Sunday, January 1, 2012

Tatooine Ghost: The Review


The roller coaster ride of EU books continues after the high of Mindor to the lowest of the low with COPL back to this other notable highlight for Han and Leia fans in the EU. The announcement of this book brought together a perfect storm of good news for Han and Leia fans. First, it was a book that would be based only on them, which meant no long chapters about bad guys or whatever the heck Luke is doing with the Jedi. Second, it would take place roughly six months after they had gotten married, which marked the first, and so far only book in which they are married but don't have kids. Not to mention the fact that they got to be young again and didn't have to be all depressed because at the time we were mostly reading about their kids dying and/or turning to the dark side. Third, it was written by Troy Denning, who at this point had proven himself as writing some of the best Han and Leia in the EU, and I personally always enjoy how he writes them as he is an admitted Han and Leia fan himself.

Seriously, at this point most of us were starved for just any shred of evidence that they had a happy marriage or enjoyed some nice moments together. He started giving us those in the context of the other stories and showed them as the Han and Leia we all remember from the movies, and now he would get to really utilize them in a book without all of the hassle of the Vong or Sith. Any one of those elements by itself would make me excited for a Star Wars book, so you can only imagine what I and any other Han and Leia fans were feeling when hearing this was coming.

The book begins with Han, Leia, Chewie and Threepio headed for Tatooine. First you might think this is mostly because in spite of the fact that there are hundreds of planets in the Star Wars universe, the authors only tend to utilize like eight or nine of them, but in this case it is important that it's Tatooine they are going to or else certain things wouldn't happen later.

Anyway, they are on their way there in search of a moss painting. Sounds weird, I know, but this particular painting had years ago hung on Leia's bedroom wall and she had thought it was destroyed with Alderaan, but it had been on loan at a museum off-planet and hadn't made it back yet, and Lando found out it was going to be auctioned off on Tatooine. This painting is important not just because it holds great sentimental value for Leia, but apparently there is some sort of code key hidden in it that will reveal all sorts of New Republic secrets should it fall into the hands of the Imperials, so it becomes even more vital that they obtain it.

One underlying theme throughout this book is the fact that Han wants to have children, and Leia doesn't. Like any mildly intelligent couple who is getting married, this is something that they had discussed before the wedding and both understood each other's views on the subject. But it appears Han still wants to press the issue as being married has made him crave a family even more. Leia has the pretty legitimate fear that any child she may bear has a strong potential of turning into the next Vader. She even has some visions about it. So she does not enjoy Han bringing up the subject and doesn't seem like she's going to change her mind.

They have a run-in with a star destroyer on the way and require some fancy maneuvers to keep from getting killed. Han had initially thought this trip was just to get the painting back for Leia, but she had hidden the fact that the code key was involved and Han resented the fact that this mission was partly for the New Republic in general. As you can imagine, he still isn't so happy with them after trying to get rid of him so Leia could marry Isolder. Once this becomes apparent, Han even tells her they're about to have their first married fight - although I kind of find it hard to believe that these two made it six months before a fight. Not that I think they'd fight all the time or even that any of the fights would be terrible, but I'd imagine they'd at least have had a little argument over cleaning the kitchen or something. But, like usual, she manages to convince him:

Han looked away, his gaze dropping to his instruments, and Leia knew she had him. He would play hard to get, pretending to think it over, but Han Solo always came through when it counted. That was his weakness, and she loved him for it.

Well, as you can imagine, they survived the Imperial obstacle and made it to Tatooine and the art auction. Wearing elaborate disguises - Leia being a Twi'lek and Han stuck with red skin and giant horns - they head in. Checking out the array of items up for auction, Leia is drawn to a holo of a young boy. He'd just won a podrace. If you guessed this holo is of Anakin Skywalker, you'd be right. Leia doesn't know this for sure yet, she just knows that she is drawn to it and Han had noticed her looking at it but he thinks it is because she is coming around on the whole having kids thing and he calls her on it, which she does not like.

This even transpires into Leia saying something about the possibility that Han just discovered he had a child with Bria Tharen, because she would find that more acceptable than having a child of her own. I don't know, do you think he ever went into detail explaining Bria? I don't really see that happening. Well, Leia throws back at him that if he couldn't live with the no kids thing, because he's known this since Bakura, apparently, he should've let her marry Isolder. Han decides to press her and ask if she ever planned on telling the Hapans she was never going to have kids, because it seemed that heirs would've been a very big part of that deal. He even pushes to say that she would have kids for the sake of the New Republic, but not for him.

Then we get, "I'm sure I remember you telling me you could live without children. That's very clear in my mind."

Han shrugged. "I like being married. Maybe that's changed my thinking about kids." He lowered his gaze and stared into the dark ale in his mug. "I didn't realize how much I'd love this-being a family, I mean. I keep wondering what it would be like to shape a kid's life, to give him a safe place to grow up."

"Like the home you never had," Leia said.

"Yeah, like that," Han admitted.


This whole conversation is inconclusive and it's sort of tough to read because you know it's such a sensitive topic and while of course we all understand Han's point of view it is difficult to deny the fears that Leia is experiencing.

But we are not without comic relief. Before the auction, Han and Leia encounter and hire some Squibs to bid on the painting for them so as not to blow their cover. Squibs are sort of like the three stooges if they were really short and furry. They're irritating and exhausting and unfortunately just what Han and Leia need in this case.

The auction begins and there are many items to bid on before the painting. The holo is announced and Leia hears that it is, in fact, Anakin Skywalker. The Squibs start bidding and Leia is confused and it turns out Han had asked them to bid because he thought that Leia liked it. Well, she definitely doesn't want it, and it takes some effort to get the Squibs to stop bidding on it.

Then, it's time to bid on Killik Twilight - the coveted painting. The amounts just keep rising and rising and rising and rising... And eventually Han eyes the owner who is putting it up for sale and even though he's in disguise he thinks it is Threkin Horm - who if you remember from the prior, dreaded book, is one of Han's least favorite people in the universe. He is an Alderaanian, and it seems unethical that he would sell this piece of Alderaanian history. Especially when it turns out there are Imperials running up the bids, and they certainly can't let them get the code key, even if it's not entirely clear that they even know the code key exists.

The bidding runs up to an astonishing fifteen million - which is the limit of Leia's funds and far beyond what she had anticipated. The New Republic was providing the money, and she is feeling immensely guilty that all of this money is going toward a painting instead of ships or something more useful. They at least manage to get him to accept the Squib's bid of fifteen million rather than the higher bid from the Imperials. But soon after it doesn't matter because all hell breaks loose and there is shooting and explosions and the guy who was selling the holo of Anakin Skywalker stole the painting. Did I mention that guy was Kitster, who you might remember as Anakin's best friend on Tatooine from Phantom Menace? Don't worry, nobody says "That's so wizard."

This leaves them with no choice but to try and go after the painting. Han takes off on a swoop bike to try and catch up to him, although Leia continues to be skeptical of his risking so much for the painting and, mostly, for her.

"What are you worried about?" He opened the face mask and kissed her, making certain to linger until she let him go. "I am coming back, you know."

Leia was still thinking about Han's parting words half a standard hour later, as Tamora guided them through a warren of sand-and-mud huts in Mos Espa's poorest section of town. She was drawn to the scoundrel in him, to the aura of danger and promise that clung to him like a bad holo job. But it was the hero in her husband that she loved, his casual courage, the way he thought nothing of hopping onto a saddled rocket and racing out into a desert full of stormtroopers to recover a priceless painting with a secret code. The only thing Leia didn't like was the reason he was doing it. No man should feel compelled to put himself in peril to please the woman he loved.

But it was sweet that Han would.


They take refuge at the farm Luke grew up on, now owned by Gavin Darklighter's parents. While there Leia comes in possession of an old holojournal, which she watches a bit of before she finds out a while later that it is in fact her grandmother, Shmi Skywalker, leaving the journal behind for her son. This allows Leia not only to get to see her grandmother, but to see that her father wasn't always such a monster. In fact, she has concrete proof that he started out as a pretty normal little kid.

Han encounters some trouble while he is off on his swoop in the form of TIE fighters and a terrible storm that blows through that he gets caught in. He had been able to talk to Leia about how he didn't think he'd be back by that night, but soon after they lose contact and Leia gets very, very worried. When I first got this book I was so excited that it was all about them and then so annoyed when I found out that there was an extended part in the middle where they were separated. But, unlike in most books, Leia spends the entire time actually worrying and thinking about him. She is terribly afraid that they might not find him and she is very upset that the storm is bad enough that they can't go out and look for him. And she continues to feel guilty that he is out there for her.

Since there are dozens of books that come after this in the timeline that feature Han, of course we all know that they eventually find him. He's quite a mess but awake and mostly coherent. They go and take refuge at an inn to give Han some time to recover. He is left sound asleep with a hydration drip in his arm while Leia takes a bath and goes back to Shmi's holojournal, although she seems to constantly be going back to check on Han and make sure he's all right.

Finally discovering that this is her grandmother, Leia more and more starts to see that Anakin wasn't born to be Darth Vader. Han finally wakes up to ask for something to drink, though he'd rather it was alcohol, Leia brings him water but he falls asleep again before she even gives it to him.

After she watches a few more entries, we get one of the main highlights of the entire EU for Han and Leia fans:

(Leia) "Can you sit up?"

"Maybe you ought to come see."

Leia went into the room and found Han lying flat on his back. His hands were folded behind his head and he was smiling at her crookedly. And he seemed to know where he was.

"Come here," he said. "And take this drip out of my arm."

Leia went over to the side of the bed. "You're sure?"

Han grabbed her around the waist, then pulled her down on top of him and kissed her, very long and very deep.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He ran his hands under her robe, and the room suddenly grew warm. "It's gonna get in the way."


Wow, to this point that was probably the first clear indication in the that there was gonna be some sexy time between these two and probably the only PG-13 moment for them in the entire EU. I love that as soon as Han can keep his eyes open this is the first thing he's interested in, and Leia obviously has no objections. You know he would be. Later, he wakes up first with Leia in his arms to notice that she even somehow managed to attach his IV again. Han is feeling a whole lot better until he hears voices coming from the next room and he rolls off the bed to the floor, pulling Leia on top of him.

She is not alarmed right away, instead she says: Her eyelids rose half open, and their gazes met instantly. "Han?" She smiled dreamily. "My, you are feeling better."

He tells her not in front of company and she hears the voices and goes out - apparently naked as Han requests that she first put some clothes on. It turns out that there isn't anyone out in the sitting room, but the voices are coming from a datapad that is showing them what is happening in the lobby.

When Han emerges, he thinks this: With a blaster in one hand and her brown eyes fixed on the datapad in the other, her long hair falling in a silky cascade over her shoulders, she seemed more breathtakingly beautiful than ever. Han knew he had to be the luckiest ex-smuggler in the galaxy; if they could just get past her fear of having children, he was pretty sure that when his time came, he would leave this universe with every wish he ever had fulfilled.

Aw, I love that. And while it is not explicitly mentioned, I'm sure he doesn't mind that at that moment she isn't wearing any clothes. Well, the voices indicate that some stormtroopers are about to complicate matters, and Han suggests they both get dressed (hooray for brief naked time) as they might be in for a fight.

They meet up with the Squibs and Chewie and prepare for their escape and you once again see how well Han and Leia work together in situations like this. Just before they start their escape, Han says:

"One more thing."

"I know." She rose on her toes and kissed him hard and long. It was almost enough to make him forget what they were doing, especially when she finally stopped. "You love me."

"Yeah, that, too." Han flashed her a scoundrel's grin. "But what I really wanted to ask is did you remember to recharge my blaster?"


They escape and wind up riding dewbacks through the desert. It is apparent to Leia that their little escape had taken a lot out of Han and not allowed him to fully recover, so she is constantly checking on him and asking him to drink while he is constantly trying to appear much more okay than he really is.

They have a scare with some TIE fighters overhead and Leia is more and more fearful of Han's condition and decides she wants him to go to the Darklighter's farm to hide out and as you can expect, he is not going anywhere without her. They are both getting tired of the other one worrying for their well-being and Leia asks Han to drink again, and he tells her she should, too.

As time goes on, Han starts to look worse, but Leia isn't feeling so great, either. She had been keeping things to herself - Force visions about Vader and one that she had foreseen exactly what Han's broken down swoop would look like in the sandstorm, finding the holojournal - and she finally wants to try and talk to him about it. When they are interrupted once again by obnoxious Squibs she decides that now is not the time to try and have a serious conversation, so they continue on.

To take her mind of things, Leia goes back to the holojournal, but each time Leia looks up to check on Han he looks worse, until finally she sees him fall right out of the saddle and is forced to jump from her dewback, injuring her shoulder in the process. She manages to briefly wake Han up by pouring water on his face and he gets up to walk with them to safety, only to promptly pass out again. Leia and the Squibs start to carry him, but fortunately soon Chewie catches up to them and throws him over his Wookiee shoulder.

They run for cover away from the TIE fighters and make it to a hiding place. Leia tries waking Han up again but pouring water on his face this time only makes him cough a little but not regain consciousness. She knows he needs to wake up to drink or it is quite possible he will die.

Leia leaned close to his face. "Listen up, nerf herder. I'm tired of doing all the heavy work around here." She kissed him on the lips and began to feel dizzy-and not in the usual way. Han wasn't the only one who needed to drink. "Come on, Flyboy. Time to wake-"

At this point she has a scary Force vision much like she had earlier and is hallucinating that Han isn't himself, but has quite eyes and keeps saying, "Mine!" It doesn't take long before she wakes up to find herself lying next to him, both of them now in stormtrooper armor that apparently has some sort of cooling mechanism. Chewie and Threepio are there to assist them, and both Solos needing to drink, Leia essentially turns it into a drinking game to make sure Han gets enough fluid back in him, as well as needing some herself, even though Han continues to request Gizers that nobody will give him.

After telling Leia she looks hot in white, Han finds out that Leia let the Squibs go off after the painting and gets mad but then learns that she had stayed behind because she was worried about him, which seems to mark just about the first time Leia has put him before some mission, which leaves Han speechless.

They find out that the painting has fallen into the hands of the Sand People and Han of all people seems most insistent on going out to find it and Leia presses him as to why. After the whole Hapan incident, Han had been incredibly anti-New Republic, understandably. But he's coming to realize that the New Republic is and always will be a big part of who Leia is, and even if he doesn't agree with everything they do, he wouldn't want Leia to change who she is.

Maybe Leia had been thinking about the same things-and about how she'd almost lost Han again-as well. She was constantly fussing over him, offering him water, checking to be certain he was cool enough, generally telling him she loved him in a thousand small ways. Not that he was complaining, but Han failed to understand why. He had been acting like a Hutt since their return from Dathomir, treating the Provisional Council as though it was a rival and all but demanding that Leia choose between them.

Then, when she had chosen him over duty back in the cave, he had finally seen that this was one bluff he could not afford to win. Withdrawing from the council would give Leia a huge marker to call in, and sooner or later, Han would have to sacrifice something in return-maybe high-stakes sabacc, his wanderlust, or possibly even the Falcon. Whatever it was, he knew he could not surrender such a big part of himself and remain who he was, just as he knew that Leia could not give up her work on the council and remain the woman he loved.

Mostly, though, Han really did not want the Imperials to get their hands on that code key. Whatever his feelings toward the Provisional Council-and they remained ambivalent, at least toward Mon Mothma and the others who had been so ready to condemn Leia to a loveless marriage-Han loved the New Republic, and he would have hated himself for allowing his hurt feelings to cost it one of its most effective and best-kept secrets.

But Han was not about to admit any of this. He was enjoying the attention too much-though he was tiring of hearing Leia say, "Careful, nerf herder."


Leia decides to look at the holojournal again and learns some things about Shmi's relationship with Watto and can't believe her ability to forgive her slaver. She thinks about how she was Jabba's slave for a single night and wound up strangling him with his chain. However, the circumstances of their slavery were quite different. She does finally tell Han about it, though, and he tells her that he is also interested in it.

Leia did not miss the envy in Han's voice. He had no idea who either of his own grandmothers might be; he had been raised aboard a tramp freighter with no knowledge of his real parents, and the closest thing he had ever known to a grandmother was Dewlanna. That was another thing they had in common, she supposed - and it was probably part of the motivation behind his desire to have a family.

I had always seen that as one of the motivators behind Han's desire to have a family with Leia. They wind up taking refuge at Obi-Wan's old place and Han and Leia have a conversation about the painting. It seems Han interprets it differently than everyone else, having been much more taken by it than Leia expected him to be. Everyone saw the painting as the killiks running from a storm, but Han sees it as them turning to face it. Han uses this as another metaphor though in his argument for Leia deciding to have children instead of being afraid.

She has time to think a lot, and here she thinks of Obi Wan and the guilt he felt at having lost Anakin to the dark side. It all just continues to allow her to think more and more about the decisions she's making, and wondering if her feelings about her father and her anger towards him are only causing harm to her and Han. And maybe she shouldn't allow it to rule the rest of her life.

But not long after, it is time to leave once again.

Leia... kissed Han until her stomach began to flutter, then kissed him a little longer. Not because it might be the last time, she told herself, but because they were in this together. At last, she pulled away and smiled up at Han.

Disguised as stormtroopers, they set off again to find the painting and get the code key. They wind up at the Tusken camp that Leia realizes is where Anakin found Shmi. Han once again changes the way she thinks about things, saying that the fact that Anakin killed all of the Sand People after he found his mother maybe wasn't because he was evil, but maybe was just the normal reaction of a boy whose mother had been killed, and he himself might have done the same thing. He then further tells her that without him, the Emperor would still be alive, and maybe he fulfilled his destiny after all. Han makes some incredibly insightful points in this book.

They eventually find Kitster, who is wounded and captured and they rescue him and find the painting and there is a whole lot of craziness between Tusken Raiders and stormtroopers as they try to get away alive. Chewie had gone to get the Falcon and they get the code key and try and escape with Kitster. The Squibs wind up keeping the painting due to a deal they'd made, which at first makes Han furious because he knows how much it means to Leia, but she says as long as they got the code key, a deal is a deal.

As they are escaping Leia shares a quick moment with Kitster, who admits that he stole the painting for her, or really for Anakin, so that it wouldn't fall into the hands of the Imperials. And once again he tells her the kind of man her father was as a boy.

They leave Kitster and the Squibs behind and take off in a hurry, evading Imperials with Han's skilled maneuvers. Leia walks up and starts talking to him casually and he insists that he's a little busy, but she really needs to ask him something.

"Why do you want little Solos running around so badly?"

"Kids?" Han nearly yelled the question. "You want to talk about kids
now?"

"Isn't that what I just said?" Leia asked. Three seconds to go. "There might not be another chance."

Chewbacca grunted and sent the hyperspace calculations to the pilot's station. Zero seconds.

"All right, if it has to be now." Han brought their nose around, pointing them into deep space. The
Falcon continued to slip farther toward the two suns-sideways. "I guess it's just my way of facing the future."

"Facing the future?" Leia asked.

"You know." Han forced the throttles past the overload stops. The
Falcon shuddered, seemed to hesitate... and finally pulled free of the gravity well. He exhaled in relief and activated the hyperdrive. "Believing in it."

"Good answer." Leia leaned closer and, as the stars stretched into the iridescent blur of hyperspace, gently kissed Han on the neck. "I believe in it, too."


These are literally the last lines in the book and that's how it ends. So Leia has finally made the decision to take the plunge and have kids, and they obviously waste no time because Leia is pregnant in the next book. In fact, there is discussion that that implied sex earlier in the book was where Jacen and Jaina were conceived. I don't like this theory for two reasons. First, if she was so adamant about not having babies, surely they would've taken some pretty strong precautions to prevent it, because we all know they're doin' it a lot. Second, it's almost like these people are assuming they have sex so infrequently that that had to be the time she got pregnant since there weren't other opportunities. Sorry, I'm pretty sure it went: decision, 'pull the goalie' and then start doin' it like crazy. Or, continue as normal because they already had that third part covered.

Okay, now that I've gotten that out of the way, I can say that this is probably my second favorite EU book after Shadows of Mindor. Obviously this book is far more Han and Leia centric and actually focuses on aspects of their relationship which isn't really addressed in other books. Not to mention lots of kissing. But it doesn't quite have the fun factor to it or the plethora of great lines throughout, so it falls slightly behind for me. That said, of course it is still a five on the Han and Leia scale. Enjoy that while you can, this may be the last five we give out for the rest of the EU.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the portrayal of Han and Leia in this book. They tease and banter but they also quite obviously love each other deeply. There are many little lines thrown in about reasons they love one another, how Han thinks Leia is so stong and how Leia thinks Han is so selfless. They kiss often, they work well together and both seem often ready to risk their lives for each other.

Also, in spite of the fact that we would all like to pretend that COPL did not exist, I did like some of the things that were done here to address it. First, that Han was still mad at the New Republic and Mon Mothma. Second, that he still somewhat questions where Leia's priorities are. Third, that apparently since the incident, Leia has gone out of her way to show her love to Han. It's nice to see that if for some reason that atrocity had actually happened, Leia finally felt guilty about it and wanted to make it up to him and show him that he is, in fact, the one she wants in spite of the actions of that Leia imposter in the prior book.

I also like that Han notices this and seems to enjoy the extra attention. But I also loved the revelation when she does, in fact, choose taking care of him over going after the painting and he realizes that he is more important to her.

There's not much more to say about this one. If you are not an EU reader, this book certainly works by itself for someone who is only familiar with the movies and maybe wants to just try a book. Obviously it alludes to some events from the book that shall not be named, but you only need to read my review of it, or even just a summary on Wookieepedia in order to garner enough information to understand what they are referring to.

It's nice to see the the change come over Leia, and it is also nice to see that it is not a snap decision but it evolves over the book as she learns some new things and gets to think about certain things differently. I also like how Han presses her on the issue, but not so much in an angered way, he just tries to get her to see the error in her thinking, and you can tell that this is something that he desperately wants and isn't just arguing for for the sake of getting his own way. My only gripe is that the book ends before we get to see Han's reaction to Leia changing her mind.

Overall an enjoyable read and brings the "real" Han and Leia back after the fake ones in our last book. And just for fun, I'm going to throw a challenge out there to all of you on some missing moments here. First, and this one is quite obvious, pick up where they left off after Han tells Leia that the needle in his arm is going to get in the way. Second, write Han's reaction to Leia changing her mind about kids.

Happy 2012!

77 comments:

  1. Yay for that missing moment challenge!!!

    Great review Zyra, but I must mention one of my favourite exchanges in chapter one that you missed, when Threepio asks if Leia is ok because it looks as though her "circuits" are overloaded. She says her circuits are fine but Han gives her "the grin" and says he will have to check her circuits later, and then he says about knowing her "schematics by heart". Love that bit!!! And I'll bet he did check later as well.

    Also I can't help but wonder if the paragraph in chapter one where Leia is thinking about how fond she is of Chewie and he's like a brother etc is in response to complaints Lucasfilm had about the Chewbacca comic. I know there was quite a vocal campaign going on at The Force.net at the time about how Han and Leia were treated, the Chewbacca comic was a particular bone of contention. I think Leia and Chewie have a great relationship in TG and I like to think Denning did this purposely.

    I totally agree on your dislike of the theory that Leia got pregnant in THAT scene, for the same reason. They would be using the absolute best birth control in the galaxy..whatever that maybe, but it's probably more advanced and more reliable than ours. So the chances of an accidental pregnancy are virtually zero.

    I don't think it means that certain people think they don't have sex that often, it's just that it's not often referred to, so as Denning has obviously made a big deal out of this scene I suppose some people think it must be significant or why include it?

    The main thing that makes me think she didn't get pregnant in this book is Troy Dennings follow up short story he did for SW insider magazine, The Trouble With Squibs/ Never Trust a Squib (whatever you call it). This is set 2 months after TG, and there is absolutely no mention of her being pregnant. Now I don't know about you, but I would think, if she was, Denning would make a point of mentioning it.

    Anyway, I love this book. I am not a huge fan of the plot, but I just adore Dennings Han and Leia, and this book just captures them as newlyweds absolutely perfectly. It's exactly how I imagine them to be.

    As for the "first married fight" business. Well, of course you know they are hardly ever together in the eu, so more than likely they haven't seen each other since the honeymoon!!

    But I don't believe Denning would imply that. He loves Han and Leia too.

    Are we allowed to mention Corphellion Interlude, short story in the paperback? Or is that coming up in another review??

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, that exchange in the beginning was very cute. There were lots of cute lines, not enough room for everything. Very good point about her thinking about Chewie in the beginning, too. I think I somehow missed that particular uproar but I certainly understand it and mentioned similar in my little review of that one before. Leia is a strong and very opinionated person. If it bothered her to have Chewie around, she would've said something, not bottled it up inside. I think she would see him the way it is described here. It's nice to have him around and I think it's different than if, say, Lando was around all the time. He's not human. It's more like having your husband's loyal dog around than his obnoxious best friend and that probably wouldn't be bothersome. As for Denning doing things like that purposely, I feel like he does things like that a lot - taking into consideration a lot of our complaints and gives us just these nice little moments that don't have much to do with anything but make us smile because Han and Leia crack jokes with one another or share a little moment. I enjoy those additions and it reminds us that these people are humans with emotions.

    I get what you're saying about how the scene didn't really have much reason for being there so maybe it is why people thought it was the conception. He did have to set up the following morning, why Leia was in bed with him and his arm was hooked up again and the fact that they were naked :)

    You're right on the plot, but to me the plot is really secondary here. It doesn't matter to me really what journey they are on in this book, just that they are on it together and eventually Leia realizes she does want to have children.

    Ah, Corphellion Interlude, yes. I do need to mention that one at some point. I only have the hard cover of this one, though I have, fortunately, read it. Perhaps in another "other EU" post. But as a Han and Leia fan, it certainly needs to be addressed!

    Lastly, good point about Trouble with Squibs and that Leia wasn't pregnant in that one. I tend to forget because that whole story is sort of pointless, but at least it's about just Han and Leia again.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Trouble with Squibs was indeed very pointless, such a let down after TG, probably Dennings weakest moment, where Han and Leia are concerned.

    I get the impression from comments on Wookieepedia that the conception date worked out for the twins just happens to fit with this novel, so that's probably why a lot of people have singled it out.

    I remember years ago, probably when TG first came out, trying to work out when Leia got pregnant and think I put it around 3 months after TG. Think I must have put COPL as being set 4 years after ROTJ then TG is six months after, so half way through that year. Then Thrawn trilogy begins at start of year five, and Leia is three months pregnant, meaning it happened around 3 months after TG.

    Glad that Corphellion Interlude will be addressed, you can't ignore that little delight.

    I agree, the plot wouldn't matter at all. Hell, there wouldn't have to be a plot as long as Han and Leia are together and acting like a couple who are deeply in love, as we know they are. They could be sat watching paint dry for all I care.

    And hooray for the naked scene, absolutely priceless.

    Oh and does anyone agree that right at the end, as soon as they hit hyperspace, Han and Leia would be off to the captain's cabin to er, work on that baby??

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  4. I should read the Squibs one again almost just to rediscover WHY it was so useless. All I can really remember is that there were Squibs again, and Han and Leia went to VERY little trouble to disguise themselves that time. I think all Leia did was bleach her eyebrows white, which might be a worse disguise than Clark Kent's glasses.

    Thanks for working out the timeline on the pregnancy. Of course I have my own ideas on it, as I wrote my own version of their conception, although I pretended COPL didn't exist and that they had gotten married a lot earlier.

    I definitely agree that that is what would've happened, even if they needed time for whatever birth control methods they were using to wear off or whatever, you need to practice, right? I also hadn't mentioned poor Chewie, getting sick of them acting all lovey toward one another. Sucks to be the third wheel.

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  5. Yeah, Leia had the White eyebrows, and Han had a goatee!! I don't remember much about Trouble with Squibs. I had it saved on my old laptop, which gave up the ghost a few years ago. I never bothered to hunt the story down again, so it really couldn't have impressed me. There is definitely no pregnancy, that much I do recall.

    I loved Chewie getting fed up with them acting all flirty with each other. You can just imagine him thinking, "oh no, here we go again".

    Oh yeah, they have to practice...that's the best bit. Although I don't doubt that they've had plenty of that already.

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  6. Leia dying her eyebrows white has got to be the most pointless and weird disguise in the history of the EU.

    Right, need to go download this book now! Have to say, I started laughing VERY hard when I read the line 'But did you recharge my blaster?' or whatever it was. And that scene with the drip...

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  7. Damn, I feel like there was one other line, aside from the recharging his blaster part, hat I really, really liked, and I can't remember for the life of me what it was. Of course, I could just be going crazy and imaging things.

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  8. Gold dragon - Han's "blaster" would certainly need a good recharging after the eventful night they just had....lol!!!

    MajotTrouble - you probably didn't imagine it, there are just so many good bits in this book it's hard to remember them all.

    Does anyone have the audio book of this? I have but haven't listened to all of it, don't like the guy's voice for a start, but the thing that really put me off it, the entire discussion they have about Leia not wanting children just before the auction has been cut out - which kind of negates the whole story really, because for me, that's probably the most important aspect, Leia excepting her father, and changing her mind on starting a family. It's such a vital part of this story, that I imagine the latter scenes don't play out as well without this.

    But the drip scene is left intact on the audio version, and most of the naked bit, so I guess its not all bad - normally any kind of remotely romantic scene between them is butchered on audio books, so this was a surprise.

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  9. I found the quote! Actually, there were two. One was about Leia regretting every excuse she'd ever made not to learn to use the Force to levitate stubborn husbands. And then there was the part entering the auction hall.

    Grunts: You're supposed to check your weapons.
    Han Solo: [straight faced] Already did. They're working fine.

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  10. I'm going to write a story one day where Leia force levitates her stubborn husband.

    "Already did. They're working fine." I really should not have read that while drinking tea.

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  11. When you write that story you have to share it here because I definitely want to read that!

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  12. I've never listened to audio books, only the radio dramas as far as audio only things are concerned. I feel like I heard from someone else that on the audio versions they cut out even the few little Han and Leia moments that are thrown into the books.

    You think Han would like being levitated or would he be annoyed because he's not a huge fan of the Force? It would probably depend on what other things might happen before/during/after said levitation.

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  13. Ah, Han and his blaster.

    I would think it would depend on the situation around being levitated. Should let one of the kids do it. That would like get you grounded forever.

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  14. Haha I don't think he'd like it much no matter how or why it happened. I think the question is more along the lines of how mad/annoyed would he be? Maybe only a very little - but I feel like he still would be, poor guy.

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  15. Why do I get the feeling he would ban all use of the Force in the house after that? Kind of like I've had to ban the use of certain words because the kids wouldn't stop saying them.

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  16. First, I'm back! Y'all probably didn't even notice I was gone, I know.

    Second, it was me who told Zyra about the audio books. You have to be sure to buy the 'unabridged' versions, because in the abridged they cut out anything 'non-essential' to the plot, which apparently, is anything non-violent and slightly romantic or anything involving Han and Leia.

    Third, this book. I also agree, of course, on the 5 star rating. Any Han and Leia fan looking for ONE EU book to read, this is it. I won't restate what Zyra already said, but it just sounds like Han and Leia and they are happily married and the entire book is about them and, well, what more could you want?

    I have a few more little tidbits to point out:

    When Han is giving Leia a hard time about tricking him into going to Tatooine to retrieve the code key, he says this: "So, you thought we'd enjoy a little trip to scenic Tatooine, pick up the lost code key, maybe swing by Jabba's Palace and relive old times?"

    I'm not a big fan of them requoting lines from the movies, as if they are the only words they are allowed to say to each other, but I do think they would refer to their memories made over the years and especially in this teasing sort of way that Han does here.

    A little later on when Han is pressing Leia about the baby issue it says that "Han was the only person who never seemed to notice her 'don't press it' tone."

    I like to think that he notices it just fine, he just doesn't always pay attention to it.

    Oh, and when Leia is worried that the swoop bike that is being prepared for Han has something wrong with it, she warns her hostess like this: "I'm very fond of my man." Leia put as much ice into her voice as she could - and she had been told she could give a Wampa the chills. "I would be very upset if an unnecessary accident befell him."

    I love protective Leia in this book. She is obviously not ready to let Han 'evaporate like a misty fog' or whatever...

    Again on the Vader conversation, Han asks her this: "Leia, he was just a boy. Do you think he came out of the womb wearing a breather and black helmet?"

    Just one of the many little insightful arguments that Han makes in this book wanting so desperately to have kids with Leia. Awwwww. And, I thought it was a funny little visual, too.

    When they are searching for Han they have two options to go to and after being given the choice of Sarlacc Gardens or Bantha Burrows, Leia says this: "The Bantha Burrows. Well or no well, Han's not going near anything with Sarlacc in the name."

    Again, just a cute comment about their memories on Tatooine, this time from Leia.

    Later on, when Leia thinks Han needs to rest and not accompany them on the mission, after some discussion, Han says this: “I know how this works, Leia. First I agree to go, then you work me over until I think going without you is the best idea I’ve ever had. I’ve see you do that to the planetary governments a hundred times. I don’t have a chance.”

    Leia, of course, denies this but then promptly changes the subject.

    Much later, when they are waiting for the Falcon to arrive to rescue them, Chewie finally arrives and Han yells that he was ‘right on schedule’. To which, Leia replies: “If you call this on schedule, I see why you were always in trouble with Jabba!”

    Just so many cute little moments in this book. But I think that's all I'm going to point out for now. You should read it. Really. :-)

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  17. Sorry to be completely random, but what the heck are they talking about in the current quote? -->

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  18. Oh, Han getting excited about having a flamethrower like a kid with candy.

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  19. Yeah, that sounds like Han. I'm a little surprised he doesn't already have one in his personnel arsenal.

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  20. It's from Backlash, right? One of the more recent books. Of all places, they are on Dathomir (don't worry, by now Isolder is not only no longer a threat, he's also dead! - the only death I've wholeheartedly approved of in the EU) I think there were a bunch of bugs, sort of like a swarm of moths, and the flamethrower was the best way to get rid of them.

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  21. Ugh, I've been lame about commenting lately.

    Yeah, I friggin' love this book. I agree, the plot was more of a backdrop, but it left room for actually seeing personality come through the characters (but still, it could have been a little more interesting). I did sort of enjoy Leia going through Shmi's diary thing, although at times I feel like Shmi came off as a thirteen year old girl. I haven't read it in a while but that's what I remember.

    The naked scene kills me.

    Happy new year!

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  22. Arghh, I just lost my entire (long) post. I hit log me out by mistake. Now I have to try and remember what I wrote...

    Welcome back Push, I did notice your absence because I couldn't believe you hadn't commented on this one yet. Happy New Year to you.

    Is there actually an unabridged audio version of this? I live in the UK and couldn't get ANY type of audio version of TG, so had to order from Amazon in the US, and only one I could see was the abridged 6 and a half hour version over 5 discs. If you know of an uncut version, then that would be brilliant.

    Oh I love that comment that Vader didn't come out the womb wearing a breather and a helmet. Great line.

    Yes, over protective Leia is so sweet, I love the way she worries and fusses over Han - she loves this man sooo much, it's more than evident in this book and makes you forget that cold hearted, evil imposter in COPL, this is the REAL Leia without a doubt.

    I love Han's ongoing quest to get his Gizer ale.

    Yes Shmi did act a bit like a love struck teenager, she goes all mushy over Cliegg Lars. I get the impression this was the first man she ever loved. Her diary extracts were sometimes quite insightful, but I am not a prequel fan, so wanted to get back to the Han and Leia bits. Don't know whether this was mentioned in the review, don't think it was... But one bit I did think was really cute, was Han noticing how Leia looked like her grandmother, and thinking how Leia would still
    look as beautiful when she reached Shmi's age. Awww.

    The naked scene kills me as well. I remember when I first read that bit and I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. It was enough shock to actually have proof that they had sex, and then in the next scene having them run round totally starkers was just too much!!! I only wish they had had the shoot out with the stormtroopers whilst they were naked, cos Leia didn't seem that bothered about getting dressed. That would have been so funny. Is this the only naked scene in the post ROTJ EU?? I can't think of another, and I don't even think Luke and Mara get anything as good as this.

    What do others think of the theory that Jacen and Jaina were conceived in this book? Interested to hear views on this.

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  23. Isoldur dies? I hope it was painful. Very, very painful.

    Reading the description of the naked scene is killing me,! Need to go get the book...

    Loved that comment about Chewie being on schedule!

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  24. I originally found your blog from a search on what books to read in the EU. The post was call "Best Han and Leia moments in the EU". Based on that post and comments, I started to seek out which books to read. I remember reading many of them when they first came out. Tatooine Ghost has to be one of my absolute favorites. (I've already read it twice and plan on reading it again after I finish Shadows of Mindor. Sorry I am slightly behind in the reading). I agree with all the wonderful TG moments already mentioned. I love the "weapons" quote, it's so Han. I also like "You look hot in white". The whole "It's gonna get in the way" scene........ yeah....... I like how the rest of the page was left blank for you to use your imagination. Actually I was a bit annoyed. I would have liked to have read more detail. I'm looking forward to reading some of the "challenge" submissions. Your quotes on the sidebar of the blog, intrigued me. I downloaded (free from the library) Backlash. I read (ok, I just read the Han and Leia parts) over the vacation. Han is hysterical in Backlash. I was laughing out loud as I retold some of the funnier parts to my family on the car ride home. Thanks again for creating this blog. Happy 2012

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  25. That's right, Push, what scene was it from what book was I talking about and you were like, they took a few kind of key moments between them out? Why would someone want an abridged audio book? If they are going to go to the trouble of recording it and you are going to go to the effort of listening you might as well get the whole book.

    Elivagar, I agree with you on the Shmi sounding young, thing. I did find it kind of weird that she would be telling her son how she was feeling about the man she was starting to have feelings for. Not that it's like, inappropriate, it just seems obvious that no son wants to hear that kind of thing from his mom and yes, she does sort of sound like a gushing teenager.

    It's not clear if this is the only naked scene. If you've read Children of the Jedi there is a similar scene (and a similar, though a bit more subtle, implied sex before) and they wake up in bed and Artoo has been reprogrammed to kill them or something and is going crazy and Han keeps telling Leia to put her boots on and later when things calm down I think it's Leia who thinks that Han looks kind of ridiculous because aside from the boots he wasn't wearing much.

    Isolder dies much, much later and yeah, it's kind of painful. And it's actually Jacen who does it, although he is evil at the time and Isolder also was his child's other grandfather.

    Seams2Be, I'm glad you found this blog helpful in what you were looking for and don't worry about being behind, you'll catch up :) Backlash I enjoyed more than a lot of the latest books and Han and Leia were a lot of fun in it. I remember that they had to do a bunch of competitions and Han was like, "Is there a wine tasting competition?"

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  26. I like this book a lot although I never did get why Shmi would be writing all this stuff down for Anakin in the first place but obviously if she didn't, there would have been no story :-) Troy Denning definitely gets Han and Leia and all of his EU books can be counted on for good Han/Leia moments. I loved over-protective Leia. and I loved when Han tells her his interpretation of the painting's meaning, and she's just blown away that she never looked at it that way before. yes, folks, Han Solo, art critic.

    re the current quote, after Troy Denning, I have to say Aaron Allston is my second favorite EU writer. he's the only one who writes dialogue that makes me laugh out loud.

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  27. jz, Allston has definitely been doing them justice as of lately. I've really enjoyed the way he's written some exchanges between Han and Leia. And, dare I say, I even sometimes enjoy reading Ben and Luke.

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  28. Ben and Luke are given some nice moments together and good banter. Ben was given a really good, clever personality. Unfortunately, we very rarely ever see this kind of dialogue/relationship with either Han or Leia with their kids. Just another shortcoming of the EU. I mean, how are we supposed to keep track of these things there are so many of them. Bloggers!

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  29. Thought I would resurrect this one...

    I am thinking about ordering the SW Essential Atlas from Amazon, it looks like a really cool book. Does anyone have it?

    Anyway, I started reading the official discussion thread on it over at theforce.net, just to get some views on it. Apparently as well as an array of galactic maps it also contains an "ultimate timeline" of events. One of the authors has posted in this thread and states that the dates on the timeline for the Thrawn Trilogy are based on the assumption that Jacen and Jaina were conceived in "that" scene in Tatooine Ghost!! Grrr, see this just annoys me no end, especially when actual pro SW writers appear to believe this stupid theory too and have incorporated it into other books. I absolutely hate the idea
    that Leia got pregnant in that scene.

    What is also annoying is that the same writer rubbishes the idea that Anakin's conception is heavily implied in the Dark Empire audio drama, yet to my mind, that idea is far far more plausible.

    To my mind the twins were planned, but Anakin was an accident.











    Sorry to rant, but this just pissed me off!

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  30. Wow, sorry about that huge space in my post too....

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  31. Don't have it. And I didn't know that someone somewhere along the line said that it was "official" that they were conceived in that scene. I have no idea why that bothers me, but it does! And they discounted that Anakin was conceived in the radio drama? That's weird. Why? Interesting that you think that Anakin was an accident. I always kind of thought that they planned everything, although having another kid so soon after you have twins doesn't seem like good planning. I kind of felt as though he happened due to one of those, "Not trying, but not NOT trying..." kind of things.

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  32. I have it. Haven't gotten thru all of it yet. There's not many planet descriptions. But lots of neat maps and descriptions of travel during the movies. If I see an interesting planet, i look it up on wookiepedia.

    It's amazing what happens when you aren't really trying. :)

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  33. I base my assumption that Anakin wasn't planned solely on Dark Empire, specifically the audio version. Han seems pretty surprised that Leia is pregnant, plus theres some pretty bad stuff going on at that time, hardly the ideal time to say "hey let's have another baby", especially with the twins having to be put into hiding. It's a bad time to be expanding your family. That's just my take on it.

    For what it's worth, just spotted that the same writer I was referring to has a comment in the "talk" section of the TG wookieepedia page....but here he says that they made the timelines fit with the conception date, but it's not officially the twins conception date, but does fit perfectly.

    One reason I hate the conception in TG idea is that it essentially says the twins weren't planned, as it happened before Leia made the big turnaround with regards having kids. What if she hadn't changed her mind? She would be pregnant with babies she didn't want, and that just doesn't sit right with me. Plus the whole "they must have been taking VERY strong precautions" argument that was discussed earlier in the thread.

    Troy Denning is doing a book signing tour soon for Apocalypse. As I don't live in America sadly I won't be able to attend any of these....but if anyone on here is going, I would love you to ask him if it was his intention for the twins to be conceived in that scene when he wrote the book....if he says it wasn't then that's good enough me.

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  34. You're right, Han does seem surprised. And yes, it's not a good time really to be having another baby, but then again, with them, there can't possibly be a good time!

    No, you're right about why the idea they were conceived then is bothersome. They're not stupid, and galactic birth control is probably pretty flawless. No, we don't want Leia to be pregnant until she WANTS to be.

    I don't think Troy is going to be anywhere near me for his book tour, though I haven't checked recently. You can friend him on facebook, you know. I haven't but apparently he is pretty open about answering questions. Troy has always been great with Han and Leia, so I suspect that was not his intention. He just wrote them as doin' it because that's what they like to do :)

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  35. Interesting theory. I could see them just leaving things to chance. Or slipping up. Kids kind of have a plan of their own. :)

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  36. Yeah, I doubt there's a good time for them to have kids. :)

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  37. You know what, I've never bothered with Facebook, which I suppose is kinda weird these days. Quite a few people I know don't use it either. If I was on it, I would certainly ask Troy that question.

    When I think about it I really can't see how Troy Denning intended that to be the conception. It's just that some fans probably thought "OMG, Han and Leia had SEX" and decided that must be the conception, and then a lot of other people just ran with it. In a way if that was the conception it negates the whole afraid to have kids plot which is a major major plot point, because she would have got pregnant anyway, so thats another reason it doesn't make sense.

    Yes, denning is a Han and Leia fan, that's clear by how he writes them, and he's admitted it. So he probably did just add that scene because, hey, they enjoy having sex!! And as every Han and Leia fan knows, they do it a lot!

    There is a fanfic though, at ff.net I believe, which explains how the conception COULD have occurred at that time, despite rock solid birth control. Forgive me because I can't remember who wrote it. But anyway, they apparently both have birth control shots on a regular basis, and it just so happens that their next shot was due as soon as they returned to Coruscant. So upon discovering she is pregnant Leia believes it could have happened on Tatooine because as their shots were almost due maybe they weren't 100% protected. Which is a reasonable explanation if we have to except it.

    But I still choose not too!!! :)

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  38. Don't blame you! That would kind of suck.There is a difference between not wanting kids and being open to whatever happens.

    I think it might be "Between Tatooine Ghost and Heir to the Empire." Will have to read it more fully tonight.

    Boy, I have decidedly not been a Facebook person. Not yet anyway.

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  39. Oh, facebook. Once you're in it's tough to get out. It's very strange to have not heard a word about people from high school for 10 years and then suddenly you know where they live, work, how many kids they have (and some of them you are quite fearful for the poor kids!) what they like to do in their spare time... it's crazy. I sometimes wonder what things would be like if we had had these things when I was in high school and I had never lost touch with anyone for even a micro second. We used the internet and stuff when I was in school, but I didn't have my own computer my freshman year and wrote actual hand-written letters to a couple of my friends, even though I had e-mail. By the time I graduated it was my lifeline. I will say though that it's kind of strange to see a decent amount of people from high school getting married to each other, and it's not people who have been dating forever. I think it can sort of tether you to the past and make it tougher to move on. But it's too late now for me to get out.

    How is there a story I haven't heard of here? Interesting. I read one that was a missing moment from the infamous scene in question and they go into this little debate about whether or not to use a condom. I was like, okay, a married couple that is adamant against having kids is probably going to go to a little more trouble than just using a condom every time. I don't know why I over analyze these things!

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  40. I found a couple of others I haven't read, but my reading has been limited to things that catch my eye. Especially since there are so many older stories I haven't read.

    Whenever I ask my husband if I'm over analyzing something he tells me of course you are. :) it can be fun. But you're not wrong about birth control. Locked down like Fort Knox would probably apply.

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  41. Oh I remember that condom one, I thought exactly the same thing. Would they even have condoms in the SW universe? Seems a bit of a primitive form of contraception for a universe so technologically advanced if you ask me.

    I will try and find that fic for you, and I'll report back later on that. I'm 99% sure it's at ff.net.

    That's one of the reasons I stay away from Facebook, there's a lot of people from school I'd rather not have knowing my business, plus the fact, as you mentioned, once you get addicted it's hard to stop.

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  42. Oh and as for over analysing stuff.....I can so relate to that. Sometimes I over analyse Han and Leia stuff to an extent that it isn't even healthy. These are fictional characters, yet I get so up in knot about stuff it's really quite worrying!

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  43. For me, the kids I grew up with and went to school with, well, we had a pretty good class of kids. There are VERY few people I'd hate to run into ever again. There are certainly people who I thought were sort of idiots, but at the same time, they were mostly harmless and only maybe one or two people who were actually malicious toward me personally. So I'm not really afraid of who might see me on there.

    And back to contraception, 40 Days to Bespin mentions a condom being used in a situation where it makes sense for one to be used, even if you already had regular contraception.

    We are all the queens of over analyzing, I'm sure.

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  44. Amara, you were right, the fic is called "Between Tatooine Ghost and Heir to the Empire" it's by Queenbeezer and it's on page 15 of the Han and Leia stories at ff.net.

    It's a long time since I read 40Days to Bespin, years infact. I had a lot of older fics like that stored on my old pc that died, that was before I ever had the brains to back anything up. Out of interest, do you know anywhere that has stories by Leela Starsky and Cindy Olsen archived? I would like to find all those golden oldies again.

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  45. Sweet! Something to read tonight. Helps to break up working on my own stuff.

    Leela has a yahoo group now and has been posting her stuff there. Usually find Cindy's on the waybackmachine. Search for Somerescue.com.

    I have little bit of it on my pc if you want a copy.

    Oh, but it's so much fun to analyze it. :) I say it's because I get paid to over analyzing things and thing of what's missing. My hubby would say it's because I like to do it.

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  46. Ah, I know that scene, Zyra. Yeah, it called for it. Interestingly enough condom did not pop up when I searched for it on Wookiepedia. :) Yeah, I'm just little silly. But was curious.

    And can you imagine what this discussion will do to the hits on the blog? :)

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  47. You know there is a Wookieepedia page just for "pants" and Han's of course are the number one example? I didn't go specifically looking for that, but the word pants was highlighted to link to somewhere else and of course I clicked on it to see what the heck a page about pants would be, and I should've known :)

    I'm on that yahoo group as well, forgot I was even on it until suddenly I got notifications for things being added to it for the first time in like 5 years. So all of Leela Starsky's stuff is there and she does seem like she may at some point fix her web site so the password protected part works. Although it's been offline for what, two years?

    Yes, this is going to hurt the blog stuff. Someone recently searched for "chewbacca sex story" WHY does anyone want to read that? That was one of the tamer ways someone has searched for that, believe it or not.

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  48. I've seen that page. Funny they had him as an example. They even quote Leia's line that she likes how he looks in his pants. Awesome!

    Oh, my. You had me laughing about the search. Totally nasty. But man, that's funny.

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  49. Chewbacca sex story?? Wow, that really is twisted. More disturbing would probably be who he was having sex with!

    I just had to look up the "pants" page....lol. Nice. I like the quote Han says "let me find my pants" whilst getting out of bed...I had to click on that quote to see where it was from, Before the Storm, I believe that's one of the many bedtime interruptions he and Leia have in that book!

    Han's butt should definitely have it's own page!

    I did a search for Leela's stories and found a website that had 40 Days to Bespin, but it's password protected, is this the site you were referring too?

    With the wayback machine, do you have to know the web address of the site you are looking for or can you just search for stuff?

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  50. Unfortunately, I have a strong suspicion who it was with. I wouldn't ask. It's pretty bad.

    Ooo, I so want to read that book now. At least they were in bed together.

    Lol! It does deserve it's own page. Can't you add to Wookiepedia? Maybe add a page for Han Solo super sex stud. :)

    You need to know the URL for waybackmachine. But some rescue will get you to some of it. Or should.

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    Replies
    1. I actually like that trilogy. It will be coming up of course at some point in the book club. For some strange reason Ackbar has the code to get into their house and he just goes to barge into their bedroom in the middle of the night to tell them something. Apparently calling them wouldn't work? But he thinks to himself before he goes in that he hopes they aren't "busy mating." Hah. Nope, sound asleep.

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    2. I seem to remember that coming up before. Creepy. Sounds like a good read though. Or hope so.

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  51. As far as I know with the wayback machine you have to know the exact url, or at least a url that would link to it. It's sort of like, if you can get to one page and the links still work then you can get where you need to go. It can be frustrating sometimes though because certain content just won't be there no matter what you try. Sometimes if it can't load you can pick a different date of capture to see if that works. I may be wrong, but that's how I've always thought it worked. And yes, the password protected one is the one I'm talking about. The password pages haven't worked in a very long time. If you e-mail her though, she will send you the file. Or one of us could probably just download it from the yahoo group and e-mail it to you. She's not hoarding her fanfic, thankfully! Just having technical difficulties and it's a very low priority to fix it.

    And I think you might know who he is supposedly having sex with, even though you don't want to imagine it, which I wouldn't blame you for. I am not sure I should share this because this was one of the worst ones I saw as far as Chewie goes, but the search was "chewie malla orgasm" And please don't ask me how in the world that led them to this site, because I don't know! Except of course now it will lead them straight here. Crap.

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  52. That's how I thought wayback machine worked, I'd looked at it before and didn't get anywhere since it kept wanting a URL. A lot of sites I wouldn't know the URL, I never pay that much attention. It's in the bookmarks list and you just click on it, that's how it works for me.

    It would be great if someone could email me some stuff. Probably is the easiest way, thanks for offering. Can we PM each other here? Don't think we can, can we?

    lol I remember that passage from Before the Storm well. It's one of those bits that I instantly know which book it was in. I liked that book too (not so much the other 2). As I recall, there are something like 5 scenes when Han and Leia are in bed, not necessarily getting it on (although one time I think they are trying to) just in bed. Look forward to revisiting that book when we get to it.

    Hmmm, I can probably imagine who Chewie is doing it with. Not a good thought to have.

    I had to laugh at the Chewie Malla orgasm though....seriously, are people really that weird?

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  53. I think you have to enable that function. But you can over at fan fiction.net. I'm ratherkissawookie over there.

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    1. I haven't signed up with ff.net (yes I know, very remiss of me), but I will do later on when I get home from work.

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  54. There is a somewhat anger-inducing scene of them in bed though where it quite heavily implies that they are definitely about to get it on and then Leia senses that Luke is coming and her mind totally switches gears to that and she runs off to get ready for his arrival. Han is like, he's not going to be here for a while yet!

    Claire, that's not even the weirdest one. But I'm not going to start listing them because it would get way out of hand and some I'd like to forget. Some are cute though, like, "do han and leia get married?" Yes, THAT one makes sense.

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  55. That's the scene I was referring to, I knew there was a scene of them in bed and you knew they were going to get a bit hot and heavy, and then Leia changes her mind cos Luke is on his way!

    I mean, look at Leia's awful dilemma girls, hmmm, do I have hot, passionate sex with Han, or do I go talk about boring Jedi crap with Luke??? What a choice eh?

    I agree totally Zyra, it's best for our sanity if you don't list all the weird, sick stuff that people search for. I feel sorry for you having to read it though.

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  56. Seriously. Leia needs to adjust her priorities! Yeesh. That's a no brainer - hot sex with Han. I' m sure Luke needs to take a break from all the Jedi stuff anyhow. It seemed like that's all that was going on after a while.


    I bet some of those searches are pretty funny though. But I do get the feeling after seeing some you want to wash your eyes out or find a deneutralizer or something. :)

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  57. I can only imagine the searches as some of the random things I've stumbled across by accident in the fanfic universe have left me wiahing I could un-read them. or wishing for brain sanitizer that worked like hand sanitizer.

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  58. I am officially a total geek.

    I bought The Essential Atlas (after much deliberation) and the first thing I did was try and work out the twins conception date using the timelines. I can guarantee that no one else who has this book has ever done that. There is some confusion over whether the calendar in SW has 10 or 12 months. Some writers use one, some use the other. It's not made clear here which one they are using.

    But what we do know from this book is that the Battle of Dathomir, which is when Han defeats Zsinji at the end of COPL takes place on the 21st day of the third month, 4 years after Endor. So Han and Leia got married 6 weeks later, so that would be in the first half of the fifth month.

    Tatooine Ghost occurs 6 months after the wedding, so that would make it sometime during the 11th month of that year.

    Then we learn from the timeline that Thrawn was defeated in the 8 month of year 5 after Endor. So if the twins were born in the same month as Thrawn's defeat, then they were conceived in the same month that Tatooine Ghost takes place.

    This is not good for our argument. But of course, this is based on the assumption that a 12 month calendar is used, if it's a 10 month one, then the dates don't fit.

    So, I know which one I'm going with. :)

    Ok, you can all wake up now. That concludes today's lesson!

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    1. Welcome to the geek club! :)

      I'm impressed that you looked into that. I find doing some of that research difficult at best.

      I did notice in the Essential Atlas something interesting in the ESB timeline. It said that the trip to Bespin took weeks. That's all it said. It makes sense to me since I doubt Luke's training could be all that short. But I have a hard time believing if the trip took weeks that Leia didn't end up in Han's bed.

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    2. I pretty much have a headache after trying to figure it out and trying to find out how the hell you read the dates, but wookieepedia helped with that.

      What's interesting on the Bespin trip is just how close together Hoth and Bespin are on the maps in this book, I had no idea they were THAT close. So how long was that damn trip? That's certainly a great topic for discussion.

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    3. Haha, I would not have the patience nor the math skills to figure out the dates like that!

      Interesting it actually says something about the Bespin trip. Weeks...yeah. They banged. ;D

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    4. I have the math skills, but not the patience. =)

      I know what you mean about Bespin and Hoth. I was so surprised. I don't know how official this book is though to say, yes, the trip took weeks.

      I'm still of the opinion, for now, that they didn't do it at that point. I just don't see it at the end of ESB or ROTJ. And if anyone could hold out, it would be her. =)

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    5. Yeah, I'm the only person bored enough to even think about working that out!!

      I've never believed they did it on the way to Bespin, BUT I suppose it depends how long this trip actually took. If we really are talking weeks, then it seems absurd to think Leia would be able to hold out that long. I mean could any woman resist that man for more than about 5 seconds? Hell, I probably wouldn't even last that long.

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    6. Oh, and Claire if you could post the link that helped with the dates, I'd love that.

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    7. Lol, claire. I probably wouldn't last a microsecond.

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    8. Amara, I'm trying to post the links but for some bizarre reason my iPad doesn't want to play, and it won't copy and paste links. I don't know what's up with that because it definitely used to do it. But I will tell you how to find them.

      Anyway, go to wookieepedia and type in "Great Resynchronization" which will help you read the dates in the atlas, then if you want more info on dates and the Galactic Calendar, search for "Galactic Standard Calendar" which will even tell you the SW days of the week, which was new to me!

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  59. LOL we just can't leave this topic alone, can we?

    Mostly I figure they went right back to their cabin and got to work after the last scene. I am 100% sure Leia was using some excellent contraception given her feelings at the beginning of the book, so I refuse to consider the possibility that she actually got knocked up before she decided she wanted kids after all. So I've concluded that it must be much easier to flip the birth control switch on and off in the SW universe. A week or so one way or the other wouldn't interfere with the "official" timeline much since very few babies actually gestate for exactly nine months anyway.

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    1. This topic is great isn't it, LOL!!!

      Jz, you've summed that up pretty perfectly, and I agree. There is no way that they would have done it in that famous scene if they weren't using rock solid birth control. Leia is a sensible woman, and she would not want to risk an accidental pregnancy.

      There's actually an interesting quote in Troy's later book Tempest which refers back to the events of Tatooine Ghost, I've not long read that book, so it's still fairly fresh in my mind. I will have a flick through later and try and find it.

      It's true, even if she did become pregnant in the same month as TG is set, we still can't pin down exactly when it happened, especially with these two, when we know they're pretty much at it all the time. So yeah, it could have happened on the Falcon at the end of the book, if the birth control could be "switched off" as it were, or even as soon as they got back home. It would still be in the same month and still fit these dates.

      What we know for sure is that Han has some mighty fine little swimmers, because Leia got pregnant almost immediately!! What a man!

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    2. Come on, how could Han NOT have mighty fine little swimmers? everything else about the man is amazingly fine.

      Now I am going to have to go pull out Tempest and see, I know what scene you mean.

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    3. This is the bit I mean, page 166 in the paperback. Leia is talking to Nashtah...


      "When Han and I married, I didn't want children because I didn't want to take the chance that one of them would grow up to become another Darth Vader."
      Han frowned across the cabin at Leia, clearly unhappy at having their family life revealed to an assassin.
      "Then something happened to change your mind," Nashtah surmised. "You hardly strike me as the careless type."
      "I'm not," Leia said.

      I think this exchange could be quite important to this topic. Nashtah is obviously thinking that Leia's pregnancy could not have been an accident, that it must have been planned. Being "careless" would indicate not using birth control, right? Leia doesn't look like the sort to do that. And Leia then says she's not the careless type, meaning that they must have been taking precautions.

      Therefore if the twins were the result of that night of passion on Tatooine, they WOULD have been an accident. So I think Troy is telling us, in his sneaky little way, that they were not conceived at that time. I know Troy reads the boards at theforce.net and has posted a few times. I also think he takes fan comments and criticism seriously, because there's a LOT of stuff in TG that I think is him trying to "fix" stuff that the Han and Leia campaign at theforce.net were so upset about. So maybe he read the theories that were popping up about the twins conception and snuck that one into Tempest? Maybe. It's a possibility.

      Yes, I know, I have far too much time on my hands. :) :)

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    4. Thank you, guys for this. I mean, I wouldn't have taken the time to put it all together but I certainly appreciate the fact that you did :) Definitely I agree that the twins were a decision and wouldn't have been conceived in that scene. Definitely not careless or leaving it up to "on the spot" birth control methods. But like you all say, given Han just being Han I'm sure that once the decision was made it only took one try ;)

      I'm trying to think of more to add to this conversation but I'm so distracted by that picture of Harrison in the background right now.

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    5. No problem, Zyra. I was off work this week and as I didn't have much else to do yesterday I looked into this a bit further. In a way, it was quite fun!

      And I can recommend The Essential Atlas, pretty good book, with some gorgeous art work. Really nice pic of a Legacy of the Force era Luke, as well as a lot of other EU characters, including the Solo kids. Sadly no drawings of older Han and Leia, which I really wanted to see. There are some of them much earlier in the timeline though. One of Leia before ANH, and Han and Chewie in their smuggling days.

      Another book I got recently is The Essential Guide to the Force, same artist as the Atlas, so more really lovely pics. Also of note is a section "written" by Leia chronicling the events of Tatooine Ghost and how she found out about Anakin's childhood. Sadly for us though, she fails to mention the sex at the Sidi Driss.....which you know, I think is worth talking about :D
      I know what you mean about the background pic!!

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    6. That sounds like an interesting book too. Lol, on her not mentioning the sex.

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  60. Well, it's related to them having sex. So you know. :)

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