Reviews Books The JC Lit Reviews Special: MILLENNIUM FALCON (Spoilers)

The follow-up to Invincible is out; the post-ROTJ storyline moves yet one more step forward with Millennium Falcon. James Luceno tells the story of the trusty old ship's past while setting up the next big series, Fate of the Jedi.

Some rules: rate Millennium Falcon on a scale of 1 to 10, supplementing your rating with a review, if you want to (It's not necessary but is highly encouraged). However, please do not rate or review the book until after you've read the whole thing. Thanks.

Go for it.


Some previous review threads:

Republic Commando: Hard Contact, by Karen Traviss
Shatterpoint, by Matthew Stover
The Cestus Deception, by Steven Barnes
Medstar I: Battle Surgeons, by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry
Medstar II: Jedi Healer, by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry
Jedi Trial, by David Sherman and Dan Cragg
Yoda: Dark Rendezvous, by Sean Stewart
Labyrinth of Evil, by James Luceno
Revenge of the Sith, by Matthew Stover
Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno
Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine, by Veronica Whitney-Robinson
Tatooine Ghost, by Troy Denning
Survivor's Quest, by Timothy Zahn
Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream, by Aaron Allston
Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand, by Aaron Allston
Traitor, by Matthew Stover
Destiny's Way, by Walter Jon Williams
Force Heretic I: Remnant, by Sean Williams and Shane Dix
Force Heretic II: Refugee, by Sean Williams and Shane Dix
Force Heretic III: Reunion, by Sean Williams and Shane Dix
The Final Prophecy, by Greg Keyes
The Unifying Force, by James Luceno
Dark Nest I: The Joiner King, by Troy Denning
Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen, by Troy Denning
Dark Nest III: The Swarm War, by Troy Denning
Outbound Flight, by Timothy Zahn
Republic Commando: Triple Zero, by Karen Traviss
Legacy of the Force: Betrayal, by Aaron Allston
Legacy of the Force:

 

For starters, I don't think this book deserved to be a hardcover. With FOTJ starting soon, we'll have our fill of those, and this just didn't fit the bill for me. As for the story, I was pretty disappiointed. I kept wanting to get through the flashbacks and find out what was happening to Han and crew. I didn't find Jadak to be that interesting, and I couldn't picture him as anything but a guy who wanted to find some treasure, no matter who he crossed. The parts where we get some input on the GFFA as a whole seemed added in at the last minute. Seff Hellin was interesting, but he left the story just as fast as he came in. The book did have some good Han/Leia insight, which is good, even if it is two years after Jacen. Finally, the most redeeming quality of this book is the revelation that the GFFA will have one constant going forward. Lando Calrissian.

5

 

I wrote a pretty long review yesterday which can be found here (about halfway down)!

Based on everything I wrote in that thread, I'm going to give the book...

8.2. Out of ten.

 

Millennium Falcon just weighing in at 317 pages could have been one of those epic Michener tomes like The Source. It could have gone on and on and I'd have lapped up all of it. At least I felt that way for the first 150 pages strong. The history of the Falcon sounded boring to me as a concept but Luceno is simply the breeziest Star Wars writer on the roster and he makes it work. I often think he and Allston capture the actual feeling of a Star Wars movie best.

Millennium Falcon is not for all fans. It is the epilogue for Legacy of The Force I wanted. It also teasingly touches on many fanboy questions such as why Daala? Is Jaina going to marry Jagg? And what's up with the Jedi?? Unlike Dark Journey, Millennium Falcon doesn't dwell on the horror of the previous book. We are given some insights into Han and Leia's grief post LOTF but that isn't what this book is about or tries to be about. It doesn't divert your attention with more horror like The Dark Nest Trilogy. It basically feels like a kids book with a thickly sentimental mystery.

I lost some of my enthusiasm around halfway mark I think. I found the flashbacks and flashforwards tedious as none lasted particularly long. Luceno balances several plots quite well but for a 300 page novel, much is crammed in and much is predictable.

Near the climax the wool is easily pulled over both Han and Leia's very seasoned eyes. So easily in fact that this issue alone made a fairly credible story fizzle out a bit at the climax. I wondered if Han was actually doddering a bit and I was absolutely confounded as to what happened to Leia the Jedi Knight until the last 10 pages. For the mystery to play out I suppose she had to be less perceptive than she or any Jedi would normally be. Course it compromises the story a bit. The treasure is of course what it always is. Not what you expect. Millennium Falcon is only half that.

7.8

 

Average score: 21/3 = 7.00

 

Hm, Millenium Falcon wasn't the best Star wars book I've ever read, but compared to the rest of the stuff we've been getting for the past year or so, this is excellent. I didn't like everything that happened in the story, since while Star Wars is partially mystical with the Force, of course, I don't like the idea of the Falcon having a soul really, but that's just me. Didn't really care much for the treasure hunt and all the life-stories of the various owners of the Falcon either, since in terms of plot, they just had to say who they got from the Falcon from, then onto the next person. I also didn't care for having the planet explodes just minutes after they leave it, never liked that cliche, though perhaps it was intentional given the treasure hunt nature of the plot.

That's not to say it was a bad book. No, this is the best recent Star Wars book by far. I loved Han and Leia for most of the book. They're old, but they're a mostly happy couple, but obviously they're still dealing with the death of their son, who had to be put down. Allana was great, very cute and upbeat, but not in the whiny, bratty way that the twins occasionally came off as. I'm also glad that Allana didn't ever have any adventures off by herself, and that Allana was only kidnapped once (and hopefully Allana won't be kidnapped again for a while, even if Han and Leia's record on that isn't too good). And while both are still greiving, they're both mostly stable though.

Luke was ok during his brief appearance over a comm call. He's obviously still not stable after all the traumatic events, but at least he's definitely still the leader of the NJO, even if hearing there have been charges brought against him sounds ridiculous. And also nice to see glimpses of how the galaxy has changed, like lots of new species, that Nar Shadda isn't the same old smuggler's haven it used to be, and how a galaxy ruled by Daala (bleh) is. Right now, the galaxy's at peace, but there are also signs of some discontent with Daala- like its nice to hear the Mon Calamari still don't like her, its a welcome sign of sanity after the insanity and stupidity of LotF. And while I don't expect to like FotJ, I like how they laid hints for the future books, like the strange rogue Jedi Seff and how he reminded Allana of Jacen, Daala being evil, and Luke's continuing struggle to deal with all the events of LotF, which will probably all play big roles in FotJ.

And of course, though Lando only appeared briefly, oh he had a wonderful few pages. Lando Jr.! With how most of the rest of the kids of the Rebellion's heroes have turned out... not so good (what with Anakin dead, Jacen evil and dead, and Luke's not having any more kids), its nice to see a cute baby, even if its somewhat late in Lando's life, but whatever, its nice to see some cute happiness for once, it feels like its been a long, long time since there was anything like this.

Jadak and his story was ok, even if I found his parts mostly boring. There wasn't really a villain to this story, not that every story needs a villain, just that Oxic was an odd rival/villain of the story, since when it comes down to it, he's just an old, obsessed collector. Though the flashbacks got really boring by the eighth one. I'm kind of sorry the treasure hunt didn't involve more investigative work, like someone really hard to find, instead the Solo family just searched on the Holonet, found almost everyone relatively easily then talked to them, got their sorta life story and then headed onto the next person, and it was the same from the other end. The part where someone said the Falcon had been blown up was a bit... anti-climatic though, as the Falcon obviously was still in one piece. Not to mention I was disappointed that at the end of the chase, the treasure turned out to be a dud, a fake. Although that too might be a homage to how these treasure hunts sometime turn out. I didn't like how Han and Leia took so long to catch onto the fact that Jadak and Poste were lying to them, not to mention missing the tracking devices

 

Fittingly, this reminded me of one of the pre-Zahn Han and Lando novels, the ones that were basically big treasure hunts (Lost Legacy/Mindharp of Sharu).

All the Centrality references made me a happy Centran fanboy.

Lando Jr. aka Chance was adorable. They damn well better not screw him over like the other heroes' kids.

Plot was decent. Lost track of the owner's chronology a few times.

7/10. Still 100 times better than any LotF novel.

 

1 out of 10

It wasn't really that good.

 

1 out of 10? That is saying that 90% of all books (or 90% of all other Star Wars books) are better than MF.

I haven't finished it yet but I have a hard time believing its that bad.

-The Rebel Gungan

 

I liked Millenium Falcon. It was not groundbreaking or particularly suprising, but in many ways it was exactly what fans needed.

Some many little things were captured perfectly by Luceno. Han and Leia's interactions of the Falcon were top notch. So much so that I almost forgot what it was like to see them in that informal situation. Interactions with Allana and Threepio were also spot on, with Threepio having a nice little supporting part with quite a few funny lines.

As others have mentioned, the scences with Lando were awesome. Ole' General Calrissian gets to little love these days, so it was nice to see him with Tendra and little Lando Jr.

I felt it was a bit lacking in regards to info on the aftermath of the Alliance-Confederation War, but the little tidbits Luceno provided were enough to keep me happy. The Mon Cals are unhappy with Daala as Chief of State, the Corellians and Wookiees (and presumably other former Confed members) were given war reparations when they rejoined the GA, which was a nice touch. Luceno did a nice, subtle job of showing us that while the GA is led by a former war criminal that there are still good people and principles that form the government's core.

It was also refreshing to see the respect Han and Leia got from people they encountered. The scence with the GA Intelligence officers stands out in my mind. I got so used to writers make Hand and Leia hated by the government that I REALLY noticed it when the Intel officials were kind, respectful, and even helpful. Little things like that give me hope.

Lastly, not certainly not least, I loved the scence where Leia is thinking about a title for the second volume of her memiors:

"The Crook, the Wook, and Me"

8/10

--Adm. Nick

 

Come on. Now that's just mean.

 

especially with no reasons given

 

Whelp, Millenium Falcon is apretty ok book. Nothing outstanding, but I liked Jadak and the flashbacks (sounds like a band, doesn't it?) although I kept getting mixed up as to who interviewed which owners. Oxic was kinda lame, and the macguffin wasn't very good. I mean, I was expecting a big cache of Jedi artifacts, holocrons and the like. That would have been a nice treasure, something that would be noteworthy in-universe, but with little impact on the story- just a couple lines from Luke about how valuable the knowledge is and such. Instead we get a counterfeit of a seal of a government eighty years gone.

Anyway, 7.5/10

 

It was boring to me. I couldn't remember what was going on half the time. The flashbacks annoyed me and the history of the Millennium Falcon just dragged the book down. The Han, Leia, and Almelia 9or whatever they're calling her these days) scenes were just like fingernails on the chalkboard irritating. The only enlightening thing was when Luke was arrested for derilection of duty. And that was one point out of the ENTIRE book that I actually enjoyed. It felt like I was being given a history lesson (I hate history) while having surgery performed while I was awake. I never cared for the Falcon's history, it was just a ship, it's not something very exciting. Now, if it had originated from the Ebon Hawk, I might have enjoyed it.

 

I feel this was just the type of book that Star Wars needed. A fun little adventure, with just enough action to make it enjoyable. No glaxy wide threat. No major bad guy trying to kill everyone. Just a nice adventure for everyone to enjoy. While not Luceno's best work, it is still very good. I liked learning about the history of the Falcon, it has always been a major part of my Star Wars enjoyment, and I got to learn about it. Leia, Han and Allana were enjoyable. I especially liked how they handled Allana's character. She truly seemed like a child, which I feel doesnt happen in the Star Wars books. Kids are usually wielding lightsabers or flying starships. Allana was just a 7 year old kid on an adventure. Granted the adventure was on a starship, and filled with a little danger, but an adventure none the less. Jadak was also fun to read, because you got to relive some parts of Star Wars history through him. The Yuuzhan Vong werent forgotten either, which is refreshing. Thats one thing I disliked about Dark Nest and LOTF, they tried to pretend the Vong never happened. This book showed that while the YV war was 20 years ago, their mark was still left on the galaxy.

About the only thing I disliked about the book was the brief interaction between Leia and Luke. I liked how Leia and Han were shown to be upset about Jacen, but starting to forgive as well. This part with Luke had me wondering what was going on in Luke's head.

Now let's see where this arrest of Luke is going.

Anyway, I give this book an 8 out of 10.

 

Amazing. Top-notch work from Luceno.

Seeing the history of the Falcon was great, and while none of the prior stories were utterly gripping, they were all interesting. Jadak was a solid character -- not amazing, but someone who held up his end of the plot perfectly well and made for an enjoyable character. The biggest selling point for the book, I think, was the characterization of the known characters. The instant Han showed up on the page, it put a huge, huge grin on my face, and I spent the first several chapters of Han and Lando and Leia and Allana uttering happy outbursts at ridiculous little things (Uncle Lando! Hell yeah!). It was a book that just felt good. The characters felt right. I was a little disappointed at the fact that they hadn't seen Lando for a long time (neither Han nor Leia have jobs; just what the heck are they doing that they're so busy?) but the chapters with Lando were outright gold. Han and Leia and Lando really felt like old folks who are happy to be able to just kick back, to take a rest. The scene with Han and Lando sailing, too, was just pure awesome. It was one of those peaceful moments we don't get enough of, but the characterization was so perfect that it never got boring, as some of those scenes do. Han and Leia's relationship with Allana is perfect. The fact that they get huge respect wherever they go is perfect. The fact that they have an exciting adventure without galactic crisis or even much in the way of danger and turmoil and upset for them was fantastic. It just about made me sad that FOTJ has to happen. Speaking of FOTJ, the setup was great; it didn't intrude on the story, but was clearly there and worked very well. Luceno managed to pack a lot of info, and a lot of postwar references, into the book while avoiding outright infodumps. I also really appreciated the "villain", Oxic -- he's aristocratic, rather ruthless, but he's also a guy who's pro-Rebel and generally not a bad guy, and it shows at the end, which was great. It had a little bit of an Indiana Jones vibe, and then the villain comes in to claim the treasure -- but he's not going to shoot them. He's not going to beat them up. He's just going to take it, because he really, really wants it and has more invested in getting it than anyone else. A nice, subtle antagonist, and a refreshing change of pace.

Luceno really showed once more that he belongs up there in the very top tier of Star Wars writers with this. I give it an 8.9/10. Excellent, highly enjoyable, no real flaws -- but it could have been better, had it been a little longer with a little more space to play out things, and had it worked a little harder on Jadak and his plotline.

 

Average score: 76.4/11 = 6.95

 

Uhh, Havac, what about your score?

 

Buried in the second paragraph, and, as I just double-checked, counted in the total.

 

I give MF a 10/10 cause it really combines a lot of things I expect of Star Wars, as well as even featuring more, showing how stuff can be done with fun, details and characters in character, etc. in short, it has all good sw lit has to have and is a lightning rod in the darkness of some other recent EU (that I like and that is good as single book but from another point of view encompassing the whole EU they suffer from some maladies)

 

Average score: 86.4/12 = 7.20

 

8.5/10

I give it such a high rating, because for the first time, in a long time, I felt like I was remembering why I began reading the EU in the first place. All the tales of the previous ship owners, with the exception of Zien's, were intriguing. Allana, Leia, and Han were written exceptionally well and the Jacen parts were written exceptionally well. I must admit, that during the climactic scene on the planet (can't recall the name) were the "treasure" was hidden, the emotional perspective from Leia's viewpoint brought tears to my eyes. And I'm not the emotional sort. All in all I really enjoyed the read and look forward to more from good ol' Luceno.

 

I don't think that's what it's saying at all.