Product Description

With the New Alliance firmly established, Princess Leia Organa has taken a strong leading role in government, but even now safety and security are not assured. As Luke Skywalker and Han Solo take advantage of the stability of the new order, Leia's and Han's children are kidnapped.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #242046 in Books
• Published on: 1995-11-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 399 pages

From the Back Cover
The Crystal Star is a whole new chapter in the Star Wars saga, with a fresh vision of the future of the New Alliance, and an action-packed plot that will leave readers breathless.

With the New Alliance firmly established, Princess Leia Organa has taken a strong leading role in government. But even then, safety and security are not assured. As Luke Skywalker and Han Solo take advantage of the stability of the new order to follow rumours of a lost enclave of Jedi Knights, Leia and Han's children are kidnapped! In disguise, Leia and Chewbacca follow a trail of clues to find the children. Their search leads them to a far-flung star system with a fantastic crystal sun at its centre. Little did they expect, however, to find Han and Luke already there. Nor could they have anticipated the presence of Hethrir, a former member of Imperial hierachy, or of Waru, an alien being with powers more miraculous than any Jedi Knight they'd ever encountered.

As the crystal star spreads its strange quantum effects, influencing the very fabric of space itself, Luke, Han and Leia must uncover the secrets behing Hethrir's peculiar colony in order to find the children and get out of the system - before it's too late.

About the Author
Vonda Mcintyre
Vonda McIntyre is a well known science fiction and fantasy writer whose novels include The Exile Waiting, The Entropy Effect, the Starfarers Quartet, The Moon and the Sun (which won the Nebula Award for Best Novel of 1997), Dreamsnake (which won the Nebula Award and the Hugo award), and The Crystal Star.

Customer Reviews

'Cause The Fragrant Wookiee's review ain't harsh enough
SHORT VERSION: Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Bleah. One of the worst "Star Wars" novels I've ever read.

SLIGHTLY MORE DETAILED VERSION: Well, I'm going to have to agree with The Fragrant Wookiee's excellent review on this matter, but I honestly don't think it was harsh enough. You see, one of the things I like is CONSISTENCY in stories. And when a prolific author -- who should know better -- gets involved with an established property, I'm a little old-fashioned in that I think said author should do extensive research so his/her story blends in well with everything else that has come before it. If they don't do their research, their resultant tale sticks out like an Iguanodon's massive thumb-spike, and is even more painful to experience.

Now, Mr. Tapley's review does an admirable job of summing up the (dire) plot, the (very few) good points and (innumerate) bad points in this novel, but as a fan who has immersed himself since childhood in "Star Wars" to the same depth and passion as many other males immerse themselves in football, I have to say that "The Crystal Star" just does not feel like it belongs, and as such, deserves a lower rating. It reads like a "Star Trek" novel with Luke, Han, and Leia slapped in at the last minute. Now, don't get me wrong. "Star Trek" novels aren't bad things in and of themselves, but in this case, it's as disconcerting to a sci-fi fan as watching a sumo wrestler trying to do olympic gymnastics: it's the collision of two vastly different worlds which should not intermingle for fear of creating disturbing results.

I've seen this done several times: well-respected and accomplished authors breezing in and making a complete hash out of a beloved property with a story that doesn't gel with anything else that has been written before or since. "The Crystal Star" is one such tedious anomaly. If it had been done as a stand-alone novel with different lead characters, I might have enjoyed it more; there were some quite interesting parts in there, but they sure as heck weren't "Star Wars." I'd recommend borrowing "The Crystal Star" from a library before deciding on whether or not to purchase this book. If you like it, it's being sold at a decently reduced price. If you dislike it, at least you haven't wasted any money.

A strong contender for the worst Star Wars novel of all.
THE STORY:
Ten years after 'Return of the Jedi', Luke and Han travel to Crsieh Research Station to investigate rumours of a strangely powerful being, possibly a Jedi. Meanwhile, Leia and Chewie set out on a desparate hunt when the Solo children are kidnapped by the Dark Jedi Hethrir.

WHAT'S GOOD:
Fans of the Han Solo trilogy might like to find out how the character of Xaverri originated and what she does after the fall of the Empire.

WHAT'S BAD:
All the rest of the book. This book contains some of the most un-Star Wars ideas that I've ever read, everything from stars turning into giant crystals to a cube-shaped glop-monster from another dimension. Leia and Chewie's quest is uninspiring at the best of times. Hethrir is a distinctly melodramatic and unimposing villain. I was also appalled by how easily Luke finds it to mistrust Han, perhaps his oldest friend. The bits involving the Solo children read like a kiddies' picture book. Perhaps stupidest of all, this book claims that Darth Vader trained two apprentices. All right, I can just about accept that, but one of those apprentices is a Light-side Jedi! And Vader let her go about her business! Ridiculous. As for Waru...don't get me started! (The glop-monster is proven malevolent, so logically, our heroes decide to climb into it and go for a swim).

BRILL!!!
This has got to be the best one of the best Star Wars books I've read so far. It's nice to see Luke and Leia become a bit more human. Sometimes you start to build up an image of Luke being someone with superhuman powers all the time, never using his brain so it's nice to see him become more human but asking the bad guy to eat you (?!) it's also nice to see Leia act a bit more like a mother and nice to have the children play an active part. It's also nice to know a bit more about Han's past.