this book! So we know how that happened, but even then he still couldn't stop thinking of Luke 🥰: "Luke would love Hologram Fun World too," Han replied. "He’s always wanted to go hover-skiing down the side of an exploding volcano." may just be one of my favourite quotes ever. And Leia says how she wants Luke to give her away at her wedding 🥺
And wow that abrupt ending really threw me, but in a good way!
"Aha!" Han exclaimed. "The real Leia would know it’s not a surprise, because I already saw the ring when we were in the jewelry store. You’re the Project Decoy Human Replica Droid." Suddenly Luke Skywalker popped out from behind the large, horizontal stabilizer at the rear of the cockpit. "I never could fool you, Han," Luke said. Ken poked his head out too, smiling with delight at being able to surprise Han and Lando.
And we get this delightful line from Han concerning Zorba: "That slimy, foul, disgusting, ugly, odorous, slobbering, dirty rotten slug!"
Han proposes an elopement to Leia in this book! So we know how that happened, but even then he still couldn't stop thinking of Luke 🥰: "Luke would love Hologram Fun World too," Han replied. "He’s always wanted to go hover-skiing down the side of an exploding volcano." may just be one of my favourite quotes ever. And Leia says how she wants Luke to give her away at her wedding 🥺
And wow that abrupt ending really threw me, but in a good way!
October 29, 2021
What do you call a conference where a bunch of Grand Moffs gather? Clearly, it's a Mofference. That's the title of chapter 6.
I get this book is aimed at young readers. But man, some of these in-universe jokes are so... bad. The only redeeming things about this installment were that . But then there were the awful things. Lando refusing to because the office where they need to fill out the paperwork was closed for the evening. Plus.... Human Replica Droid and her malfunctioning laser eyes! I'm not even kidding.
Thankfully there is only one left of this series. I know I'm torturing myself and my loved ones nearby when I read this. But I have to focus on the goal. READ... THEM ("Legends" books) ... ALL...
I get this book is aimed at young readers. But man, some of these in-universe jokes are so... bad. The only redeeming things about this installment were that . But then there were the awful things. Lando refusing to because the office where they need to fill out the paperwork was closed for the evening. Plus.... Human Replica Droid and her malfunctioning laser eyes! I'm not even kidding.
Thankfully there is only one left of this series. I know I'm torturing myself and my loved ones nearby when I read this. But I have to focus on the goal. READ... THEM ("Legends" books) ... ALL...
May 26, 2025
(4.5 stars)
It's exciting to be reading these again. I didn't remember much about this one.
Hologram Fun World was an interesting idea. I really wanted more details about that park.
The missions by Han and friends were very exciting.
Some amusing moments that nodded to parts of the movies without saying the lines.
A fan appreciates stuff like that. (ex: aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?)
I like Zorba's big laugh and how it's typed in caps.
(spoiler)
It's kind of funny how in Star Wars so many characters are not
dead afterall... lol. They survive often.
Hissa and Trioculus, no to mention Zorba all survived at some point... lol.
Of course Zorba doesn't taste good to the Sarlacc... lol.
The replica droid for Leia was clever. I like that better than a doppleganger human character.
Han's suggestion that they elope was cute.
Lando owning the Hologram World lol, he always seems to land on his feet.
It's exciting to be reading these again. I didn't remember much about this one.
Hologram Fun World was an interesting idea. I really wanted more details about that park.
The missions by Han and friends were very exciting.
Some amusing moments that nodded to parts of the movies without saying the lines.
A fan appreciates stuff like that. (ex: aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?)
I like Zorba's big laugh and how it's typed in caps.
(spoiler)
It's kind of funny how in Star Wars so many characters are not
dead afterall... lol. They survive often.
Hissa and Trioculus, no to mention Zorba all survived at some point... lol.
Of course Zorba doesn't taste good to the Sarlacc... lol.
The replica droid for Leia was clever. I like that better than a doppleganger human character.
Han's suggestion that they elope was cute.
Lando owning the Hologram World lol, he always seems to land on his feet.
January 29, 2021
There is no force on Earth that could ever get me to believe that Princess Leia would agree to elope to Hologram Fun World. That in itself is enough to merit the one star rating, as this series reverts to type... that type being perhaps the dumbest children's series I have ever read. Only one more of these terrible books to go, thank goodness, then I can get on to the rest of the tie-in novels.
I note, in an aside, that the authors themselves have become so bored with their twelve year old Jedi Prince Ken that he hardly appears in this volume. Maybe he fell into the Sarlacc. He can take this version of Leia with him. It would only be an improvement.
I note, in an aside, that the authors themselves have become so bored with their twelve year old Jedi Prince Ken that he hardly appears in this volume. Maybe he fell into the Sarlacc. He can take this version of Leia with him. It would only be an improvement.
December 29, 2025
Star Wars: Legends: Jedi Prince 05 Queen of the Empire by Hollace Davids, Paul Davids
3.0 Stars
adventurous
Fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
Interesting story, but nothing to write home about.
I'm just in "let's just finish this series" mode, for the stories are average (at best). I want them to be amazing, so I'm disappointed with the results.
Odd things happen (on the marriage front), but you really don't need to know about that. Honestly. Ugh.
Okay, on to the last book in this series. Thank goodness.
3.0 Stars
adventurous
Fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
Interesting story, but nothing to write home about.
I'm just in "let's just finish this series" mode, for the stories are average (at best). I want them to be amazing, so I'm disappointed with the results.
Odd things happen (on the marriage front), but you really don't need to know about that. Honestly. Ugh.
Okay, on to the last book in this series. Thank goodness.
April 3, 2024
Queen of the Empire (Star Wars: Jedi Prince #5) by Paul and Hollace Davids.
Basic storylines: The Imperial Grand Moffs are revolting against the Prophets of the Dark Side. Princess Leia has been kidnapped and menaced by an evil foe that is obsessed with turning her to the dark side and making her the Queen of the Empire.
This story even includes a decoy droid that appears as Princess Leia. Another very lackluster story. I gave it 2 stars.
#MiddleGradeMarch2024.
Basic storylines: The Imperial Grand Moffs are revolting against the Prophets of the Dark Side. Princess Leia has been kidnapped and menaced by an evil foe that is obsessed with turning her to the dark side and making her the Queen of the Empire.
This story even includes a decoy droid that appears as Princess Leia. Another very lackluster story. I gave it 2 stars.
#MiddleGradeMarch2024.
April 28, 2021
Uhhhhhhh, right. So in this one Han and Leia try to elope to Hologram Fun World, which sounds like some crappy theme park in a George Saunders story, and wind up not getting married. Oh and there's more Trioculus when you were sure there wouldn't be, and it's still unclear what's going on with Triclops. Some great Zorba the Hutt moments here make up for ring shopping with Han and Leia...
Read
August 25, 2025Okay, this is the funniest one and it's not close. Hologram Fun World? Mrs. Zack Kluggerhorn? THE MOFFERENCE????
I remember when I was a kid, I loved looking at the picture where robot Leia shoots Trioculus with her laser eyes. Robot Leia was really all I remembered from this one. But once again, the description of him laying on the floor dying was crazy visceral for a kid's book LOL
I remember when I was a kid, I loved looking at the picture where robot Leia shoots Trioculus with her laser eyes. Robot Leia was really all I remembered from this one. But once again, the description of him laying on the floor dying was crazy visceral for a kid's book LOL
February 4, 2023
Not great, not terrible. A step back with how foolish Trioculus actually is but quite the reverse with Zorba.
Hologram Fun World was an interesting concept but I doubt it went much further than this story.
Hologram Fun World was an interesting concept but I doubt it went much further than this story.
November 1, 2017
Quick read but nothing special. Star Wars fans will enjoy it.
September 12, 2019
Every way this could possibly be bad, it was.
December 1, 2020
2.5 (not as cringey as the first few, but still cringey. Especially with the not-cows XD).
July 20, 2021
Classic and quirky SW tale.
December 19, 2022
Once again, potential in the story, absolutely squandered. Very disappointing.
November 10, 2025
This book makes THX speakers and Hologram Fun World cannon in starwars. Truly terrible.
December 30, 2025
another fun entry to this series. excited for the next book
January 1, 2023
Star Wars Legends Project #319
Background: Queen of the Empire was written by Paul Davids and Hollace Davids and published in March of 1993. It is the fifth book in the Jedi Prince series. The Davids wrote the whole series.
Queen of the Empire begins just after Mission from Mount Yoda (my review), a year after the Battle of Endor (5 years after the battle of Yavin). The main characters are Ken the Jedi Prince, Luke, Leia, Han, Lando, Artoo, Threepio, and Chewie, plus the evil Trioculus, Zorba the Hutt, et al. The story takes place on Bespin, Dagobah, Chad, Tatooine, and Hologram Fun World.
Summary: Having rescued Triclops, the *true* son of Emperor Palpatine, from an Imperial prison and secured his promise to help them take down the Empire for good, the Alliance hits a snag when a new secret weapon malfunctions, sending Han and Leia racing away on an urgent mission. One thing leads to another, and a series of misadventures lands them in danger after danger, as many old enemies resurface to try and bring their evil plans to fruition.
Review: It probably doesn't make sense to say that a series like this, which never had any pretensions of even being tolerable or of average quality, has "jumped the shark," but that conveys something of the energy on display here. This is a "story" (it isn't a story, but I don't have a better word to describe this loosely connected series of occurrences) firing wildly and with total abandon in every possible direction, just trying to fill a pre-determined number of pages with enough words to be done. The "secret weapon" that I mentioned above is a deadly assassin droid who looks exactly like Princess Leia, and it immediately almost murders the scientist that developed it. So Han and Leia have to rush the scientist to his home planet, because the Alliance doesn't have adequate medical facilities for him, and then they almost die in a hurricane, which scares Han into convincing Leia to elope with him . . . at Hologram Fun World, which is now run by Lando, since he lost his Cloud City holdings to Zorba the Hutt 2 books ago. And things just spin out in ever more surreal directions from there.
Oh, and the hurricane . . . Right. That brings me to this book's random environmental concern. We'll let Han and Threepio take this one:
"It's because of the Lactils. They've got so many of those smelly milk-producing creatures on this planet, the situation is now totally out of control. [...] It may be good for Chad, from a business point of view, that they're now the dairy capital of the galaxy, but no one ever stopped to consider that Lactils exhale enormous quantities of methane gas. And too much methane is bad news for the upper atmosphere."
[...]
"Goodness," Threepio translated, "Artoo has made a startling calculation using advanced spectrographic analysis. He's concluded that so much methane gas has polluted the upper atmosphere, it's caused a terrible greenhouse effect on Chad. The planet is overheated, consequently warming up the seas and warm oceans give rise to violent hurricanes."
I don't even know what to say about that, so I'll just leave it there. And that's pretty much the whole extent of it for this book. I can't believe they're even phoning that aspect of this series in at this point.
And then there's this:
"Soon they would be at Hologram Fun World together. [...] There, they could live every fantasy they had ever had, from waterskiing off the edge of a thousand-foot waterfall, to surfboarding on a river of burning lava."
... Those are the first 2 fantasies that come to mind? Like, whose fantasies are those? Oh:
"Luke would love Hologram Fun World too," Han replied. "He's always wanted to go hoverskiing down the side of an exploding volcano."
He has??? When and how did this come up? What other sorts of attractions does this place have?
"They have a hologram flower grotto with flowers from every planet east of Endor and west of Tatooine."
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!?! An AI could outwrite these two idiots. Like, not even a modern one. Whatever they had in the early-'90s. A Markov chain generator. Anything.
“The moffs were holding a secret conference—a Mofference.”
*incoherent scream of despair* There's only one book left, but I don't know if I can do it. This series might just break me.
F
Background: Queen of the Empire was written by Paul Davids and Hollace Davids and published in March of 1993. It is the fifth book in the Jedi Prince series. The Davids wrote the whole series.
Queen of the Empire begins just after Mission from Mount Yoda (my review), a year after the Battle of Endor (5 years after the battle of Yavin). The main characters are Ken the Jedi Prince, Luke, Leia, Han, Lando, Artoo, Threepio, and Chewie, plus the evil Trioculus, Zorba the Hutt, et al. The story takes place on Bespin, Dagobah, Chad, Tatooine, and Hologram Fun World.
Summary: Having rescued Triclops, the *true* son of Emperor Palpatine, from an Imperial prison and secured his promise to help them take down the Empire for good, the Alliance hits a snag when a new secret weapon malfunctions, sending Han and Leia racing away on an urgent mission. One thing leads to another, and a series of misadventures lands them in danger after danger, as many old enemies resurface to try and bring their evil plans to fruition.
Review: It probably doesn't make sense to say that a series like this, which never had any pretensions of even being tolerable or of average quality, has "jumped the shark," but that conveys something of the energy on display here. This is a "story" (it isn't a story, but I don't have a better word to describe this loosely connected series of occurrences) firing wildly and with total abandon in every possible direction, just trying to fill a pre-determined number of pages with enough words to be done. The "secret weapon" that I mentioned above is a deadly assassin droid who looks exactly like Princess Leia, and it immediately almost murders the scientist that developed it. So Han and Leia have to rush the scientist to his home planet, because the Alliance doesn't have adequate medical facilities for him, and then they almost die in a hurricane, which scares Han into convincing Leia to elope with him . . . at Hologram Fun World, which is now run by Lando, since he lost his Cloud City holdings to Zorba the Hutt 2 books ago. And things just spin out in ever more surreal directions from there.
Oh, and the hurricane . . . Right. That brings me to this book's random environmental concern. We'll let Han and Threepio take this one:
"It's because of the Lactils. They've got so many of those smelly milk-producing creatures on this planet, the situation is now totally out of control. [...] It may be good for Chad, from a business point of view, that they're now the dairy capital of the galaxy, but no one ever stopped to consider that Lactils exhale enormous quantities of methane gas. And too much methane is bad news for the upper atmosphere."
[...]
"Goodness," Threepio translated, "Artoo has made a startling calculation using advanced spectrographic analysis. He's concluded that so much methane gas has polluted the upper atmosphere, it's caused a terrible greenhouse effect on Chad. The planet is overheated, consequently warming up the seas and warm oceans give rise to violent hurricanes."
I don't even know what to say about that, so I'll just leave it there. And that's pretty much the whole extent of it for this book. I can't believe they're even phoning that aspect of this series in at this point.
And then there's this:
"Soon they would be at Hologram Fun World together. [...] There, they could live every fantasy they had ever had, from waterskiing off the edge of a thousand-foot waterfall, to surfboarding on a river of burning lava."
... Those are the first 2 fantasies that come to mind? Like, whose fantasies are those? Oh:
"Luke would love Hologram Fun World too," Han replied. "He's always wanted to go hoverskiing down the side of an exploding volcano."
He has??? When and how did this come up? What other sorts of attractions does this place have?
"They have a hologram flower grotto with flowers from every planet east of Endor and west of Tatooine."
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!?! An AI could outwrite these two idiots. Like, not even a modern one. Whatever they had in the early-'90s. A Markov chain generator. Anything.
“The moffs were holding a secret conference—a Mofference.”
*incoherent scream of despair* There's only one book left, but I don't know if I can do it. This series might just break me.
F
January 28, 2016
I'd go with 2.5 stars, but I'm rounding up simply for sentimentality's sake. This is certainly the weakest of the series, though some of it is understandable in that it is trying to be a bit lighthearted before the big slam-bang finish up next. In a way, though, structurally, this book is impressive since the beginning events and ending events mirror each other well - and though we just said it was the most lighthearted and goofiest of the entries, it begins and ends with rather serious occurrences. Another weakness is the dialogue, which has always been a bit of an issue for this series (and all Star Wars books, pretty much), but this time some of the characters say and do things that don't always feel all that consistent. The coincidences of characters all showing up at the same place is another regular trope in this series, but here it feels even more forced and convenient than usual, especially with Ken and Luke just showing up in the nick of time at the end with the HRD and whatnot. Finding Lando as an administrator of a new planet is a good part of the book, in that is shows us a little "passage of time" idea and how resourceful Lando is: he doesn't depend on the Alliance for everything all the time. That was probably the best part of the book, even though it is tied in to some rather silly sorts of things (like Han and Leia eloping at a Hologram Amusement Park thing). The Triclops subplot gets a little momentum, and the Trioculus plot is taken in very unexpected directions, so those are good. The Ecological Problem of the Week is barely mentioned, and rather weird, dealing sort of with the weather effects of having too many milk-producing bats or something like that. I'm not quite sure what it was, but it only effects the Falcon for a bit (cleverly tying in to moments of the last story, briefly) and our heroes don't even bother trying to address it or consider it and it's over before the third chapter. Overall, some good moments, and some rather shocking and surprising twists at the end, but despite some clever structure and Lando moments, it's on the whole the weakest of the bunch (but, hey, one of them had to be).
March 17, 2016
My ten year old son Kile and I are continuing to read this Star Wars series written for children. It was written in the 90’s so it is no longer canon, but Kile doesn’t care. We are both enjoying the adventure story and the pictures.
In Queen of the Empire, Han proposes to Leia and Lando convinces them to get married on Fun World. Unfortunately Zorba the Hutt also decides to visit Fun World at the same time and is dismayed to find his son Jabba’s murderer, Princess Leia, still alive. All heck breaks loose at this point, and there is much action with a plot full of twists and turns.
Kile and I both enjoyed this installment in the series. Although Kile missed Ken (the Jedi prince) being a large part of the story. Hopefully he will be back in book six, the last book in the series. I like that it is a fun adventure that keeps Kile and I interested in a new Star Wars story.
My favorite quote: “I never murdered anyone,” Leia said defiantly. “I’m a diplomat. I believe on should settle disputes using peaceful negotiations – unless one is attacked and has to defend herself.”
Book Source: The Kewaunee Public Library
This review was first posted on my blog at: http://lauragerold.blogspot.com/2016/...
In Queen of the Empire, Han proposes to Leia and Lando convinces them to get married on Fun World. Unfortunately Zorba the Hutt also decides to visit Fun World at the same time and is dismayed to find his son Jabba’s murderer, Princess Leia, still alive. All heck breaks loose at this point, and there is much action with a plot full of twists and turns.
Kile and I both enjoyed this installment in the series. Although Kile missed Ken (the Jedi prince) being a large part of the story. Hopefully he will be back in book six, the last book in the series. I like that it is a fun adventure that keeps Kile and I interested in a new Star Wars story.
My favorite quote: “I never murdered anyone,” Leia said defiantly. “I’m a diplomat. I believe on should settle disputes using peaceful negotiations – unless one is attacked and has to defend herself.”
Book Source: The Kewaunee Public Library
This review was first posted on my blog at: http://lauragerold.blogspot.com/2016/...
December 14, 2016
I read that the Davids felt these books span a 5-year period.
Nothing in the book makes it seem as if it's 5 years after ROTJ.
I feel like everything is Corellian-made. It's like Corellians and Alderaanians are the only humans in the damn galaxy.
Han wanted to elope makes sense, but I don't like how he TOLD Leia and she just went along with it. That's so OOC. So is Chewie not wanting to come to save Han.
3PO wouldn't want to experience Hologram Fun World at all.
I like the inclusion of the HRD.
Nothing in the book makes it seem as if it's 5 years after ROTJ.
I feel like everything is Corellian-made. It's like Corellians and Alderaanians are the only humans in the damn galaxy.
Han wanted to elope makes sense, but I don't like how he TOLD Leia and she just went along with it. That's so OOC. So is Chewie not wanting to come to save Han.
3PO wouldn't want to experience Hologram Fun World at all.
I like the inclusion of the HRD.
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