You know something is wrong when Leia says "Piloting was more fun than being a Jedi!"Oh no! Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin have been kidnapped on Munto Codru, while their mother, Leia, is touring the more peaceful worlds of the New Republic. The official on Munto Codru are convinced it is a "normal" kidnapping, but Leia thinks otherwise and leaves with Chewie and Artoo to find her children. Meanwhile, Han and Luke go vacationing to Crseih Station in pursuit of Jedi.NOTE: This is a review based on the audio book and what I remember from reading the actual novel years ago.I Liked:The biggest redeeming factor of this book and one of the biggest reasons I rated it two stars is the rising importance of Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin. For the first time, we get to see through Jaina's eyes, and McIntyre absolutely nails this portrayal. All the children act their age, speak their age, and think their age. I enjoyed their portions of the book, and back when I read it when I was a teen, that was the reason I liked this book enough to devise my internet moniker (get it? Crystal Star(r Light)?).The second biggest factor was Leia behaving like a mother. In the Jedi Academy trilogy, Leia was content to dump her children where ever and on whomever was available, whether it was Chewie, Winter, Ackbar, or Jedi students she didn't even know. Knowing how she was raised, I found this unbelievable and disturbing. Here, Leia runs for her children and when they aren't there, she pretty much immediately packs up to leave after them. Now THAT'S the mother I was thinking she would be!Also, there were a few touching scenes with Han mentioning his fear his children would turn to the Dark Side (oh, boy, that is sure touching after Legacy, isn't it?) and if they died, and I did like the inclusion of a former love for Han, Xaverri.I Didn't Like:With the exception of a few books (the Thrawn Trilogy being the foremost), it seems to me most of the books of the Bantam/early 90's era portrayed our Big Three (Han, Luke and Leia) way, way out of character. This book is no different. Han goes into the virtues of flirting, even though he's been married to Leia for over six years. A bit early for the seven-year-itch or is he experiencing an early mid-life crisis? I don't know, but I still have trouble with his return to the smuggler of A New Hope (gambling, drinking, carousing at night-it seems like all these books want him to return to being a rogue and forget the fact he was a respected general). Luke acts like he has constipation all the time. I know this was "because of the crystal star's resonating with the Force" or "because Callista left him" (only, didn't he reconcile with her in Planet of Twilight), but can anyone else say: "Been there, done that"? How many planets/aliens/weird events must Luke encounter that *surprise surprise* rip away his Force abilities, leaving him a whining baby that is easily swayed to join Waru? And Leia, while far more motherly than earlier portrayed, drove me nuts. Not only was her code-name absolutely goofy sounding (every time the narrator said her fake name, all I could think of was that song by Jan and Dean, Li-Li-Li-Li-Li-Li-Li-Li-Li-Linda, only there, it was cute and not childish sounding), not only did she give the absolute most ridiculous name to a ship ("Alderaan"? Made me think she was talking about a planet, which has some funny connotations, to be sure), but Leia also at one points says Luke chided her on learning how to pilot instead of being a Jedi and she chose piloting because "It was more fun." Wow, how mature!!As for the other new characters: Well, they aren't much better. Firstly, it was extremely odd to hear "Werewolves" (spelled wyrwolves) in a Star Wars novel. And centaurs was kinda weird. I didn't hate those concepts too much, though I kept feeling like there was something more about them that I wasn't hearing.Hethrir is a completely stereotypical bad guy, plum out of a children's book, and his wife, Rillao, is the stereotypical counterpart to him. Why can't authors make a little bit more...oh, I don't know, maybe realistic heroes and villains? Hethrir and Rillao were both trained by Vader, but of COURSE, Rillao is a healer and opposed to violence and of COURSE Hethrir embraces the Empire and kills without a second thought. It was so stereotyped, I could gag. And their son, Tigris! BAH! He reminded me too much of Dev Sibwarra, only Dev was at least half decent (being brain washed directly). Tigris is just plain stupid. Oh, and his daddy is so mean and bad, that he lies to him about his mom and being able to use the Force! Did you know Hethrir is the Bad GuyTM?As for the plot, well, I enjoyed Leia's search for her kids far more than another weird vacation for Han and Luke. Why do these guys always go on vacations to the most out of the way, most disgusting, most undesirable places in the world? That would be like me saying, "Oh, I want to go vacation in a pig sty!" Why don't they go somewhere decent? And why bother looking for Jedi in a place that has a population of like a thousand? Seems to make more sense to go to the bigger worlds to find Jedi potentials instead of the smaller ones, but then, we wouldn't have the "wonderful" plot of Waru, a creature that must have been a Star Trek reject. I swear, I've not seen many Star Trek episodes, but I am pretty sure this one would fit. An unknown, multi-dimensional creature that deceives its followers into feeding it and is destroyed in the end? Call up Gene Roddenberry now!Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:At least three instances of d***.Han lauds the virtues of flirting, Leia makes a comment that could be seen as sexual to Rillao, Luke questions Han's fidelity.A young centaur fears her horns will be cut off and she will die. Chewie is injured when the children are kidnapped. Hethrir force chokes someone.Overall:While I still greatly enjoyed reading about Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin, the rest of the book did not have the feel of Star Wars. Unless you want to see how the Solo children started out or are trying to read all the novels, pass on this one.
Vonda N. McIntyre's "The Crystal Star" pits the beloved characters of the original "Star Wars" films into an interesting and socially important situation. In doing so, it elevates the book out of the simple space opera genre and into the realm of socially-conscious science fiction. Not that other novels in the Star Wars Expanded Universe haven't made attempts at poignancy and relevance to current events. "The Crystal Star" just does it in a rather blatant way.That McIntyre's novel is clearly written for a young adult audience is both weirdly appropriate and disturbing. Nevertheless, the book still manages to be entertaining, and it still captures the spirit of "Star Wars". The issue the novel deals with is human trafficking and the contemporary slave trade, an issue that is as hot-button today as it was when McIntyre first published this book (1994), but one that rarely receives much attention in mainstream media and by our nation's leaders. McIntyre is clearly aware of the lack of thought and interest by politicians, journalists, and everyday citizens of this issue, and she does not hide her harsh criticism of them in the novel.The book starts with a violent kidnapping of the three children of Princess Leia and Han Solo. Leia, the President of the New Republic, is involved in trade negotiations, while Han and Luke are off on a mission in another star system. The children are being watched by Chewbacca, who is severely injured in the attack that precedes the kidnapping.Leia stops the negotiations to find her children, jetting off in her personal starship Alderaan with Chewbacca and R2-D2. Her investigation leads her to a fleet of ships long-forgotten in a desolate part of space. The ships contain cryogenically-frozen slaves deposited there by the Empire, left to die. When she resurrects some of the slaves, she discovers---to her horror---that the slave trade is still going on, long after the Empire fell, and has been going on all along under the noses of her and the other leaders of the New Republic. She discovers a secret conspiracy of New Republic politicians who have been profiting from this slave trade, most of whom are secretly planning a coup of Leia and a rebuilding of the Empire.Across the galaxy, Han and Luke are discovering the same thing, completely unaware of what is happening to Leia and the children. Their investigation of a space station near a rare crystal star discovers a growing "cult" led by a former Imperial officer named Hethrir, who has been stealing children across the galaxy for his personal plan to resurrect the Empire and place himself in the role of the new Emperor. He attempts to do this with the help of a powerful alien entity named Waru, which apparently has the ability to heal the sick and the injured, but also has the ability to drain the Force from others.All the while, the children---twins Jaina and Jacen, and toddler Annakin---must use their own resources and powers of the Force to escape their prison and rescue the hundreds of other children that have been kidnapped.McIntyre tells an exciting and action-packed story, but her social commentary about a very important issue makes this one of the better Star Wars novels.
What do You think about The Crystal Star (1995)?
Ugh. One of the dullest Star Wars tales ever written.The novel includes centaurs, werewolves, and Luke Skywalker joining an evil cult led by a golden blob. Also, the Solo kids are kidnapped (again) by a rogue Imperial officer. Why? You never really understand. This book’s story sucks as much as the black hole that appears so often in the book. Character development is very weak. All of the characters are erratic--Leia hates Chewbacca because her kids were kidnapped on his watch, for example--and took a giant wound in the process. And, of course, the villain--a giant golden blob/vampire thing--who ends up tempting Luke. Tempting him to do what, you ask? You never understand that part, either, or the part with the werewolf. And the villain is a character as fleshed-out as a cheeseburger. You don’t even like Leia’s kids due to their unbelievably corny dialogue. Luke is a wimp, and Han is a fool. Nor is there any action--the villain, who thinks he’s badass because he can wield a lightsaber without Force powers--only uses it once, to attack the “dangerous” C-3PO. The story, if one can call it that, is quite boring and nonsensical, with coincidence and improbabilities piling on top of each other at lightspeed--or would that be Ludicrous Speed?
—Jerome
This book was great, I love that the kids are old enough to have their own parts to the story. They are going to save the story to be sure, as Luke has turned into a bit of a clown and Han & Leia seem to get into the same amount of trouble every book. Anyways, the story definitely keep me involved to the very end.
—Eric Moreno
It is my opinion that the time when this book was published, was a black era for the Star Wars novels line. From the high standards set by Timothy Zahn, to the very decent Kevin J. Anderson and X-Wing novels of the time, it was most probable that the ineveitable dip in quality would happen. The book suffers from the fact that there is little to no character development within its pages. When this is coupled with the fact a lot of the major players are written out of character, a good compelling read this does not make. Luke comes across as a whiny teenager, as opposed to the Jedi Master he has become, as established by Anderson after Zahn, Han appears to be devolving back to smuggler scoundrel, despite the fact that he is a married father and former general. The only characters who do get any decent amount of development are Jaina and Jacen, but if memory serves this is most likely their first true focus within a story, and as such they are pretty much blank slates. Overall, the story suffers the same as a number of other stand-alones set within a set continuity. Whether this is down to editorial oversight, or the author not getting the characters, is a question I cannot answer.
—Paul Phelan
