The Courtship of Princess Leia - Softcover

"Though Darth Vader and the Emperor are dead, the Empire lives on and a weakened Alliance must find powerful new help if it is to survive. The answer could lie in the Hapes consortium, a cluster of sixty-three high-tech worlds. There is only one catch: Princess Leia must marry the Queen Mother's son, the dashing and wealthy Prince Isolder. Han Solo reacts badly to the news. Tricking Leia, he flees with her to the beautiful but untamed planet of Dathomir, where he hopes to change her mind -- and win her heart. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker and Artoo form an unlikely partnership with the jilted prince to track down the runaways. But their mission is only the beginning of an adventure that will lead to the discovery of an awesome treasure, a group of Force-trained "witches", and a showdown with and invincible foe.

If you thought Han Solo and Princess Leia were an item--not so fast. Leia has visited the planet Hapes to plead with the Queen Mother for weapons and ships; and now the Queen Mother's son, Prince Isolder, has sent his battle fleet to planet Coruscant, along with a mountain of hugely expensive gifts. Isolder, it seems, desires to marry Leia and join his forces with those of the New Republic in the continuing struggle against the Empire. Then Han wins planet Dathomir in a card game and persuades Leia to accompany him there. Luke suspects that Dathomir also harbors someone strong in the Force and discovers the Nightsisters who fought with Yoda's Jedi long ago. With firmer prose, more realistic dialogue, and more action than the previous Star Wars outing (Kathy Tyers's bestselling The Truce at Bakura--not reviewed), this should sell at least as well. (First printing of 375,000) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.