"Tatooine Ghost," by Troy Denning [Del Ray, 2003]

<b><i><font color=red>Tatooine Ghost</b></i></font> by Troy Denning

<img src=http://theforce.net/books/images/tatooine-ghost.jpg>



<b><font color=green>Synoposis</b></font>

<i>Han Solo and Leia Organa take center stage, and stunning revelations from the past play a critical role in shaping the future, as the New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Star by Star now turns to a crucial chapter in the classic Star Wars saga.

The deaths of Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, and victory at the Battle of Endor by no means spelled the end of the Empire. In the aftermath, the New Republic has faced a constant struggle to survive and grow. And now a new threat looms: a masterpiece of Alderaanian art?lost in transit after the planet?s destruction?has resurfaced on the black market. Offered at auction, it will command a handsome price . . . but its greatest value lies in the vital secret it conceals?the key to a code used to communicate with New Republic agents deep undercover within the Empire. Discovery of the key by Imperial forces would spell certain disaster. The only option is recovery?and Han, Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3PO have been dispatched to Tatooine to infiltrate the auction.

But trouble is waiting when they arrive: an Imperial Star Destroyer is orbiting Tatooine on the lookout for Rebels; a mysterious stranger at the auction seems to recognize Leia; and an Imperial officer?s aggressive bidding for the Alderaanian painting could foil the Solos? mission. When a dispute erupts into violence, and the painting vanishes in the chaos, Han and Leia are thrust into a desperate race to reclaim it?before Imperial troops or a band of unsavory treasure-peddlers get there first.

Dangerous as the chase is, for Leia it leads into especially dark territory. Already haunted by the specter of her infamous father, and fearful that his evil may infect future generations, she has suffered a disturbing Force-vision of Luke turning to the dark side. As she battles beside Han against marauding TIE fighters, encroaching stormtroopers, and Tatooine?s savage Tusken Raiders, Leia?s struggle with the warring emotions inside her culminates in the discovery of an extraordinary link to the past. And as long-buried secrets and truths at last emerge, she faces a moment of reckoning that will forever alter her destiny . . . and that of the New Republic.</i>

 

I currently reading this book and am liking how tptb are connecting the prequel stuff to it. Its nice to see Leia deal with her father being vader and Anakin.

Ash ReeBoo

 

I also liked the fact that this book connected the prequel era with the post-ROTJ era. I liked the reference to Thrawn. Also, the book was mainly just about Han and Leia, which I think was a nice switch. Not that I don't like reading about Luke and the other Jedi, but I think a different kind of adventure is a nice addition.

 

This, with all due respect to the author, is pretty mediocre. There are some interesting parts, but it's mostly just using the same tired characters in an overdone time period on a way, way, way overdone planet. The only thing that freshened it up, and, I believe, its only catch, was the plethora of prequel tie-ins. Now, when I read this, I had just stopped playing Star Wars Galaxies after six months of doing practically nothing else. I was amazed at how much Tatooine Ghost draws from Galaxies. I'd be willing to bet the author got inspiration from the game, because a number of the locations, characters, and ideas were originally from Galaxies.

Overall, I'd recommend a rent from the library, but it's not really worth buying.

 

"Tatooine Ghost" gets an 8 from me. I really enjoyed the bridge it provided between the prequel and post-ROTJ eras. Denning's characterisation of Han and Leia is strong, and appropriate considering the era this tale is set in. I also like how he manages to present the feeling that Tatooine is a mysteriously special place for the Skywalker family.

 

The book gets an 8 from me. I love the way in which it tied all the prequel stuff in such a believable way.

Ash

 

Great book. I wasn't even annoyed with seeing Tatooine again. Very cool to see Leia discovering her past.

9/10

 

I gave it an 8 (which is a high rating for me for an EU book.)

It was a solid read. I liked revisiting the Lars Homestead and Mos Espa. Very exciting, thought some parts reminded me of Herbert's Dune.

-Seldon

 

I really liked this book all around. I loved the parts about shmie and the tie ins to the prequels. the only negative thing I can say about this book is some of the 'speeder bike through the desert' parts dragged a little. i gave it a 9

 

Gave this book a 10/10. It was such an awesome book; I can't even find the words to describe just how great it truly was. I really enjoyed how the Force was guiding Leia and she was learning more and more about her biological father- the way he used to be before he became Darth Vader. I have always enjoyed the Skywalker family history and the Skywalker family themselves so this book helped me enjoy it even more.

 

9/10

I really liked this book. It was great to discover more of Shmi Skywalkers history. I thought her character was weak in Episode I, and so it was good to see her character developed in this book. I also love reading about Tatooine. I could never get tired of it.

It was a solid read.

 

9/10

This book really surprised me. I loved the tie-ins to TPM and AOTC. Learning more about Shmi's life after Anakin left was my favorite aspect of this novel.

 

1 out of ten for me. A badly plotted story (A missing art painting) that does not gel with either the EU or films (How come everyone suddenly knows Anakin/Vader are the same person and that Leia is his daughter???). With a ridiclous Thrawn cameo.
All put in for Leia to find some info on the Prequel films and not very formative info (tusken slaughter aside) at that.

All in all a very bad story with lots of window dressing to please fanboys and to disuguise the mediocrty of this story.

 

I enjoyed how Anakin is regarded as a hero. I ties in the PT and OT perfectly and I liked the fact that Leia learned about her grandmother.

 

I thought this book was very well done for a quick read. Characters I care about in jeopardy resonates with for more than villians being cloned and superweapons. I really enjoyed reading about Shimi's life after Anakin had left, and was glad she got a little happiness for herself before her demise. I hope more books like this one come out.

 

One of the best SW books I've read, it was incredibly enthralling, even with the better SW books, like Shatterpoint, I'm able to read at a normal pace, but I couldn't put Tatooine Ghost down and ended up reading it in a day and a half.

 

I agree. This was one of the best books out there. I just wish more would focus on Han and Leia or about the Skywalker's past. What if Leia found out about her mother? I want more emotional stories. Everything doesnt have to be a jedi fight or a space race or whatever. I'd love to see Mr. Denning do another book like this.

 

I agree with you guys, that it's really neat to connect the two eras, and to give a little more insight into what Leia is really thinking about. Of course she would have a huge barrier in her development as a Jedi, so I'm glad this fleshed that scenario out a little bit more.

The only downside, I thought, was that the trek through Tatooine seemed a tad boring. It was a "been there, done that" thing for me. Deserts are hot. We get it.

I hadn't read Denning before, but I thought he was pretty funny, and it was impressive how he kept a story about a painting that entertaining without any prominent villain.

 

I liked Tatooine Ghost a lot. Maybe because I'm a H/L fan. In any case, it was nice how Denning wrote about Leia learning about her grandmother and father. It is, I think, written really well, considering the last EU book I read was CoPL.

 

I liked it. I'm a huge Han and Leia fan, so when I found out that there was a book completely about them, I was thrilled. Using Shmi to help Leia was a great idea.

 

I gave it an 8 cause it kinda just dropped into the timeline.

 

I loved Tatooine Ghost. Stories that tie the OT and PT together, where the characters such as Leia and Luke learn about their past are very interesting. It took me awhile to get the book, but I am glad I did. Denning weaves a compelling tale involving Leia and her grandmother, and throws in the Imps (Thrawn), Jawas, the Darklighters, the Berus, Kitser and tusken raiders and keeps the reader involved.

 

I also enjoyed this novel. It was a great way to start getting into EU as I've not read too much of it since the Thrawn Trilogy. It's a stand alone book which ties the old and new movies together as well as introduces some of the themes and plots from the EU so it's a pretty good initiation into that side of things.

I would love to see a novel where the Skywalker / Tatooine ties are examined a bit more in depth than they were here. Why does this world have such an effect on the Skywalkers? Also I didn't like the fact that all of a sudden the whole galaxy seems to know that Vader was actually Anakin Skywalker and that Leia was his daughter. I thought that this was known only to a select few, from what I remember it certainly seemed that way in the Trawn trilogy, which takes place after this story.

Overall though, it was enjoyable, with the characterisations fairly true to those established in the films (Though there seemed to be more Return of the Jedi Han than Empire Strikes Back Han in this which is a shame). It sits well in the galaxy far, far away!

 

I definitely enjoyed this book as well. It had a nice little connection between the OT and the PT, which is nice. The dialogue was also a lot better than some of the EU.