Children of the Jedi - Softcover

As Children of the Jedi opens, a crazed, drug-addled ex-smuggler named Drub McKumb lunges at Han Solo in the middle of his and Leia's state visit to Ithor. (Long after the destruction of the second Death Star, Leia is now the New Republic's work-weary head of state.) Han, Leia, and Luke soon surmise that this isn't just another of Han's drinking buddies but rather a weirdly altered man carrying a terrible secret. Piecing together clues from McKumb's glossolaliac rants, Han and Leia set off in search of the ancient hiding place of the Children of the Jedi, while Luke--using the Force and his former-pupil-and-pal-turned-droid Nichos as a random number generator--decides to head off to a set of coordinates halfway across the galaxy.

They all end up finding more than they bargained for: Han and Leia's search for the Jedi ends on icy, isolated Belsavis; while Luke stumbles onto a humongous but dormant Imperial death machine- -which, not coincidentally, has stirred to life the intent to utterly annihilate Belsavis. Can he possibly stop it in time? Star Wars authors tend to be either you-love-'em-or-you-hate-'em types, but veteran writer Hambly makes a good go at falling into the former camp in this outing, along with the likes of Michael Stackpole and Kevin J. Anderson. --Paul Hughes

One of the Empire's most devious inventions was a mammoth unmanned dreadnought, governed by a sophisticated artificial intelligence. It was deployed to crush a stronghold where many Jedi family were sheltered. Crippled during the war against the Empire, the vessel has drifted through space for years. But now it is slowly reactivating and resuming its inexorable mission--one that will draw Luke Skywalker aboard the death ship for the challenge of his life, while Han and Leia try to piece together the ancient mysteries of the ancient Jedi enclave. Here is a novel that delivers all the wonder, adventure, action, and suspense that have thrilled a legion of loyal fans. , (TM) and 1995 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. Used under authorization.