The Lando Calrissian Adventures: Star Wars Legends

Seriously, L. Neil Smith's Lando Calrissian Adventures are among the best stories set in the Star Wars universe. I'll not waste your time repeating all of its virtues (you can read the other positive reviews for that); instead, I'll clear up a couple of misconceptions some other reviewers had. The Emperor and the Empire do not exist in these books, one reviewer griped. This is incorrect. Try reading them. The Centrality = the Empire??? Not at all, friends. The Centrality is a small, self-governed region of the galaxy, much like the Corporate Sector, located in a remote corner of the Inner Rim Territories, between the Cron Drift and Hutt Space. It has few planetary bodies, though it does contain the Rafa System and the Renatasian System. The Centrality was allied with the Empire, but there were few Imperial forces in the area because of its lack of resources. I'd assume that a good number of these forces were destroyed in the battle with the Oswaft at the ThonBoka. Oh, no! Incorrect terminology ("faster-than-light" instead of "hyperspace")! Er, yeah. Ships in hyperspace DO go faster than light. Rokur Gepta! Who is he, why is he commanding the Imperial Fleet (or part of it)? Rokur Gepta was one of the galaxy's assorted darksiders who were allied with the Emperor, like Azrakel and Del Korrot (make no mistake, he wasn't one of Palpatine's Imperial Dark Jedi stooges like Hethrir, Ameesa Darys, or Arden Lyn). Emperor Palpatine took interest in Rokur Gepta, the last Sorceror of Tund, and made him one of the most powerful beings in the Centrality, with the power to supersede most government or military operations. Yeah, well, that's it. Hopefully, they'll bring back Vuffi Raa in a future story. That little droid just rocks.

Great compilation of three Lando Tales. Fun intergalactic entertainment!Lando Calrissian and the MindHarp of Sharu Lando just got the Falcon, and has little ability as to how to fly it, you see, this is several years before A New Hope, and Lando is the only character you know of that will be mentioned of in these 3 books. He goes to a system, gets a droid, Vuffi Raa (Don't call me Master) and goes looking for treasure. He makes folks mad at him. This is one of my all-time favorites. The combination of Adventure, mirth, star Wars and Lando himself make this a great book. Read it, and may the Force be with you.Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of OseonLando gets arrested. His punishment: deliver some goods, though he's not supposed to during the time when the Flamewind is occuring, making it dangerous. He cuts some deals, gets into trouble and gets away. It's good but not the best of the three. Read it anyway.Lando Calrissian and the Starcave at Thonbaka This is very interesting. Several new concepts are introduced by this book. These creatures that live in vaccuum are very interesting. Lando begins to Learn how to control the Falcon. As You read on it gets better. He even gambles with these creatures. It's throughly well written and I think should be read by all who claim to have seen, heard of, or had anything to do with Star Wars.

Having read many of the Star Wars novels I would rate this as one of my very favorites--Or I should say 3 of my favorites as this is a three book set. The story was a fresh one not a rehash of former themes (like many of the tedious Rogue Squadron books). And the author added some nice touches; for instance: throughout this series Lando has a sidekick named Vuffi Raa, Vuffi is a Robot that Lando won in a card game; Lando can't stand him at first; but his relationship with Vuffi is one that teaches us what kind of a person Lando is. This is also a nice, money-saving format for purchasing these series books.

First thing first: My review is biased. I love Lando Calrissian. He is probably my favorite character in the whole series and I'll explain why. When we first see him in Empire Strikes Back, he is someone that doesn't have the same freedom that the others have. He is responsible for the well being of an entire populace, on his own. His apparent betrayal of our heroes is one of necessity. Only when he realizes that his betrayal will not save his city and will make things even worse for his friends does he correct the situation as best he can. By the end of the trilogy, he is the hero of Endor, having led the defeat of the Death Star. Lando is a transitional hero; he is not as clear cut as the rest, but develops with the story. His actions are weighed by responsibility and eventually he does the right thing; not only that, but he redeems himself for his apparent betrayal. So, let's look at the book itself. We get to see what Lando did while he owned the Millenium Falcon, back before he became Baron Administrator, previous to his heroics in the rebellion. And his story is very fun to read. It takes place when the Jedi are gone, the Empire strong and growing, and the galaxy falling to despair. Never a better time to make one's fortune. He flies his ship through uncharted backwater worlds to become involved in an "international" adventure that leads to some terrific conclusions and plot twists. Not only that, the scenes that stand out are Lando's James Bond-like lifestyle and the casino scenes are well written. Lando could beat 007 at a hand of cards and with style. Don't look for an all out battle that redefines the fate of the galaxy. Instead, sit back and enjoy the suspense of a good card game, the mystery of the past revealed, and the wonder of discovery in classic sci-fi fashion. Lando is young, the Millenium Falcon, well, still an old piece of junk that can outfly anything, and there are destinies to be made. This book lays the foundation of Lando's adventures and gives us a glimpse into his past. p.s. If you want to find out what happens after the Lando Calrissian Trilogy, read the second Han Solo trilogy by A.C. Crispin; highly recommended.

While L. Neil Smith did occasionally use the wrong terms, one must remember that this was one of the early Star Wars books, before all this knowledge was so widely known. This book is one of the best Star Wars books written. The plots are fantastic, but that's what makes them fun. I found everything interesting. This was a strange book to say the least, but it's funny, has intricate connecting plots, and is just fun to read.