Rating: 
Summary: A.C. Crisipin Wraps Up Trilogy in Grand Style
Review: I won't write a thesis on this book, <wink, wink> but I thought it was a great wrap up to the "Han Solo Trilogy". Crispin weaves into her story old and familiar characters as well as new and intriguing ones. None of these are thrown in as window dressings, big or small they are intergral to the plot of Rebel Dawn and link to the original trilogy
Readers are invited to explore Wookie culture that has somewhat been overlooked in other Star Wars novels (lone exception being Tyrant's Test). Chewbacca is given a voice and a story.
Han's motivation in the original trilogy is now more understandable given the background story Crispin has created. I thought the author stayed true to Bria's character development.
Not to over-analyze, but this is a character that wasn't painted with broad white and black strokes, but gray. She evolved into who she was based on her life experiences. She's was not Leia, but I think that is a good thing.We did not need a princess "clone"--what we got was a young woman, passionate about her beliefs whose methods weren't always pretty. I can buy into that.
Hopefully I'll also be able to buy some more SW books by Crispin!
Rating:
Summary: Ann does it again...
Review: Couldn'ta been better... Ms. Crispin has once again pulled off the amazing. The characters were so real I could hear them talking... She explained the backgrounds of so many things that only aid in the understanding of the movies. Lando's and Boba Fett's characters were developed excellently, and i loved the additions, especailly Mrov and Muuurgh. It was thrilling to FINALLY see Han win the Falcon. One of the greatest SW books in one of the greatest SW trilogies of all times. I would LOVE to see Ms. Crispin spend more time in the Star Wars universe. This book is a must-read for any fan!
Rating: 
Summary: Onomatopoeia?
Review: Think of how blasters sound and write it down on paper. "Ptchoo, ptchoo"? You've gotta be kidding. There has to be something better. The story gets a little boring when Han disappears into the Corporate Sector for 100 pages, and in that gap, of all things, we learn about Hutt clan financing accounts? Sorry, doesn't seem to interesting. Overall, the book wasn't that bad, except the development of Bria was a little sad. I hope to see more Crispen novels, in the future (but PLEASE, no more "ptchoo, ptchoo") !
Rating: 
Summary: I wonder when they'll run out of ideas?
Review: The first three books about the STAR WARS saga were great. The following three excellent and the three coming after just as good but the story is starting to run thin. Simply wrap the stories up and think up something new for a change.
Rating:
Summary: More than lacking
Review: Good writing is dependent upon a strong grasp on the most elementary of writing elements just as proper equations are necessarily depended upon the proper use of addition and subtraction. If AC Crispin, in Star Wars: Rebel Dawn (The Han Solo Trilogy vol. 3), has a grasp on grammar and punctuation, her sense of good writing stops there. The plot of this book is jumbled among so many rivaling conspiracies wherein party 1 wants party 2 dead and will pay party 3 to do it, but will then pay party 4 to kill party 3, except that party 4 wants party 2 alive and would just as soon kill party 1 and work for him, and so on. The problem with these intertwining subplots is that they hold no coherence. There are other books wherein more subplots, characters, allies and enemies exist but because of the skill of the writer, these all flow together in harmony. Crispin has far missed the mark of harmony and strikes her mark closer to the point of chaos and dissidence at which point music reverts back to its elemental compounds of noise: the vibration of air. Forgiving for a moment the poor structure and outline of the plot, there remains the problem of character reliability and motivation. Han's character is a great example of this. Originally portrayed as a solid man, hard and stable, a leader whose security rests in himself only then to reduce him to a man of no control, emotionally driven not goal driven, and back again, and back, and again, so many times the reader cares almost nothing for him by the end of the story. For example, in one scene, Han is painted as a man who must stoop to childish antics in order to be able to face the results of an injury which crippled his friend, Mako Spince. Han jabs callously at the accident, the aliens who caused it, even the results of it, only to be dismissed by the man. This childishness occurs again during his--long delayed meeting with Bria (which put an end to the multiple "near misses" which happen time and time again to the frustration of the reader), wherein his attitude is paramount to a child's temper tantrum. He is portrayed as a man who "can't deal with emotion" assuming because it is above him to be able to do so (it is just this sort of male-generalization which taints Crispin's story telling, which serves more to offend than involve male readers into the story). In this scene, Han is the weak one, the one who must "stomp" away, the one who later comes back to her because he was "wrong." Meanwhile, Bria is the rock, the one who is in control--as she has been throughout the story, leaving Han in the last book and avoiding him time and time again where she sees him in this edition--who is able to keep perspective of her "heart" by ranking it beneath her dedication to her cause, freedom of slaves at all cost. I have no problem with strong women, nor with weak men, but to reduce Han the equivalent of a sniveling child at the hands of a woman, who is so beyond emotion and humanity that it is difficult to distinguish between her and the robot guard of Xizor, that there lacks even the beginning of plausibility. In reference to Bria, she is cold and emotionless. She murders slavers, is their judge, jury and executioner (one of the many statements of a relativistic value system). She sacrifices herself, her life, even her supposed love for Han for a purpose which is "stately" more important to her. But is it, or rather does it seem as though it is? Not so much as it seems she is a manipulating individual set on the accomplishment of her set goals, freeing slaves, which seems-in light of her actions-no more noble than the greed-driven smuggling of Han, Lando and their friends. It is this double standard which is prevalent throughout the story and which is, in fact, one of the only recurring themes upon which the reader can depend. In AC Crispin's world, values are relative. Every character has their own. Bria can execute someone because they run slaves, but she can turn on Han, stab him in the back and even hold him hostage as it suits her purposes. This is only one case. Boba Fett, presented the Star Wars Universe over as the most feared bounty hunter, can kill as it suits him, anything for a challenge and profit, but then we are to consider it noble that he does not break his word. He says in fact, "I made someone a promise, and I always keep my word" (385). In another place he states his disagreement with the Empire and its politics, but then works with it to condemn the rebellion which is, in his opinion, the impetus of anarchy. Relativism, it even drives the Hutt plots which are, as has been mentioned already, so confusion one has not vested reason to place emotion or rational support for any side, leaving the reader feeling as though he is witness the unfolding of a congressional debate. This leads us to the lack of emotional involvement of the reader. Good writing involves the reader. It draws him, or her, in, holds him and in a way leads him by those emotional strands, whether he realizes it or not, to the determined destination of the author. The randomness of this story is such that the reader wonders whether the author had any predetermined destination in mind when she started. It lacks emotional involvement. We could try to chose the side of Han, but his tone is so superficially unlike his movie counterpart that we have no vested interest there. As for Bria, her determination that her decisions are justifiable regardless of the reason or cause leads us to have as much a bitter taste in our mouth for her as for him. We are supposed to take interest in her at the end of the story and at her eventual outcome, but for her to even suppose we would believe her thinking about Han at such a case is foolishness, as much as are her repetitive declarations of love. Which leaves us at what? Well, in light of the failed plot, the lack of emotional involvement mostly due to the changing characters' personas and the relativistic nature of the whole book, we are left supposing this to be less a Star Wars novel than AC Crispin's commentary on modern culture. She has her feminist aspect, and has Bria say--complete unrelated to the story, "As you've no doubt noticed, the Empire is a male-dominated, human dominated organization..." (36) She has her religious aspect, or anti-religious as the case may be, wherein she portrays the only religion in the book as that on Ylesia, in which, Bria says, " People are dying every day...good people. People who deserve better than a life of unending toil, malnutrition and cruel deception" (236). Crispin has her statement on morals and has a callous, vicious, heartless murdering bounty hunter declare, "I am a moral person"(207). Throw in a commentary on environmental conditions and Crispin would have covered all the major topics. What is the purpose for discussing this? To break publishers ideas that just because a book bears a title we are familiar with we will waste our time reading it even when the story is bad. To authors we say the same: just because a story is science fiction it does not mean that it can be bad or, worse, just because we are familiar with the title does not mean that the author has free reign to preach their version of culture, or mount a soap box and lambaste us using characters we have come to like, but begin to hate because of their manipulation. If nothing else, I have learned I will not read any more of Crispin's books; and, sadly, if Bantum continues to allow such unprofessionalism in style in their Star Wars books, I will not read them either. We, readers, the one's who spend our money, deserve more than being the blunt of some authors ideas under the deceptive cloak of story telling, whether it is called Star Wars or not.
Rating:
Summary: Star Wars at it's best!
Review: A. C. Crispin wraps up her trilogy superbly! No one can top her!
Rating:
Summary: awesome story, okay ending
Review: First off I have to say that A. C. Crispin IS the best! Team her up with Kevin J. Anderson and you'd have the best book ever. I am
a tremendous Star Wars fan. I've read almost all the books. This and Hutt Gambit,
(second in the series) which I also own
were the two best I have ever read. The tie-
in with the movie, showing how all the magic came to pass, is spectacular! The memorable
parts of Star Wars that you only hear mentioned
are all here. It tells how Han won the Falcon,
how he was working for Jabba, how he dumped
the spice. Han's awesome; Bria's awesome;
Lando's awesome; the book's SPECTACULAR
I could go on and on and on... The only disappointing part (and I was so mad) was the
ending. Why? Why? Why kill everyone cool
in the book except Han and Lando and
Boba Fett (yeah yeah) Oh well, what
an experience. A. C., keep on writin'!!!
Rating:
Summary: Definately one of the best books I've read.
Review: Rebel Dawn was fantastic! Even knowing where it would end did not diminish the excitement of the journey. Ms. Crispin has captured the essence of Han Solo, and provided a believable background story to explain his reluctance towards romance and involvement with the Rebel Alliance, and his mockery of the Force, as seen in the Star Wars movies. The only problem I had with Rebel Dawn was putting the book down and returning to reality when work and other responsibilities beckoned. I was so drawn in by the descriptive text that I truly felt I was in that "galaxy far, far away." And I still can't believe how much action and adventure was packed into a mere 389 pages of text. Rebel Dawn is definately one of the best books I've read recently.
Rating:
Summary: All Around Great Book
Review: I thought that Rebel Dawn, and the entire trilogy in particular, gave a very nice insight into Han Solo's past. It helped to clarify why he did the things he did in the films. (Also detailed the famous botched-spice run...) Very good book, I loved it!
Rating:
Summary: Han Solo Trilogy is True to the Characters!
Review: I loved Rebel Dawn! The whole Han Solo Trilogy is a fascinating glimpse into the lives of our favorite Star Wars characters, ending right before the first movie begins. The books stay perfectly true to the characters we've come to love and is so brilliantly written, that it actually enhances the character development of the movies. Find out how Han got the Falcon, and what Wookie courtship entails! I highly recommed this whole trilogy to Star Wars fans!
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