Customer Reviews

Star Wars: The Lando Calrissian Adventures (Classic Star Wars)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

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.

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.

These stories were a refreshing change from the more "heavy" star wars books, and makes for a nice break from the endless arrays of "Greatest Threats Ever" or giant Superweapons that plagued the Jedi Academy Trilogy, Corellian and Darksaber books. The Calrissian trilogy also has more in common with traditional sci fi than most Star Wars stories. The characterizations of Lando and his robot sidekick, Vuffi Raa, are spot on, even if the main villain, Rokur Gepta is totally generic. The story is pretty light throughout, it is always interesting and full of unexpected twists and turns. The droid, Vuffi Raa, is a classic robot, and has the same appeal as C3-PO and R2-D2. And if many of the details in the book seem wrong, or undefined, just remember that it was written in 1982-1983 when only two films and maybe five books of Star Wars were around. This series is far better than the 1978 Han Solo Adventures. Highly recommended.

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.

I have always liked Lando, but after reading Shadows of the Empire, I wanted to read more about him. His characterization was really great in that book. Therefore, when I discovered a book about Lando I bought it. I found these adventures about Lando Calrissian a real treat. As for the book, it is really "three books in one": The first book "Lando Calrissian and the The Mindharp of Sharu", the second book "Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon" and the third book "Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of Thonboka". These books were published well over twenty years ago and about 150 pages a piece individually, so now they have been published together in one volume.

I have heard some statements saying that these books or adventures really don't give a great deal of background on the rogue that is Lando. Consequently, I would disagree. I feel this book might not produce a lot of history or origins of the character, but does exploit personality traits and behaviors that aren't seen in the movies. For instance, we all know from the classic Star Wars films that Han Solo won the Millennium Falcon from Lando in a card game. However, that card game is called sabaac, which is a lot like Black Jack. Now in this book Lando is a master at sabaac and purposely goes out of his way to play the game. He finds it somewhat cathartic. Lando also has a smooth sense of fashion and makes sure he had a nice pair of clothes on, when in public and in private. He also relies on his brains instead of his brawn. This basically means that he carries a only a small blaster and his street smarts. Also in the beginning of the first story, he just "won" the Millennium Falcon in a game of sabaac. In addition, he cannot fly the spaceship at all, which is quite a contrast from the final battle in Return of the Jedi. Again, most of these traits aren't seen in the classic Star Wars film.

Now I will break down each story in this book.

Lando Calrissian and the The Mindharp of Sharu:

Lando has just won the Millennium Falcon and is loving life, despite the fact he has a hard time flying it. He is playing a game of sabaac when one of the players "slips out" some information about a treasure in the Rafa System. In this opening game of sabaac, Lando wins a droid named Vuffi Raa, who I will speak of later. Lando ends up getting involved with a Governor, with questionable standards, and Rokur Gepta, a sorcerer (who I will also go into detail about later) in order to find the Mindharp of Sharu. The Mindharp is a relic of an artifact that is riches to end all riches. However, Lando has to deal with a subservient race of people, life crystals and a planet that has red sand and a green sky.

Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon:

This story finds Lando and Vuffi Raa traveling to the Oseon system. This is a system of thousands of broken asteroids which life forms have inhabited. Lando of course is there to score some credits playing sabaac. He and Vuffi Raa are at the Oseon during the yearly Flamewind. The Flamewind is the release of "unknown" gases that produces different colors in the skies between the asteroids of the Oseon System. The colors vary from every color in the rainbow. It is almost like fireworks that light up the entire sky. The Flamewind also has a strange side effect, it tampers with spaceships in flight and electronic devises. The entire Flamewind paints a backdrop for a story that involves political scandals, drug deals, Rokur Gepta, a burnt out fleet of soldiers and a narcotic police officer that is a huge orange parrot.

Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of Thonboka:

This time around, Lando and Vuffi Raa are aiding an alien race of naïve, omnipotent, pacifist pseudo manta-ray like aliens; oh these aliens are also transparent. This race is named the Oswaft and is being hunted down again by Rokur Gepta and his navy. Gepta has conjured up a way to destroy the Oswaft, despite this alien race's power and intelligence. Once Gepta finds out that Lando is involved, it is a two for one. Since this is the third book of three, many characters and situations from the two prior books are brought in. This allows for many aspects to be explained and loose ends tied up.

Out of the three stories, I enjoyed the Flamewind of Oseon the most; I really liked the story and the backdrop the Flamewind painted. These stories themselves aren't very long, so they are a quick read. However, a little more development in each story wouldn't have been a bad thing. There were some interesting characters and situations that could have been explored a bit more. Consequently, the stories seem to end before they really had a chance to pick up.

After reading some other reviews of this book, I have come to an astonishing conclusion. Many Star Wars fans are persnickety and snobs. The most detrimental element to Star Wars can be a Star Wars fan. Allow me to explain, (many) Star Wars fans love the Star Wars universe, but have no problem ripping it apart. For instance, I can't tell you how many "Star Wars fans" I know that hated every single one of the prequel movies (Episode I, II and III). Yet, these "haters" are the first in line to buy tickets; they might stand in line for 24 hours just to buy tickets for a movie they know they will already hate. In addition, these same groups of "fans" use the argument that the newer movies suck when compared to the original trilogy. They also abase George Lucas and call him a sell out and he doesn't care about the true vision of Star Wars. Okay first of all, you can't compare the original movies to the new ones. The original films are classics and no movie maker, even George Lucas, can top the magic of the first three films. This fact doesn't automatically mean the new trilogy is trash or not worthy. As for George Lucas being a sell out and doesn't care about the vision of Star Wars, that is dumb. George Lucas created the world, characters and other varies aspects, so why would he create all this if he didn't care? George Lucas created a prequel trilogy to complete the saga and give the fans a treat and now he is a sell out. If it wasn't for George Lucas, these Star Wars "fans" would have had no identity growing up. They also wouldn't have really cool IM names like HanSolo_69 or DrYoda1984. I guess they are biting the hand that feeds them. I say get a life, job and a boyfriend/girlfriend.

The reason for the former diatribe is this same notion of hating Star Wars becomes very apparent in the reviews of these Lando Calrissian tales. Many people stated that Lando didn't seem like the same guy we all knew from the Star Wars saga. Alright, first of all Lando really wasn't in the movies all that much, so how do we know what Lando was really like? Lando sold out Han Solo to Darth Vader, in order to save his city. Darth Vader put Lando between a rock and a hard place. Therefore Han Solo is captured; Lando feels remorse and redeems himself by aiding in the rescue of Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt. Omitting some smooth dialogue and blowing up the (second) Death Star, that is Lando Calrissian in a nut shell. People are saying about Lando's actions in these stories, "I can't imagine Lando doing that!" "It is so out of character for him to do that." Doing what? Lando didn't kill children, rape woman, abuse animals or wasn't flat out evil in any of these stories. He was and is an adventure, gambler, grifter, astute in humor and looking to make a quick buck/credit. Do any of these former qualities make him an abomination in the Star Wars universe? Or just contribute to the character we already knew?

I did really like two of the other supporting characters in the Lando Calrissian adventures, Vuffi Raa and Rokur Gepta. Vuffi Raa is a three foot high starfish shape droid that Lando wins in a sabacca game. He is a very comforting and smart droid and becomes Lando's good friend. There is a nice chemistry between both of these characters and the result is very funny. There is an ongoing joke in all three stories, Vuffi Raa is always calling Lando "master" and Lando always replies by saying "Don't call me master".

As for Rokur Gepta, he is the villain in all three stories. He is also called the Sorcerer of Tund; I love how Tund sounds just like Tundra, a cold, desolate piece of land which really mirrors the character. He is pretty much the poor man's version of a Sith Lord in these tales. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing at all, I found Rokur Gepta to a very enjoyable character. I do wish there was a bit more development around him, as well as Vuffi Raa. I wouldn't mind reading more about either one of these characters in future Star Wars books. The only familiar faces in these stories are Lando and the Millennium Falcon.

This is the sixth Stars Wars book I have read, it could be the ninth if I count all three stories in here as single books. After all, they were originally published as three books in the early 1980s. Anyway, I have discovered that most, if not all Star Wars novels I have read have many of the same aspects: characters/planets/systems/alien races with strange names I have a hard time pronouncing, different cant, technology indigenous to the Star Wars universe and the reader needs to use his/her imagination remembering it is only a book.

When I say it is only a book, I am stating that don't let the story destroy the Star Wars saga for you. For instance, I read the Star Wars "Bounty Hunter Wars" trilogy last year. These books took place in various points in time during Episodes IV, V and VI. Now we all remember from Return of the Jedi/Episode VI that Boba Fett fell into the Sarlacc Pit and was eaten alive. Well in the "Bounty Hunter Wars", Boba Fett survived the Sarlacc Pit and was again on adventures. For those of you that didn't read those books don't worry anything with regards to plot haven't been spoiled. The only reason I bring it up is because this book can really alter the movies, yet it didn't ruin my experience reading those books, as a matter of fact they were great books. I do wish there was a book out there that explained why Obi-Wan Kenobi took the first name Ben. Why not Barry, Ted or Philip?

I digress the Lando Calrissian Adventures is a quick read that is fun and different. These books were written right when Return of the Jedi came out, so the tone of these books isn't the same as the Star Wars books written today. L. Neil Smith used earth terminology when writing this book: cigars, cigarettes, manta-rays, etc. and written style that is different from Star Wars novels written currently. This again doesn't make this a lousy read, just a different approach. As formally noted, I wish L. Neil Smith elaborated more on each of these stories, but it didn't kill the book(s) for me. Besides it is in "The Flamewind of Oseon" that Lando grows his famous mustache. Overall, these aren't the worst books I ever read, they aren't the best I ever read, but as a non-persnickety Star Wars fan, I found it an enjoyable read.

The Adventures of Lando Calrissian is a compilation of three stories that occur 3+ years before A New Hope. Although they're not the most riveting pieces literature in the Expanded Universe, I did enjoy them. Here are the plots of each.

In The Mindharp of Sharu, Lando wins a droid in a sabacc game and has to go to another planet to claim it. The droid he gets is the endearing Vuffi Raa, which you will see in all three stories. While he's there, he gets arrested. In order to get out of it, he must go to a nearby planet to obtain an ancient artifact called the Mindharp of Sharu that numerous people have been unsuccessful at obtaining. Apparently, the Mindharp contains great power. Power that Rokur Gepta, a sorceror from the planet Tund, is anxious to get his hands on. I'll leave it at that so I don't give away the end.

In The Flamewind of Oseon, Lando gets in big trouble again in the Oseon system and another shady deal is struck. The Governor of the Oseon System sets up a sting operation on an extremely wealthy denizen of the System who happens to be addicted to a highly illegal drug. He wants Lando to "sell" the drug to him while two undercovers are at his side during the deal. The problem? He has to fly to another asteroid in the system during the Flamewind. Every year the sun of the system spits out heinous solar flares for a week or so. Although they are very beautiful to watch, they are very dangerous to fly in. They screw up navigational equipment and mess with anything electronic in nature. Usually, nobody flies out of the system during the Flamewind, but Lando has to. Gepta appears in this story again and of course this whole deal was another setup for Lando. But now, Gepta has a personal grudge against Lando because he screwed up his grand plan in the Mindharp of Sharu.

In the Starcave of ThonBoka, a new species is discovered called the Oswaft, a gigantic manta ray looking creature that live in outer space and "breathe" the vacuum of it. They are also capable of traveling at light speed. The entire race live in a nebula they call the ThonBoka, the Starcave to outsiders. The Empire catches wind of this species and automatically feels threatened and decides to destroy all of them. Lando decides to help the Oswaft defend themselves. In the meantime, Gepta is hot on Lando's heels for foiling him twice now.

I thought these stories were very fun. I just love Vuffi Raa and Lando has numerous nicknames for it like "old can opener" and "my little gumball machine". Lando comes off as rash and sarcastic, but the things he says just made me laugh. In the Mindharp of Sharu, he has a conversation with a hall (as in a building. Yes the building talked.) that was simply hilarious. Now I know these stories aren't Pulitzer Prize material, but if you want to read something light and adventurous, I think you will enjoy them. Don't expect a lot of character development; just a lot of action and adventure. May the Force be with you!

Separating them from most of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, the Lando Calrissian Adventures by L. Neil Smith were actually written during the release of the original movies (all three were published in a six-month span right after Return of the Jedi in 1983). They take a sharply different tone from the largely more serious novels that started with Timothy Zahn's trilogy in 1991. Except for the inclusion of Lando and the Millennium Falcon, they barely feel like Star Wars stories at all.

In Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu, Lando is the brand-new owner of the Falcon and is just about to win Vuffi Raa, a quirky meter-tall starship-shaped droid who will be his constant companion through these three novels. Vuffi is a fun character and I did enjoy the banter between him and Lando; however, at the same time, Lando speaks in a way I find highly unbelievable and very little like his character in the films. Smith tends to amplify small characteristics of Lando's speech and use them mercilessly. For example, if you noticed Lando saying "you pirate" a couple of times in the films, be ready for dozens of variations on that.

Lando and Vuffi set off for the Rafa System, where they quickly find themselves in hot water with the local authorities and Rokur Gepta, the Sorcerer of Tund, who is to be their primary adversary throughout the three novels. Turns out all is not as it seems and they set out to discover the mysteries behind the legendary Mindharp and the strange disappearance of the Sharu people millennia ago. It's a fine story but doesn't feel like it is a Star Wars story; it could easily have been transplanted from any sci-fi franchise with Lando pasted on top.

Smith writes in a flowing manner that is easy to read and entertaining. He does a particularly good job with a chapter dealing with Lando escaping a deadly life-crystal tree and Vuffi essentially resurrecting himself after being shot with hundreds of arrows. The prose is strong and it's the kind of scene most of these books would blow by without pausing. Smith manages to make it gripping and interesting.

Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu is a quirky and ill-fitting book when taken in context of the entire Expanded Universe. It hovers between two and three stars for me, but I'm rounding it to three for its sheer novelty value and readability.

Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon is the second book in the series. It picks up fairly closely on where the first volume left off, with Lando finding that prosperity is not all he dreamed it would be. Seems he and Vuffi Raa made have made some enemies on their way to the top, including a certain nefarious Sorcerer of Tund.
Much like the first book, Lando is forced into a mission by mysterious conspirators. This time he and Vuffi must transport two officers of the law through the beautiful but deadly Flamewind of Oseon (a gigantic stellar storm impacting the Oseon system annually) to arrest the richest man in the universe, Bohhuah Mutdah. Of course, all is not as it seems, especially with the mysterious assailants who are stalking our dynamic duo and the fate that awaits them on Mutdah's personal asteroid.

Like the first book, Flamewind of Oseon is a short and easy read. There really isn't too much to the plot, as most of the pages are either concerned with setting up the story or simply getting Lando and Vuffi to the asteroid for the final confrontation. Also like the first book, there is virtually nothing to tie this to Star Wars beyond Lando and the Falcon. Smith does attempt a casual link between Rokur Gepta and the Empire, but there's not much to substantiate it.

Speaking of Gepta, he must be one of the most stereotypical, virtual-mustache-twirling villains in the Star Wars universe. He is purely EVIL and delights in the destruction he causes. Like a second-rate Bond villain, he also delights in spelling out his EVIL plots to his victims to showcase his incredible cleverness. In a completely ridiculous sequence, he uses his new method of "torture-by-chagrin" on Lando, which forces the recipient to relive bad memories (but they are enhanced to be much worse). This is just silly.

The three books have a large amount of Earth-based terminology sprinkled through them, such as cigarettes, rabbits, and Doppler radar. Of course, Marvel gave us a six-foot tall rabbit in Jaxxon as a main character for a few issues and The Phantom Menace even gave us ducks, but it seems a little too frequent in this book to keep that "galaxy far, far away" feel.

Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon is very much like the first book Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu in style and feel. Since the novelty value is gone for this volume, I'm giving it the two stars I considered giving to book one.

Lando Calrissian and the StarCave of ThonBoka weaves together some of the events and many of the characters of the first two volumes to bring some closure to the story. This volume is the most far-out of the three, involving gigantic vacuum-breathing transparent creatures, kilometers-long droid starships, and a few surprising revelations about our main characters, including Lando's faithful sidekick Vuffi Raa and the malicious Sorcerer of Tund, Rokur Gepta.

This third volume is written in the exact style of the first two: large doses of humor, gambling vignettes, Earth-based terminology, and flamboyant dialogue. Lando and Vuffi get in one scrape after another but with all the humor it is hard to feel very concerned. However, Smith does continue to write in a broadly entertaining style and I will admit that this encouraged me to read and digest these three books very quickly. Also like the first two books, this story feels tangentially connected to the Star Wars universe we know at best, although some sources have retconned various aspects of the story into the more familiar modern framework (such as specifying Gepta's role under the Emperor or locating and explaining the Centrality sector of the galaxy).

The inhabitants of the titular StarCave are the massive vacuum-breathing Oswaft. An adventurous young Oswaft named Lehesu is befriended by Lando and Vuffi, leading to their involvement when the Empire decides the Oswaft are a potential threat to galactic security. Rokur Gepta has been designated by the Emperor to control fleet operations in this sector, setting up the final conflict between the EVIL Sorcerer and our hero Lando. The plotline from the second volume concerning old fighter pilots from the Renatasian system hunting down Vuffi for vengeance is also resurrected and concluded. Even Ottdefa Osuno Whett resurfaces from Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu and is pivotal to the book's climax.

My favorite addition to the Expanded Universe to come from this series is Vuffi Raa, the one-meter tall starfish-shaped wunderkind of a droid. His sparring with Lando is amusing, if a bit relentless, and his storyline turns out to be one of the most intriguing parts of the trilogy, especially when his past and purpose are revealed in this book. We'll probably never see another book feature Vuffi in any substantial way, but it would be fun to see him return and play a role somewhere in the post-Return of the Jedi era.

The Lando Calrissian Adventures as a whole are a somewhat peculiar and left-field addition to the galaxy far, far away, but it's nice to see a different perspective occasionally and read stories that try for a more light-hearted tone.

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.

I decided to read this book because I wanted to know alittle more about the Star Wars universe. It was an ok book. I guess I'm a stickler for the usual shoot'em up type hero, which Lando is not. Lando is the kinda guy who thinks his way out of problems, which happens to just get him in to more problem in The Flamewind of Oseon. The Mind Harp of Sharu was problely the most interesting because it take a lot of sudden turns and leaves you always guessing. But the one I did not care much for was was The Starcave of Thonboka. That was a bit far fetched even for Star Wars. And the thing that hurt this book most of all is that it's villian Gepta of Tund just keeps coming back blaming Lando for his problems. I have to give this book one star for unqiueness, one for the story line, one for the characters, one just because I'm a Star Wars fan; but I have to subtract a star because of the reaquiring villian, the lack of fighting on Lando's part, and the conflicts of his droids programming. Over all I would recommend this book only if you are a die hard fan or you are looking for a book to lull you to sleep at night.

The Lando Calrissian stories contained in this book were wonderful. While the book does have certain "inconsistencies" that are apparent in other early Star Wars books, it does not detract from the stories. If you are sick of the Jedi/Fett/Solo stories that pervade the Star Wars book series and you enjoy the essentially forgotten character of Lando Calrissian, then pick of "The Adventures of Lando Calrissian," you won't be disappointed.