“Say goodbye to paradise, sweetheart…” (218).
The explosive launch to A.C. Crispin’s celebrated “Han Solo Trilogy,” The Paradise Snare, offers a dizzying origin story for everyone’s favorite rogue smuggler, Han Solo. This blast from the Bantam-era past, gives readers a richly imagined string of new worlds and creatures while learning about the early life of Han Solo prior to his appearance in the film Star Wars: A New Hope. How did Han first develop a relationship with the Wookiees? How did he get his name? Why is he such a strident religious skeptic? These and many other questions are answered in this delightfully lively Star Wars novel.
While the exact details of Han Solo’s childhood still remain somewhat mysterious, we first encounter a scrappy, teenage Han aboard an ancient troopship, a relic of the Clone Wars, an old Liberator-class vessel once called “Guardian of the Republic” which is now known as the “Trader’s Luck.” It houses nearly one hundred sentient beings, and it is helmed by a shady, scam-artist and former bounty hunter (who gave up his bounty hunting career due to bad luck) named Garris Shrike –“a slender man of medium height, Garris was handsome in a hard-edged way. Streaks of silver-white above his temples accentuated his black hair and ice-blue eyes.” Shrike notably wears a high-ranking Moff military uniform aboard his vessel. Shrike spends his days scooping up various vagrant children (or “alley urchins”) off the streets of Corellia and using them for thieving missions. One such child was a very young Han Solo who has now grown into a young adult aboard the “Trader’s Luck” –in fact, it was the crew of the “Trader’s Luck” who first informed Han of his name: “Solo.” Apparently, “Solo” is a well-known name on Corellia. “Berethron e Solo” introduced democracy to the planet three centuries earlier, and also a descendant of Berethron named Korol Solo had a son named Dalla Solo who went by the alias “Dalla Suul.” He was a murderer, kidnapper and pirate who was also known as “Dalla the Black.” There were other Solos like like a wealthy widow named Tiion Sal-Solo who had a child named Thrackan Sal-Solo who was perhaps six or seven years older than Han. Could Han be related to any of these prominent Corellian figures?
Aboard the “Trader’s Luck,” Han befriends a nearly six-hundred-year-old Wookiee named Dewlannamapia (or simply “Dewlanna”) who serves as a maternal-figure for him. Having no idea when he was born or who his parents might have been, Dewlanna serves as a comforting, stable force. Her mate, Isshaddik, was once outlawed on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk for an unspecified crime, and later killed during a smuggling run near Nar Hekka, one of the worlds located near the Hutt sector. She was then allowed to stay on the “Traders Luck” as a cook, though she misses her children who are scattered throughout the galaxy. From Dewlanna, we learn about various Wookiee customs, including the religious belief in an afterlife of the spirit. At the start of the novel, Han mounts a daring escape from the “Trader’s Luck” but it tragically gets Dewlanna killed. A tearful Han then flees aboard an auto-piloted droid-ship, hoping to build a new life elsewhere in the galaxy. Using an oxygen-limited space suit, Han stows away among the droids and eventually commandeers the ship which crash-lands on the mysterious religious colony of Ylesia (located near Hutt space). Here, Han secures a job with the high priests who govern the planet, responding to their advertisement for a pilot (seeing as how Han won several swoop race championships back on Corellia, he feels he will be a good fit to transport spice for the time being). Using the alias of “Vykk Draygo,” Han hopes to one day enter the Imperial Navy as a pilot.
“We’re safe, Dewlanna. Shrike can’t touch either of us, now… I’m free, and I owe it all to you. I’ll never forget it, either. If I ever get a chance to pay you back by helping one of your people, I swear to anything that’s out there –any god, or life-power, or force—I won’t hesitate” (16-17).
However, after running several spice missions for the Ylesians, particularly for the Most Exalted High Priest Teroenza and the Under-Priest called Sacredot (or “Veratil”), Han quickly grows disillusioned with Ylesia and it’s wayward priests (who are members of the four-legged t’landa Til species). It becomes apparent that the High Priests are merely scamming their faithful in a frenetic religious ceremony called the “Exultation,” which serves as a kind of drug-infused rite in order to keep the weaker pilgrims in a state of utter subservience and it also keeps the flow of spice moving (the pilgrims believe they serve the “Oneness” and the “All,” but in reality they are merely enriching the priests). Since the Ylesians are wary of outsiders, Han is given a Togorian protector named Muuurgh, a huge black-furry creature from Togoria. Despite mutual hostility at first, Han eventually saves Muuurgh’s life during a pirate attack on Alderaan and learns that Muuurgh secretly pines for his lost lover, Mrrov, his promised mate. Additionally, Han happens upon a fellow Corellian working on Ylesia. Known only as “Pilgrim 921,” she is a young woman with reddish gold curly hair and blue green eyes –we later learn her real name is Bria Tharen and she comes from a prominent family on Corellia. Needless to say, she and Han quickly fall in love –even though one of the majordomos on Ylesia, a grotesque figure named Ganar Tos, insists on Bria’s hand in marriage for himself.
It doesn’t take long for Han and Muuurgh to mount a daring escape from Ylesia along with Bria in which they rescue Mrrov and travel to Togoria aboard “The Talisman.” On Togoria, they witness the wedding of Muuurgh and Mrrov (as well as the ensuing customary Togorian wedding battle) before traveling to Corellia where Han meets Bria’s skeptical Coruscant family. The Tharen household soon unearths shadowy details of Han’s past and the many different aliases he has used over time (including “Janil Andrus” and also “Jenos Idanian” –an anagram of Harrison Ford’s other classic character Indiana Jones) which leads both Han and Bria to flee from Corellia to Coruscant together. However, shortly thereafter Bria –who is suffering from drug withdrawals due to the “Exultation” ceremony—decides to leave Han and return to her family. It is a somber and sorrowful goodbye as she simply leaves behind a note for Han. To make matters worse, the Hutts are after Han (especially after his past adventure which caused the death of Zavval the Hutt). In a final showdown, Garris Shrike tracks down Han in the hopes of collecting the Hutts’ bounty on Han. A dramatic hand-to-hand combat sequence ensues between Han and Shrike until another bounty hunter suddenly arrives and kills Shrike. Han then battles the second bounty hunter like a wild animal cracking his head against the wall, killing him, and stealing his clothing. Han then sets his blaster to its highest setting and destroys Shrike’s face (thus preventing any future retinal scans), and he tosses the bounty hunter’s corpse down an airshaft.
“From now on, it’s just me, Han Solo, he thought, stopping and peering up at the night sky, barely visible at the top of an airshaft. One star –or was it a space station?—winked against the blackness. Han’s mental declaration had the conviction of a sworn oath. Nobody else. I don’t care about anybody else. Nobody gets close, from now on. I don’t care how pretty she is, how smart, or how sweet. No friend, no lover… nobody is worth this kind of pain. From now on, it’s just me… Solo” (286).
In the epilogue, Han finally arrives for training within the Imperial Navy where he is known as Cadet Candidate Solo. He has finally made a name for himself and escaped his ruffian past… or so he thinks.
“Han Solo felt new, as though he’d just been born. The dark past tumbled off his shoulders, and only the bright future lay ahead” (306).
Suffice it to say, I loved A.C. Crispin’s start to the “Han Solo Trilogy.” The Paradise Snare opens a new corner of the Expanded Universe for fans to pore over. It offers a wild ride and it also answers many questions surrounding Han’s past and it lays the foundation for a fun trilogy that promises many more adventures to come! Lastly, Drew Struzan’s original cover art for this novel is incredible as always.
Notes:
- The game of sabacc is referenced several times in this novel.
- Garris Shrike’s droid he programmed himself was called F8GM “Eight-Gee-Enn.”
- Other members of Garris Shrike’s crew included: Brafid, an Elomin male (Elomin are shaggy creatures with tusks); Larrad, a tall human and Shrike’s brother; Nooni Dalvo, a female Sullustan who serves as the ship’s navigator; and a girl named Dranalis who eventually sent herself out an airlock instead of remaining under Shrike’s shadow.
- Vrelts are referenced several times in this novel. Apparently, Vrelts are large hairless rodent-like creatures native to the Corellian System.
- As a kid, Han apparently contracted Corellian Tanamen fever and he stole a genuine Krayt dragon pearl.
- Senator Garm Bel Iblis and Bail Prestor Organa, Viceroy and First Chairman of Alderaan, are both briefly mentioned. Han’s meeting with Garm Iblis is mentioned in Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy.
- Galactic spice production is given further detail: Glitterstem is mined on Kessel, Ryll came from the Twi’leck world of Ryloth, Carsunum was a black spice that came from Sevarcos which also supplies Andris, a white powder that enhances food flavors.
- Aar’aa are described as reptilian skin changers who are difficult to see in the dark.
- Zavval the Hutt, Jiliac, and Jabba control Nar Shaddaa, the smugglers’ moon that orbits Nal Hutta (the Hutt world). Jabba the Hutt divides his time between his home on Nal Hutta and his spice shipping operation on the remote planet of Tatooine. Zavval the Hutt is killed in this novel. The High Priest on Ylesia, Teroenza, reported directly to Zavval.
- Togoria, the homeworld of Han’s furry guardian Muuurgh, is described as a world where males and females don’t mix in society. Males live a mostly nomadic hunting existence flying over the plains on winged creatures called Mosgoths, while the females domesticate animals for meat and develop the planet’s technology. Togoria is a planet with clean air, which mainly use solar power, and where gravity is somewhat less potent than on either Corellia or Ylesia. The main city is Caross, where there are many gardens and white stone houses.
- Ylesian red mud baths are mentioned.
- Inspector Hal Horn of CorSec is referenced when Han’s bank account is frozen (Hal Horn is the father of Corran Horn, a character who features prominently in the X-Wing series as well as I, Jedi).
- Tralus is a farming and mining planet in the Corellian System.
- A young Princess Leia makes a brief appearance in this novel during a recording on Alderaan.
- In a cafe on Alderaan, Han briefly meets Alderaanian nobels Bornan Thul and Aryn Dro Thul, (future parents of Raynar Thul in the Young Jedi Knights series).
- Han Solo meets his cousin Thracken Sal-Solo in this book (the main villain of the Correlian trilogy of novels).
- Vibroblades are referenced as are Arakyd concussion missiles.
- Alderaanian ale and flatbread are mentioned several times. I also picked up on Barbequed Traladon ribs, a delicacy on Corellia.
- The Jubilar gladiatorial free for all is mentioned.
- The other pilot on Ylesia is a Sullustan named Jalus Nebl.
- The phrase of “Sons of Barab” is used at least once in this novel. I believe this may be a reference to an Outer Rim region called “Barab.” Another odd phrase I took note of was the “Minions of Xendor” –which is a pejorative that refers to the Legions of Lettow and their leader Xendor.
- This novel reiterates the fact that droids cannot pilot ships of their own accord.
- Among many other obscure species call-outs in this novel, there are packs of canoids that hunt prey in the alleys of Corellia, a “drel out of water” is a phrase used about the drel, an aquatic species, and there is also apparently something called “Oobalah dens” on Corellia.
- There is apparently a custom of giving a gift to the Hutts (recall Luke’s “gift” to Jabba the Hutt at the start of Return of the Jedi).
- The ground on Coruscant is covered in a substance called permacrete.
Crispin, A.C. The Paradise Snare. Del Rey, New York, NY, 2015 (originally published in 1997). The Paradise Snare was dedicated to Crispin’s childhood friend Thia Rose.