This was pure, out-and-out fluff, and I think I’m going to have more of these as the year rolls by: a Star Wars novel! This one was the first of a trilogy by A.C. Crispin, detailing the history of Han Solo up to the beginning of SWIV. This first novel of the trilogy gives us the basic background of Han’s life up until he was about 17 and then follows him through his first love affair and his first solo (er, no pun intended) adventure. The book ends with him enrolled in the Imperial Navy, an obvious set-up for the next book in the trilogy.
The plot was… OK, but the characterization was incredibly thin. I had a hard time believing that this was the same character that Harrison Ford so fully realized in the Star Wars trilogy.
So why am I wasting my time with these books? In no small part because every now and then I want just pure brain-candy. Like cotton candy, it looks good and is full of sugar and is fine every now and then, but you wouldn’t want to make a diet of it. Conversely, a diet of nothing but vegetables, while good for you, can also bore you.
There’s also the factor that I’m really interested in the idea of large, overarching narratives right now. Stories like those in the Star Wars novels work in no small part because they are part of a much larger narrative, a larger tapestry that you have already invested your time in coming to know. Stand-alone novels can be powerful, but they can also be left behind when you’re done. But a novel that’s part of a shared world has narrative depth that comes merely from the fact that it is part of a story that is larger than itself, and is that not what we all are? Part of a story that is larger than ourselves.