The Hutt Gambit (Star Wars: The Han Solo Trilogy, #2) By A.C. Crispin

A.C. Crispin ☆ 7 review

Here is the second novel in the blockbuster new trilogy that reveals the never-before-told story of the young Han Solo. Set before the Star Wars movie adventures, these books chronicle the coming-of-age of the galaxy's most famous con man, smuggler and thief.

Solo is now a fugitive from the Imperial Navy. But he has made a valuable friend in a former Wookiee slave named Chewbacca, who has sworn Han a life debt. Han will need all the help he can get. For the Ylesian Hutts have dispatched the dreaded bounty hunter Boba Fett to track down the man who already outsmarted them once. But Han and Chewie find themselves in even bigger trouble when they agree to lend their services to the crime lords Jiliac and Jabba the Hutt. Suddenly the two smugglers are thrust into the middle of a battle between the might of the Empire and the treachery of their outlaw allies...a battle where even victory means death!

Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years! The Hutt Gambit (Star Wars: The Han Solo Trilogy, #2)

5 stars

Nice to see Han and Bria. Also liked seeing Chewie and Lando. Han got his own ship. Yay!!!

Hope to read more Han Solo books!! Can't wait to read Rebel Dawn!!!! English I still have issues with this Han Solo series: once again, it's all tell-don't-show in regards to Solo's imperial career and his rescue of Chewie from slavery (unforgivably covered in a matter of a few pages). Solo's first meeting with Lando is also rather perfunctory, and far less momentous than it could have been. But those complaints aside, this is a major leap in quality from the previous book. It's far more exciting and engaging a tale than The Paradise Snare, and it manages to make Hutt society and politics -- never an interest of mine -- into something fascinating and compelling. Hopefully, this upward trend in quality continues in the final book of the Han Solo trilogy. English Reading (or in the case of Star Wars The Han Solo Trilogy rereading) Star Wars books, with all their cheesie craptasticness is a great reminder of just how bad George Lucas' universe is.

It is all contradictions and stock characters and pretty lights and bad plots and predictability and self-referential bullshit and unspeakable dialogue and sci-fantastic worlds. And that's exactly why we love them so much -- or at least why I do -- because they are drivel.

So when A.C. Crispin, who is obviously a fan of Han Solo, has her hero leading smugglers in an attack on an Imperial Fleet come to destroy Nar Shaddaa, it doesn't matter that it further damages his original trilogy character development (the worst damage was done by Lucas, after all, so the Creator himself set the precedent). And when Han comes up with the master plan that will help defeat the fleet (an ex-lover whose illusions would put David Copperfield to shame), and when Han is used by Jabba and Jiliac the Hutts to bribe the Admiral of the fleet, and when Han barely escapes from Boba Fett long before his Empire encounter with the bounty hunter (and makes him a mortal enemy by stealing his Mandalorian wrist darts), and when Han falls in love with the Millenium Falcon in about as banal a way as I can imagine, and when Han meets and befriends Lando Calrissian on the spot, who turns out to be a man who loves responsibility long before he becomes responsible for Cloud City, and when Han peaks out of a closet at a Darth Vader murder, it doesn't matter because its just as contradictory and silly as all Star Wars tales. And it's just as fun.

So I admit it ... I really, really liked The Hutt Gambit because I am a nostalgic git with no taste. But I'm okay with that. English There’s less to tie this one into a coherent single plot like there was with The Paradise Snare, but The Hutt Gambit still has much going for it. Unlike Snare which took place over a few months, Gambit covers about two years, taking us from roughly 5 years before the Battle of Yavin, down to about 3 years beforehand. Events are more spaced out, and on top of that two trilogies of stories, written back in the very earliest days of Star Wars’ Expanded Universe of books – the Han Solo Adventures, published 1979, and the Lando Calrissian Adventures, published 1983 – take place right in the middle. Crispin must skip over the events of those books, and yet reference them pretty heavily given the interleaved time periods involved. If you haven’t read these early adventure stories – and I remember that I hadn’t when I read The Hutt Gambit for the first-time way back in the day – you are left with the distinct feeling that you’ve missed out on a sizeable chunk of story. It’s nice that Crispin is so attentive to interweaving with canon (or, what was then the canon), but it does give Gambit the feeling of some notable gaps. That’s probably the most significant bad point about this book. You can feel like you’re missing something.

The good point is that this feels much more like the Han Solo we know. This is not the teenager of Snare who, despite his street upbringing, has an awful lot of romance and a certain idealistic naivety to him, an uncertainty of what he is doing and where he is going. Gambit presents us with a Solo who has settled comfortably into his adult identity, who has confidence about striking out on his path of the smuggler’s life and his ability to handle what it can throw at him. He’s more cynical and wiser to the dangers, cons, and double-crosses that lie ahead. As a result, the character is more familiar to us and I think more likeable as we begin to recognise someone we know.

But I have to say I appreciated the world building and thought that was a huge bonus for this book. Yes, Crispin references characters originally presented by Vonda McIntyre in The Crystal Star but she makes them her own. Han’s old smuggling buddies in Crystal Star felt like they were missing a lot of context. Here they feel like Crispin’s own because she provides us with that context, shows us their personalities more extensively and exactly what dynamics the young Han had with them all. She spends a lot of time on literal world-building too, and Nar Shaddaa feels suitably dingy, I felt like I was slumming it along with Han and Chewie, but at the same time is really made and brought to life by the vibrancy of the characters and their vitality. Crispin succeeded in getting me invested in these colourful personalities, and so when the battle swings around, I cared quite a bit about the outcome.

Speaking of the battle, I think this was really well done, and not because it was the biggest or flashiest battle in Star Wars – because it clearly wasn’t, I mean the Imperial forces descending on them are paltry, kind of bottom of the barrel of what the Empire can muster. But it mattered firstly because as aforementioned Crispin vividly brought Nar Shaddaa’s inhabitants to life and you don’t want them to die, and second because the smugglers are a ramshackle group who can barely muster a defence against some of the worst the Empire can offer. That gives this battle huge tension! The big guns, the big names, even, are absent (well, apart from a teeny unnamed cameo), and yet people are afraid of the Empire, and there are unscrupulous folk all over the galaxy willing to serve. It shows what a monumental challenge any resistance – and the Rebel Alliance, later on – faces. That gives the battle a lot of meaning, and the clever thinking required to cajole a draw out of the situation is entertaining to read about.

I want to mention, finally, an element that was a surprising positive element to the story, and that is the Hutts. The impression we get of the Hutts in the original trilogy is, quite understandably, one of loathsome villains. And that they still are, Crispin doesn’t mess with what has been established. But by expanding on the species’ history and society, she actually makes reading about them interesting, and individual characters such as Jiliac, Jabba, and Durga, dare I say this, even somewhat likeable. There are moments when they struggle against unfair adversity, show clear intelligence, or appreciate or otherwise respect our hero, Han Solo. And I honestly feel this was a good thing, because instead of being stock villains, or worse, boring to read about, Crispin makes their parts quite fascinating and evokes a little empathy from the reader; the empathy of understanding while still disagreeing and condemning. Crispin deserves credit for that, I think. It’s kind of chilling to see the friendly relationship Han develops with them here, in light of how that will later turn into vicious hate.

Talk about the real Boba Fett: Fett gets his own chunk of page space in this book and we are explicitly told that he used to be Journeyman Protector Jaster Mereel before murdering someone cast him out and led him to becoming a bounty hunter and changing his name. I still prefer this to the clone nonsense. It feels far more impressive that he was just an ordinary guy who worked his way up from the bottom to become the deadly force that he became, rather than him just being a lesser copy of his dad. The former is way more badass than the latter.

I’d recommend this, to be sure. It makes my cut.

7 out of 10 English I own this book.

The Hutt Gambit starts with a crestfallen Han Solo who is exiled from the Imperial Navy following his brave yet also idiotic move to save a wookie from certain death. That wookie is now following him. Chewbecca swears he owes Han a life debt and won't leave his side until it is followed through. Han couldn't care less about this until he finds that having a co-pilot and a gunner is actually pretty helpful for a former Imperial turned smuggler. We meet an array of excellent characters in this book; including Xaverri and Salla, both former love interests of Han, we meet Jarik Solo, a young street urchin who claims he's related to Han, even though Han knows he isn't, he still takes him under his wing. This book was fast-paced, despite taking place over a series of years. We see Han and Chewie become best friends, we see them dealing with Nal Hutta and infiltrating an Imperial Dreadnaught. We also get a little sneak peak of Lord Vader in this book, which we all know I love to see.

As a neutral fan of Han Solo, these books really do add depth to his character in a way we don't see very much in Solo or the other movies. It's clear some of the inspiration for Qi'ra has come from Bria however. This really is an interesting and easy to read trilogy. I think AC Crispin is definitely a best selling sci-fi writer for a reason. English

There’s a lot of Hutts in here. I’m still not sure why this book is titled The Hutt Gambit other than the publisher took a bit of gamble assuming readers would like to read a lot about Hutts.

But Han and Chewie are here too. I give three stars because the middle of the book felt a lot like “Han Solo goes here then he goes there. Some Hutts. Han Solo makes friends and goes on a couple dates.”

But the last 70 pages or so had me hooked. Not as good as the first one but I am excited for the next one. English This felt like pure Star Wars, but I love how dark some parts of this series has been. I loved the last scene, when Han was on the other side of the door when Vader walked in to kill the Admiral, and having no idea who he was yet. That was really cool. And I'm happy they can make a full story about Han without him running into every single famous character either.

I also loved the Battle for Nar Shadda. I wasn't expecting to love that planet so much, but I do. I wonder who sent the mysterious message to the Imperials to lose on purpose though. Maybe Bria? This is definitely one of my favorite trilogies, if the third one is as good. It's so much better then the Solo film too. English I loved this book. I have always loved Star Wars and this is no exception. I love seeing into the life of Han when he is younger and seeing how he met Chewie. I love the part where he meets Lando. I love how he meets Xaverri and how they end up working together later on. I love how she is able to create such a great illusion that it scares the Imperial force away. I love how we meet Jabba when he is younger and how we figure out what his and Han's relationship is. I love how Han gets through everything despite what he went through. Definitely a great read. 5/5 stars. English To make the big money, you gotta be willing to take those risks.
Han has just been dishonorably discharged from the Imperial Navy for intervening on behalf of Chewbacca, a Wookiee slave. Now, he is unemployed and burdened with a Wookiee, insistent on staying at his side due to a Life Debt. But Han is clever. He pulls himself up and begins to hone his piloting craft by working for the Hutts, keeping just ahead of the bounty hunters, and meeting people who will influence his life in the future. Oh, and finding the ship that he has his heart set on: the Millennium Falcon.
NOTE: Based on the actual novel (read years ago) and the audiobook.

I Liked:
Having Han team up with Chewie really makes this novel better than its predecessor (which had him team up with Muurgh, a Togorian, and Bria, his Corellian love interest). We get to go with them through their journey, to watch as Han improves his skill, learns his trade, makes an impression on those around him, and meet up with people we know from other novels.
I adored how Crispin really put effort into the continuity of this book. We have Xaverri from The Crystal Star, Salla Zend from Dark Empire, Vuffi Rah from the Lando Adventures, Smuggler's Run, the works. I was particularly impressed with how Crispin intertwined her story with Brian Daley's The Han Solo Adventures (seen even better in the next book, Rebel Dawn. This is true dedication, to work around another author's creation, to spend time paying homage and referencing it. And I applaud Crispin for it.
The novel is definitely more episodic, with not so much of a single emphasis, other than the Ylesia plot you might remember from The Paradise Snare. This works to the story's advantage. Han's life wouldn't be dictated like a normal story, and I appreciate the lack of a plot.
As for the Ylesia plot and the Hutts, I really enjoyed it. It is impressive for her to take the task of making the Hutts interesting, and Crispin succeeded. I felt they were very much like the Corleone's from the Godfather while without being a complete ripoff.
One of my absolute favorite moments in the book was where Boba Fett nearly captures Han Solo and Lando Calrissian comes to the rescue. I love the introduction to Fett, I love how Calrissian was able to get the jump on him, and I love how it set up Fett's grudge against Han Solo. It really showed Fett being a human and not just a flat robot.

I Didn't Like:
The segment near the beginning where Han meets a fortune teller that basically relates how he will become in the movies was unnecessary and only made for a wink-wink to what happens to him.
I didn't care how Hoth was mentioned. I like continuity, but do so many people have to be aware of these out of the way worlds? With the way things go, Tatooine is more central to the galaxy than Coruscant (makes Luke's statement in A New Hope kinda absurd now), Endor is a by-word, and Bespin is as popular as our Disney World. Get real. Make up some new planets!
I wasn't too fond of the time hopping. This may be in part because of the editing of the audiobook (they always cut out stuff from them), but I still felt a little jerked around.
My last big complaint: how the heck did Vader not sense Han in the Imperial governor's office? Han should not have survived that incident.

Overall:
This novel is really clever. While The Paradise Snare had a mediocre romance and a plot heavily borrowed from Oliver Twist, this one was clever and showed that Crispin was good at producing her own story and integrating someone else's. This is the one of the best middle trilogy books I've read in Star Wars. English Fills gaps in Hans' past, but the meeting with Lando is too contrived. Nice to see that Han really is a scoundrel ... with issues. ;-)

And the whole Boba Fett business is completely out of sync with the Star Wars movie canon. It's not Crispin's fault; she wrote before Episodes Two and Three identified Jango and Boba jett. English