The intergalactic smuggler with a heart of gold returns in the 1979 novel, “Han Solo’s Revenge.” Which of course begs the question, “What is he so mad about?”
Well, after his latest get-rich-quick scheme sparks a minor uprising, Han and Chewie strike out for the Corporate Sector. It’s a few years before “A New Hope” and the pair need a quick score to keep the creditors at bay. Against his better judgement, Han signs on to haul some cargo without knowing what he’s transporting.
It turns out to be slaves.
Unwilling to traffic in sentient freight, Han turns on his employers and sets out to make them pay. Specifically, the ten thousand credits he was promised for the job.
Um, Mr. Solo? I think you have to complete the job to be owed payment. But never mind.
Instead, he begins working his way up the criminal hierarchy, demanding his money like a Star Wars riff on Richard Stark’s The Hunter. The story rips along as Han follows the trail to low level thugs, corpo goon squads, space pirates, squabbling clan leaders, shadowy poisoners, and the secret beating heart of the conspiracy.
Along the way he picks up a couple fun partners, including a mismatched pair of droids, a skip tracer determined to repo the Millenium Falcon, and a spunky junior executive who wants to expose the conspiracy to get a boost up the corporate ladder.
Author Brian Daley may not get the acclaim of Timothy Zahn, but his Han Solo novels are consistently fun and entertaining romps. He imbues his characters with enough wit and compassion to bring them alive on the page in a way you rarely see in commercial tie-in fiction. It’s a shame we only got three of these novels from Daley. In a better world, we’d have dozens.
Oh well. Han Solo’s Revenge is great action adventure in the wider world of Star Wars. I loved this book. It’s good, pulpy fun.
Joe Johnson Writer 
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