Hey, Murdock!
What did you do to make B.A. yell at you now? I hope that a plane didn’t conk out on you guys again.
You were talking to your invisible dog again. Murdock, sometimes I think you like making the big guy angry with you. I know he kind of resembles Chewie, but you’re not Han Solo. One of these days you might push him too far.
Well, yeah, you do have good flying skills, like Han’s. But I still think you’re pushing it.
What did I want to talk about? Well, I just gave you a hint, H.M.
Yeah, the subject is Star Wars, one of the books for it. It’s called Star Wars: The Crystal Star, by Vonda N. McIntyre. She doesn’t do bad work, at least not that I’ve read, and Crystal Star is no exception.
However, I must admit that I do have a few problems with it. For starters, I kind of feel like – well, like she purposely made Luke, Leia, and Han a little too slow. Not in physically keeping up with their enemies but in how they worked out their responses mentally; they just didn’t seem to move fast enough. Essentially I feel like they were ‘dumbed’ down a few notches.
For starters, we’ll look at Luke. In The Crystal Star he falls under the spell of a strange alien being that seems to possess the ability to heal people. I don’t buy Luke falling under its spell. While the being does heal…there are strings attached.
Because when it’s hungry, it does just the opposite of healing. Han is present for one of these ‘healing’ events and gets emotionally sick just from watching, and he has no Force abilities. Han’s reaction upsets Luke and causes friction between them, friction that I don’t think was really necessary. It’s not the only source of hostility between them, but it leads to other problems with their friendship that I really don’t think were needed.
As for Leia: she, Chewie, twins Jaina and Jacen Solo, and three (and a half) year old Anakin Solo are all planet-jumping on another diplomatic mission. They’ve stopped off on a backwater planet and suddenly, during the frilly diplomatic chatter, all three Solo children vanish from their nearby playground and Leia doesn’t even realize this has happened.
For two hours (I’m afraid McIntyre doesn’t make this part totally clear) Leia is unaware of anything. Then, from the children’s native guardian, she learns that Chewie is hurt and the children are gone. Although she wants to chase after them immediately, the locals say she shouldn’t as ‘coup’ kidnappings are part of the local culture and she’ll shame the culprits (whom they believe are local but whom Leia is sure have Dark Side powers and came from off world) into hurting the one native being that disappeared with her children.
McIntyre, I must say, handles Leia’s shock and fear over this matter rather well. Still, I doubt that Leia would just ignore R2-D2 if he seemed to want her to follow him. She ought to have known the droid long enough to know when he had something important to tell her. As for her fear, this isn’t the first time her children have been targeted in the books. Considering this, Leia should have been better able to deal and act on her fear than she does in Crystal Star.
This also points out a weak spot in McIntyre’s story: Leia’s personal honor guard protect her and her children. Yet the Noghri of earlier stories aren’t even mentioned in Crystal Star; the only real security for the children here is Chewbacca. Leia’s lightsaber, twin to Luke’s in color, is also never mentioned.
I’m lost on why these were left out, to be honest. This is mostly continuity nit-picking on my part, but it still kind of rubs me the wrong way.
The part of the story that really hits the mark, though, is the part that focuses on the captured Solo children. The viewpoint McIntyre chooses to use is that of Jaina Solo, the older Solo twin and, as such, the oldest Solo heir. As mechanically savvy as her father and as sensitive as her mother, with the determination and stubbornness of both her parents (plus some from her rather bull-headed uncle, and I say that as a compliment), Jaina works hard to get her twin and younger brother to safety.
I can’t get into too much detail here, H.M. Sorry, but I don’t want to spoil the book for anyone who does have access to it. Suffice it to say that while Jaina does get her twin back as well as rally other Force-sensitive children being held with them to fight against their captor, Hethrir, it takes her longer to rescue Anakin. When she does reach him, he has already been rescued by her mother and father. The one who needs rescuing now, more so than her mother and father, is her uncle.
Interestingly, all three children call their parents to come back from – well, we’ll call it the edge of temptation. No, Murdock, I can’t be any more specific than that!
Han needs no real saving from this. Jacen and Anakin easily awaken their mother to her danger, returning her to her senses. But even Leia seems unable to bring Luke back from the cliff face of darkness.
That’s when Jaina calls, “Uncle Luke!”
Somehow, the voice of his five year old niece snaps Luke awake. He, Leia, and Han escape. But Luke, as the only trained Jedi, is still more than a little depleted from his battle, and Jaina and Jacen are set to watch over him as their family escapes the dying crystal star.
At the end, of course, Luke pulls through – there wouldn’t be any more books if he didn’t! What intrigues me about this story, though, is how adult Jaina behaves. You have to remember while reading the book that she’s not eight or even ten; she’s five but thinks as though she’s older (though she admittedly has a ‘young child’ mentality or untainted view of the galaxy).
And the most interesting thing about the story, Murdock, is how it is her frightened call that summons her lost uncle back to his senses. A feat her father, mother, and her brothers somehow didn’t accomplish, despite the fact that the latter three are all strong in the Force without any formal lessons in using it. It is responsible, stubborn, courageous Jaina who finally, finally, awakens her Uncle Luke to his danger.
“And the children shall lead?” I think so, Murdock. But what connection is there between her and her uncle? That’s something I’d like to know more about, frankly; more than I want to study her relationships with the rest of her family. Five called to Luke, one received an answer: Jaina Solo. It certainly is something to think about. Or chew on.
Of course I’m making a funny! You’re not being crazy now, Murdock, just absurd.
Okay, that’s more like it – you and your invisible dog.
Uh, H.M.? B.A. is calling you and he doesn’t sound happy. I think I’ll split now, while the splitting is good.
Later,
Mithril
Thoughts on the Edge of Forever 