Genres
Description
Han Solo confronts a new rival for Princess Leia's affections in the person of Prince Isolder, who will ally the sixty-three high-tech worlds of the Hapes Consortium with the New Republic, if Leia will marry him.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1994-05-01
Physical description
327 p.; 24 cm
Publication
New York : Bantam Books, 1994.
Pages
327
ISBN
0553089285 / 9780553089288
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User reviews
LibraryThing member missylissa
The story of how Han and Leia finally tie the knot should be everything that their romance was in the films; funny, romantic, and totally original. The couple who have one of the single greatest romantic confessions in film history ("I love You" "I Know") aren't given the wedding the deserve.
While the rest of the story (involving a planet of force sensitive witches) as well as the introduction of characters who will become very important in the Star Wars fiction universe are actually pretty good it doesn't repair the fact that they botch the actual Courtship.
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Instead we have a Harlequin level story involving Leia thinking of marrying a Prince for the good of the Republic before Han kidnaps her to take her away and try to make her marry him. While the rest of the story (involving a planet of force sensitive witches) as well as the introduction of characters who will become very important in the Star Wars fiction universe are actually pretty good it doesn't repair the fact that they botch the actual Courtship.
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LibraryThing member Daalvarez23
The Courtship of Princess Leia
Eight years have passed since the battle of Yavin. Han and Leia still on an on and off relationship. Until a delegation from Hapes comes bearing gifts, that include Star Destroyers and Prince Isolder as a consort for Princess Leia in an attempt to form an alliance with
Han becomes jealous for being a scoundrel not worthy for the leader of the New Republic and wins a planet that attempts to give to Leia as a gift to relocate the survivors of Alderaan. Han kidnaps Leia and during the travel to Dathomir, he asks Leia to give him a week if after the week she decides that she doesn't love him, he will return and face any disciplinary action that is to be taken towards him and stop pursuing Leia.
Luke and Prince Isolder follow Han and Leia and crash land on the planet. The planet, Dathomir, is actually on a region controlled by Imperial Warlord Zsinj and inhabited by the Nightsisters, a society of women adept to the dark side of the Force and considered by several species as Witches.
Luke and Isolder are captured by the Nightsisters and eventually Isolder falls in love with Teneniel Djo, who is next in line for leadership of the Nightsisters.
A battle ensues with Zsinj to liberate Dathomir, who is defeated by the combined forces of the New Republic and Hapes Consortium. The battle ends with Zsinj getting killed.
At the end Han and Leia get married by Mon Mothma.
The book served to explore the events that actually led to Han and Leia getting married, and to introduce the Nightsisters as being another species able to connect with the Force. Also having the Nightsisters as a female clan tried to balance the gender of Force adepts and heroes/villains since previously it was mostly males. In some ways, the Nightsisters was a hit with fans since they were used recurrently in following books and explored on the Clone Wars cartoon series, Asajj Ventress. Will be interesting to know how Han-Leia marriage is explained in the revised canon.
Eight years have passed since the battle of Yavin. Han and Leia still on an on and off relationship. Until a delegation from Hapes comes bearing gifts, that include Star Destroyers and Prince Isolder as a consort for Princess Leia in an attempt to form an alliance with
Show More
the New Republic.Han becomes jealous for being a scoundrel not worthy for the leader of the New Republic and wins a planet that attempts to give to Leia as a gift to relocate the survivors of Alderaan. Han kidnaps Leia and during the travel to Dathomir, he asks Leia to give him a week if after the week she decides that she doesn't love him, he will return and face any disciplinary action that is to be taken towards him and stop pursuing Leia.
Luke and Prince Isolder follow Han and Leia and crash land on the planet. The planet, Dathomir, is actually on a region controlled by Imperial Warlord Zsinj and inhabited by the Nightsisters, a society of women adept to the dark side of the Force and considered by several species as Witches.
Luke and Isolder are captured by the Nightsisters and eventually Isolder falls in love with Teneniel Djo, who is next in line for leadership of the Nightsisters.
A battle ensues with Zsinj to liberate Dathomir, who is defeated by the combined forces of the New Republic and Hapes Consortium. The battle ends with Zsinj getting killed.
At the end Han and Leia get married by Mon Mothma.
The book served to explore the events that actually led to Han and Leia getting married, and to introduce the Nightsisters as being another species able to connect with the Force. Also having the Nightsisters as a female clan tried to balance the gender of Force adepts and heroes/villains since previously it was mostly males. In some ways, the Nightsisters was a hit with fans since they were used recurrently in following books and explored on the Clone Wars cartoon series, Asajj Ventress. Will be interesting to know how Han-Leia marriage is explained in the revised canon.
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LibraryThing member justjukka
If I remember correctly, I read this book back in 2002. Finishing it wasn't difficult, but I felt that Wolverton really didn't understand the characters. Like many authors, he did not fully grasp the character of Han Solo, and wrote him as an irredeemable jerk. All any of these authors need to do
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is study Harrison Ford's portrayal. Watch all the nuances and subtleties he adds to his performance. I shouldn't place this all on one character, though. I don't think the Wolverton understands Leia very well, either, if he thinks she'd easily forgive being kidnapped. Show Less
LibraryThing member Wuher
A Hapan prince proposes to Leia, and when he starts spending all his time with Leia, Han gets jealous, enough to Kid nap princess Leia and bring her to a mysterious planet named Dathomir. Just why had Dathomir been so deserted? Han and Leia quickly find out. Dave Wolverton’s Courtship of Princess
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Leia shows a tenderer, jealous side of Han along with an adventure worth reading. Show Less
LibraryThing member Sheila1957
Princess Leia has two suitors to choose from--Han and Prince Isolder. Who will she pick? Han also owns a planet. Can he get the warlord and witches off it?
The Star Wars action-adventure part is fun and what I expected. It is worth a 5. However, the romance was cheesy and cringe-worthy and as a
The Star Wars action-adventure part is fun and what I expected. It is worth a 5. However, the romance was cheesy and cringe-worthy and as a
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veteran romance reader I cannot accept that. The romance part was a 3. I liked the new characters and I liked how everything worked out in the end. Luke has really begun to handle the Force better. Even Leia is picking some of it up. I am not sure if I will read more in the Star Wars series or not. Depends if my sister makes it her read for next year's book bingo. Show Less
LibraryThing member RogueBelle
This book is cracked out, but I kind of love it anyway. Perhaps for that very reason. It will never go down as one of the best Star Wars novels, but it's one of my favourites nonetheless. It's weird, it's funny, and it's strangely charming.
LibraryThing member Erolene
This book wasn't what I expected, and definitely wasn't my favorite book in the Star Wars series. The characters and lore were a little off, which I was more than a little annoyed by. It was worth the read, however.
LibraryThing member dsalerni
While I am not sorry that I read this book and while I did enjoy parts of the adventure, I had to lay it aside in disgust several times at the faulty characterization of Han and Leia.
Would Leia consider marrying a foreign prince if it meant bringing new allies to the New Republic? Of course she
And as for Han -- would he take it badly, ungraciously, even obnoxiously? Of course he would. But would he drunkenly beg C3PO to help him save his romance? No way! The Han Solo in this book behaves like a love-sick teenager with no backbone at all.
Would Leia consider marrying a foreign prince if it meant bringing new allies to the New Republic? Of course she
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would consider it -- what would her personal happiness mean compared to the good of the Republic? But would she suddenly question her love for Solo and just as suddenly fall in love with this new prince because he was handsome and charming? Absolutely not! The Leia in this book is unsure of her own emotions and easily turned by flattery. I would have more readily believed her jilting Han Solo if she did so with great personal sacrifice. And as for Han -- would he take it badly, ungraciously, even obnoxiously? Of course he would. But would he drunkenly beg C3PO to help him save his romance? No way! The Han Solo in this book behaves like a love-sick teenager with no backbone at all.
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LibraryThing member Stevil2001
There's some interesting ideas here, but they're wrapped up in a book that manages to get the characters of Leia and Han completely wrong. Who you would think would be the key component of a book about their engagement. Luke is written fairly accurately, at least.
LibraryThing member d4ni
The kookiness of the plot and characterizations of this book definitely don't place it among the best Star Wars novels out there, but I have a strange soft spot for it.
LibraryThing member lilygirl
I didn't care for this book. Just imagine the potential contained within the romance of Leia and Han! The author sold them short with a plot that revolves around Leia trying to decide if she should marry Han or bring about a union with a Prince in
order to strengthen the Rebellion.
The absolute
order to strengthen the Rebellion.
The absolute
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best part is the ship named Pfffffffftht. Show Less
LibraryThing member ursa_diana
I totally geeked out on SW books back in the 90's and this one was my favorite. There's romance and witches! and it's totally Han-centric! What more could you want.
LibraryThing member aratiel
Force Witches are awesome.
LibraryThing member MichaelDennis
I recently reread The Courtship of Princess Leia (Star Wars) in order to refamiliarize myself with the ultimate fate of the warlord Zsinj. The X-Wing Wraith Squadron books, although written after this novel, introduce Han Solo's relentless pursuit, and I had just finished them.
Since I hadn't read
* Like many novels, Wolverton assumes that all Jedi bodies "dissapate" after death. The movies (and related lore) seem to indicate that only some Jedi learned to become one with the Force as a "force ghost" who is able to interact with the living.
* The long dead Jedi for whom Luke searches is described as the "curator of records for the Jedi at Coruscant", a striking prediction of the librarians of the Jedi Archives in the Jedi Temple complex on Coruscant. The holographic recordings in the novel certainly reflect the types of recordings shown on the library "shelves" in the movie.
* The recording discovered in the ruins describe Yoda and other Jedi giving reports to the high master in a throne room. Similar to the Jedi Council?
* Wolverton several times describes a Jedi ability to use the Force to translate alien languages (and even Droidspeak) into Basic. Both Luke and the witches of Dathomir appear to do this -- I don't recall this ability in any other novel....
* The deed to Dathomir is described as "a registry chip, one of the old kind with a holo cube built in. She thumbed the switch, watched the planet materialize in the air before her, a scene from space showing the planet." Reminded me of the holographic device that Qui-Gon Jinn used on Tatooine to project the image of the Naboo ship.
* A Jedi academy on board a roving starship in not contradicted by the movies to my knowledge.
With so few people strong enough to master the Force, the ancient Jedi would have needed to scour the galaxy hunting for recruits. In each star cluster they might have found only one or two cadets worthy to join. (page 165)
* At the end of the novel, the Hapan Navy launches "pulsemass generators" to keep the warlord's ships in realspace, preventing them from entering hyperspace. In other novels, the Alliance/New Republic relies on maneuvering their enemies into the gravity wells of planets and stars or use Interdictor cruisers or destroyers for this purpose. If these pulsemass generators were available, why aren't they used in other situations? Seems like a one-off.
Plot-wise, not the most impressive Star Wars novel. Luke's character feels right, but Leia is waaaay off.
Since I hadn't read
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the novel since Episodes I - III were released, I wondered whether there were discrepancies with the movies, or just plain oddities not seen elsewhere:* Like many novels, Wolverton assumes that all Jedi bodies "dissapate" after death. The movies (and related lore) seem to indicate that only some Jedi learned to become one with the Force as a "force ghost" who is able to interact with the living.
* The long dead Jedi for whom Luke searches is described as the "curator of records for the Jedi at Coruscant", a striking prediction of the librarians of the Jedi Archives in the Jedi Temple complex on Coruscant. The holographic recordings in the novel certainly reflect the types of recordings shown on the library "shelves" in the movie.
* The recording discovered in the ruins describe Yoda and other Jedi giving reports to the high master in a throne room. Similar to the Jedi Council?
* Wolverton several times describes a Jedi ability to use the Force to translate alien languages (and even Droidspeak) into Basic. Both Luke and the witches of Dathomir appear to do this -- I don't recall this ability in any other novel....
* The deed to Dathomir is described as "a registry chip, one of the old kind with a holo cube built in. She thumbed the switch, watched the planet materialize in the air before her, a scene from space showing the planet." Reminded me of the holographic device that Qui-Gon Jinn used on Tatooine to project the image of the Naboo ship.
* A Jedi academy on board a roving starship in not contradicted by the movies to my knowledge.
With so few people strong enough to master the Force, the ancient Jedi would have needed to scour the galaxy hunting for recruits. In each star cluster they might have found only one or two cadets worthy to join. (page 165)
* At the end of the novel, the Hapan Navy launches "pulsemass generators" to keep the warlord's ships in realspace, preventing them from entering hyperspace. In other novels, the Alliance/New Republic relies on maneuvering their enemies into the gravity wells of planets and stars or use Interdictor cruisers or destroyers for this purpose. If these pulsemass generators were available, why aren't they used in other situations? Seems like a one-off.
Plot-wise, not the most impressive Star Wars novel. Luke's character feels right, but Leia is waaaay off.
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LibraryThing member DeweyEver
When I read this book in fifth grade, I thought it was the BEST THING EVER. I am now in search of a time machine so that I can go back and whap fifth-grade me upside the head, because this book is a hot mess.
Shortly after the events of Return of the Jedi, Leia is approached with a strategic offer
Skip this one. Read Zahn's Heir to the Empire trilogy instead. (Even if you've read it before.) Or if you want some good space battles, the X-Wing series. Both of those are well worth your time.
Shortly after the events of Return of the Jedi, Leia is approached with a strategic offer
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of alliance from the Hapan Cluster--which is only valid if she marries the prince of Hapes and rules as queen. The problem is that she's in love with Han, although judging by his behavior in this book I have no idea why. Wacky hijinks ensue, including a mind-control device (which HAN USES ON LEIA--wuv, twu wuv), a planet full of rancor-riding Force witches, and a warrior woman who decides to take Luke as a mate. There's little logic here, and the best thing we get out of the book is the marriage between Isolder and Teneniel, which eventually produces the one-armed badass warrior-princess that is Tenel Ka Djo.Skip this one. Read Zahn's Heir to the Empire trilogy instead. (Even if you've read it before.) Or if you want some good space battles, the X-Wing series. Both of those are well worth your time.
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LibraryThing member lunza
Any author who thinks to name a ship Pfffffffftht has my eternal admiration.
LibraryThing member wealhtheowwylfing
Post-"Return of the Jedi," a powerful potential ally courts Princess Leia. Han, obviously rather frustrated by this, goes off on a wild adventure that proves his feelings and shows off his incredible piloting skills. Also, I believe Luke gets captured by witches.
LibraryThing member jklugman
One of the more poorly-written Star Wars novels, with execrable dialogue and characterization. For such a poorly-written novel, it is amazing it made a lasting contribution to Star Wars lore: the matriarchal society of Dathomir. I thought the Hapes society was also interesting, but Wolverton did
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not spend a lot of time on it, and the novel is wrapped up in a rather contrived way that I don't think Hapes had any durable legacy. Show Less