"The Hutt Gambit" resumes "The Han Solo Trilogy" five years after the initial installment. In the typical Star Wars fashion, scattered encounters with future key characters such as Lando Calrissian and Boba Fett spice up the cast. The author creates a typical Star Wars story by fulfilling George Lucas's high standards in providing a consistent timeline with pre-existing characters even though the background behind Boba Fett does not match the movie version.

Not only does the novel describe smuggler Han Solo's brief Imperial Navy career but also covers quite a bit of his former love Bria's subsequent life after escaping Ylesia. Han begins travelling with Wookiee companion Chewbacca yet only minor details reveal how the Wookiee slave became indebt to the rogue. The two develop a relationship with the up and coming gangster Jabba the Hutt.

Many character interactions at briefings are corny and much of the banter is oriented to entertain young readers. The first half of the book did not contain any serious plot device but progressed to a strong finish.

A comprehensive appendix would have been useful.

Thank you.

Ann Crispin's "Han Solo Trilogy" fills out some interesting details of the Star Wars universe. However, it lacks the edge and grittiness of some of the better Star Wars novels (particularly those by Timothy Zahn). Although Han is supposed to be a "scoundrel," you'd never know it from these books; Crispin goes out of her way to portray him as a nice, sweet guy who might enjoy an afternoon feeding ducks in the park.

"The Hutt Gambit" feels almost like a young-adult novel; the dialogue is bright and cheerful and the characters never seem to be in any serious jeopardy. If you thought Greedo shooting first was an improvement, you'll probably enjoy this.

Once again Crispin delivers a fast paced, fun and informative look at the early years of everyone's favorite Star Wars scoundrel, Han Solo.

This one picks up several years after The Paradise Snare. Lots has happened to Han between the first book and this one, and lots happens during this book as well!

Without getting into many spoilers (at lest nothing that's not on the back of the jacket of the book) we see how Han meets Jabba, Chewbacca, Lando, his first flight with a very special ship, how he becomes the reluctant hero YET AGAIN..all great stuff.

In addition, there's appearances from some 'old' faces, both from the original Trilogy of movies as well as the previous book.

Great action, characterization and nods to the Star Wars Universe are all over the place in this book.

Highly recommended to any star wars fan!

This book, though midly entertaining, is not for the old school Star Wars fans that grew up on the original Trilogy. The Han Solo Trilogy lacks the stories of a scoundrel that I expected. This trilogy also has glaring contradictions and plot holes when taken with the movies and other Star Wars books. This book is for the younger Star Wars fan, the generation that believes Greedo shot first.

In this second book of the Han Solo trilogy, Ms Crispin takes us on Han's journey from his days as a cadet at the Imperial Space Academy through a number of adventures working as a pilot for the Hutts and ending up fending off an attack by Imperial forces. At the Academy, Cadet Solo spends four years preparing for a career in the Imperial Navy and developing his skills as a pilot. He graduates and spends four years as an officer before his career is cut short when he rescues a Wookie slave from ill treatment at the hands of a superior officer. The result is a dishonorable discharge. However, the Wookie, who turns out to be our old friend Chewbacca, swears a life debt to Han and promises to follow him everywhere. Obviously the entire Star Wars experience is much richer because of this incident.

Han and Chewie then move on to Nar Shaddaa, the Smugglers' Moon, where they smuggle shipments of spice to designated locations and make various runs for the Hutts, including Jabba. It is also during this period that the High Priest on Ylesia realizes that Han Solo was in fact the individual who caused them so much trouble several years earlier. He contracts with the galaxy's best bounty hunter, who else but Boba Fett, to capture Solo and return him to Ylesia to be killed. Fett's efforts to capture Han are stymied by a new character, a charming rogue named Lando Calrissian. Such introductions are the most fascinating part of learning Han Solo's backstory. Han, Chewie, Lando, Boba, Jabba - they're all here.

The Empire begins to move against the Hutts' lawless territory by authorizing Moff Sarn Shild to blockade Nal Hutta and turn the Smugglers' moon into molten slag. Through a combination of bribes, devious machinations by the Empire, and heroic deeds by Han and his fellow smugglers, the Empire's forces are thwarted. At the end of the story, Han is trying to figure out how to make money and go on with the rest of his life. His plans include coming up with enough money to go to Bespin and participate in an extremely high-stakes sabacc game. I suspect there in the third book we will run in to Lando again and learn of the acquisition of the Millennium Falcon. All of this is simply great fun as we continue to understand the forces in Han Solo's life that got him to the character he was when we first met him in A New Hope. On to the third book of the trilogy.