The Novel at a Glance: The celebration was short-lived. Han Solo had played a key role in the destruction of the Death Star and was rewarded handsomely, only to have that reward unceremoniously stolen before he could settle his debt to Jabba the Hutt. Fond of being alive, Han has to track down a paying job quick and when that job arrives in the form of a request to reacquire a stolen fortune in credits, Fate seems to be smiling down on him and his Wookie companion, Chewbacca. But this job is beyond Han’s skill set and will require the assemblage of a team of specialized individuals to get the job done. In a word: scoundrels. Fate is a fickle mistress and you can be assured that when Han Solo is involved, nothing will go according to plan.

Pluses: Story takes place during original trilogy timeline; respectful to film canon; engaging non-film characters; strikes a good balance between action and dialogue scenes; great integration into film story lines; a grin-inducing reference to the Han/Greedo controversy.

Minuses: Knowledge of the original film trilogy decreases tension in regards to main cast of characters; several Deus Ex…Luck moments; high suspension of disbelief required; brief story element that caters to gender stereotypes; large cast means less “screen time” with Han and Chewie.

My Experience: A return to the Star Wars universe of my youth–that contained within the framework of the original film trilogy–was a refreshing way to begin the new year. For over two decades Timothy Zahn has been fleshing out the history of George Lucas’ creations while adding new characters to the universe that have become iconic to Star Wars fandom. Zahn returns here with an Ocean’s Eleven style caper filled with a varied cast of characters lead by one of the most loveable rogues in the galaxy. Fun is an overused adjective yet it applies here.

My rating: 7.5/10

I cut my science fiction teeth on the novelization of the Star Wars film, back when it was simply called “Star Wars”, on Alan Dean Foster’s Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, and on the trilogy of books by Brian Daley featuring the exploits of Han Solo and his first mate Chewbacca in the years to prior their “no questions asked” cargo run for the Rebellion. In Han and Chewie I found a buddy team that appealed to a young boy who valued close friendships and continues to appeal to a fortysomething man who is even more aware as an adult how important it is to have a strong bond with male friends. Outside of those books and the other two film novelizations, my only real venture into the Expanded Universe of novels has been through the Thrawn books by Timothy Zahn. Zahn has a reputation for respecting the source material and respecting the fans and over the years has created characters that are as much a fabric of the Star Wars universe as those on film.

I was excited when I read that Zahn was returning to the period just after the events of A New Hope to tell a story featuring Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian. The novel’s January 1st publishing date felt like an open invitation to start my new year with a nostalgic look back and I am happy that it was an invitation that I accepted.

Timothy Zahn released a prequel e-novella, Winner Lose All, back on December 10th, 2012 as a way of introducing potential Scoundrels readers to the ghost burglar Bink and her identical twin sister Tavia as well as the pickpocket Zerba. Winner Lose All was a quick, entertaining read that added to my enjoyment of Scoundrels.

Zahn tells a good story and Scoundrels is no exception. He has the advantage of building upon the foundation of a well-known universe and Zahn uses that to his advantage, skillfully unveiling parts of Lucas’ universe for new readers without rehashing what the passionate fans may already know. This advantage allows him to spend the bulk of the novels’ 464 pages telling a rip-roaring heist tale. Han and Chewie are smugglers and flat-out thieving is not their specialty. So when an interested party approaches them with an offer of reclaiming credits stolen from his family by the local government official, Han knows he is going to have to call in some favors to successfully pull off the caper. Thus enters one Lando Calrissian and a handful of new and previously established characters created by Zahn. The seemingly straight-forward job turns out to be anything but: notorious crime syndicates, an impenetrable safe, and the interest of the Imperials means that plans within plans have to be made and executed with surgical precision. And of course you just know that isn’t going to happen.

Scoundrels is just the right length, giving readers time to get to know these new characters through their interactions with each other while ratcheting up the stakes higher and higher as the various plot threads unwind. As a reader you know that Han, Chewbacca and Lando are going to make it out alive (after all, they meet in The Empire Strikes Back) and that is why making this a novel centered on a highly improbable theft was such a great idea because the serpentine story lines keep the suspense going strong throughout while allowing for a number of unexpected twists. Additionally, Scoundrels becomes a solidly relevant chapter in the Star Wars saga as it not only explains why Han Solo did not go directly to see Jabba the Hutt after the Battle of Yavin but also sets up the animosity initially expressed by Lando Calrissian when Han and the gang arrive in Cloud City in The Empire Strikes Back. I have to admit that I was very curious whether or not Scoundrels would mess with continuity in that sense by bringing Han and Lando together in this novel while also being curious how Zahn would pull this off if his intent was to maintain continuity. Turns out it was no real gamble, the original film trilogy story structure was in loving hands.

As referenced before the jump, this style of adventure in space novel, based on an established franchise, often requires the ability to look past plausibility. When a story is good I find it easy to do that and for the most part it was easy with Scoundrels. I didn’t know when starting this review that Zahn actually did find inspiration for this book in Ocean’s Eleven and some of the pure dumb luck and improbable situations stacked on improbable situations echo that film and come close to crossing the line of enjoyment. There is also a moment, albeit brief, in which Zahn takes two of his very strong female characters, Bink and Tavia, and puts them in a situation that seems old-fashioned in its gender-stereotyping, damsel-in-distress sensibilities. Admittedly Zahn backed himself into something of a corner by choosing previously established bad guys, the Falleen, who exhibit some control over both males and females through their pheromones. I felt that Zahn cheated the girls a bit in their interaction with the main Falleen villain in comparison to the way he treated the male characters. It was admittedly minor but I feel it was a move that shouldn’t happen in a contemporary story.

I am fully aware that a review of a Star Wars novel is not likely to entice many non-Star Wars fans to pick it up. I also know that there are many Star Wars fans who have not/do not venture into the universe portrayed in the novels. I understand. But I couldn’t help but share my excitement over a novel that gave me a new adventure with characters that I treasure and I can safely say that those who have a basic knowledge of the Star Wars films and who like a good madcap heist will find much to like in Timothy Zahn’s latest offering.
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Timothy Zahn is a Hugo-award-winning novelist. Scoundrels is his tenth novel set in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. It was Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy, set five years after the events of Return of the Jedi, that paved the way for the ongoing success of the Expanded Universe novels.

As far as public records indicate Timothy Zahn has not kissed a Wookie and cannot be accused of being scruffy-looking. It is possible he spent his pre-writing days as a Nerf herder though details are sketchy.

A nod to SFSignal whose review structure I am riffing on here and to Tanya Patrice to whose blog post images I am doing a poor homage.