The Princess and the Scoundrel

 

A while back I read this book The Princess and the Scoundrel (Beth Revis, 2022). It really caught my attention as it dives into the events just after Return of the Jedi, including the wedding of Han and Leia! Observe the Ewok tree village on the very cover of the tome, if you will.

I did like to reunite with these beloved characters, and I felt their characterizations were very good. This is a bit of a strange story, mostly about the newlywed's honeymoon: first aboard a luxury starliner, then on a remote ice-encrusted planet. The stakes as one could imagine, feel rather small coming as this tale does hot on the heels of the defeat of the Emperor. A "bottle episode" of sorts, this adventure has quite a limited scope and character cast. One does get the feel of being on Han and Leia's honeymoon, enmeshed in their struggle to figure out how to be a couple in the abrupt aftermath of the galactic civil war. They have both sacrificed so much and worked so hard and now their goal is achieved.

Leia is ever the politician, and can't stop working. Han just wants to enjoy some space bagels and his new wife back in the room. 

The Ewoks have access to some special wedding ring magic, for some reason. The planet the newlyweds visit is a bit boring and the scope of the story's central conflict is small, by galactic standards. Again, one wouldn't expect them to fight another Death Star, or Dark Lord of the Sith, or get involved in a fleet battle in space, coming as it does so closely after the events of Jedi, so it makes sense.

The theme of "what do we do now?", both in a personal sense for Han and Leia and in a governmental sense in terms of the fledgling New Republic, victors in the civil war, is intriguing. I imagine it was a messy and complicated time immediately following the Battle of Endor. Glad I tagged along for the story.