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

I wrote this review of Tatooine Ghost for my website, Http://www.g-pop.net:

" Star Wars book fans have been clamoring for more books written about events taking place after Return of the Jedi and before the New Jedi Order series. They want books that fill in the gaps between the rise and fall of the New Republic. Most of all, they want to read more about their favorite heroes ? heroes from the original trilogy. Enter Tatooine Ghost, a first attempt at answering the pleas of the many Star Wars book fans all around the world.

Writer Troy Denning is well-versed in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. He has penned at least six novels and short stories in the continuing Star Wars saga: The New Jedi Order: Star By Star , The New Jedi Order: Recovery (e-book), Tatooine Ghost, A Forest Apart (e-book), and The Dark Nest Trilogy. A former game designer and editor, Denning has become an accomplished writer of science fiction and fantasy, having penned over 19 novels under his own name and under the pseudonym Richard Awlinson.

Tatooine Ghost takes place a short time after the events of The Courtship of Princess Leia. Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa have recently married. Their newest adventure as a married couple takes them back to the desert planet of Tatooine, in search of an Alderaanian moss painting, once thought lost and now rediscovered at a Mos Espa auction. The reasons behind Leia Organa Solo?s need to obtain this painting are tri-fold. The first is that the moss painting Killik Twilight is one of the last surviving pieces of Alderaan, a planet destroyed by the first Death Star. Second, the painting once hung in the Royal Palace of Alderaan, giving it some sentimental value. Finally, and most importantly, hidden inside of the painting is a secret military code; a code that is used by every member of the spy network of the former Rebel Alliance. The code is still used by the intelligence agents employed by the New Republic. If this code were to fall into the wrong hands, it would mean disaster for the newly constructed government.

However, Tatooine?s Ghost is not just a novel about rescuing a secret code from a historic painting. Mos Espa is the former home of the late Anakin Skywalker, Leia?s father. Arriving at Mos Espa has been somewhat of a shock to Leia, as Anakin Skywalker is revered as a hero by many in the city. As the only human ever to win a podrace, Anakin is admired by racers everywhere. His friends still live in the city and Leia is surprised to discover that they still hold Anakin in such high regard, considering what he later became. In fact, it is quite hard for Leia to believe that Anakin Skywalker could have been the kind-hearted, heroic soul that is highly revered in Mos Espa. Her knowledge of Anakin Skywalker is limited to what she witnessed in his latter incarnation, Darth Vader. Since The Truce at Bakura, when her father appeared to her in a vision, asking for her forgiveness, Leia has been adverse to discussing the topic of Anakin Skywalker and now the issue is thrust full force in her face. Add to this fact that the Force is becoming stronger within Leia, bringing on unwanted Force visions and ?feelings?.

Tatooine Ghost seems to be less of a novel about the further adventures of Han, Leia, Chewbacca, and C-3P0 and more about tying together the novels of the Expanded Universe to the Star Wars prequel trilogy. As a stand alone novel, Tatooine Ghost is an excellent read. Troy Denning perfectly captures the relationships between Han and Leia and Han and his first mate Chewbacca. Threepio is as prissy and comical as ever. The banter between the characters is both believable and enjoyable. Readers will enjoy reading about Anakin Skywalker?s friends ? the novel is a veritable ?Where Are They Now?? for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. It is nice to see Leia come to terms with her parentage and with her Force abilities. Star Wars fans will also enjoy discovering just what it was that encourage Han and Leia to begin a fami

 

I loved this book, its the only eu books i have read and i will only read troy denning books...10/10

 

this was a great book. I loved how Leia got to know a bit about her father's past and how he spent most of his life on Tatooine. I always get choked up during the Shmi parts.

 

10/10

I enjoyed this book. I had always wondered if anyone was going to address the issue of Luke/Leia's mother or grandmother. So this book was exactly what I was waiting for. We need to have more books like this because I am not a fan of loose ends.

 

6..

 

Denning is THE best writer for Han and Liea. He really has the essence of their characters down. That said, this is his best SW book in my opinion because he does such a good job of characterizing Han and Leia's relationship and their behaviors. I was also surprised that someone finally wrote in a way for Leia to discover more about her biological family. Denning seems to like doing this a lot, see Dark Nest trilogy, and the way he did it didn't irk me the way it did in the Dark Nest books. Denning also brought in everyones favorite Grand Admiral to help explain some passages involving 'Killik Twilight' from Zahn's books. He also re-uses Leia's spooky vision of "Luke" turned to the dark side in his LOTF book Tempest. Denning's use of repetition is what really made me like Tatooine Ghost so I give it a solid 10/10 because I could not put the book down until I finished it.