Bantam Books / May 1994
The Courtship of Princess Leia takes place in the Star Wars
universe slightly after Return of the Jedi and several years prior to Timothy Zahn’s
Heir to the Empire. Upon returning from a harrowing mission for the New Republic, General
Han Solo finds his lady fair being wooed by the handsome Prince Isolder. In a quandary how
to react, Solo does the typical thing . . . he kidnaps Leia in order to have time to show
her the error of her ways. Prince Isolder and Luke join forces to track her down. They
follow Han and Leia to a planet surrounded by a nasty galactic warlord’s Star
Destroyers, then onto an Imperial prison planet and up against an odd mix of primitive
technology and mystical magic.
In this latest installment of the Star Wars saga, Wolverton has
crafted a well-developed plot, paced with interesting dialog. The writing style is on par
with his Path of a Hero tale. Unfortunately, he has problems with
characterizations. Were they his own creations, we would have had an enjoyable book. Since
they must stand up against the Lucas image we have come to expect, however, he falls short
in his efforts. Han and Leia act in ways sometimes inconsistent with the people we’ve
known all these years. Luke seems more wise and serene than he should be, considering he
is just coming into his own in Heir to the Empire set four years later.
The bottom line, The Courtship of Princess Leia is a good read,
slightly entertaining, and a nice tale to pass the time until the next installment of the
Jedi Academy series. No thumbs on this one, either up or down, just upraised palms and a
shoulder shrug.
Reviewed by Charles B. Reynolds
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