Darksaber

The author of the best-selling Jedi Academy trilogy presents a new Star Wars adventure that pits Luke Skywalker and the beautiful Callista against a ruthless mining baron and an evil Imperial warlord. 300,000 first printing. $300,000 ad/promo.

Anderson, whose Jedi Academy trilogy of Star Wars paperbacks were all bestsellers, makes his Star Wars hardcover debut with this novel. Unlike many of the previous series hardcovers, Darksaber often harkens back to the time of the Star Wars movies, invoking familiar scenes and flourishes (Princess Leia being forced to wear a "humiliating costume" after she's captured by Jabba the Hutt; Han Solo entreating, "It's not my fault!"). Anderson is careful, though, to include plenty of present-day action. Set just after the events of Barbara Hambly's Children of the Jedi, this novel follows the quest of Luke Skywalker and Callista to reestablish the latter's Jedi powers. Meanwhile, Durga the Hutt is using Bevel Lemelisk, co-designer of the original Death Star, to create a similar weapon for his own nefarious purposes, and the still-living Admiral Daala is working to reunite various factions of the Empire to reassert their glory. Anderson manages to keep everything fast-paced, yet the whole never coheres into a properly exciting story. This is probably the most accessible of the Star Wars hardcovers; fans of the movies should experience nostalgic delight, but it often comes off as more of a marketing device than a novel proper, especially with George Lucas's three-part prequel to the Star Wars movies now in the works.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Eight years after the Empire's collapse, its scattered remnants still pose a threat to the fledgling New Republic. While Luke embarks on a journey to help his beloved Callista recover her Jedi powers, Han and Leia investigate rumors of a collaboration between an ambitious Hutt crimelord and the Imperial forces. In brief, cinematic chapters, the author of Jedi Search (Bantam, 1994) captures the excitement and fast-paced action so essential to the Star WarsTM universe. Fans of the popular series will demand this title.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Among the many authors who have contributed their talents to the prodigious Star Wars library, Anderson leads the pack in both overall popularity and sheer storytelling power. To follow his best-selling Jedi Academy trilogy, he launches a new saga about the fractured Empire's struggle to regain its lost glory. The once mighty Hutt crime syndicate, now led by Jabba's successor Durga, is staging a comeback. With the help of the Deathstar's original designer, the perpetually executed and resurrected Bevel Lemelisk, a new military juggernaut free of the Deathstar's flaws will soon terrorize the galaxy and give Durga unlimited control. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker desperately searches for the means to restore the Force's blessings to his newfound Jedi love, Callista, and a still vengeful Admiral Daala is regrouping the many scattered imperial factions for a bold new show of power. Anderson ties these narrative threads together with a series of progressively suspenseful developments that cumulatively speed to a compelling finish. His writing is a chief reason the Star Wars universe remains popular beyond its cinematic origins. He gives a depth to familiar characters and surroundings that two hours of film just cannot. Carl Hays