Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka

Star Wars: The Lando Calrissian Adventures #3

by L. Neil Smith

Still on their quest for easy credits and an occasional Sabacc game, Lando and Vuffi Ra come across a young Oswat, adrift and starving. After saving his life, they agree to meet him at the entrance of his home at the StarCave of ThonBoka. Needless to say, this gets them into more trouble when they discover Lando's old nemesis, Rokur Gepta, waiting for them.

Genres: Star Wars, Science Fiction, Fiction, Ebooks, Speculative Fiction, Media Tie In, Novels

181 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 12, 1983

About the author

L. Neil Smith was a Libertarian science fiction author and gun rights activist.Smith was born in Denver, Colorado.

Smith began publishing science fiction with “Grimm’s Law” for Stellar 5 (1980). He wrote 31 books, including 29 novels, and a number of essays and short stories. In 2016, Smith received the Special Prometheus Award for Lifetime Achievement for his contributions to libertarian science fiction.

He was editor of LEVER ACTION BBS [now defunct], founder and International Coordinator of the Libertarian Second Amendment Caucus, Secretary and Legislative Director of the Weld County Fish & Wildlife Association and an NRA Life Member.

Smith passed away on August 27, 2021 in Fort Collins, Colorado at age 75 after a lengthy battle with heart and kidney disease. Smith is survived by daughter Rylla Smith and wife Cathy Smith.

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wasn't holding out hope that the series would improve with its final book, and I wasn't disappointed. It's just as boring and inconsequential as the previous books, and about as much a part of the Star Wars universe as a Clint Eastwood movie.

The antagonist from the previous two books, Rokur Gepta (no, I didn't remember his name; I had to write it down so I'd remember to mention him by name) appears again, confirming that he was going to be the antagonist for the series. Lando defeats him in a battle that spans three pages. The next time someone asks me for an example of "anticlimactic", this will be the one I use.

Absent from this book: characterization; showing; anything else related to the Star Wars universe. He also makes another reference to "Another time and place", referring to Earth, thus breaking the illusion of the story (such as it is).

None of these books have been well written. I glossed over so much of the narrative, realizing that I had read a couple of pages without getting any of it. I didn't care enough to go back to re-read it. It wasn't worth it.

My favorite quote from the book was "CEASE FIRE OR BE DESTROYED! THERE WILL BE NO SECOND WARNING!" because it was, in fact, a second warning. The first one had come on the previous page.

Don't read these books. Before this trilogy, I was convinced that Aftermath was the worst of the books, but Smith raised the bar a bit further. Short they may be, but it will still take a few days to finish them, and you'll hate every minute of it.

[Keith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stars: 1.5
Re-read: No
Recommend to: People who want to read the entire EU or want a glimpse of some of the earliest EU entries.

Starcave of ThonBoka is pretty much on par with the other two entries in the Lando Calrissian Adventures. Like the others, it was pretty listless and makes zero sense for Lando to be the main character in the book. I liked that Smith's book embraced weird things and weren't safe stories, but they didn't really work. I feel a little bad giving this such a low rating because everything wasn't awful. It's just that the awful parts of it were overwhelming. It's still better than Aftermath.

The plot is pretty bizarre in this one (even more than the previous books). Lando comes across a starving Oswaft and gives it some food. The Oswaft is later discovered by the Empire, who decide they are a threat and move to exterminate their species because they can make short jumps to lightspeed. There isn't an explanation on why the Empire would immediately go to genocide a species that has never threatened them and could potentially help them. You'd think they'd at least study them to see if they could be assets before sending a fleet to murder them all. They blockade the nebula, and kill the more or less plankton that float in and the Oswaft feed on. In a ridiculous move, Lando sneaks past the blockade. He has some food for the starving Oswaft. I can't remember if there were millions or billions of Oswaft. Either way, his haul of food for them wouldn't make a dent in the starvation problem. There was literally no plan beyond that. Now they are trapped in the nebula, and end up talking about a thousand of the Oswaft into fighting the blockade with them. It was a suicide mission that would've achieve nothing. They all would've been killed if Vuffi Raa's people didn't show up and ex-machina the crap out the ending. That is just bad. It's just not something a very smart guy like Lando would do. Also bad is that in the final battle, Lando and Vuffi have to take on Shanga and his crew single handedly. Shanga has about 25 starfighters that are apparently better than anything the Empire has (or else why would it be so important for Gepta to ally with Shanga. Plus, they agree that Shanga's guys are way better than the Imperials).
So, Lando and Vuffi take on and pretty easily dispatch with most of them. I think Lehesu came back and took out one or two. Either way, compare that with Han/Chewie/Luke struggling to destroy four tie fighters in ANH. Remember the celebration when they killed them because there was real fear that they might be outmatched? I guess it would've been more efficient if the Empire just built a bunch of freighters like the Falcon instead of fighters.. The good part of the plot was Lando beating the blockade by selling luxury supplies to the quartermasters on the blockade, and going ship to ship always getting closer to his goal. He'd also play sabaac with the crews to learn more information about what was going on. This actually fits very well with Lando's character and illustrates his ingenuity and charm. The series needed a lot more of this..

There were other problems with the characters as well. Shanga was infuriating because he's a total moron. He learned in the last book that Vuffi Raa wasn't responsible for the massacre of his people because he was a droid and couldn't say no. It was the anthropologist's fault.
Doesn't matter, he basically ignores that he learned that and allies himself with Gepta to kill him.
That is until he hears the voice of the anthropologist and recognizes it, then they use their fighters to drag his ship (which previously hauled them) into a collision with the Wennis to destroy both.(That was also dumb) Then, they're all buddy buddy with Lando and Vuffi. Give me a break.

Vuffi, beyond being annoying with the calling Lando "Master" nonsense, also very easily and off-screen solved his problem with not being able to harm someone to save someone else. This problem, pretty much his only fault in the entire series, is dismissed by saying Lehesu helped me out and Vuffi rewrote some of his code and now he can do what needs to be done. I'm chalking this one up to Smith having to write this very quickly.

Gepta is still the worst villain in the EU. He is apparently over 20,000 years old. He is that old, and has managed to achieve nothing. He killed his former peers on Tund long ago, and since has nothing to show for it. He has to borrow a ship and crew from the Emperor. You'd have to be the dumbest person in the galaxy to not be insanely rich and powerful if you had that much time.
It wouldn't even be hard. He should be ruling entire star systems at a minimum, but he doesn't even have his own ship. He's also still the most over the top maniac in the EU. He's evil just for the sake of being evil. In this one, he's still torturing people for fun, torturing his commanders in front of everyone for minor mistakes or things outside of their control, and he even had the top three commanders and their subordinates ejected from an airlock by their other subordinates for adapting to a situation in a manner Gepta didn't approve of. Not one person would stick with Gepta.
They have their own ships. They'd bail instead of waiting around to be tortured and killed by him.
They also wouldn't kill their commanders at his command. It'd be like if the US sent an aircraft carrier to help out Australia with something, and their commander told the US ship to throw the captain and his top three subordinates into the water and drown them. The chances of it happening are zero. Not a perfect correlation, but the situation in the book is just absurd. There were some chances to improve Gepta. We learned in the last book that he's a shapeshifter. In the final battle, it would've been really cool to see that play out and factor in more. Instead, all of Lando's shots just go through his body. Then, Lando accidentally shoots his ankle, and he dies. It could've been pretty cool, but ended up being pretty boring.

We find out at the end that Vuffi Raa is actually a baby spaceship or something like that, and his people show up and save the day at the end (otherwise everyone would've been killed, again, good plan Lando). For the entire story, we had little snippets of them coming, but they are just described a vague terms like The One, The Other, and The Rest. We learn nothing about them until the very end. If you aren't going to give the reader all the information so there is a surprise ending, that's fine. But you can't give them nothing and keep talking about them (like Shanga's crew in the second book). It doesn't make you want to get the information. You just get annoyed because he is again writing about something that you have no information on so it feels like a waste of time.

We also never got an explanation of why the Emperor was giving Gepta one of his best crews and ships. I don't see how it would benefit the Emperor.

The world building was pretty poor. The plot takes places in this starcave which is actually a nebula. It is enormous. It is over a dozen light years across. But it is also surrounding by walls made of precious gems with only one opening. These creatures live off what is essentially space plankton. So all that plankton floats through that one opening into the starcave and feeds the millions or billions of Oswaft? Are these precious gems really strong enough to withstand the firepower of the spaceships in Star Wars?

The Oswaft themselves are kind of silly. They are basically enormous manta rays that fly in space and some are a kilometer wide. They can excrete precious gems. They can also excrete waste that will mimic their shape and hold its shape even once they've left, which is the basis for the final battle. They can travel at lightspeed without spaceships. They can learn any language in about five minutes. And apparently, nobody in the galaxy cares about these precious gems, the biggest in the galaxy, that the Oswaft put no value on. Worst of all, Smith describes the first Oswaft Lando sees as being like a Portuguese Man o'war. I laughed when I read that because I knew how much people hate that.

Gepta also has a new insanely powerful weapon. He has this green goo stuff that only needs one cubic mm to kill all life on a planet. Again, how does he have virtually zero power in the galaxy with 20,000+ years and insanely powerful weapons like this? .

Other silly things or things that don't fit the plot at all:
-At one point, Lando, Vuffi, and Lehesu have this playful dogfight in space in their spacesuits and they're zipping around and imagining shooting each other with their machine guns just like in WWII. Beyond the problem of them imagining flying in battles like WWII, does it seem likely that they would be this playful when Lehesu's people are starving to death with no solution in sight? It'd be like if the allies pulled up to a concentration camp, and instead of helping them, stopped to play some baseball first.

-Going back to Gepta being a total joke. He hires the galaxy's best assassins to kill Lando.
The one that attacked him killed himself because he threw the grenade pin at Lando instead of the grenade. That was one of the moments I thought, "what the heck am I reading?"

-There is a tense scene where Shanga is talking with Gepta in Gepta's lair. This is an insanely dangerous place. Gepta and Shanga are both dangerous people planning on how to kill Lando. At the end of the meeting, Shanga interrupts Gepta and yells, "Mynock Muffins!".
Then he walks away. This is one of those times you are just offended at the stupidity. Shanga is a man who doesn't care if he and all his men die trying to get revenge for the massacre of his people. Do you think he would jeopardize that to yell something absurd like mynock muffins? Even if he would, does he seem like the kind of character that would be that goofy? It'd be like if you watched a movie where the protagonist is getting revenge on someone who murdered his entire family.
And right in the middle of the climactic scene where he is telling the murder who he is and why he is doing this, he yells, "Raspberry fruit snacks!". . I think this was the low point in the book.

- The book cover is a little funny because the ships look like the took the head off an AT-ST and put little wings on them.

- As others have noted, the book is called the Starcave of Thonboka, which translates in basic to The Starcave of the Starcave.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

L. Neil Smith isn't a bad writer, and these stories aren't bad, but seemingly every decision made in their creation is totally nonsensical. We are establishing Lando's background in these stories: broadening his character, exploring his milieu, and giving him some touchstone adventures. But while we nominally start off with Lando doing his actual thing (gambling) and he occasionally returns to the sabacc table throughout the adventures, the central narrative is totally foreign to Lando. He doesn't know how to fly his ship, but he has all sorts of dogfights and narrow escapes. He's not a cargo hauler, or a smuggler, but he spends a lot of the series trying to make money carrying fancy goods. He's not a fighter and carries only a small 5-shot blaster, but there are tons of gunfights throughout.

In the movies, Han has Chewie, and you get the impression they are sort of independent operators. So in Daley's Han Solo Adventures, they work alone with Chewie as Han's sidekick. Lando, however, doesn't have much of an implicit backstory in the films. He has no partner (Lobot seems to be tied more to Cloud City than to Lando, which the EU bears out) and seems to have acquired Cloud City recently. So Smith has all the freedom in the world to develop a community, friends, a home, a mentor, a stomping grounds, habits, etc for Lando. Instead, we just get Vuffi Raa, who is basically just Lando's Chewie. He's a fine character, but he ends up standing in for far too many things. He teaches Lando to fly the ship and to appreciate the value of pacifism, he gives him an opportunity to expound his moral compass, he drives the plot along with his built-in set of enemies, and he's a deus ex machina for every skill Lando ever needs and any scrape he ever gets in. Not surprisingly, Vuffi Raa begins to feel like something of a Gary Stu. He's also an ancient alien artifact made of technologies no longer found in droid-making with correspondingly amazing abilities.

Speaking of ancient aliens with mysterious intentions, there are an awful lot of them in this series. The first of which are the Sharu. There is a very small bit of interesting Lovecraftian stuff going on with the Sharu. They have eldritch angles and incomprehensible geometries and space-time manipulating technologies beyond contemporary understanding. Their culture exists on another plane and they show no interest in interacting with lesser sentients. The central story device is neat enough, and leaves a nice opening to tie in to later ancient aliens like the Celestials and Rakatans, but Smith doesn't seem to know how to handle it. We're in the dark for 100 pages as Lando stumbles about trying to find a powerful artifact in mysterious ruins (which, again, is not really Lando's gig). Then, once the quest is duly completed, we are treated to a few pages of exposition, dense paragraphs of dialogue that explain everything that happened and why. At least it's short?

The overall arc of the series is driven by Lando's nemesis, Rokur Gepta. Smith wanted Lando's nemesis to be a Sith, but settled for ancient alien magician. There is also some serious ambiguity about the forces Gepta employs. I had the impression throughout that he was an Imperial, and that the Emperor was the one sponsoring his operations and for whose position Gepta was vying. But like Daley's Solo novels, these books actually take place in a pseudo-independent polity, this one called the Centrality. This is never really explained in the books – it's played as though the Centrality is simply the local extension of the Empire. But Wookieepedia clarifies that the Centrality is actually a libertarian wet-dream, a social experiment founded by anti-authoritarians who valued hard work and ambition. It's wonderful that later EU authors decided that the experiment failed and that the Centrality plunged into poverty soon after these books. :D

Anyway, Gepta is a cartoon villain of the worst sort, driven by lust for power, characterized only by his short temper and cruel taste for revenge. He sees himself on a path to galactic domination, but stops to crush Lando under his bootheel after he foils his plot in the first book. In Flamewind of Oseon, Gepta creates an elaborate web, Lando is lured in, nearly dies, and is whisked away by Vuffi Raa. None of this makes any sense. Gepta is a melodramatic shell of a character, a classic villain for a classic hero. But Lando isn't a classic hero!

Han is a smuggler, so the challenges he and Chewie face in the Daley adventures involve jobs gone bad, run-ins with the Authorities, boom and bust cycles, and get-rich quick schemes. He loves his freedom, and roaming the stars with his best friend makes him feel at home. Lando is a gambler, a conman, an entrepreneur. The challenges he faces should involve those pursuits, those skills, those settings. There are plenty of good tropes for gambling and con artist stories. And as shallow as Smith's plotting is, he seems to at least grasp the basics of a con story: Both Sharu and Oseon are straightforward con stories – it's just that Gepta's the con artist, and Lando seems to have no recourse other than Vuffi Raa to escape them.

Lando is impossibly good at sabacc, winning tons of money on every hand he sits down to play – he has to deliberately lose hands in order to maintain the illusion of fairness. The only reason he's not rich, relaxing by a pool somewhere, is his insistence on owning the Falcon and adventuring, something he seems to do in spite of himself. He never expresses any liking for the lifestyle or provides a reason for continuing; he just does it because the plot requires it, because Smith couldn't come up with a conflict that would generate a plot in Lando's main lines of work. In fact, Lando frequently gripes about what Smith is making him do – “A plague on interstellar freight hauling! . . . He was a gambler!” But as though under some kind of enchantment, he continues hauling freight for three novels.

Smith should have established a baseline for Lando, a standard lifestyle that the moral exigencies of ESB would later jerk him out of. Instead, there is now a continuous thread of classic adventuring throughout his life. It basically erases everything that distinguished Lando from Han and Luke. After all, Lando stopped an evil sorcerer from taking over the galaxy too (Gepta even has a planet destroying super-weapon)!

The redundantly titled Starcave of ThonBoka represents an improvement in character creation and world-building, if not in Lando's portrayal. The Oswaft are insanely over-powered, but they are at least a culture with interesting individual variations and perspectives. Lehesu is finally a character worth standing alongside the protags. Klyn Shanga comes into his own here as well, though his own isn't much. He delivers some of the most blatantly ideological passages in the whole series, lecturing Gepta on how everyone in his fleet is inept because of their role in a heirarchical organization. And it's nice to see Lando making friends with the low-level crewmembers on the Centrality warships. There's also a wonderfully charming scene in which Vuffi Raa, Lando, and Lehesu play in the midst of the nebula, pretending to shoot each other with finger guns and generally having a relaxing good time. It's the sort of scene Star Wars could really use more of.

Annoying tics:
“Don't call me master!” - Lando says this at least once every page, lest we forget his staunch libertarian principles
“In another place and another time would have been called” to rationalize inclusion of Earth terms
“Core” as a curse-word. Huh? It's as if Lando doesn't want to swear, for some reason. Strange way to mince an oath, too.
Libertarianism, always

[Daniel Kukwa · Rating 2 out of 5]

So...the irritating, idiosyncratic, bizarre Lando Calrissian trilogy comes to a particularly irritating and idiosyncratic conclusion. The irritation lies in the tying up of tedious elements from previous stories (none of which entertained me all that much), and the idiosyncrasy comes with a delightful little tale of new life forms that would have made for a far more satisfying "Star Trek" than "Star Wars" tale. There are times when the only thing that keeps one going through these pages is the wonderful wit and characterization of Lando and his droid best friend...a pity it doesn't stretch to much of the rest of the trilogy. Very very very odd all around.

[Declan O'Keeffe · Rating 2 out of 5]

My review for the Lando Calrissian Adventures trilogy.... Meh!

I loved the Daley Han trilogy. They are what tiny adventures in the giant star wars universe should be.

These books came out before a near 10-year break in Star Wars publishing, and it felt like they just didn't have any good ideas.

The characterisation of lando was stale, and the adventures weren't fun or interesting.

The only good thing that came out of this was the sabacc scenes, and that just wasn't enough to make these books overly interesting.

And while I love the sorcerers of tund, and it was fun to see their origin, it made the adventures feel way too large scale for a two-bit swindler that is Lando.

[Grunion Guy · Rating 2 out of 5]

First let me get the petty gripes out of the way: the title of this book, like the other books, is terrible. But it's more terribler in a different way because according to the story, "Thonboka" means "starcave." My other petty gripe is that L. Neil Smith is a libertarian but that doesn't have anything to do with this book (unlike the last one which was all about how Lando couldn't get rich not because he was terrible at business but because taxes and government fees kept bankrupting him).

Now let me get to the petty gripes about myself: I know I read this book but I'm not sure I actually read this book. I was so not interested in reading this book that I thought about a lot of other stuff while reading it which isn't conducive to retaining and comprehending what's being read. I especially did this on the chapters about the bad guys because they were boring. And when have bad guys ever been boring in an adventure novel?! They're usually the most entertaining aspect of the book! Which probably explains why this book received two stars.

I understand that when writing a trilogy and after creating a super awesome bad guy in the first book (not my opinion; I'm putting myself in Smith's place), I would totally want to use that bad guy in the subsequent books. But also Lando's adventures take place in space which is a really big place. So you'd think that maybe he wouldn't run into the same guy three separate times. And also he wouldn't run into the new "bad guy" who is trying to kill his droid friend two times. But of course there are plot reasons why this happens and I will explain them in a new paragraph because I think it's time for a new paragraph? How do paragraphs work? Do you just think, "That's enough words all clumped together for now. Let's start a new clump"?

The plot reasons for Lando running into Rokur Gepta over and over again are that Rokur Gepta gets so butt hurt by Lando defeating his plans in the first book that he can't stop hunting Lando. Think about how pathetic that is. Rokur Gepta is thousands and thousands of years old and space is like almost as big as thousands and thousands of years but in parsecs (maybe bigger?). Why can't this super powerful being just be all, "Well, that one didn't work out. Guess I'll start a new super duper plan to take over the galaxy"? I guess the reason is that he's a gigantic immature baby jerk? What Lando does in the first book to this nearly immortal ancient being is the equivalent of an ant causing me to twist my ankle simply because I noticed it for a split second and tried not to step on it.

No wait. That's not a good example because if an ant did that to me, I would totally hunt it down and make its life miserable for two more books. Stupid ant. How dare it!

I would think up a new analogy but you probably get the point and I'm too lazy to come up with a new analogy. Also I want to spoil the end of this book now (and I haven't even discussed the space manta rays with microwave telepathy who shit illusory images of themselves and can sprint through hyperspace or Vuffi Ra's ancestors who are sentient space ships): Rokur Gepta is a gothic gerbil pretending to be a man. And Lando only defeats him by accident when a piece of space debris knocks him sideways and he accidentally shoots Rokur Gepta in the ankle which is the only place in the "human suit" where Rokur Gepta actually was. Is that a twist ending or is that an unsatisfying conclusion where Lando doesn't really solve his problems so much as have his problem solved for him? It's probably one of those and since I rated this book two stars, you know which one it is, right?

These books were supposed to be palette cleansers after spending nearly a year reading Alan Moore's Jerusalem. But, and this is another stupid analogy, instead of being palette cleansers, they were just a big bag of sour gummy candies of which I ate too much and now my stomach hurts and I feel terrible and I desperately need a salad. And by salad I mean a Thomas Pynchon novel.

[Felecia · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite of the Lando books!

[Kevin Wilkerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Keep star wars weird

[Jeremiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun finish to an odd trilogy set somewhat adjacent to the Star Wars Universe. I will miss you, Vuffi Raa.

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sheesh! What a book! What a title! It had some promise but crashed and burned pretty bad. It was a fast read, though, which is about all it had going for it. It wrapped up the series "nicely," I guess, but ended on a "stupid note." Actually, the alien species (the Oswaft) that Lando and Vuffi Raa encounter are pretty cool and I felt fairly original, so I would say they were the best part of the book. The book's cover is also pretty nice (although the fighters attacking the Falcon are a bit amusing, as they look like the cockpit of an AT-ST with wings attached to the sides). The story was meh, overall.

Probably the "dumbest, most stupid" part of the book had to be the title. "ThonBoka" apparently translates into "Standard Galactic" as "Starcave." So the title of the book is actually "the Starcave of Starcave." I was "whaaaa . . . ?!?" when I read that "explanation" early on in the book. At least it could have been called "The ThonBoka of the Oswaft" or "the Oswaft ThonBoka" or something like that instead of using the word to identify itself.

Rokur Gepta is a terrible villain in the worst way possible. He is supposed to be allied with Emperor Palpatine and given command of an Imperial fleet, yet he comes across as a pale amalgamation of Darth Vader and the Emperor. He's a jerk and and insecure one at that. It feels like the author keeps trying to show how "evil"/bad Rokur Gepta is by "one-upping" Darth Vader (and even the Emperor, at times). He has the gall to think he can replace the Emperor as head of the Galactic Empire. The author keeps building this Sorcerer of Tund as the equal if not better of Lord Vader and yet keeps failing to sustain this implicit claim. It is really frustrating. There are moments on the bridge that are reminiscent of Vader in the movies prior to executing an officer who failed him, yet the author fails to capture any of the gravitas of the moment in the movies (or even the novelizations of the movies). One cannot help but wonder why is this sorcerer allied with the Emperor and able to do whatever he wants, executing Imperial officers without any repercussions? The author completely fails to answer this question, especially when Rokur Gepta first appears, there is no mention of his ties to the Emperor in The Mindharp of Sharu. Also, it was "weird" how even Rokur Gepta admits that in the "greater scheme of things," Lando Calrissian is truly a no-account nobody and that Rokur Gepta has no idea why he is obsessing about destroying and then killing this man after torturing him for as long as possible. It's really weird; I suppose stranger things have happened, but it still seems like a huge failing on Gepta's part to be so obsessive about this man who supposedly counts for nothing in Gepta's long-term plans that Gepta is so willing to lose everything in an attempt to destroy this man economically before killing him. I didn't buy it, especially as the story implied Gepta was thousands of years old.

It is funny how the author has the Imperials being so mindless as to want to destroy the Oswaft without either initiating contact with them or trying to find out how they can travel through hyperspace with no difficulty or make micro-jumps so easily. They are discovered and the Empire immediately wants to kill these gentle beings to the point of extinction. There is very little rhyme or reason given to support such an act other than "they are the government and inherently 'evil' and therefore only want bad things to happen to other races." I didn't believe it, myself. I guess I could see the Imperials trying to conquer the species and then trying to drive them into extinction, but not before they had learned all they could from this new alien race. I did not feel it was an accurate portrayal of the Imperial forces.

There is a bit of a deus ex machina moment when Vuffi Raa's "parent" and "extended family" show up and 'save the day' by saving Lando, Vuffi Raa, and the Oswaft from extinction. Not only is the blockade ended but the Imperial forces are "driven off" but one would think they would return at a later time to finish the job. So why did that not ever happen? It's kind-of a goofy moment, to be honest.

I am not terribly familiar with interstellar gases and whatnot, but one would think that the three blue stars inside of ThonBaka would have been emitting something the Oswaft could have fed upon, thereby defeating the purpose of the Imperial blockade.

We finally get to find out "what's the big deal" about Vuffi Raa, who his creators were. The problem is that before Lando and Vuffi Raa go their separate ways, Lando tells Vuffi Raa one last time to stop calling him "Master" and Vuffi Raa asks him why he never asked this before. I assume it was supposed to be a "funny moment" to end the book, but it really does not work. It falls flat and should have been left out because of how forced it felt.

I did like the Oswaft. They were a fun race to learn about. They could travel through hyperspace on their own; they lived off interstellar gases and whatnot that floats in the void between planets, stars, and even solar systems. They could perform micro-jumps with ease. They could "yell" and create a solid "maser" which could damage or destroy a ship that had its shields down. They loved games, especially puzzles, and were quite good at cracking the Imperial Navy's top-secret code. Too bad they could not have helped the Rebel Alliance! They are also apparently able to merge with certain solar structures and hide inside the molecular walls (as they did during the Imperial blockade, hiding inside certain structures identified as "walls" that were solid enough for a ship's sensors to be unable to penetrate). They are also able to create artificial versions of precious stones, metals, and gems that are perfect matches to the real thing. Lehesu was a young member of this race, and he first encountered Lando Calrissian and Vuffi Raa in a "barren stretch" of interstellar space that did not have much gases or debris in it. They dump a bunch of waste and whatnot into the barren void to see if that would help prevent Lehesu from starving, and it works. The three become quite good friends, and Vuffi Raa gives Lehesu a communicator of sorts that allows the two to remain in contact and is how Lehesu is able to get Lando's help to provide food and sustenance because of the Imperial blockade. They loved playing Sabaac, which made for some interesting moments as the author described how each "person" played the game. I really felt like the way the story ended, Landa had acquired enough wealth to buy his own city, which was probably how he acquired Cloud City, settled down, and became respectable.

Vuffi Raa's origins were okay. Apparently an even larger, longer-lived race of beings had grown bored, so one of them created a smaller version of its race and sent this being out to learn all it could so that the rest of the race could thereby "experience" what it experienced and learn from its experiences and adapt and continue to grow instead of stagnating as a race because of how old they were. As it turns out, they are a race of sentient space ships. And each being has enough power to destroy several Imperial warships with deflector shields on full power.

Probably another "best part" of this book was how Lando traded and bartered his way through the Imperial Blockade until he reached the point of being able to do a hyperjump into the Starcave. That was a pretty amusing series of events, and I also thought it was pretty clever, too, because of how it allowed Lando to keep inching closer to his ultimate destination without the Imperials being any wiser.

The author claims in this book that the Empire is composed of ten million systems. That is a crazy, huge Empire!

It was an okay book. I'd rank it higher than the second book but was not sure I would rate it 3 stars because of how bad some (most) of it is. However, I really did like the Oswaft species, and I really enjoyed Lando's trading and bartering his way through the Imperial blockade until he reached the point of being able to leap into ThonBaka and leave the Imperial fleet behind, so I will probably rate it 3 stars (say, 2.6 - 2.7, generously rounded up). Despite its various mistakes and poor writing, I did still enjoy revisiting this book that I had fond memories of reading as a teenager. I may never read it again, but it was fun to revisit it this potentially one last time.

[Dee · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 50%. Not worth anyone's time.

The first book in this trilogy surprised me. It was witty, charming, and atmospheric. Its absurd, ridiculous plot strung me along because of how strange it was, but also because Lando seemed just as lost in it as I was, and took everything as it came with the swagger of a gambler.

The second book in this trilogy bored me. I realized Smith was a one trick pony almost immediately. Curiously, the plot seemed to only separate itself farther from the galaxy in which it was set, but it did some interesting things with its villain. Mostly, I was bored but still running off my love of the first book.

Now the third book, the Starcave of Starcave. I don't know what this is. I don't know who this is for. I don't know why this was written, and least of all, why it was written in the Star Wars universe and about Lando Calrissian. More than anything else, it's just boring. Lando barely has a part to play, and when he has things to do, none of it feels worth his time or talents. The plot is desperate for a villainous force like the Empire... who do, very explicitly, exist during this trilogy, but they're off somewhere else, for some reason? They have no bearing on the plot, so instead of the Empire, we get... The Navy. Okay.

It's impossible to focus on the prose. Where Smith's earlier takes on Lando were dripping with personality, and he previously painted his star ports and space ships with a gritty, smoke-tinged brush that practically dripped off the page... here, there is nothing. There's a big manta ray in space. It needs help; Lando helps it. Rokur Gepta, the evil space wizard, is back and he's mad at Lando, because he's ancient and deadly and so old he doesn't feel any emotion but rage anymore, and there's a bunch of people hunting Lando's sidekick over a misunderstanding and... whatever. However interesting those might have been, they feel vapid and droll on the page. None of it feels like it matters.

Rokur Gepta, the villain of this trilogy, is a weird case. He should be campy, melodramatic, and fun. He's actually a really clever metaphor for Lando's game of choice itself, Sabacc, as his ever-shifting form and clever tricks allow him to disguise as other major players in the story. But he's written as such a one-note villain that I can't tell if Smith was just bored of Gepta and going through the motions of writing him, or if he was supposed to be taken seriously.

This book reads as if Smith just gave up. The prose that won me over at the start of the trilogy is dry as a bone here, so much so I'd find it hard to believe it was written by the same person if I didn't witness it decline throughout book 2. He can't even be bothered to describe his own ideas anymore, constantly falling back on descriptions of Earth terms phrased as how they'd "be described in another place in time." He does this on the third paragraph of the first page to compare a creature to a Portuguese man-o'-war, utterly shattering any sense of immersion in the galaxy far, far away, and then continues on and on until I quit.

I just wanted some gambling adventures, man. The rest of this is total nonsense. The first book is inconsequential schlock that will at least charm and entertain you; this book, this final entry in Smith's trilogy, is -- as they'd say in another place and time -- about as interesting as watching paint dry. This was like watching someone unlearn how to write.

[Tibbs · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is book 29 on my read-through of the Star Wars Legends books.

The previous book, Flamewind of Oseon, was a very bad book, but it had the benefit of being absolutely bonkers and jumping from one idea to the next every five to ten pages, which gave it a crazed energy I almost found endearing. This book has exactly one bonkers idea, space manta rays, and it somehow makes it incredibly dull.

Strictly speaking, this is the entry in the Lando trilogy that feels the most like an actual book -- rather than an extended drug trip. It comes the closest to feeling like something that should actually get published, in terms of tone and writing. But unfortunately, it also substantially scales back the author's single saving grace: his imagination.

Very little actually happens in this book until the end. There are endless internal monologues and conversations that go nowhere, often repeating information multiple times. In a book this short, that's an unpardonable sin.

The plot of this book is effectively "save the whales," which should be simple, but somehow, continuing the trend from the last two books, all of the characters' motivations are either nonsensical or completely stupid. Rokur Gepta is such a mustache-twirling villain that he goes well beyond parody to being just flat-out annoying. He's not a menacing or intelligent character in any way and his obsession with Lando just doesn't make sense. The same goes for Kryn Shanga and his militia. Basing their entire motivation on an childish misunderstanding, revolving around an event that occurred well before the events of the book and has no other bearing on the story is...sad.

Lando continues to have no interesting personality traits other than being a gambler. Otherwise, he's just a generic do-gooder with very little of the dangerous charm he displayed in the original trilogy. Wanting to save space manta rays is a perfectly fine goal in theory, but the book never makes me understand why Lando cares about these manta rays so badly. As a whole, this trilogy does absolutely nothing to meaningful explore Lando as a character. What a waste.

Speaking of being a waste, effectively the entire book is the lead up to a single battle, a battle that ends up being absurdly anticlimactic. If the ending had at least carried through on its promise, I could see giving this book a 4/10 -- or maybe even higher if it blew me away, but the main villain's death is...so stupid. And then the book just...ends.

I'm going to give this a 3.5/10. I admit even that is probably a bit high, but...okay, I really like manta rays. I want to read a GOOD manta ray book now. I think Timothy Zahn wrote one. I wish I had read that instead...

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

My Reading Log
Plot Summary
In Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka by L. Neil Smith, Lando faces his greatest challenge yet as he becomes entangled in a conflict between the Oswaft, a peaceful and highly intelligent spacefaring species, and the Centrality military forces determined to destroy them. The titular Starcave is the home of the Oswaft and the setting for a thrilling confrontation. Lando, along with his droid companion Vuffi Raa, must use his wit and resourcefulness to protect the Oswaft, outmaneuver the Centrality, and uncover the truth behind Vuffi Raa’s mysterious origins. This installment blends high-stakes adventure with deeper revelations about Lando and his companion.

Characters
Lando Calrissian - The daring gambler and captain of the Millennium Falcon, fighting to defend the Oswaft and preserve his freedom.
Vuffi Raa - Lando’s loyal and enigmatic droid companion, whose backstory becomes a key element in the narrative.
Oswaft - A peaceful, spacefaring species residing in the Starcave, central to the story’s conflict.
Rokur Gepta - The evil sorcerer continuing his vendetta against Lando, driving much of the danger and intrigue.
Centrality Military - A force determined to exterminate the Oswaft, representing oppression and greed.
Lehesu - A young Oswaft who befriends Lando and helps bridge the gap between the two species.
Sharu Civilization (mentioned) - A recurring element in Lando’s adventures, providing context for the galactic mysteries.

Quotes
"Sometimes the best gamble is betting on someone else’s survival." — Lando Calrissian

"The galaxy is vast, but every life within it matters." — Vuffi Raa

"True power isn’t in destruction—it’s in knowing when to spare what you could destroy." — Lehesu

[Andy Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

These aren't great. The plots are straightforward enough. They are two separate revenge quests from nasty magician baddie Rokur Jepta and from some other not-so-nasty space captain who is hunting Lando's robot Vuffi Ra on the misconception that he is an alien that has destroyed some World he was associated with. As with the is-it-magic magician (Force maybe?) the alien assistants in all this are clearly more fantasy than sci-fi - they are the Oswat, some giant space living manta rays whose home in the StarCave of ThonBoka whatever the heck that is is also under threat by Jepta and his tame anthropologist sort (was I following this right - I'm not entirely sure!) Anyway there is a bit of an anticlimactic fight where a space duel is agreed to (why?); baddie number 2 realises that the robot is really a robot and the tame anthropologist is the evil World destroying alien and changes sides, the Oswat (and Vuffi Ra too) learn how to fight. Then Vuffi - thought destroyed is saved when his family (a fleet of spaceships) ruck up - when he grows up he will be a spaceship like his Dad. What a load of nonsense but it passed a couple of hours.

[Octavia Cade · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hesitated over whether to give this two or three stars, and the truth is there was a lot I liked about it. Particularly, I liked the giant space-faring aliens, which hit that sense-of-wonder button pretty well. But ultimately, this wasn't quite as good as the previous two volumes. Primarily this is to do with the antagonist, Gepta. He's never been particularly convincing as a villain, but this time he's firmly stuck at cartoon levels of evil and it's a bit hard not to just roll my eyes at him. Villains don't need to be layered to be effective, though it does help, but they do have to be more than caricature. This lack of subtlety really does stand out, but it doesn't stand alone, and I say that in the full awareness that this is not a subtle series. It's meant to be a fun action romp, but Smith is particularly heavy-handed here in that a number of his decent characters supposedly Learn Lessons about Life and it is all so very lumpen. Not to mention that pretty dreadful Deus ex Machina ending...

[Sarai Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka by Neil L. Smith is an exciting addition to the Star Wars expanded universe. This novel, the third installment in the Lando Calrissian Adventures trilogy, continues to explore the charming rogue's adventures, providing fans with a delightful mix of action, intrigue, and the signature wit of one of the galaxy's most beloved scoundrels.

In this adventure, Lando Calrissian, along with his loyal droid companion Vuffi Raa, navigates the treacherous regions of space to aid a peaceful species known as the Oswaft. The Oswaft are under threat from the ruthless forces of the Centrality, who seek to exploit their unique abilities and the resources of their home, the Starcave of ThonBoka. As Lando becomes embroiled in the struggle, he must use his cunning, piloting skills, and charm to outwit his enemies and save his newfound allies.

Lando Calrissian shines as the protagonist, embodying the smooth-talking, quick-thinking gambler that fans have come to love. Vuffi Raa, his multi-talented droid companion, provides both comic relief and essential support throughout their journey. The Oswaft, a fascinating and original species, add depth to the Star Wars universe, and their plight evokes sympathy and engagement from readers. The antagonists from the Centrality are formidable, presenting a genuine threat that keeps the tension high.

Neil L. Smith's writing captures the adventurous spirit and charm of the Star Wars universe. His descriptive prowess brings the vastness of space and the intricacies of the Starcave of ThonBoka to life. The dialogue is sharp and witty, particularly Lando's, staying true to his character as portrayed in the films. The pacing is well-balanced, with a good mix of action, suspense, and moments of reflection.

The novel explores themes of loyalty, courage, and the fight against oppression. Lando's journey highlights the importance of standing up for what is right, even when it means putting oneself at risk. The camaraderie between Lando and Vuffi Raa underscores the value of friendship and trust, while the Oswaft's struggle represents the universal desire for freedom and peace.

Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka is a thrilling and entertaining read that will delight Star Wars fans. Neil L. Smith successfully captures the essence of Lando Calrissian, delivering an adventure that is both fun and meaningful. While the novel may not delve deeply into complex themes, it offers a satisfying blend of action, humor, and heart that makes it a worthy addition to the Star Wars literary canon.

For its engaging plot, charismatic characters, and faithful representation of the Star Wars universe, Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka earns a solid four stars. It's a must-read for fans of Lando Calrissian and anyone looking for a captivating space adventure.

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[Michael Reyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

At last we come to the conclusion of the trilogy that is the Lando Calrissian Adventures!

I have to say that this is probably my favorite book in the trilogy. A new alien race is introduced, the Oswaft, and I'm happy to note that the author took the time to describe them in detail (if only this much effort was put into Lando himself). Issues building up from the past 2 books have been resolved, although Deus Ex Machina was again used to give it a "good" ending (not that I'm complaining).

My only gripe has to be Lando's constant use of Earth terms. He also never fails to reprimand Vuffi Raa whenever he's called "master". To be honest, if it were me, I'd have given up by that time and let him call me whatever he was comfortable with.

Although I was disappointed that not much of Lando's backstory was explored, I have to give the author props for at least finishing the trilogy on a high note.

[Daniel Millard · Rating 2 out of 5]

The final entry in the Lando Calrissian trilogy is much like the other two, but like the second entry, better than the first by a little. It does wrap up the story arc between Lando, Vuffi Raa, Rokur Gepta, and sundry characters all right - for as much sense as it made in the first place.

Once more, Smith takes us to an off-the-wall corner of the galaxy, where Lando is for some very tenuous reason interacting with more bizarre life forms, and almost accidentally saves the day while becoming filthy rich in the process.

I will reiterate that there is absolutely nothing essential, and not even that much non-essential entertainment in this trilogy. It is mostly just strange, and doesn't really even introduce much new color to the Star Wars galaxy due to its bizarre nature and tendency to use heavy-handed plot devices. I may not read this again, but I'll probably keep the book out of a possibly misguided sense of completionism.

[Francisco · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last and the best of the three early 80s Lando Calrissian novels, this wraps up the trilogy nicely. The problems I had with the previous books in the trilogy remain, the universe feels little like the Star Wars we know and love, it almost feels like it could be any other non-descript science fiction story with some names changed.

There's little talk of the Empire or the past, everything is very self-contained, the enemy is a Sorcerer of Tund, whatever that is. There's loads of strange aliens and droids that are not specific to the setting... It kind of feels like a decent space opera novel with names changed and a couple of references to the Empire or the Clone Wars dropped in passing but with no real impact on the story.

You do get loads of Sabacc playing and that's cool, Lando is charming, and the Oswaft aliens are quite fun, not that they'll ever be prominent in the universe ever again. Still, a fun little read.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is definitely the best of the trilogy in my opinion, but it doesn't exactly make it good. Again it's a strange story, weird character choices, and a slump in the middle.

I think at this point however, the Lando Calrissian trilogy broke me and I ended up having a fun time with this book.

The end has a massive deus ex cop out, the villain is so mustache twirling evil it's a joy to read mostly ironically, and characters make only the dumbest decisions to continue the plot that relies on massive coincidences. Yet all of these problems I found hilarious. Like laughing at someone instead of with, it's not very nice, and means the quality of what's said isn't very good, but at least it can lead to entertainment.

Overall this book isn't worth a read unless you're in too deep like myself. However taken with the context of the time, and in comparison to other EU novels, I have to say The Starcave of Thonboka is surprisingly not the worst, by a longshot.

[Elwin Kline · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I liked it." - 3 out of 5 star rating.

My scum and villainy reading series continues, with as much Han Solo, Mos Eisley, Lando Calrissian, Hutts, etc., content I can get my hands on.

Overall, this trilogy was pretty dang good. It feels like a complete story, full of heart, makes a disliked character (I'm still holding a grudge over the Bespin betrayal) more likeable, and it not only had a very interesting droid main character, but really neat villains too. One other really notable highlight are the aliens and alien worlds that this trilogy offers that are also really nicely well done.

For short reads and being written in the 80's, this trilogy is great and would absolutely recommend to a Star Wars fan who is really looking for more high stake sabacc games and on-the-run-fun from Lando.

[Trevor Williamson · Rating 1 out of 5]

I imagine that there's a bookshop in Hell, and it's stocked entirely by books written by L. Neil Smith about Lando Calrissian and his many adventures.

And even in Hell, they don't sell well.

Somehow, Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka is one of the most poorly structured, poorly executed, and poorly conceived books I have ever had the displeasure of reading. Should I die tomorrow, I want it to be known that it is due entirely to the internal hemorrhaging of my brain caused by reading this absolute dogshit novel.

Let it be known that I read it, I finished it, and I never want to see it again.

[Alana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wraps up the early adventures of our favorite swashbuckler. Not the best-written of stories, but it pulls the trilogy together, introduces some space-faring creatures, and has some fun battles and explosions. The conclusion is kind of weird, but it's an ok adventure. Probably not one to re-read, but interesting learning how Lando came to be who he is later on.

One quote I did like: "Life was so simple, he thought bitterly, so thoroughly enjoyable. Why were there always people whose chosen profession was to louse it up for everybody else?" Isn't that the truth?

[Noel Thingvall · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's still a lot to enjoy with this final entry. The characters are great, the central concept fantastic, there's some great scenes and bit of humor throughout. But this one felt more rushed than the last two, with the plot more messily constructed with some sloppy use of non-linear twists. And the way they wrap everything up in the end is a bit underwhelming. That said, this is a series of books I wish could have just kept going on and on with its gonzo space adventures.

[Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The third and final entry in L. Neil Smith's take on the Star Wars universe suffers much the same as his previous two entries: too long in the tooth (roughly 140+ pages before we get to the "final" conflict and then it's wrapped up way to fast, and anti-climactically). The ending of the book is virtually the same as the ending in Brian Daley's (far superior) third Han Solo novel, too, which is just, well, lame.

[Caleb Reese · Rating 2 out of 5]

FINALLY finished with this series. This book wasn't terrible; it was an okay 80s sci-fi book that happened to have a few star wars references. Besides that, it lacked (again) the main themes and feels and heart of star wars. Campy like the others, at least this one wrapped everything up at the end, nonsensical or not. So excited to get to the more star wars-y novels now.

[Christopher Dodds · Rating 3 out of 5]

These have been a good series of star wars books featuring Lando Calrissian but their are to short of a story to get a clear picture of his character except for him being a gambler/smuggler which I already knew about. It would of been cool to have him interact with Han Solo a lot more and reveal the legendary sabacc game they had together.

[Paul Darcy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The worst of the 3 Calrissian novels. 2 stars at best. Hmm, just sort of fell flat for me though not a total write-off.

So, is this trilogy worth reading? Only if you have a lot of time on your hands and are a die-hard Star Wars fan that Must read all the Legend novels. Otherwise, just read the Han Solo trilogies instead.

It was a short novel though - one of it's few saving graces.

[Chris Antal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not enjoy as much as the previous two (way too many plot conveniences), but was still invested. Lando and Vuffi Raa's relationship was as solid as ever. Essentially giving Lando a "Chewbacca" of his own. "The Lando Calrissian Adventures" has been sitting on my bookshelf for over 25 years and although it was cheesy (in all the good ways), it still felt like going home.

[Kyle Wise · Rating 3 out of 5]

L. Neil Smith saved the best for last. Starcave of ThonBoka is even more strange than its predecessors and has some elements that are aren't exactly compatible with the rest of Star Wars as a setting (this is the wild west of the early EU where there were no rules) but Smith manages to pull a decently compelling story out of it.