Product Description

Marriage has not changed Han and Leia much - they still bicker and banter with each other, but now they have something new to disagree on: whether to have children. Han wouldn't mind being a father, but Leia is terrified that whatever turned her own father into Darth Vader might be genetic, and she can't risk giving birth to a monster. In an attempt to put the past to rest, the newlywed couple go to Tatooine, where they speak with the people who knew Leia's grandmother, Shmi Skywalker. And Leia gets a gift: Shmi's diary, in which she recorded all her hopes and dreams for her beloved son, Anakin. While Han and Leia get caught up in an ever-escalating adventure on Tatooine, Leia reads her grandmother's diary and learns something of her heritage, something that will change her forever.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #170801 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 456 pages

From the Publisher
The international bestselling series

About the Author
Troy Denning is the author of the New York Times bestseller WATERDEEP (under the pseudonym, Richard Awlinson) and nineteen other novels, including PAGES OF APIN, BEYOND THE HIGH ROAD, and most recently, THE SUMMONING. A former game designer and editor, he enjoys hiking, mountain climbing, judo and any sport that involves going fast with boards strapped to his feet. He lives in southern Wisconsin with his wife Andria.

Customer Reviews

Leaving the ghosts of the past to rest
I want to have Troy Denning's child. I don't care if it's a biological impossibility. I want to do it. What could possibly spark a reaction like that in me? I just finished Tatooine Ghost, a Star Wars novel written relatively recently but not part of the New Jedi Order series. Instead, it takes place a few years after Return of the Jedi and the Imperials are still stomping around. Stormtroopers! Imperial Walkers! Jawas! Tusken Raiders! This book has everything. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Of course I'm being serious. Don't look at me that way. I have been reading and enjoying the New Jedi Order series, and I thought it was safe to leave the past in the past. Then I read this book.

The best thing about Tatooine Ghost is that it is a bridge between the old movies and the new trilogy. I really loved the concepts of the new movies but really disliked how Lucas handled them. This book takes those concepts and runs with them, showing us exactly what those stories should have been as they reach across the years and touch Anakin's daughter. Leia finds a journal left behind by Shmi Skywalker, Anakin's mother, as she records entries that she hopes one day Anakin will read. Leia sees her grandmother and finds another side of Anakin, a side showcased by a mother's love. Elements of Episodes 1 and 2 are woven through the narrative as Han & Leia meet up with some of Anakin's old friends. Some of them don't believe what they've heard about how Anakin became an evil monster. Others accept it but don't let it soil their memories of him. All of this comes at a time where Leia is going through a crisis. She refuses to even think of having children with the possibility that they could turn out to be like their grandfather. She has refused to forgive him or understand what made him who he ultimately was. Through the events in this novel, she slowly comes to terms with it.

The characterization is beautiful. The characters in this novel are not older like they are in the new series, and their sense of adventure is palpable. The book is full of the swashbuckling action, narrow escapes, and banter between the regulars that the original movies showcased. Stormtroopers wander around in their white armour, Jawas hungrily scrounge for droids and other machinery, and Tusken Raiders try to kill everybody who invades their desert domain. It showcases everything I loved about the originals, and makes the new series pale in comparison. I'd forgotten how cool the Empire was as an enemy. This is the Han and Leia that we grew up with, and I didn't realize how much I had missed them until I saw them in action again. Han's still a scoundrel and a smuggler-at-heart while Leia's the tough but sophisticated woman who will do what is necessary for the New Republic, despite not really liking it.

The book also serves as a bridge in the novel series as well. It references all the books around it, from The Truce at Bakura to The Courtship of Princess Leia, as well as Stackpole & Allston's X-Wing series. It connects Leia's reticence toward having children to the fact that they end up having three. It clarifies why Han is helping the New Republic after he grows to loathe the government in Courtship. Anybody who has read my Star Trek reviews knows how I hate unnecessary continuity references. You'd think I would hate this book because it is full of it. But I didn't. I luxuriated in all of the stuff I used to love but thought was gone. I loved how it clarified and examined things, and how it brought all of the movies together. It could not have been written before The Phantom Menace and The Attack of the Clones was produced, but it filled a need that had clearly been there since the beginning of the Star Wars book franchise way back with Zahn's Heir to the Empire.

Enough gushing. I do have to say that Tatooine's Ghost dragged in the middle a little bit. The endless treks through the wasteland, the description of needing water and how they were trying to keep from collapsing started to get old after a while. There were also a few too many in-jokes about how stupid stormtroopers acted in the original movies. The exchanges between the troop commander and his squad as he tries to show them the new, intelligent way to do things was a bit over the top.

You know what? I didn't care. My heroes were back. They weren't older, more seasoned, and slightly boring. The Empire was back. I don't care how dumb they could be. Stormtroopers would kick the Yuuzhan Vong rears. Denning's writing made me so awash in nostalgia, I would have forgiven him anything. So it's a good thing that he made a wonderful book as well. If you're a Star Wars fan, check Tatooine Ghost out. You'll be glad you did.

A surprisingly good read
Tatooine Ghost is a surprisingly good read seeing as some of the Star Wars "Expanded Universe" novels have been pretty dire to say the least. The story follows Han Solo and new wife Princess Leia as they journey to Tatooine to recover a painting that once hung in Leia's palace on Alderaan, which now contains a secret code used to contact undercover agents in the Empire. Denning writes the characters so well that you would think George Lucas had written the script, and their encounters with characters from the Prequel movies tie the saga together in a believeable and touching way; the revelations found in Shmi's diary make the reader connect events and relationships in a way they may not have before, and makes the saga feel seemless as it bridges the gap between the movies excellently. I only picked up the book (which belonged to a friend) to read the first chapter when I was bored and was hooked from the beginning. It has also prompted me to look at other Star Wars literature! A must have for all Star Wars fans!

Tatooine Ghost
This novel is set just before the Thrawn trilogy, and features Han, Leia and Chewbacca. They are travelling to Tatooine to recover a piece of artwork that contains a Rebel spy code. However, on the planet things become much more complicated.
This book is especially interesting because it helps tie the seperate Star Wars eras together. It connects Thrawn and Dark Empire to characters from Episode 1 such as Shmi and Watto. This helps you to connect the entire Star Wars saga, and gives you a good insight into the minds of Shmi, Watto and Leia.
Also included with the paperback is A Forest Apart, a reprint on an e-book featuing Chewbacca and his family. Its funny and entertaining, especially as it focuses on a character who is often left in the background.
In summary, this is a must for all Star Wars fans.