Nobody in Denning’s writing is bulletproof and although one must suspend more than a pinch of disbelief that Grandfather Han (in particular) is still able to keep up with the action in pretty much the same way we remember him from forty-five years previous, even he seems to be running less on roguish bravado and more on some telling variant of fatalistic abandon. The bad guys are disquietingly, almost dishearteningly clever.

Within a series where Chewbacca was killed off so as to restore a lost sense of vulnerability to the old favourites, Denning’s great achievement is that he is able convincingly to set aside - through nothing more than astute narrative - the ingrained expectation that our heroes will prevail. Crucible, however, is something of an exception to this guiding principle, and despite its story unfolding some forty-five years after A New Hope, in many ways it echoes this founding movie in offering a sweeping yet self-contained adventure, accessible no only to zealots but also to more casual fans.ĭenning structures his writing around the immutable figure of Han Solo, so although much has changed in the four decades since Return of the Jedi - Leia has become a Jedi, for starters, and Luke Skywalker has matured from nasal adolescent to grandmaster of the order - most readers will find themselves comfortably ensconced from the outset (a sit-down standoff at a seedy bar, of course), and then drawn into a well-paced plot that includes both familiar faces and evocative new villains. The Star Wars canon nowadays is vast and intricate, yet well charted, and novices of the Jedi order are well advised to consult Wookieepedia rather than trusting to the Force when embarking upon a voyage through the swirling asteroid field of publications.

Therein followed a bewildering period of nothingness - George Lucas effectively freezing himself in carbonite - until 1991 when Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire released from its singularity a rapidly expanding universe of original Star Wars books, of which Troy Denning’s Crucible is at the outward crest. Ten Star Wars novels were published between 19, more or less concurrent with the original film trilogy. When Lando Calrissian asks Leia and Han Solo for help in running off some pirates from his mining operation, little do they suspect they are about to fall victim to a brotherly pair of sociopaths - two brain-heavy Columi power mongers with access to an evil force, and in whose blood-stained crucible lies burning a cruelly refined vendetta against Han.

Crucible troy denning