Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel was written by New York TImes Bestselling Author, Beth Revis. This novel, published by Del Rey, takes place immediately after the events of Return of the Jedi. The book scheduled for release August 16th 2022. A big thanks to Del Rey for providing a copy for review.
SUMMARY
The Rebellion celebration of the major blow to the Empire last only one day. The reality was, a battle was won… but the war would still rage. As we’ve read in other material post Return of the Jedi, we know that the Emperor had a contingency plan. Had the Rebels not paused to celebrate, the transmission initiating such plans may have been stopped.
The war is changing, The fear of direct, discreet assassination attempts will be attempted on key rebel targets. It goes beyond just the Empire. Former political rivals, Hutt crime lords, and business owners that relied on Imperial contracts to remain operating; may all hold a grudge against those who toppled the Empire.
While the rebels spend a little time on the forest moon. Han doesn’t waste any time, he can’t be without Leia. His love for her is strong. Through romance and humor sprinkled throughout this tale, the couple get married. It’s not a big fancy wedding that would have been traditional for a princess, but it was perfect for the couple who trying to save the galaxy.
Mon Mothma sends the couple out on a honeymoon on a galactic cruise, but it’s cut short. Leia has a bad habit of mixing business with pleasure. Events unfold that throw the newly weds right back into a fight with the Empire.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Beth Revis writes a good story. This book fills in some gaps that some of us fans have been wanting. The book is somewhat of a slow burn, in that it lacks action up until around 75% into the story. Honestly though, I thought it was fantastic that way. It’s a story that really zooms in on the relationship of Han and Leia. We see clearly how they view each other, and how they desire each other to be.
We get a look at the internal conflicts within Leia; her struggle with the force, politics, war, her lineage, and her love. There are also some quiet moments between characters that are really good. Such as a conversation between Luke and Leia about what the future holds.
We see a softer side of Han, a man that was willing to change his life for someone he loves. He’s run from it in the past, he even tried running from Leia at one point, but he couldn’t help but fall deeply in love with her. Some of his dialogue feels flat, maybe if we had some other details sprinkled around it, it would set, not just a better atmosphere, but a deeper understanding of some of his emotion behind it.
One thing that didn’t make much since to me was that Leia is wanted by the Hutt crime lords, dead or alive. She’s got a big bounty on her head for killing Jabba. My issue is… how do they know? How does anyone know Leia killed the slug? The barge blew up. Maybe there was a live holo-stream, and others watched Leia do it? That would be interesting, but we don’t know how everyone knows Leia killed Jabba.
There are a few moments in the story I could have done without, thankfully those moments were few. There are also a handful of characters from other stories that pop up, tying the Star Wars story together. Overall, I enjoyed the book and absolutely love the cover design.
RATING
I give Star Wars: The Princess and the Scoundrel 4 out of 5 stars. It was an easy read that really shed light on some of our favorite characters.