Choose Your Destiny: A Luke & Leia Adventure by Cavan Scott
Choose Your Destiny: A Luke & Leia Adventure written by Cavan Scott, illustrated by Elsa Charretier
This was a fine book although it felt more like a short story than a novel. Of course being a choose your own adventure type book, you would expect it to be shorter overall, but comparing it to the Han & Chewie Adventure by Cavan Scott, it just didn't feel as fleshed out or involved. There was world-building that began to happen but that didn't quite lift off. I applaud the efforts to develop this new world but just wish more had been done.
So this story occurs after the adult novel Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne and the junior reader The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure by Jason Fry and before the Han Solo short run comic series by Marjorie Liu and the long-run Star Wars comic series by Jason Aaron and Kieron Gillen. More generally, it takes place between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. Basically Luke is just coming into his Force powers and learning about what they mean to him as an individual and for the Rebel Alliance as a whole...but this novel has nothing to do with that and is fully focused on the crazy exploits of the farm boy and the princess on a planet unknown to the Empire called Trionak.
Unlike the Han & Chewie Adventure, no obvious bit of canon material is covered here (in the aforementioned book we get the story of when Han dropped Jabba's cargo), it is instead a completely unique story which I think is both a good and a bad thing. The Han & Chewie Adventure set us up for canon "plot-holes" being covered in these types of books and so I was hoping for something similar in this one, but no, I was definitely let down on that count. But then again, we get to venture into crazy new places and situations without "plot-holes" burdening us and that is always a good thing. Of course, the Han & Chewie Adventure traveled to a fairly crazy world where some fairly crazy things happened and it was still beholden to a "plot-hole." Hmmm...idk...either way, I do have to say that I liked the Han & Chewie book better overall regardless.
So, on to the story itself!! Luke is a member of Red Squadron, accompanying the Nema, an Alliance ship carrying medical supplies, when a cadre of altered TIEs flies in to attack! They disappear before any real damage is done and your first choice revolves around Luke following them or not. After Luke returns from that debacle, he finds the Nema has disappeared and reports in to Mon Mothma at the Rebel base. She tells Luke and Leia that they must chalk up the Nema as a loss and move forward but Leia will have none of that! So she determines to steal the Millennium Falcon from Han to save the day. Several more choices revolve around how this theft takes place. Before you know it, Luke & Leia are zooming off in Han's ship to find the Nema and discover the plot behind several disappearing Rebel ships. They eventually land on a planet filled with downed ships in conditions from perfect to ransacked (after being boarded themselves for a bit) and must deal with a people who don't like the presence of newcomers. Luke & Leia quickly find out these people are slaves beholden to the Tech Masters. A band of pirates (one member of which is the Quarren Kragan Gorr from Resistance!!!--loving this connection <3 He obviously rose through the ranks over the years!) works for the Tech Masters, bringing in ships for their slaves to salvage. The Empire has no knowledge of these overlords and that's how the Tech Masters like it. But will their fates change once Luke and Leia get involved??? You'll have to read to find out.
Within the above there are tons of minute choices of direction, attitude, wording, etc., all that lead you down a variety of paths. But overall the story plays out as above, even if you take diversions throughout the choices. This time around, I'm not going to lay out the canon storyline step by step but will instead simply leave you with the overview I've already presented.
My favorite new creature were the giant hermit crab-like beasts that attract metal. Apparently they were quite huge and very magnetic. Here's a picture of one (below) covered in metal scraps!
Again, I have to say that the Han & Chewie Adventure was miles above this one. It just felt more fleshed out and involved. But I still of course enjoyed this story and would recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting take on a Luke & Leia tale. The Tech Masters are fascinating and there is a good deal of world-building involved with them despite the brevity of the story. I'd definitely like to know more and to find out what happened to them after...I'm not going to say here. So check it out!
So this story occurs after the adult novel Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne and the junior reader The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure by Jason Fry and before the Han Solo short run comic series by Marjorie Liu and the long-run Star Wars comic series by Jason Aaron and Kieron Gillen. More generally, it takes place between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. Basically Luke is just coming into his Force powers and learning about what they mean to him as an individual and for the Rebel Alliance as a whole...but this novel has nothing to do with that and is fully focused on the crazy exploits of the farm boy and the princess on a planet unknown to the Empire called Trionak.
Unlike the Han & Chewie Adventure, no obvious bit of canon material is covered here (in the aforementioned book we get the story of when Han dropped Jabba's cargo), it is instead a completely unique story which I think is both a good and a bad thing. The Han & Chewie Adventure set us up for canon "plot-holes" being covered in these types of books and so I was hoping for something similar in this one, but no, I was definitely let down on that count. But then again, we get to venture into crazy new places and situations without "plot-holes" burdening us and that is always a good thing. Of course, the Han & Chewie Adventure traveled to a fairly crazy world where some fairly crazy things happened and it was still beholden to a "plot-hole." Hmmm...idk...either way, I do have to say that I liked the Han & Chewie book better overall regardless.
So, on to the story itself!! Luke is a member of Red Squadron, accompanying the Nema, an Alliance ship carrying medical supplies, when a cadre of altered TIEs flies in to attack! They disappear before any real damage is done and your first choice revolves around Luke following them or not. After Luke returns from that debacle, he finds the Nema has disappeared and reports in to Mon Mothma at the Rebel base. She tells Luke and Leia that they must chalk up the Nema as a loss and move forward but Leia will have none of that! So she determines to steal the Millennium Falcon from Han to save the day. Several more choices revolve around how this theft takes place. Before you know it, Luke & Leia are zooming off in Han's ship to find the Nema and discover the plot behind several disappearing Rebel ships. They eventually land on a planet filled with downed ships in conditions from perfect to ransacked (after being boarded themselves for a bit) and must deal with a people who don't like the presence of newcomers. Luke & Leia quickly find out these people are slaves beholden to the Tech Masters. A band of pirates (one member of which is the Quarren Kragan Gorr from Resistance!!!--loving this connection <3 He obviously rose through the ranks over the years!) works for the Tech Masters, bringing in ships for their slaves to salvage. The Empire has no knowledge of these overlords and that's how the Tech Masters like it. But will their fates change once Luke and Leia get involved??? You'll have to read to find out.
Within the above there are tons of minute choices of direction, attitude, wording, etc., all that lead you down a variety of paths. But overall the story plays out as above, even if you take diversions throughout the choices. This time around, I'm not going to lay out the canon storyline step by step but will instead simply leave you with the overview I've already presented.
My favorite new creature were the giant hermit crab-like beasts that attract metal. Apparently they were quite huge and very magnetic. Here's a picture of one (below) covered in metal scraps!
Comments
Post a Comment