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Star Wars: The Han Solo Adventures #1
Han Solo at Star's End
Han Solo was a trampfreighter captain, a smuggler and a free-lance lawbender when it suited him. Together with his Wookiee pal, Chewbacca, he roamed the galaxy in the starship Millennium Falcon, owing nothing to anyone—human, 'droid or otherwise. If the Authority took a dim view of some of his activities, well, that was the Authority's problem.
Or so Han Solo thought.
Then the Authority informed him he would have to bring the Millennium Falcon up to certain specific technical standards. "Safety standards," they had said—but Han knew better.
He also knew a safe planet where Doc fixed up starships—no questions asked—and turned a blind eye to super-sophisticated jamming equipment he might find on an old freighter.
Unfortunately Doc had disappeared. Totally.
His daughter Jessa was willing to make the necessary repairs on the Millennium Falcon; she was even willing to provide Han with the waiver that would keep investigators out of his starship for a long time. All Han and Chewbacca had to do was pick up some undercover agents at the Authority Data Center on Orron III and then find Jessa's father.
Han wasn't particularly thrilled with the idea, but he didn't have much choice. Only the knowledge that as soon as this little pick-up-and-delivery job was finished they would be free for a long, long time made the mission bearable.
Or so Han Solo thought.
Then the Authority informed him he would have to bring the Millennium Falcon up to certain specific technical standards. "Safety standards," they had said—but Han knew better.
He also knew a safe planet where Doc fixed up starships—no questions asked—and turned a blind eye to super-sophisticated jamming equipment he might find on an old freighter.
Unfortunately Doc had disappeared. Totally.
His daughter Jessa was willing to make the necessary repairs on the Millennium Falcon; she was even willing to provide Han with the waiver that would keep investigators out of his starship for a long time. All Han and Chewbacca had to do was pick up some undercover agents at the Authority Data Center on Orron III and then find Jessa's father.
Han wasn't particularly thrilled with the idea, but he didn't have much choice. Only the knowledge that as soon as this little pick-up-and-delivery job was finished they would be free for a long, long time made the mission bearable.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
42 people are currently reading
2069 people want to read
About the author
Brian Daley
47 books97 followersBrian was born in Englewood Hospital in Englewood, New Jersey on Dec. 22, 1947. A blizzard kept him and his mother at the hospital over Christmas, and the nurses sang "Away in a Manger" to them.
His middle name is Charles. He grew up in Rockleigh, NJ. His mother's name was Myra and his father's name was Charles. He has an older brother, David, and a younger sister, also named Myra. He had no children of his own, but he was always great with his two nieces and four nephews.
He went to Nathan Hale Elementary School in Norwood, NJ, and a consolidated High School - Northern Valley Regional High School in Old Tappan, NJ.
Brian loved to read, drive his '74 Corvette Stingray, spend summers with me on Martha's Vineyard, and travel to wild and exotic places like the jungles of Guatemala and Mexico, and the mountains of Nepal.
He said he wanted to write from an early age, about third grade. He also read a LOT of science fiction as a kid, and that inspired him.
After he graduated from high school in 1965 he joined the army and went to Vietnam for a year's tour of duty. Then he went to Berlin, Germany.
After the army he went to Jersey City State College, majoring in media. While attending college and working as a waiter at a local steak house, he also wrote his first novel, Doomfarers of Coromande. Del Rey Books accepted it and started him on his writing career. The editor picked Brian's manuscript out of the "slush" pile (unsolicited manuscripts) because it was the most neatly typed, but it wasn't accepted right away. The editor made Brian do a lot of re-writing.
When the first STAR WARS movie came out Brian saw it, and he was elated. He said he came out of the theater fundamentally changed. His editor asked which character he would like to write about for a movie-related novel. Brian said he picked Han Solo because Han was the only one who made a moral decision... he started out on the wrong side of the law, but joined with the good guys. And to tell you the truth, Brian was a whole lot like Han, a maverick.
He died of pancreatic cancer in February of 1996. He had just turned 49. He wrote the adaptation for National Public Radio drama THE RETURN OF THE JEDI while he was undergoing chemotherapy. He died at his house in Maryland the night the Jedi radio cast was toasting him at their wrap party, having finished the taping of the shows that day.
When they posted the notice of his death, messages began coming in from all over the world. The gist of them was that his passing created a "disturbance in the Force."
Brian Daley's first novel, The Doomfarers of Coramonde, was published on the first Del Rey list in 1977. It was an immediate success, and Brian went on to write its sequel, The Starfollowers of Coramonde, and many other successful novels: A Tapestry of Magics, three volumes of The Adventures of Hobart Floyt and Alacrity Fitzhugh, and, under the shared pseudonym 'Jack McKinney', ten and one half of the twenty-one Robotech novels. He first conceived of the complex GammaL.A.W. saga in Nepal, in 1984, and worked on its four volumes for the next twelve years, finishing it shortly before his death in 1996.
His middle name is Charles. He grew up in Rockleigh, NJ. His mother's name was Myra and his father's name was Charles. He has an older brother, David, and a younger sister, also named Myra. He had no children of his own, but he was always great with his two nieces and four nephews.
He went to Nathan Hale Elementary School in Norwood, NJ, and a consolidated High School - Northern Valley Regional High School in Old Tappan, NJ.
Brian loved to read, drive his '74 Corvette Stingray, spend summers with me on Martha's Vineyard, and travel to wild and exotic places like the jungles of Guatemala and Mexico, and the mountains of Nepal.
He said he wanted to write from an early age, about third grade. He also read a LOT of science fiction as a kid, and that inspired him.
After he graduated from high school in 1965 he joined the army and went to Vietnam for a year's tour of duty. Then he went to Berlin, Germany.
After the army he went to Jersey City State College, majoring in media. While attending college and working as a waiter at a local steak house, he also wrote his first novel, Doomfarers of Coromande. Del Rey Books accepted it and started him on his writing career. The editor picked Brian's manuscript out of the "slush" pile (unsolicited manuscripts) because it was the most neatly typed, but it wasn't accepted right away. The editor made Brian do a lot of re-writing.
When the first STAR WARS movie came out Brian saw it, and he was elated. He said he came out of the theater fundamentally changed. His editor asked which character he would like to write about for a movie-related novel. Brian said he picked Han Solo because Han was the only one who made a moral decision... he started out on the wrong side of the law, but joined with the good guys. And to tell you the truth, Brian was a whole lot like Han, a maverick.
He died of pancreatic cancer in February of 1996. He had just turned 49. He wrote the adaptation for National Public Radio drama THE RETURN OF THE JEDI while he was undergoing chemotherapy. He died at his house in Maryland the night the Jedi radio cast was toasting him at their wrap party, having finished the taping of the shows that day.
When they posted the notice of his death, messages began coming in from all over the world. The gist of them was that his passing created a "disturbance in the Force."
Brian Daley's first novel, The Doomfarers of Coramonde, was published on the first Del Rey list in 1977. It was an immediate success, and Brian went on to write its sequel, The Starfollowers of Coramonde, and many other successful novels: A Tapestry of Magics, three volumes of The Adventures of Hobart Floyt and Alacrity Fitzhugh, and, under the shared pseudonym 'Jack McKinney', ten and one half of the twenty-one Robotech novels. He first conceived of the complex GammaL.A.W. saga in Nepal, in 1984, and worked on its four volumes for the next twelve years, finishing it shortly before his death in 1996.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 227 reviews
December 27, 2011
AC Crispin does herself no favours in my estimation in Han Solo: Rebel Dawn. Her books were just fine up until Interlude One, where she suddenly offers up a shitty encapsulation of Brian Daley's Han Solo at Star's End.
I am not sure why she couldn't simply have finished her story before the Star's End adventure happened (but I haven't finished her book either. I paused my reading so that I could read Daley's book, so I will return to her book tonight), but since I had the Daley books handy, she nudged me into reading the source of the interlude, and it would have been better for Crispin's Han Solo if I hadn't been diverted.
See my Han Solo love runs deep. It burst out fully formed in 1977 when I watched him blow away Greedo, then nonchalnatly toss a credit to the barkeep, saying, "Sorry about the mess." My Han Solo was a genuine criminal. A drug running, pragmatic, mercenary S.O.B., whose only redeeming qualities were charm, skill and loyalty. And it was the latter which would lead him into becoming the only Star Wars character with a genuine arc. Come Empire Strikes Back, Han Solo found himself sucked into the Rebellion with a burgeoning love for Leia and a feeling of responsibility for Luke. Once there his other natural gifts flourished, and he began to change in a logical, believable way. He slowly became a "good man."
Unfortunately, much of that was undermined in Return of the Jedi when Solo began to make decisions that made no sense at all -- like giving Lando, his betrayer, the Falcon, behaving like an idiot schoolboy in his relationship with Leia, and behaving like a knob everywhen else (and it didn't help at all that Lucas had Solo dispatch Boba Fett through sheer luck rather than ruthlessness or skill).
The message of Return of the Jedi (particularly when coupled with Lucas's later decision to have Greedo shoot first) was that Han Solo was weak, and he'd always been a good man. He just hadn't been surrounded by the right people. And that's the Han that AC Crispin loves and embraces. Don't get me wrong. That Han's okay, and I was enjoying reading about him. And Crispin genuinely loves that Han. But that Han is not my Solo, and I miss the character I fell in love with as a kid.
Crispin led me back to him, though.
He is fully present in Daley's Han Solo at Star's End. A little more hard SciFi than contemporary Star Wars books, along with clunkier dialogue and a heavy reliance on space tech, the first in Daley's trilogy was published in 1979 -- one year before Empire Strikes Back appeared on screens -- and it breathes freely without the density of the now massive Star Wars canon. So Daley's Han Solo is the original Han Solo. His Han Solo is still the Han Solo who would publicly execute a bounty hunter without remorse, and go charging after a pack of stormtroopers at the heart of the Empire's ulimate weapon.
And what does this original Han Solo do in Daley's book? Well, he cares first and foremost about his ship, which is right and proper; he cares next about Chewbacca; and these loyalties, the Falcon and Chewie, embroil him in the Star's End adventure -- not some bullshit, post-Empire apologetic idealism. And while he's busy improving the Falcon and saving Chewie from some nasty torture, he vents a traitor into space with brutal pragmatism. He kills anyone who gets in the way of his goals, and aids anyone who can help him achieve the same. He slaughters hundreds, maybe thousands of prisoners with a split second decision that is good only for him and his closest friends, then saves a droid to which he's suddenly become loyal over the course of his adventure. He does what is good for Solo, and everything else can suck his vapour trail.
This isn't just Daley's Han Solo. This is my Han Solo, and it was nice to have him back, even if it was only for one hundred and eighty pages. But now I am faced with the prospect of returning to George Lucas' butchered Han Solo in the hands of AC Crispin. A Han Solo who is heroic on an epic scale, a Han Solo who takes in stray street kids, loathes slavery, and is already busy working for the Rebellion without even knowing it, and I am pretty sure it isn't going to be anywhere near as fun as it was before I was sent off to read Han Solo at Star's End.
Nice job, Crispin. Whatever star rating you receive for Rebel Dawn will be all your fault.
I am not sure why she couldn't simply have finished her story before the Star's End adventure happened (but I haven't finished her book either. I paused my reading so that I could read Daley's book, so I will return to her book tonight), but since I had the Daley books handy, she nudged me into reading the source of the interlude, and it would have been better for Crispin's Han Solo if I hadn't been diverted.
See my Han Solo love runs deep. It burst out fully formed in 1977 when I watched him blow away Greedo, then nonchalnatly toss a credit to the barkeep, saying, "Sorry about the mess." My Han Solo was a genuine criminal. A drug running, pragmatic, mercenary S.O.B., whose only redeeming qualities were charm, skill and loyalty. And it was the latter which would lead him into becoming the only Star Wars character with a genuine arc. Come Empire Strikes Back, Han Solo found himself sucked into the Rebellion with a burgeoning love for Leia and a feeling of responsibility for Luke. Once there his other natural gifts flourished, and he began to change in a logical, believable way. He slowly became a "good man."
Unfortunately, much of that was undermined in Return of the Jedi when Solo began to make decisions that made no sense at all -- like giving Lando, his betrayer, the Falcon, behaving like an idiot schoolboy in his relationship with Leia, and behaving like a knob everywhen else (and it didn't help at all that Lucas had Solo dispatch Boba Fett through sheer luck rather than ruthlessness or skill).
The message of Return of the Jedi (particularly when coupled with Lucas's later decision to have Greedo shoot first) was that Han Solo was weak, and he'd always been a good man. He just hadn't been surrounded by the right people. And that's the Han that AC Crispin loves and embraces. Don't get me wrong. That Han's okay, and I was enjoying reading about him. And Crispin genuinely loves that Han. But that Han is not my Solo, and I miss the character I fell in love with as a kid.
Crispin led me back to him, though.
He is fully present in Daley's Han Solo at Star's End. A little more hard SciFi than contemporary Star Wars books, along with clunkier dialogue and a heavy reliance on space tech, the first in Daley's trilogy was published in 1979 -- one year before Empire Strikes Back appeared on screens -- and it breathes freely without the density of the now massive Star Wars canon. So Daley's Han Solo is the original Han Solo. His Han Solo is still the Han Solo who would publicly execute a bounty hunter without remorse, and go charging after a pack of stormtroopers at the heart of the Empire's ulimate weapon.
And what does this original Han Solo do in Daley's book? Well, he cares first and foremost about his ship, which is right and proper; he cares next about Chewbacca; and these loyalties, the Falcon and Chewie, embroil him in the Star's End adventure -- not some bullshit, post-Empire apologetic idealism. And while he's busy improving the Falcon and saving Chewie from some nasty torture, he vents a traitor into space with brutal pragmatism. He kills anyone who gets in the way of his goals, and aids anyone who can help him achieve the same. He slaughters hundreds, maybe thousands of prisoners with a split second decision that is good only for him and his closest friends, then saves a droid to which he's suddenly become loyal over the course of his adventure. He does what is good for Solo, and everything else can suck his vapour trail.
This isn't just Daley's Han Solo. This is my Han Solo, and it was nice to have him back, even if it was only for one hundred and eighty pages. But now I am faced with the prospect of returning to George Lucas' butchered Han Solo in the hands of AC Crispin. A Han Solo who is heroic on an epic scale, a Han Solo who takes in stray street kids, loathes slavery, and is already busy working for the Rebellion without even knowing it, and I am pretty sure it isn't going to be anywhere near as fun as it was before I was sent off to read Han Solo at Star's End.
Nice job, Crispin. Whatever star rating you receive for Rebel Dawn will be all your fault.
September 11, 2025
This is the first of a trio of Han Solo novels published by Del Rey that Brian Daley wrote. When it was published in 1979, the Star Wars universe consisted of the first movie (Episode IV!?!? What did that mean?!?!) and a couple of kids' books and the Foster novelization (which appeared as by Lucas, of course), and one original novel, by Foster and with his own name. Now there are of course literally thousands of Star Wars stories from all different eras and all different planets and from all different forms of media. All of which I mention to say that Daley did his job very well considering what he had to work with, and the guy deserved to be given a break. It's a charming little story about a roguish starship captain and his cool sidekick trying to make their way along the spaceways, staying a step ahead of the law and the bad guys both, and doing the right thing whenever possible. It would've been at home in a 1950 issue of Planet Stories. Good fun stuff!
February 9, 2021
I was watching a Youtube video about Star Wars books in the beginning and it gave me the name of the books I didn't remember. I had this book that collected these 3 stories. I read them in the early 90s. I think I read the 1st 2 and not the 3rd one.
I don't remember the plot at all. I love the Jedi and the spiritual aspect of the story, so not having Jedi in the story was rather bland for me. Han Needs Luke and opposite. I would not re-read these, but it was interesting.
I got rid of my copy of this when I purged most of my paperbacks moving to MD. I do wish I still had this even if I don't read it.
I don't remember the plot at all. I love the Jedi and the spiritual aspect of the story, so not having Jedi in the story was rather bland for me. Han Needs Luke and opposite. I would not re-read these, but it was interesting.
I got rid of my copy of this when I purged most of my paperbacks moving to MD. I do wish I still had this even if I don't read it.
April 19, 2018
It really rates 3.5 stars but Goodreads doesn’t believe in half stars apparently. It’s fun, it’s pulp, it’s briskly written. Brian Daley was a gem, and he had a great grasp of why the audience loved Han Solo.
June 8, 2018
I read these books in an effort to get hyped for the release of Solo, this more than any other book was the one I wanted to read. A Han Solo novel written when only A New Hope existed,even though I read many many years ago. It is cool because when author Brian Daley wrote this he had no rich canon or universe to rely on. He just had this one movie and the Han Solo in that movie was the one who shot first and tipped the bartender for cleaning up Greedio's corpse. I read this book the week before seeing Solo.
The rest of the efforts to write Han Solo in movies, books and comic were writing about General Solo. In the light of the character who rightly was changed by seeing the sacrifice of Luke and Leia. It makes sense that Han Solo is a changed person. Solo as a movie rightly writes a character who is the foundation of both those sides of the character we know now, what makes this book special is the author Brian Daley had only the super rogue Han solo to go off of.
Han and Chewie are a little more simple in this book but it doesn't suffer for it. AC Crispin who was a excellent tie-in writer did books that address the wider EU and I like both series in different ways. I like the artifact nature of the sorta-out of date Star wars book. In this book Han is not afraid to get his hands dirty, a lot of attention is paid to the operation of the Falcon. I got the feeling that the Falcon in this book was slightly more important to Han than Chewie. Then again this is early in their friendship.
This part of the star wars universe is a creation of Daley, as he didn't have much to go on. The corporate authority is never seen again, and neither are the interesting two droids Bollux and Blue Max. I found myself liking them more than I expected. While there for greed of course Han and Chewie end up being reluctant heroes.
The rest of the efforts to write Han Solo in movies, books and comic were writing about General Solo. In the light of the character who rightly was changed by seeing the sacrifice of Luke and Leia. It makes sense that Han Solo is a changed person. Solo as a movie rightly writes a character who is the foundation of both those sides of the character we know now, what makes this book special is the author Brian Daley had only the super rogue Han solo to go off of.
Han and Chewie are a little more simple in this book but it doesn't suffer for it. AC Crispin who was a excellent tie-in writer did books that address the wider EU and I like both series in different ways. I like the artifact nature of the sorta-out of date Star wars book. In this book Han is not afraid to get his hands dirty, a lot of attention is paid to the operation of the Falcon. I got the feeling that the Falcon in this book was slightly more important to Han than Chewie. Then again this is early in their friendship.
This part of the star wars universe is a creation of Daley, as he didn't have much to go on. The corporate authority is never seen again, and neither are the interesting two droids Bollux and Blue Max. I found myself liking them more than I expected. While there for greed of course Han and Chewie end up being reluctant heroes.
January 22, 2021
Ahh, the good old days of when Star Wars didn't suck and Han could shoot first. That is pretty much as good of summation about this book as any, honestly. It felt right... like you imagined Han Solo was really like before all of the movies. Good clean fun, with the banter being fairly close to the on-screen material.
Now if you are looking for Tolkien, this book is not it. Nor is this Herbert or Asimov. But Mr. Daley didn't screw this book series up by laying a steaming pile of Disney either. Thank God for that.
4 Stars
Now if you are looking for Tolkien, this book is not it. Nor is this Herbert or Asimov. But Mr. Daley didn't screw this book series up by laying a steaming pile of Disney either. Thank God for that.
4 Stars
October 12, 2014
When a book is under 200 pages, there really isn't a whole lot to say without giving away most of the plot fairly quickly. Suffice it to say that Han Solo at Stars' End, while not about to win any prizes or anything, was a really fun book to read. Brian Daley throws his reader directly into the action and except for a brief pause now and then it's a frenetic pace from one harrowing situation to the next with our hero Han Solo and his trusty companion Chewbacca the Wookie.
This is a great side-story from the old days of the Star Wars galaxy before the gaps were all filled in by episodes I-III, heck before the Empire Struck Back or there was a Return of a Jedi, the Clone Wars were just an event from the past that were referred to from time to time, but not really understood by the fan/reader/viewer. That's part of what made this story so fun. It took me back to a time when Star Wars was just Star Wars, not Episode IV: A New Hope. Man, I loved that stuff back in the day and this story took me back to the adventure and romance of that far, far away Star Wars galaxy a long time ago.
If you grew up with the Star Wars franchise and loved it as I did, do yourself a favor and pick this up. You won't have any great literary epiphany, but you'll have a rollicking good time with characters and a world that you know and love.
This is a great side-story from the old days of the Star Wars galaxy before the gaps were all filled in by episodes I-III, heck before the Empire Struck Back or there was a Return of a Jedi, the Clone Wars were just an event from the past that were referred to from time to time, but not really understood by the fan/reader/viewer. That's part of what made this story so fun. It took me back to a time when Star Wars was just Star Wars, not Episode IV: A New Hope. Man, I loved that stuff back in the day and this story took me back to the adventure and romance of that far, far away Star Wars galaxy a long time ago.
If you grew up with the Star Wars franchise and loved it as I did, do yourself a favor and pick this up. You won't have any great literary epiphany, but you'll have a rollicking good time with characters and a world that you know and love.
April 21, 2021
If I could, I would push this to 3.5 stars. The plot is the main weakness -- it's primarily bits of story between battle/escape, battle/escape...and then it literally pulls a circus act at the conclusion. But ignore the plot and enjoy the character work. Brian Daley simply nails Han Solo, and you'll absolutely fall in love with a pair of droids named Bollux and Max.
November 4, 2012
Still a fun read after all of these years but different than the Post-Expanded Universe books because it's mostly disconnected from the rest of the Star Wars Universe. Written at a time when Lucas was experimenting with his brand but didn't want anything written that would force his hand on the movies, etc., it takes Solo and Chewbacca off to a distant place far removed from The Empire, Jabba the Hutt and more. While it does examine their pre-Luke Skywalker life, it makes no references to anything familiar other than the two characters and their beloved ship, making it markedly different than most other Star Wars tie-ins. Still, the character do feel like those we grew to love on screen and they do have fun banter and action adventures. Daley wisely throws in some alien races and droids without them seeming too close to the beloved ones from the films either. And the books are short and well-paced. Altogether good reads that fit in nicely beside A.C. Crispin's deeper examination of Solo's early years and meeting Chewbacca.
December 24, 2025
This is some bloody good Han Solo writing. This is so 70s. This book feels like watching a Star Wars TV special that never came out. Crispin writes Han in the most incredible way where Harrison Ford is speaking in your brain as he read it. Awesome and fun.
January 26, 2022
Thankfully Han and Chewie don't have the hots for each other in this one. Or would that have made it better? Hmm.
December 16, 2025
Apparently, this was written in 1979 when I was just getting into Star Wars stuff. I don’t know why, but I never read any of the novels that were written around that time. I sure wish I had. There is an interesting introduction written by Pablo Hidalgo, which I concur with. This story takes the Han solo that we know only from the original Star Wars movie and makes a very interesting sci-fi tale. It was easy for me to picture many of the scenes and creatures, taking into account how much the universe has been expanded since then. It was definitely enjoyable.
I bought the Han Solo adventures, which contains three of these books, so I will review them individually
I bought the Han Solo adventures, which contains three of these books, so I will review them individually
October 17, 2015
This book was flat-out awful. I'm a bit neurotic in that once I start a book I won't pick up another until I finish the one I started, no matter how bad it gets, and I don't even have the words to tell you how bad this one was. Granted, I don't have the time to read as much as I would like, but if this was able to hold my interest at all it wouldn't have taken more than a few days to get through. As it turns out it took over 3 months. That's less than 20 pages a week I was able to force my way through, and every second of it was torture.
Oddly enough, it started out with some promise, but deteriorated precipitously and completely. The author's writing style wasn't bad, aside from the main baddie, who was written in an extremely juvenile manner, the characterizations were ok, and the world was typical Star Wars. But the plot was horrific. I'm not sure why, but I couldn't bring myself to care even the slightest in how the story resolved itself. The big moment of tension in the story was a contrived gladiator style combat between 2 droids. C'mon man!! Not only is it next to impossible to care about what happens to a robot, it's also completely irrelevant since they can be rebuilt as often as needed.
Honestly, I'm trying to write this only a couple days after finishing the book, and I'm finding that it made such a small impression on me that I really can't remember much of anything specific other than it being dreadful. When I was able to force myself to plug through a few more pages, my mind wandered constantly because the story was completely incapable of holding my attention. So I guess I'll wrap it up, since I can't think of anything meaningful to write, and just leave you with a pointed warning not to waste your time.
Oddly enough, it started out with some promise, but deteriorated precipitously and completely. The author's writing style wasn't bad, aside from the main baddie, who was written in an extremely juvenile manner, the characterizations were ok, and the world was typical Star Wars. But the plot was horrific. I'm not sure why, but I couldn't bring myself to care even the slightest in how the story resolved itself. The big moment of tension in the story was a contrived gladiator style combat between 2 droids. C'mon man!! Not only is it next to impossible to care about what happens to a robot, it's also completely irrelevant since they can be rebuilt as often as needed.
Honestly, I'm trying to write this only a couple days after finishing the book, and I'm finding that it made such a small impression on me that I really can't remember much of anything specific other than it being dreadful. When I was able to force myself to plug through a few more pages, my mind wandered constantly because the story was completely incapable of holding my attention. So I guess I'll wrap it up, since I can't think of anything meaningful to write, and just leave you with a pointed warning not to waste your time.
June 2, 2021
4.5 Stars
I think I read this many years ago as a child, but I had no memory of it so I'm not even sure if I ever finished it. In any case, this was published just after A New Hope, even before Empire Strikes Back, so this is a very early Star Wars Tie-In. It's pretty standard sci-fi fare, but considering it's Han Solo that automatically makes it cooler than most.
There's spaceship dog fights, prison escapes, shifty characters and all the fun stuff you'd expect. The Star Wars universe was so young when this came out that there wasn't much to draw on, so you don't see a lot of easter eggs regarding Star Wars mythology. There is one line that I found interesting where Han says something along the lines of "I always shoot first!" which reminded me of the controversy years later when Lucas did the "Special Edition" reboots.
If you're a Han Solo fan you should read this. It's a straightforward story featuring him as a smuggler and the characterization is pretty much spot on. I'll be finished the trilogy for sure.
I think I read this many years ago as a child, but I had no memory of it so I'm not even sure if I ever finished it. In any case, this was published just after A New Hope, even before Empire Strikes Back, so this is a very early Star Wars Tie-In. It's pretty standard sci-fi fare, but considering it's Han Solo that automatically makes it cooler than most.
There's spaceship dog fights, prison escapes, shifty characters and all the fun stuff you'd expect. The Star Wars universe was so young when this came out that there wasn't much to draw on, so you don't see a lot of easter eggs regarding Star Wars mythology. There is one line that I found interesting where Han says something along the lines of "I always shoot first!" which reminded me of the controversy years later when Lucas did the "Special Edition" reboots.
If you're a Han Solo fan you should read this. It's a straightforward story featuring him as a smuggler and the characterization is pretty much spot on. I'll be finished the trilogy for sure.
November 16, 2017
Going solely off the cheesy cover art, you'd be forgiven for thinking this was just another lame tie-in novel from the 1970's, probably written to sucker pre-adolescents out of their allowance money. The reality, though, is that HAN SOLO AT STAR'S END is actually a legit sci-fi novel with a fun plot, great concepts, clever writing, and terrific world-building. Even the character development is decent, and Brian Daley is especially good at making all Han Solo's dialog seem completely Harrison Ford-esque. No, the story details don't really gel with actual STAR WARS canon, but who cares about canon now that it's being determined by a bunch of Disney execs? I'm 98% certain that Disney would've been better off to simply adapt this novel into next year's Han Solo "solo" movie rather than starting over from scratch. I seriously doubt director Ron Howard will be able to give us anywhere near the bang for our buck that HAN SOLO AT STARS' END provides.
May 4, 2018
After having just read Splinter of the Mind's Eye, this was a breath of fresh air. Loads of fun, action packed and Han Solo even admits he's the kind of guy who likes to SHOOT FIRST and ask questions later. Unfortunately, it bogged down a bit at the end and the climax felt a little too ridiculous, but still fun and worthy of any fan's time for a quick adventure. I'm sure this will be better than the upcoming Solo movie.
2.5 stars
2.5 stars
January 13, 2021
There's nothing really wrong with this book. It's just that the plot is so boring. Aside from one short sequence with Han Solo as fighter pilot, nothing really happens. No enemy ever really defines itself. It's just The Authority trying to assert its version of law and order and Solo trying to make a smuggler's living.
Unfortunately, I bought the entire trilogy. Two to go.
Unfortunately, I bought the entire trilogy. Two to go.
August 27, 2021
This book is a delight. I was worried childhood nostalgia might color my view of it, as it was the first Star Wars book I ever read. I still remember the unspeakable joy that overcame nine-year-old me when I discovered it lurking at the tiny public library in my hometown. A novel of additional adventures of Han Solo, my favorite Star Wars character?! How could such a wonderful thing even exist? The trilogy that was the Han Solo Adventures became my favorite Star Wars book of all time. I used to have a boxset copy of all three that I read so many times, pages started to fall out.
I purchased the ebook awhile ago in a fit of longing, wishing to do a larger reread of the Star Wars EU that I loved as a kid. I've gotten through a few of them from the 90s era, but on a whim decided to crack Han Solo at Stars' End. It did not disappoint. It has everything I want: not only from a Star Wars book, but sci fi in general. It's fun, it's ambitious, it swings for the fences in terms of world-building and contains wonderful, colorful characters, both alien and human. And it's well-written — I was actually quite surprised how sophisticated the language is in this book, and how complex the themes. Nine-year-old me was a precocious little shit, I guess.
Han Solo and Chewbacca are smugglers, just trying to make their way in a galaxy ruled by the iron fist of the Empire. When the father of a contact goes missing, they find themselves roped into a mystery bigger than either of them bargained for, caught between the political forces of the ruthless Corporate Sector Authority. Blaster fights, kidnapping, treasonous colleagues, wacky schemes to rescue civilians and other assorted hijinks ensue. It's fantastic.
One thing I did not realize until returning to this book as an adult: it was written while only the first Star Wars movie, A New Hope, had been released. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, it has some incredibly refreshing characterization, particularly of Han but also Chewbacca. It's difficult to portray a main character who communicates in only growls and roars, but Brian Daley manages to do it with ease, and effortlessly portrays the deep, abiding friendship in the iconic duo. And Han is pitch perfect — this is my Han Solo: brash, impulsive, quippy, in turns brilliant and recklessly short-sighted, and just a touch morally ambiguous. Yet he always has his heart in the right place, albeit begrudgingly. The author blurb for Brian Daley on Goodreads says that he felt compelled to write stories about Han because he's the only character who makes a moral choice in A New Hope, and that through line is evident in this book. Han can talk a big game about being cutthroat and self-serving, but his conscience always wins out. There are some seriously poignant scenes that put this on full display, from Han's bitter recollections of his ousting from the Imperial Navy, to his philosophical discussions with Rekkon (whom I would pay good money to see Idris Elba play in a film, but that's neither here nor there), to his confrontation with Torm — a scene I can recall playing out nearly in its entirety from childhood, so searing was it on my young psyche.
Anyone hoping to see Jedi or lightsabers in this book will be disappointed, but I always found the Corporate Sector to be a fun, interesting premise for a setting, and somewhat prescient, given the rise of Silicon Valley and mega-corporations in the decades since this book was written. There is some rad social commentary on classism and the inherent evil of corporations in this novel, something you'll never see from modern Disney iterations. I think the magic of a book like this is that it was written before Star Wars was truly a brand — there are no obligatory glimpses of Darth Vader, no cameo by preteen Luke Skywalker, no reductive answers to questions no fan actually had (I'm looking at you, Solo: A Star Wars Story. I always assumed Han just had a last name, like most people), no side character shoehorned in who's going to have their own show on Disney+ next season. This is just a good novel written by someone who loves the characters involved and the possibilities of the universe they inhabit. It looks outward to tell a compelling story, not inward to maximize brand integrity and sell more merch.
Forget the ten upcoming Disney shows. Forget the joyless prequels. Forget the tonal and narrative mess that were the sequels. If you want something that captures the heart of Star Wars while expanding its universe, read this.
I purchased the ebook awhile ago in a fit of longing, wishing to do a larger reread of the Star Wars EU that I loved as a kid. I've gotten through a few of them from the 90s era, but on a whim decided to crack Han Solo at Stars' End. It did not disappoint. It has everything I want: not only from a Star Wars book, but sci fi in general. It's fun, it's ambitious, it swings for the fences in terms of world-building and contains wonderful, colorful characters, both alien and human. And it's well-written — I was actually quite surprised how sophisticated the language is in this book, and how complex the themes. Nine-year-old me was a precocious little shit, I guess.
Han Solo and Chewbacca are smugglers, just trying to make their way in a galaxy ruled by the iron fist of the Empire. When the father of a contact goes missing, they find themselves roped into a mystery bigger than either of them bargained for, caught between the political forces of the ruthless Corporate Sector Authority. Blaster fights, kidnapping, treasonous colleagues, wacky schemes to rescue civilians and other assorted hijinks ensue. It's fantastic.
One thing I did not realize until returning to this book as an adult: it was written while only the first Star Wars movie, A New Hope, had been released. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, it has some incredibly refreshing characterization, particularly of Han but also Chewbacca. It's difficult to portray a main character who communicates in only growls and roars, but Brian Daley manages to do it with ease, and effortlessly portrays the deep, abiding friendship in the iconic duo. And Han is pitch perfect — this is my Han Solo: brash, impulsive, quippy, in turns brilliant and recklessly short-sighted, and just a touch morally ambiguous. Yet he always has his heart in the right place, albeit begrudgingly. The author blurb for Brian Daley on Goodreads says that he felt compelled to write stories about Han because he's the only character who makes a moral choice in A New Hope, and that through line is evident in this book. Han can talk a big game about being cutthroat and self-serving, but his conscience always wins out. There are some seriously poignant scenes that put this on full display, from Han's bitter recollections of his ousting from the Imperial Navy, to his philosophical discussions with Rekkon (whom I would pay good money to see Idris Elba play in a film, but that's neither here nor there), to his confrontation with Torm — a scene I can recall playing out nearly in its entirety from childhood, so searing was it on my young psyche.
Anyone hoping to see Jedi or lightsabers in this book will be disappointed, but I always found the Corporate Sector to be a fun, interesting premise for a setting, and somewhat prescient, given the rise of Silicon Valley and mega-corporations in the decades since this book was written. There is some rad social commentary on classism and the inherent evil of corporations in this novel, something you'll never see from modern Disney iterations. I think the magic of a book like this is that it was written before Star Wars was truly a brand — there are no obligatory glimpses of Darth Vader, no cameo by preteen Luke Skywalker, no reductive answers to questions no fan actually had (I'm looking at you, Solo: A Star Wars Story. I always assumed Han just had a last name, like most people), no side character shoehorned in who's going to have their own show on Disney+ next season. This is just a good novel written by someone who loves the characters involved and the possibilities of the universe they inhabit. It looks outward to tell a compelling story, not inward to maximize brand integrity and sell more merch.
Forget the ten upcoming Disney shows. Forget the joyless prequels. Forget the tonal and narrative mess that were the sequels. If you want something that captures the heart of Star Wars while expanding its universe, read this.
February 1, 2021
This is a fun book to read and more in line with Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back than Splinter of the Mind's Eye was. This book takes place prior to Star Wars in an odd sector of space called "the Corporate Sector." I say "odd" because I can never quite figure out if it is a "rich part" of the Galactic Empire or if it is supposed to be a "Galactic Power" that is not-quite the Empire's equal. In any case, the book focuses on Han and Chewie as they seek ways to "get rich quick" on the wrong side of the law. The supporting characters are decent and interesting. The story is fast-paced and I felt had a good flow to it. Han Solo and Chewbacca both remain "in character" throughout the whole novel (much better than Luke and Leia did in Splinter; in fact, there is no real comparison).
The Corporate Sector does feel like a "poor man's substitute" for the Empire, which makes me wonder if the author was forbidden to use the Empire by Lucas because of Lucas's plans for The Empire Strikes Back. I remember reading about how Marvel Comics had "problems" when it came to writing their first monthly Star Wars comic series; all of their plots had to be approved by Lucas Film. Some of the plot lines that weren't approved showed up in Empire, so the writers at Marvel figured that any future plot lines that were not approved would probably be set aside for the third installment, which brings me back to why I wondered if the same thing held true for the creation of the Corporate Sector Authority. Also, I wondered if Lucas was unsure of the size of the Empire, as I would have thought the CSA would have been a prime target for the Empire to "annex/absorb."
The story is a bit "pulpy" as Han and Co. seem to go from one "hot spot" to the next. There are some "downtimes" between each moment of danger, but the it still has a fast vibe as it moves inexorably toward the end. Even after having read it multiple times, I felt there were still moments of "tension" in the book, which I think speaks highly of the author's ability to write this tale. I thought the means by which Han and his passengers "sneak into" the CSA prison was rather clever and original (I realize it was written that way for the story, but I still liked it).
The ending was pretty crazy.
I know I started off by saying this, but it was a fun book to revisit. I don't know if it has to do with the large amount of nostalgia or not from reading it so much when I was younger (considering the dearth of Star Wars books for such a long time), but I will still leave this as four stars. Granted, some of that rating could stem from having finished Splinter of the Mind's Eye and the nostalgia of reading that being ruined a bit as that book has not aged well over time. In any case, I enjoyed revisiting this tale of Han Solo and Chewbacca from my youth.
The Corporate Sector does feel like a "poor man's substitute" for the Empire, which makes me wonder if the author was forbidden to use the Empire by Lucas because of Lucas's plans for The Empire Strikes Back. I remember reading about how Marvel Comics had "problems" when it came to writing their first monthly Star Wars comic series; all of their plots had to be approved by Lucas Film. Some of the plot lines that weren't approved showed up in Empire, so the writers at Marvel figured that any future plot lines that were not approved would probably be set aside for the third installment, which brings me back to why I wondered if the same thing held true for the creation of the Corporate Sector Authority. Also, I wondered if Lucas was unsure of the size of the Empire, as I would have thought the CSA would have been a prime target for the Empire to "annex/absorb."
The story is a bit "pulpy" as Han and Co. seem to go from one "hot spot" to the next. There are some "downtimes" between each moment of danger, but the it still has a fast vibe as it moves inexorably toward the end. Even after having read it multiple times, I felt there were still moments of "tension" in the book, which I think speaks highly of the author's ability to write this tale. I thought the means by which Han and his passengers "sneak into" the CSA prison was rather clever and original (I realize it was written that way for the story, but I still liked it).
The ending was pretty crazy.
I know I started off by saying this, but it was a fun book to revisit. I don't know if it has to do with the large amount of nostalgia or not from reading it so much when I was younger (considering the dearth of Star Wars books for such a long time), but I will still leave this as four stars. Granted, some of that rating could stem from having finished Splinter of the Mind's Eye and the nostalgia of reading that being ruined a bit as that book has not aged well over time. In any case, I enjoyed revisiting this tale of Han Solo and Chewbacca from my youth.
June 20, 2022
It’s not really the book’s fault I didn’t like it. When it was written, Han and Chewbacca were new to the scene and since only a single Star Wars movie had been written and released, there was little source material to draw from. The story is tangential at best to anything we know today as Star Wars, and while at a cursory level at the time, I didn’t agree with Disney’s decanonizing stories like this one, I know think that decision helped keep the property from becoming watered down soup.
This story works as Star Wars only because of the notoriety of Han Solo, even back in 1979 when it was written. It mostly is Han Solo as we know him but the dialogue and the actions are missing one key part: Harrison Ford. These lines wouldn’t have ended up this way if this were a movie. It’s… believable enough.
The rest of the characters, the plot, the universe, could all be Star Wars under the right light. But, just as easily, the entire book could have been a stand alone and not branded Star Wars at all. The Doc and his daughter Jessa seemed to have a history with Solo, but it translated merely into nothing more than the underpinnings of a motivator for plot advancement.
And sure guns were renamed blasters and there were some small nods back, again, to the single Star Wars movie, mostly on the Millennium Falcon, but overall, this was just a science fiction novel about a prison in a fictional universe where space travel is possible.
There are two more books in this series, but unfortunately I really don’t see myself starting either of the sequels. This one was messy and only seemed to become further unwound as it progressed.
But, to end positively: One thing is certain and that’s that Han Solo and Chewbacca are friends no matter what! Even in a strange novel like this one.
This story works as Star Wars only because of the notoriety of Han Solo, even back in 1979 when it was written. It mostly is Han Solo as we know him but the dialogue and the actions are missing one key part: Harrison Ford. These lines wouldn’t have ended up this way if this were a movie. It’s… believable enough.
The rest of the characters, the plot, the universe, could all be Star Wars under the right light. But, just as easily, the entire book could have been a stand alone and not branded Star Wars at all. The Doc and his daughter Jessa seemed to have a history with Solo, but it translated merely into nothing more than the underpinnings of a motivator for plot advancement.
And sure guns were renamed blasters and there were some small nods back, again, to the single Star Wars movie, mostly on the Millennium Falcon, but overall, this was just a science fiction novel about a prison in a fictional universe where space travel is possible.
There are two more books in this series, but unfortunately I really don’t see myself starting either of the sequels. This one was messy and only seemed to become further unwound as it progressed.
But, to end positively: One thing is certain and that’s that Han Solo and Chewbacca are friends no matter what! Even in a strange novel like this one.
December 22, 2023
I haven't read this book since 1979, when I was 11 years-old. All I could remember about it was that I enjoyed it. That joy was still there as I revisited it at age 56.
Han and Chewie have come off a job needing repairs to the Falcon and have to strike a deal with an outlaw mechanic's daughter to transport a droid, and the tiny computer in him, to a planet. Once there the pair find themselves helping fight the Authority, dealing with a traitor/murderer, and fighting Imperial troops at Star's End, a prison.
This was just fun. Han's character is great. He thinks he's a criminal, but he's more an adventure seeker in search of the thrill, though there is something to be said for a big score. The opening chapters that deal with a debt to a criminal (No, not "that" criminal) are pure genius. Chewie is loyal to his friend, but is more than willing to tell him when he's doing something absolutely stupid. The supporting cast is great, with the droids impressing me.
This story has got it all: gangsters, escapes, Solo making last second decisions that could end in his death, combat in space, great antagonists (with the Authority being an excellent name for a conglomerate of comfortable thieves), and Han doing all that he can to save Chewie from trouble.
This is absolutely what Star Wars reading should be. I look forward to rereading the other two books written by Daley.
Han and Chewie have come off a job needing repairs to the Falcon and have to strike a deal with an outlaw mechanic's daughter to transport a droid, and the tiny computer in him, to a planet. Once there the pair find themselves helping fight the Authority, dealing with a traitor/murderer, and fighting Imperial troops at Star's End, a prison.
This was just fun. Han's character is great. He thinks he's a criminal, but he's more an adventure seeker in search of the thrill, though there is something to be said for a big score. The opening chapters that deal with a debt to a criminal (No, not "that" criminal) are pure genius. Chewie is loyal to his friend, but is more than willing to tell him when he's doing something absolutely stupid. The supporting cast is great, with the droids impressing me.
This story has got it all: gangsters, escapes, Solo making last second decisions that could end in his death, combat in space, great antagonists (with the Authority being an excellent name for a conglomerate of comfortable thieves), and Han doing all that he can to save Chewie from trouble.
This is absolutely what Star Wars reading should be. I look forward to rereading the other two books written by Daley.
April 5, 2022
Twee van de kleurrijkste figuren uit de Star Wars franchise beleven weer spannende avonturen.
Brian Daley schreef meerdere boeken met de avonturen van Han Solo en Chewbacca (Pruimtabak). Die staan garant voor spanning, aktie en humor. Ze spelen zich af in en rond hun ruimteschip, de Milennium Falcon, waar zoveel aan getuned is dat het het snelste en minst traceerbare ruimteschip is dat gebruikt wordt door smokkelaars.
Han Solo is een mens die een pijnlijk verleden heeft tijdens hetwelk hij een levenslange vriendschap sloot met de Wookie (een harige reus die absoluut niet menselijk maar wel oersterk is). Ze trekken samen op en redden doorlopend mekaars leven terwijl ze ook steeds van de ene levensgevaarlijke situatie in de andere vallen. Helden met een peperkoeken hart.
De cover is nogal donker van kleur maar geeft wel een goed zich op de twee protagonisten in volle aktie. Er spelen ook 2 heel speciale robots in mee die in minstens 1 later deel ook nog een belangrijke rol zullen krijgen. Vertederend is hoe die robots zich erg menselijk gedragen en ook gevoelens blijken te hebben.
Een mooie kennismaking met de franchise, een spin-off van de films of gewoon een spannend en leuk verhaal, het biedt wat voor elke liefhebber van Sci-fi ruimteavonturen.
Brian Daley schreef meerdere boeken met de avonturen van Han Solo en Chewbacca (Pruimtabak). Die staan garant voor spanning, aktie en humor. Ze spelen zich af in en rond hun ruimteschip, de Milennium Falcon, waar zoveel aan getuned is dat het het snelste en minst traceerbare ruimteschip is dat gebruikt wordt door smokkelaars.
Han Solo is een mens die een pijnlijk verleden heeft tijdens hetwelk hij een levenslange vriendschap sloot met de Wookie (een harige reus die absoluut niet menselijk maar wel oersterk is). Ze trekken samen op en redden doorlopend mekaars leven terwijl ze ook steeds van de ene levensgevaarlijke situatie in de andere vallen. Helden met een peperkoeken hart.
De cover is nogal donker van kleur maar geeft wel een goed zich op de twee protagonisten in volle aktie. Er spelen ook 2 heel speciale robots in mee die in minstens 1 later deel ook nog een belangrijke rol zullen krijgen. Vertederend is hoe die robots zich erg menselijk gedragen en ook gevoelens blijken te hebben.
Een mooie kennismaking met de franchise, een spin-off van de films of gewoon een spannend en leuk verhaal, het biedt wat voor elke liefhebber van Sci-fi ruimteavonturen.
July 31, 2025
Finally, read one of the oldest Star Wars stories out there. I did jump ahead a little in the legends chronological order, but it was recommended that I read the Daley trilogy before the Crispin trilogy, so that's what I'm doing. The Timeline in the 10 years before Yavin gets a bit messy anyway.
This is only the 3rd Star Wars book ever released, only behind ANH and Splinter of the Minds eye. I enjoyed this so much more than I thought I would. It's a really small, pocket adventure of the early days of han and Chewie being good little scoundrels saving the day, but the characters are great, han and Chewie are done really well and the plot is fun.
This is only the 3rd Star Wars book ever released, only behind ANH and Splinter of the Minds eye. I enjoyed this so much more than I thought I would. It's a really small, pocket adventure of the early days of han and Chewie being good little scoundrels saving the day, but the characters are great, han and Chewie are done really well and the plot is fun.
May 16, 2020
This was fun! Nothing special, just a quick space-adventure with (a noticeably more selfish, crasser Han, since this was written before Empire even came out and started to develop the character past his pure-scoundrel origins). It’s got heavy DnD vibes, actually, just in terms of how the plot gets going, the way the supporting cast contribute; it all adds up to an enjoyable read that’s, for better and for worst, fairly forgettable. Definitely gonna see what Daley’s other Han Solo stories have in store, though!
December 20, 2023
This book gives us a good unfiltered look at the origins of Han Solo - and I don't mean the character's origins, but the origins of the character. This book was written in 1979 when only the first movie existed and brings back to us the "Solo" part of a man who is primarily concerned with looking out for himself (and, by extension, his ship and his friend).
I feel it's a good story for Han Solo fans who are seeking more material, he's brash and cocky here in ways that appeal to those that preferred his smuggling and criminal work before the events of RotJ.
The writing style doesn't appeal to me and I skimmed over the mechanics of space battle in several places.
I feel it's a good story for Han Solo fans who are seeking more material, he's brash and cocky here in ways that appeal to those that preferred his smuggling and criminal work before the events of RotJ.
The writing style doesn't appeal to me and I skimmed over the mechanics of space battle in several places.
July 15, 2023
Całkiem przyjemne ❤️
July 14, 2017
When I started reading the Star Wars books (at least, once I committed to reading all of them), I decided to read them in chronological order. Past experience with other series suggested this wasn't the best idea, but it seemed like a good way to introduce myself to the Expanded Universe. Now that I'm starting to get into some of the older books, though, I see that I've made a mistake.
In Han Solo at Stars' End, one of the plot points revolve around Doc, a mechanic for criminals and other scoundrels, having gone missing. What's cool is that A.C. Crispin's Han Solo trilogy, which precedes this chronologically but succeeds it in publication order, ends with a reference to Doc, setting it up to flow directly into this series. In a way, it's neat to see how a later author uses an earlier story to support their own, but in another, I feel like I'm missing a lot of other Easter eggs by reading these all out of order.
The book itself is okay. It's written well, and has an engaging plot, but it doesn't have much of an emotional connection. I found myself checking out a lot during some of the longer narrative bits, which is something I found happening a lot with The Adventures of Lando Calrissian, though I think Daley's book is written better and feels more like Star Wars than Smith's books did. I feel like I missed some portions of the story, but at the same time, I feel like I didn't miss anything at all, since there weren't any loose plot points that I could see. It just didn't feel significant at all.
I get the feeling that had I read this when it was first published (1979; it was the second EU book, written even before The Empire Strikes Back), I would have enjoyed it a lot more. Now, though, that the Star Wars universe is so expansive and rich, it feels oddly constrained, given that it wasn't as dependent on anything that came before it. It's a quick read, by any means, and it's a neat piece of history when it comes to Star Wars. I wouldn't recommend it for casual readers, though.
In Han Solo at Stars' End, one of the plot points revolve around Doc, a mechanic for criminals and other scoundrels, having gone missing. What's cool is that A.C. Crispin's Han Solo trilogy, which precedes this chronologically but succeeds it in publication order, ends with a reference to Doc, setting it up to flow directly into this series. In a way, it's neat to see how a later author uses an earlier story to support their own, but in another, I feel like I'm missing a lot of other Easter eggs by reading these all out of order.
The book itself is okay. It's written well, and has an engaging plot, but it doesn't have much of an emotional connection. I found myself checking out a lot during some of the longer narrative bits, which is something I found happening a lot with The Adventures of Lando Calrissian, though I think Daley's book is written better and feels more like Star Wars than Smith's books did. I feel like I missed some portions of the story, but at the same time, I feel like I didn't miss anything at all, since there weren't any loose plot points that I could see. It just didn't feel significant at all.
I get the feeling that had I read this when it was first published (1979; it was the second EU book, written even before The Empire Strikes Back), I would have enjoyed it a lot more. Now, though, that the Star Wars universe is so expansive and rich, it feels oddly constrained, given that it wasn't as dependent on anything that came before it. It's a quick read, by any means, and it's a neat piece of history when it comes to Star Wars. I wouldn't recommend it for casual readers, though.
January 9, 2012
This is a book I read a number of times when I was growing up. As one of the first additional Star Wars novels ever published, it fed my adolescent need for more stories featuring my favorite characters from the original trilogy, Han Solo and Chewbacca. So how does this book hold up as I re-read it in middle age?
Not bad, actually. Brian Daley had to write his Han Solo stories outside of the traditional Star Wars universe, so he moves the characters to a wing of the galaxy where another brutal military regime, the Corporate Sector Authority, rules with an iron fist. The idea that another group with considerable power might be ruling hundreds of planetary systems (while being ignored by the presumably larger Galactic Empire) may feel incongruent with later Star Wars stories, but Daley really had no choice. Writing before Episode V had been released, he had to go far enough away in time (Solo's past) and place (another sector of the galaxy) to not mess with the yet-to-be-completed canon. Except for a very brief mention of the Clone Wars, the story is a complete stand-alone. But the book itself is a fine action-adventure story, taking place on a number of inventive worlds with some surprisingly vivid auxiliary characters, especially the slow-talking robot Bollux and his "brain" companion, Blue Max.
But what really makes the novel work is the way Daley handles the Solo character. The author seems to have understood that what people loved about Han Solo was that he was, at his heart, a Robin Hood figure. He steals from the rich as an act of rebellion against oppresive authoritarianism. It is his way of "sticking it to the man." And although he repeatedly states that he is "just a businessman," Daley makes it abundantly clear that this Solo sticks up for the little guy and has a strong sense of justice.
An entertaining read for old-school Star Wars fans.
Not bad, actually. Brian Daley had to write his Han Solo stories outside of the traditional Star Wars universe, so he moves the characters to a wing of the galaxy where another brutal military regime, the Corporate Sector Authority, rules with an iron fist. The idea that another group with considerable power might be ruling hundreds of planetary systems (while being ignored by the presumably larger Galactic Empire) may feel incongruent with later Star Wars stories, but Daley really had no choice. Writing before Episode V had been released, he had to go far enough away in time (Solo's past) and place (another sector of the galaxy) to not mess with the yet-to-be-completed canon. Except for a very brief mention of the Clone Wars, the story is a complete stand-alone. But the book itself is a fine action-adventure story, taking place on a number of inventive worlds with some surprisingly vivid auxiliary characters, especially the slow-talking robot Bollux and his "brain" companion, Blue Max.
But what really makes the novel work is the way Daley handles the Solo character. The author seems to have understood that what people loved about Han Solo was that he was, at his heart, a Robin Hood figure. He steals from the rich as an act of rebellion against oppresive authoritarianism. It is his way of "sticking it to the man." And although he repeatedly states that he is "just a businessman," Daley makes it abundantly clear that this Solo sticks up for the little guy and has a strong sense of justice.
An entertaining read for old-school Star Wars fans.
August 10, 2015
I'll admit: this book and its two successors have sat on my shelf surrounded by skepticism for a long time. They were yard sale finds (I think) that were really cheap, vintage curiosities at first. After having read some of the better Expanded Universe novels, it seemed dubious to me that these very old-school novels would "hold up" or be an enjoyable, believable read...
As if there was a worse cliche to use on this site: don't judge a book by its cover. Additionally, don't take a book like this too seriously...
This was a surprisingly fun, believable read, particularly given that the author only had the character development from the original Star Wars to go on. (Although there was far more character nuance, depth and development in that movie alone than the entire prequel disasters, that is another review for another time.)
Yes, there are plot points that seem like a retooling of "A New Hope," but I would also assume that Lucas kept the author on a short leash, knowing there would be future movie installments, so I can look past that and enjoy it nonetheless. It was an interesting choice, whether or not dictated by Lucas, to use very little reference to the Empire, the Jedi, etc., and yet, it was still very believable that it was in the same universe.
Clearly, many of the later EU novelists venerated this series of books, as they drew ideas and names from it rather than shunt it off to a corner. Any self-respecting Star Wars fan looking for a unique, quick, fun read should avail themselves of this book, without self-cannibalizing the experience fretting over the minutiae of trivia which is often the bread-and-butter of their enjoyment.
As if there was a worse cliche to use on this site: don't judge a book by its cover. Additionally, don't take a book like this too seriously...
This was a surprisingly fun, believable read, particularly given that the author only had the character development from the original Star Wars to go on. (Although there was far more character nuance, depth and development in that movie alone than the entire prequel disasters, that is another review for another time.)
Yes, there are plot points that seem like a retooling of "A New Hope," but I would also assume that Lucas kept the author on a short leash, knowing there would be future movie installments, so I can look past that and enjoy it nonetheless. It was an interesting choice, whether or not dictated by Lucas, to use very little reference to the Empire, the Jedi, etc., and yet, it was still very believable that it was in the same universe.
Clearly, many of the later EU novelists venerated this series of books, as they drew ideas and names from it rather than shunt it off to a corner. Any self-respecting Star Wars fan looking for a unique, quick, fun read should avail themselves of this book, without self-cannibalizing the experience fretting over the minutiae of trivia which is often the bread-and-butter of their enjoyment.
September 7, 2021
A good ole classic "good guys win at the end of the day," kinda novel. It's true to the spirit of the original trilogy and to what Han's character might have been like prior to encountering Luke and Leia. The action scenes are written very similarly to how the action scenes are shot in the films--and that totally drew me in! The setting of the novel is even more impressive considering this was one of the first expanded universe books--and was released after only one Star Wars film. The author pegged the series correctly from the start, including Han saying that he always 'shoots first, as opposed to second,' even though that topic didn't become controversial among fans until A New Hope was re-released. That made me like this book even more, and though newer editions of this book are branded as "Legends," Han's backstory in this novelization is pretty compatible with the recent Han Solo film...not that that's a point of any significance.
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