As I have more and more seen *Disney's* handling of the *Star Wars* franchise, I have become more disillusioned with it. So I admit up front that this is part of my love for *some* of these older books. I feel it's only right to admit it. But that said, I *still* liked the idea of reading these older, now non-Canon SW (now called the *Legends* line) adventures back when *Disney* first got the rights and I actually had high hopes for the franchise. They're really good and certainly much better than both what *Disney* has done and what the later *Legends* stories themselves were.
These three short books (in one volume) take place for the classic SW heroes about five to three years before Episode IV (depending on which adventure of the trilogy we are talking about), or, in other words, about eight to six years before we meet Lando in Episode V. Lando is a very young man trying to make his way in the galaxy, and it shows in his glaring lack of ability compared to later on. Though he does, of course, show the first hints of the brilliant pilot and tactician he later would become, as these novels begin, he is a talented gambler and smooth talker. Not much else.
Of course, he's not really as good at those thing either, at least not as much as he thinks he is. Oh, he can play games brilliantly, such as being so good at *sabacc* that he struggles to actually lose *on purpose*. And he can think on his feet and talk fast in tough pickles. But the difficulties he finds himself in, and how easily he is boxed in, show that he is not as good at reading others as he thinks he is, and that he is *quite* naive at times.
Of course, that is part of the charm, in that we get to actually *see* Lando Calrissian become the pretty badass guy he is in the last two original films. We see some of the beginnings of that growth, at least. And of course, one doesn't become that type of guy with no real tests of endurance and thus we get the main difficulty for this series, the Big Bad.
In this trilogy that part was played by a character called Rokur Gepta, the "Sorcerer of Tund". Later materials outright state Force powers for these mystics and somewhat (I think) Dark Side conjurors. Even in this early series, the author, L. Neil Smith, hinted at this somewhat, or at least left it vague enough that it could be easily worked into later plots. I mean, this guy was an influential political figure that had Emperor Palpatine's ear, and knew various seemingly mystical secrets. "Fellow Force User" is practically screaming in your face here.
The characterization was pretty good. Gepta is actually shown to not just be empty inside but to *like* being that way. He is chillingly evil, and not just proud but nonchalant about his crimes. Vuffi Raa, Lando's droid aide and pilot, is probably the heart of the books, as his journey of friendship with Lando and self-discovery about his origins are what drive the plot. And finally, for Lando himself. He is a good guy trying to act mercenary. But in the end, even if he can be self-centered and egotistical at times, he is a good and honorable man who cares about others and wants to do the right thing. Of course, he wants to get rich while doing so, preferably while gambling and avoiding real work, but he's a good guy nonetheless. The seeds are there and it's fun to see the beginnings of this good man and badass guy.
A really fun trilogy, if a tad short as some sci-fi books were at the time, more often than not. I really enjoyed, and Highly Recommend, this trilogy.
Rating:
*Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu* (Vol. 1) - 4/5 Stars
*Lando Calrissian and Flamewind of Oseon* (Vol. 2) - 3.5/5 Stars
*Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of Thonboka* (Vol. 3) - 5/5 Stars
Overall Rating: 4/5 Stars.
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Reviews with images
"Don't call me master!" - Lando Calrissian to Vuffi Raa
I have always liked Lando, but after reading Shadows of the Empire, I wanted to read more about him. His characterization was really great in that book. Therefore, when I discovered a book about Lando I bought it. I found these adventures about Lando Calrissian a real treat. As for the book, it is really "three books in one": The first book "Lando Calrissian and the The Mindharp of Sharu", the second book "Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon" and the third book "Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of Thonboka". These books were published well over twenty years ago and about 150 pages a piece individually, so now they have been published together in one volume.I have heard some statements saying that these books or adventures really don't give a great deal of background on the rogue that is Lando. Consequently, I would disagree. I feel this book might not produce a lot of history or origins of the character, but does exploit personality traits and behaviors that aren't seen in the movies. For instance, we all know from the classic Star Wars films that Han Solo won the Millennium Falcon from Lando in a card game. However, that card game is called sabaac, which is a lot like Black Jack. Now in this book Lando is a master at sabaac and purposely goes out of his way to play the game. He finds it somewhat cathartic. Lando also has a smooth sense of fashion and makes sure he had a nice pair of clothes on, when in public and in private. He also relies on his brains instead of his brawn. This basically means that he carries a only a small blaster and his street smarts. Also in the beginning of the first story, he just "won" the Millennium Falcon in a game of sabaac. In addition, he cannot fly the spaceship at all, which is quite a contrast from the final battle in Return of the Jedi. Again, most of these traits aren't seen in the classic Star Wars film.Now I will break down each story in this book.Lando Calrissian and the The Mindharp of Sharu:Lando has just won the Millennium Falcon and is loving life, despite the fact he has a hard time flying it. He is playing a game of sabaac when one of the players "slips out" some information about a treasure in the Rafa System. In this opening game of sabaac, Lando wins a droid named Vuffi Raa, who I will speak of later. Lando ends up getting involved with a Governor, with questionable standards, and Rokur Gepta, a sorcerer (who I will also go into detail about later) in order to find the Mindharp of Sharu. The Mindharp is a relic of an artifact that is riches to end all riches. However, Lando has to deal with a subservient race of people, life crystals and a planet that has red sand and a green sky.Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon:This story finds Lando and Vuffi Raa traveling to the Oseon system. This is a system of thousands of broken asteroids which life forms have inhabited. Lando of course is there to score some credits playing sabaac. He and Vuffi Raa are at the Oseon during the yearly Flamewind. The Flamewind is the release of "unknown" gases that produces different colors in the skies between the asteroids of the Oseon System. The colors vary from every color in the rainbow. It is almost like fireworks that light up the entire sky. The Flamewind also has a strange side effect, it tampers with spaceships in flight and electronic devises. The entire Flamewind paints a backdrop for a story that involves political scandals, drug deals, Rokur Gepta, a burnt out fleet of soldiers and a narcotic police officer that is a huge orange parrot.Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of Thonboka:This time around, Lando and Vuffi Raa are aiding an alien race of naïve, omnipotent, pacifist pseudo manta-ray like aliens; oh these aliens are also transparent. This race is named the Oswaft and is being hunted down again by Rokur Gepta and his navy. Gepta has conjured up a way to destroy the Oswaft, despite this alien race's power and intelligence. Once Gepta finds out that Lando is involved, it is a two for one. Since this is the third book of three, many characters and situations from the two prior books are brought in. This allows for many aspects to be explained and loose ends tied up.Out of the three stories, I enjoyed the Flamewind of Oseon the most; I really liked the story and the backdrop the Flamewind painted. These stories themselves aren't very long, so they are a quick read. However, a little more development in each story wouldn't have been a bad thing. There were some interesting characters and situations that could have been explored a bit more. Consequently, the stories seem to end before they really had a chance to pick up.After reading some other reviews of this book, I have come to an astonishing conclusion. Many Star Wars fans are persnickety and snobs. The most detrimental element to Star Wars can be a Star Wars fan. Allow me to explain, (many) Star Wars fans love the Star Wars universe, but have no problem ripping it apart. For instance, I can't tell you how many "Star Wars fans" I know that hated every single one of the prequel movies (Episode I, II and III). Yet, these "haters" are the first in line to buy tickets; they might stand in line for 24 hours just to buy tickets for a movie they know they will already hate. In addition, these same groups of "fans" use the argument that the newer movies suck when compared to the original trilogy. They also abase George Lucas and call him a sell out and he doesn't care about the true vision of Star Wars. Okay first of all, you can't compare the original movies to the new ones. The original films are classics and no movie maker, even George Lucas, can top the magic of the first three films. This fact doesn't automatically mean the new trilogy is trash or not worthy. As for George Lucas being a sell out and doesn't care about the vision of Star Wars, that is dumb. George Lucas created the world, characters and other varies aspects, so why would he create all this if he didn't care? George Lucas created a prequel trilogy to complete the saga and give the fans a treat and now he is a sell out. If it wasn't for George Lucas, these Star Wars "fans" would have had no identity growing up. They also wouldn't have really cool IM names like HanSolo_69 or DrYoda1984. I guess they are biting the hand that feeds them. I say get a life, job and a boyfriend/girlfriend.The reason for the former diatribe is this same notion of hating Star Wars becomes very apparent in the reviews of these Lando Calrissian tales. Many people stated that Lando didn't seem like the same guy we all knew from the Star Wars saga. Alright, first of all Lando really wasn't in the movies all that much, so how do we know what Lando was really like? Lando sold out Han Solo to Darth Vader, in order to save his city. Darth Vader put Lando between a rock and a hard place. Therefore Han Solo is captured; Lando feels remorse and redeems himself by aiding in the rescue of Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt. Omitting some smooth dialogue and blowing up the (second) Death Star, that is Lando Calrissian in a nut shell. People are saying about Lando's actions in these stories, "I can't imagine Lando doing that!" "It is so out of character for him to do that." Doing what? Lando didn't kill children, rape woman, abuse animals or wasn't flat out evil in any of these stories. He was and is an adventure, gambler, grifter, astute in humor and looking to make a quick buck/credit. Do any of these former qualities make him an abomination in the Star Wars universe? Or just contribute to the character we already knew?I did really like two of the other supporting characters in the Lando Calrissian adventures, Vuffi Raa and Rokur Gepta. Vuffi Raa is a three foot high starfish shape droid that Lando wins in a sabacca game. He is a very comforting and smart droid and becomes Lando's good friend. There is a nice chemistry between both of these characters and the result is very funny. There is an ongoing joke in all three stories, Vuffi Raa is always calling Lando "master" and Lando always replies by saying "Don't call me master".As for Rokur Gepta, he is the villain in all three stories. He is also called the Sorcerer of Tund; I love how Tund sounds just like Tundra, a cold, desolate piece of land which really mirrors the character. He is pretty much the poor man's version of a Sith Lord in these tales. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing at all, I found Rokur Gepta to a very enjoyable character. I do wish there was a bit more development around him, as well as Vuffi Raa. I wouldn't mind reading more about either one of these characters in future Star Wars books. The only familiar faces in these stories are Lando and the Millennium Falcon.This is the sixth Stars Wars book I have read, it could be the ninth if I count all three stories in here as single books. After all, they were originally published as three books in the early 1980s. Anyway, I have discovered that most, if not all Star Wars novels I have read have many of the same aspects: characters/planets/systems/alien races with strange names I have a hard time pronouncing, different cant, technology indigenous to the Star Wars universe and the reader needs to use his/her imagination remembering it is only a book.When I say it is only a book, I am stating that don't let the story destroy the Star Wars saga for you. For instance, I read the Star Wars "Bounty Hunter Wars" trilogy last year. These books took place in various points in time during Episodes IV, V and VI. Now we all remember from Return of the Jedi/Episode VI that Boba Fett fell into the Sarlacc Pit and was eaten alive. Well in the "Bounty Hunter Wars", Boba Fett survived the Sarlacc Pit and was again on adventures. For those of you that didn't read those books don't worry anything with regards to plot haven't been spoiled. The only reason I bring it up is because this book can really alter the movies, yet it didn't ruin my experience reading those books, as a matter of fact they were great books. I do wish there was a book out there that explained why Obi-Wan Kenobi took the first name Ben. Why not Barry, Ted or Philip?I digress the Lando Calrissian Adventures is a quick read that is fun and different. These books were written right when Return of the Jedi came out, so the tone of these books isn't the same as the Star Wars books written today. L. Neil Smith used earth terminology when writing this book: cigars, cigarettes, manta-rays, etc. and written style that is different from Star Wars novels written currently. This again doesn't make this a lousy read, just a different approach. As formally noted, I wish L. Neil Smith elaborated more on each of these stories, but it didn't kill the book(s) for me. Besides it is in "The Flamewind of Oseon" that Lando grows his famous mustache. Overall, these aren't the worst books I ever read, they aren't the best I ever read, but as a non-persnickety Star Wars fan, I found it an enjoyable read.
