Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #322100 in Books
• Published on: 1998-01-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Synopsis
After deserting the Imperial Navy, Han Solo offers his smuggling services to crime lords Jiliac and Jabba the Hutt and is thrust into the middle of a battle between the Empire and a band of outlaw allies.

From the Back Cover
Here is the second novel in the blockbuster new trilogy that reveals the never-before-told story of the young Han Solo. Set before the Star Wars movie adventures, these books chronicle the coming-of-age of the galaxy's most famous con man, smuggler and thief.

THE HUTT GAMBIT

Once one of the Academy's brightest stars, Han Solo is now a fugitive from the Imperial Navy. But he has made a valuable friend in a former Wookiee slave named Chewbacca, who has sworn Han a life debt. Han will need all the help he can get. For the Ylesian Hutts have dispatched the dreaded bounty hunter Boba Fett to track down the man who already outsmarted them once. But Han and Chewie find themselves in even bigger trouble when they agree to lend their services to the crime lords Jiliac and Jabba the Hutt. Suddenly the two smugglers are thrust into the middle of a battle between the might of the Empire and the treachery of their outlaw allies...a battle where even victory means death!

About the Author
A C Crispin
A. C. Crispin is the creator and author of the StarBridge series and has written some of the most popular Star Trek novels yet published, including Yesterday's Son and its sequel Time for Yesterday. She is a frequent guest at science fiction conventions, and is eastern regional director of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. She lives in Maryland, USA.

Customer Reviews

good for the Star Wars fan
"The Hutt Gambit" is the second volume of A.C. Crispin's Han Solo Trilogy. At the end of "The Paradise Snare" a younger Han Solo was proud that he was accepted into the Imperial Navy and he looked forward to his career as an Imperial Soldier (potentially an officer) and a pilot. When we begin "The Hutt Gambit" we learn that Han had been dishonorably discharged from the service and he can be found in a bar with a Wookiee who has sworn a life debt to Han. The Wookiee, of course, is Chewbacca. Han acted against a superior office when he rescued Chewie from slavery, and from being killed. This brings Han full circle to become the smuggler we know in "A New Hope".

To start, Han does not want Chewbacca around. Han feels that there is no other way that he could have acted, and he was also paying off a debt that he felt he owed to a wookiee in "The Paradise Snare". But, Chewbacca insists and Han quickly gets used to having someone around to talk to. Han hires himself (and thus Chewie) out to the Hutts on the Smuggler's Moon. Specifically, Han takes employment with Jiliac and Jabba. Yes, that Jabba. This gets Han involved, on the periphery, of the interclan conflicts of the Hutts and also into battle with the Empire which is seeking to take control of some of the Hutt wealth.

"The Hutt Gambit" foreshadows Han's role in the Star Wars Trilogy, and does a good job in developing his character into the man we meet in "A New Hope". It sets up the relationships between Han and Lando, Boba Fett (this was interesting), Jabba, and Han's response to the Empire. This was a fast paced story and should be interesting to the Star Wars fan. I don't know how accessible this would be to those who are not familiar with Star Wars and it goes without saying that reading "The Paradise Snare" first is a must. This is worth reading for the Star Wars fan, but everyone else has to decide where they would like to enter the Star Wars universe.

-Joe Sherry

One of the best Star Wars novels so far.
THE STORY:
Kicked out of the Imperial military, young Han Solo and his new companion Chewbacca set out to become the galaxy's greatest smugglers, forming connections on the Smuggler's Moon - Nar Shaddaa - and befriending a powerful Hutt named Jabba.

WHAT'S GOOD:
This is one of the best Star Wars books out there. It artfully winds together all the elements of Han's smuggling days referred to in his later adventures whilst maintaining the strong narrative of how he develops from the brave youth of book 1 to the cynical pirate of the first film. Also included here is one of the best written battles in Star Wars history (the Battle of Nar Shaddaa) in which a ragtag band of smugglers must use their skill and cunning to defeat a powerful Imperial fleet. There are a vast number of cameos in this book, so I'll just drop a few names; Mako Spince, Shug Ninx, Salla Zend and Vima-Da-Boda (from the 'Dark Empire' comics); the smugglers who betray Han in 'The New Rebellion'; Xaverri (from 'The Crystal Star'), Roa and Lwyll (from 'The Han Solo Adventures'); Durga the Hutt (who features in 'Darksaber') and, of course, a few faces from the movies too; Boba Fett, Lando Calrissian, Jabba and a certain sinister deep-breathing individual!

WHAT'S BAD:
The only bad thing about this book (and not the author's fault) is the mistaken identification of Boba Fett as having once been Jaster Mereel - George 'it's my franchise and I'll mess it up if I want to' Lucas destroyed that idea with Episode II.

Excellent, Fast Paced & Fun
This book is excellently written and seems to capture what Star Wars is all about. If you're a fan and want to know what Han and Chewie got up to before Star Wars: A New Hope then this book and the other two in the trilogy will satisfy.