Book Review: 'The Princess And The Scoundrel'
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The period of purgatory after Disney’s acquisition of Star Wars where there weren’t many new books that expanded on the canon is well and clearly over. With the High Republic initiative and the ever-growing comic book offerings, the new expanded universe continues to grow as well with the addition of The Princess and the Scoundrel. This new book follows the lovestruck Princess Leia and Han Solo on their whirlwind honeymoon after their rather impromptu wedding following the destruction of the second Death Star.
In The Princess and the Scoundrel, Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa finally find some time to explore their love after they and their friends destroyed yet another Death Star. This time, though, the Emperor happened to be on the battle station, and the repented Darth Vader saved his son Luke Skywalker and tossed the Emperor down the shaft. There was no way (or so they thought) that Palpatine could survive the ensuing destruction of the battle station. There is just one thing nagging at Leia since their victory: the knowledge that Darth Vader was actually her father, the most feared man in the galaxy who had tortured her and her loved ones.
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Despite the turmoil within Leia, Han is determined for them to be able to spend some time together instead of focusing on that fact, and what better way to do that than to get married? After proposing, having an Ewok invade the bachelor party, and actually getting married, Han and Leia are sent off on a luxury honeymoon on a recently retrieved starliner, the Halcyon. As much as Leia wants to enjoy her honeymoon with her new husband, she just can’t shake the need to be diplomatic. When opportunity strikes, Leia manages to divert their cruise to the moon of a potential new ally for the nascent New Republic.
The callback to the old expanded universe that existed before the Disney acquisition is clear in this book, and it fits with Disney’s current MO with snatches of other Legends characters and elements, like the reintroduction of Grand Admiral Thrawn to the canon. This time, it’s obvious that Beth Revis’ inspiration for this book comes from The Courtship of Princess Leia. In Courtship, Leia and the New Republic are brought into a tight political situation where a potential ally is willing to enhance the power of the fledgling new government, as long as Princess Leia marries the son of the said ally. Fearing that she might do so, Han whisks Leia off to the planet Dathomir, causing an interstellar incident in the process. The parallels are there, but this time it is Leia causing an interstellar incident, and there is no rancors or Night Sisters this time.
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Beth Revis has written Star Wars content before, and her characterization of the beloved lovestruck characters here is perfect. The book is more heavy-handed on the romantic notions and “hold me’s” than is typical in a Star Wars book or movie, but it is their honeymoon, so that is to be expected. The groundwork Revis lays out for the eventual crisis and climax is well done. She switches back and forth between Han-focused chapters and Leia-focused chapters, which helps highlight the fact that they are two distinct individuals, each with their own seeming goals for their honeymoon. But they often come back to each other to ground themselves and remember that they — two people who have a long history of not depending on others — have someone to lean on and support them. Considering that there really is not much screen time of the couple enjoying each other’s presence and exploring their love, this story really helped flesh out that relationship. It also did a decent job of highlighting not only their past independence clashing with their newfound partnership, but also how their individual pasts haunt them. Leia with her lineage, and Han’s year frozen in carbonite.
The book does have some hang ups, though. The inclusion of their traumas feels unnecessary. Leia’s trauma is tied in with the discovery that she can also tap into the Force, making her terrified of becoming like her father. Leia tells Han at one point that her push to be “Diplomat Leia” even on their honeymoon stems from the lineage issue. She longs to help people, but what would happen when people find out she’s Darth Vader’s daughter? So she pushes to accomplish as much as she can while she can. It’s a relatable drive, but with how few times the issue of her parentage comes up, it feels a little hollow and, ultimately, uncompelling within the scope of the story. Han’s trauma feels even more so unnecessary with little references to missed time here and there, and a brief episode of panic when submerged. It feels inconsequential overall to the plot and is resolved so quickly that it makes one wonder if it was really that big of a deal for Han to begin with.
The pace of the story moves well, but it almost feels like the reader is on a luxury cruise as well, with the inciting incident taking nearly half the book to really happen. This points to perhaps Disney mandating the length of these books with nearly every Star Wars adult novel released thus far being about the same length. While a book should be able to accomplish its story in the 300 or so pages (which this book does), the main plot feels rushed to completion as a result.
Even still, The Princess and the Scoundrel is a love letter to two of the most popular characters to come out of the Star Wars universe. Beth Revis’ portrayal of the love between Han and Leia is masterfully crafted and attended. It would have served the story more to use the plot to build up their individual traumas more so that their new anxieties over their marriage would have felt more genuine.
Author Beth Revis
Image Source: The Author Village
Rating: 7/10
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