Review by C.J. Bunce
Not since Donald Glut’s novelization of The Empire Strikes Back. That is the last novelization in the Star Wars universe that was as fun as Mur Lafferty’s new novelization of Solo: A Star Wars Story–Expanded Edition. That’s saying a lot, because Glut’s exciting prose is what got many of us through the 2.5 year wait period before The Return of the Jedi arrived, in the dark days before VHS. Lafferty writes with quick, succinct sentences that zip the reader through the action-packed, roller coaster ride of a story. This is the space fantasy and space Western nostalgia that fans of the original series were hoping for when the prequels and sequels came along. Electric and classic like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, the novelization energizes an already great movie. Of course screenplay writers Lawrence and Jonathan Kasdan deserve the appropriate praise for the bones of the story, but the novelization provides everything else that couldn’t make it into their 135-minute movie.
Best of all is a three-page epilogue that directly ties Solo: A Star Wars Story together with not just the obvious connections you already know with Han Solo, Chewbacca, and the original trilogy stories. The novelization introduces an intersection with two other major characters from the Star Wars saga no one could possibly predict. As good as the gambling scene was between Han and Lando at the end of the movie, it’s a shame this scene did not become part of the film. No spoilers here, but the book is worth reading for the epilogue alone. You’ll also find a revealing scene between Qi’ra and L3-37, and a surprising, hilarious exchange onboard the Millennium Falcon between Lando and Chewbacca.
Solo: A Star Wars Story Expanded Edition has an apt subheading, because it is precisely what sets it apart: expanding on every major character’s backstory. Han and his encounters with Lady Proxima on Corellia and life in the Imperial Navy (including an appearance by comic book characters Tag & Bink) are told in flashback memories. Chewbacca‘s thoughts are fleshed out, too: how he got to where we meet him in this story, and his passion to help Sagwa and the other Wookiees escape from the muddy spice mine on Kessel. We learn what happened to Qi’ra right after Han left her behind, as she is sold to another slaveholder and finally falls into the clutches of Dryden Vos and Crimson Dawn. Lafferty expands on the relationship between Val and Beckett, including their first encounter, too. And most enlightening is the heavily emotional inner-workings of Lando‘s droid L3-37 and how her mechanics–plus a little coaxium–made the fastest ship in the galaxy all that it would later become.
