Old Friends: Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Leia Organa Solo, Jaina Solo, Jacen Solo, Anakin Solo, Wedge Antilles, Admiral Ackbar, Streen, Lando Calrissian, Lobot Synopsis: The first of the "Black Fleet Crisis" Trilogy. While the New Republic enjoys an unaccustomed peace, a fleet of Star Destroyers, conquered fromthe Empire after the Emperor's death, are secretly being prepared for war by the ruthless ambassador of the Yevetha. Review: We start with a prologue, explaining a few things about the Yevetha. This gives the reader the first indication of who they are and how they got rid of the Imperial occupation in the sector. Then we are part of a training mission of the New Republic's Fifth Fleet, who will protect the colonies near the borders of the New Republic. Leai Organa is now Head of State of the New Republic. General Han Solo has finally found the right place to work. He is part of the security team that protects Leia, so he can spend alot of time with Leai and the three children, even after a busy day. And the days are VERY busy for Leia now. She has to listen to the Senate, where all the senators have made up their minds already. To complicate things, there is the Yevethan Ambassador who wants to talk to Leia about what part the Yevethan worlds want to have in the system. The Yevetha have many worlds in the Koornacht Cluster and they have many secrets. They don't want to join the New Republic, nor do they want to trade with it. They want to be left alone. And Leia has to find out things about them, like "can other ships pass through their space, and why won't they trade?" Can there be a way to find out exactly how many the Yevetha have, or how many ships are really in the Koornacht Cluster? And there is all the other usual stuff to attend to as Head of State... Luke is having problems of his own. He wants to be left alone. But is there a place where a Jedi Master can be alone?... Then he meets a woman who tells him she knows who his mother is. The woman has powers of her own, but not like the Force. She isn't a Jedi or a Sith. She was separated from her family when the war was over and she is trying to find them. She tells Luke that his mother was one of her people and she has had a dream about Luke. Once Luke trusts her, they set off to find their mothers. Meanwhile, Lando Calrissian is bored - he has nothing to do. At least he says so. He asks an old friend if he can be reinstated as a General in the Republic Fleet - he's looking for a little action. Then, he is contacted by a "secret intelligence service" of the Republic. No one has heard of them and they want to keep it that way. They don't wear any uniforms, and they contact you, not the other way around. Lando is asked ot be part of a secret mission - his smugglers skills could be really useful. So, off he goes, with C3P0 and another old friend to find out more about a strange "ship" that has just been discovered. I find it a great book. It has alot of new information about the New Republic. And it tells how hard it is to please everyone. And how important it is to have your own life, where you can do the things YOU want to do without other people telling you what you HAVE to do. The action is a little divided in the book. There are 3 separate story lines. I think it goes just a little bit too fast from one place to the other and sometimes it takes quite a while to get back to certain places in the storyline. But I really find there are more good things than bad things about the book. It gives us new details about the Star Wars Universe, like how did Luke get his name. Who is his mother? And how hard it can be to have a family life if you have one Head of State, one General, and three children who have the Force, in one family.
Title: Before the Storm |
