Rating: 
Summary: Close enough, but...
Review: I am bettting that most of us think that just because something is a George Lucas Idea it has to work. That is what happened to me with this book, which if by no means is bad, it is not the story I expected to read. In this book you will be treated to the classic elements of the fantasy adventure myth: A near fatal landing, the undesired adventure, the pursuit by a monster (can't miss huh?) and the meeting of a primitive tribe among other typical situations. The book is well written, it reads fast and the plot keeps moving steadily, so it makes for a nice piece of literature, just don't expect another Star Wars, an Ewok adventure would be a more appropriate comparison.
Rating:
Summary: For 1978, it's good.
Review: For a book written in 1978, it's great. Foster does a tremendous job of writing for only having ANH to go on. I especially liked Luke in this book. Foster matured him, made him more of a man. No longer is he a whiney farmboy, but a heroic escort of Princess Leia. His only thoughts are of protecting her, and his other new friends he meets along the way. However, I did find Leia to be just awful. Forster totally misinterpretted her character and made her a whimpy, bossy pain. While the plot isn't incredibley exciting, it's just enough to keep you interested.
Rating: 
Summary: Splintering the mind
Review: Luke Skywalker acompanies the princess on a diplomatic mission to the underground movement on a imperial world in order to bring it to the rebel side. The engine go out anf they are stranded on Mimban. They are arressted in a fight and they escape the imperial jail and race against time and the imperial lord Darth Vader to recover the Kiabar crystal and save the natives on Mimban from a group of stormtroopers. This is one of my favorate star wars books. Buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: Splinter of what it could have been.
Review: It had potential. It had the plot, the characters (Luke, Leia, and a woman named Halla) but something about this book didn't add up. First, there was the print. It felt like I was reading The Cat in the Hat! Second, once they got on the planet, they meet a cast of cartoonish, happy-go-lucky characters including the Yuzzem, an extraordinarily strong species that Luke can somehow understand. It's a book that is truly based on coincidence, so far as the plot goes, and does a poor job of detailing Luke and Leia. They seem off as characters. It also bothered me at how easily Luke is able to battle Vader, and the plot inconsistensy that allows Vader's arm to bleed. I am aware of the fact that the book was written before Empire, and long before RotJ, but it still bothered me. Also, Leia is able to battle Vader, for a time. The book does do a reasonable job of showing Luke's budding force talents, but this is not enough to justify the atmosphere that the book is written in. Also, the book starts by having Leia desperate to get to a conference on a world interested in joining the Alliance, but that mission is totally forgotten by the end of the book! The author doesn't even bother to bring us back to the planet they were flying to in the first place. If this book had been a little more spit and polished, it could have been great. But it isn't, so it ain't.
Rating:
Summary: C'mon people. Read this book
Review: I have to say this was a great book. It is even greater when you relfect on that it was written in 1978! The author had Luke deflect laser blasts, even though that wasn't shown in Star Wars: A New Hope(he only blocked, not deflected).I have read other reviews by other readers saying that they were mad because Leia had no force powers and Luke put himself before everyone else. Well, think about it. You don't discover Leia is Luke's sister until 1983, 5 years later. Luke was not a Jedi, so he could put himself before others and not pull himself to the dark side. Another said they were mad because Vader killed with his lightsaber, not his Force chocking. Well, I have news for you -- Vader never killed anyone with force choke in SW:ANH, he just killed one with a physical choke and another WITH HIS LIGHTSABER! That pretty much sums up my thoughts on this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great book, really gets the imagination going
Review: I thought this book is absolutly fab! I'm an obsessive star wars fanatic and this is what i call a good book. It's a cool story line and isn't far fetched. The new caractors are really fun-READ IT!
Rating:
Summary: Star Wars As It Should've Been
Review: I am amazed at the Lucas-ites who follow like puppies accepting the meager scraps he gives. In New Hope, he gave us a feast, a fairy tale in the best sense, good vs evil, princess and hero,the mature political underlyings, and even a small lesson on faith. I walked out of that theatre in the summer of '77, looked up at the stars, and felt wonderment. Instead of that wonderment, we were given 3 movies and various post-trilogy books where a spiral galaxy of billions and billions(Sagan-ese) of creatures and cultures' fates rested on ONE family! Now that's fiction. He should have followed Mr. Foster's lead. We get to see what makes an Imperial officer tick(they are not all idiots),Vader in 3D,some political food for thought, and Luke and Leia aren't the Doublemint twins. And as for as atmosphere, Mimban is so palpable it makes Naboo seem like Disneyland. If you think the story is "unrealistic", how about a bunch of teddy bears taking out a sophisticated military regiment(i.e. Return of the Jedi). Watch Star Wars:New Hope, read this book, look up at the stars, and let your imagination take you to where George didn't, a wonderment far, far away.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!!
Review: The book is wonderful!! It shows a teenage Luke who is not a quite a calm Jedi Master which is a breath of fresh air. Halla was an awsome character that he developed(what the heck happen to her and the crystal antway?) He threw plot twists. which made this book wonderful!
Rating:
Summary: -
Review: Does anyone know for sure if Foster ghost-wrote the original "Star Wars" novel? Just curious.
Rating:
Summary: Good book, it has stuck in my mind for almost 20 yrs.
Review: This was the first Star Wars book I ever read. I can't remember if it was in '81 or '82, but I can remember how it creeped me out. I'm glad to see that ti has been reprinted and that there is a graphic novel now.
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