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The Adventures of Lando Calrissian, The

The Adventures of Lando Calrissian, The

List Price: $6.99
Your Price: $6.29
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Skip these adventures
Review: "The Lando Calrissian Adventures" is a three-in-one novel. It contains three Star Wars novels featuring Lando Calrissian as a younger man, before the events of "Star Wars: A New Hope". These three novels are the only place (other than the early Han Solo novels) that we get a sense of who Lando Calrissian is, and how he came to be the man we see in "The Empire Strikes Back". We get his history here, and some very strange adventures. Lando's adventures in these novels are perhaps the strangest that I have read about in any Star Wars novel, so much so that if the book didn't have the Star Wars logo on the front cover, I wouldn't be sure that it is the same galaxy.

The first novel in this collection is "Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu". Lando has only recently acquired the Millenium Falcon, and wins in yet another game of sabacc a droid. The only catch is that Lando has to acquire this droid from a nearby planet. Shortly after arriving Lando is arrested on false charges and is given the option by the governor and an evil sorcerer to either suffer death/lengthy imprisonment, or to locate a mysterious treasure of the lost race of the Sharu. Lando and his new droid, Vuffi Raa, begin their quest to find the mindharp of the lost Sharu, whatever that may be.

This novel is followed by "Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon". Lando was very wealthy following the events of "Mindharp", but poor business dealings and paying bribes has left him with little more than his ship. Being the gambler that he is (it really is his occupation), Lando begins to win back his money on the sabacc table, but he also has to deal with the fact that someone is trying to assassinate him. Being forced to kill a man to defend himself, Lando finds himself back in jail and once again recruited for a crazy mission in exchange for freedom. This time he must navigate the Oseon system during the Flamewind season (think of really nasty solar flares that can seriously mess things up) to work with the police on a sting operation. Rokur Gepta, the Sorcerer from "Mindharp" makes another appearance, this time with a vendetta against Lando because of how things went during "Mindharp".

The final novel in this collection is "Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of ThonBoka". This time around Lando discovers a creature in distress called an Oswaft. The Oswaft is a creature that is able to live in the airless outer space, and physically able to make a hyperspace jump. When the Empire learns about these creatures, fearing what they don't know the Empire moves to destroy them. Rokur Geptra makes another appearance, still hunting Lando and working against the Oswaft with his sorcerer's magic. "Starcave" fully explains the origins of the strange robot Vuffi Raa, and of course features more of Lando playing sabacc.

To be honest, these novels are not very good. They might be somewhat better had they not been set in the Star Wars Universe because they don't seem to really fit in with what we know of Star Wars from the movies or from the other novels. They explain Lando fairly well, but L Neil Smith's stories are fairly weak. They are easy reading, and filled with humor, but the level of quality is fairly low. The one exception is Vuffi Raa. This is a fascinating droid and one which I hope appears in future Star Wars novels. Hopefully this isn't out of the question. I cannot recommend this collection, though i'm sure Star Wars completists will need to read this book. For a better look at a younger Lando, read A.C. Crispin's Han Solo books. Lando makes cameo appearances in Crispin's novels and she does a better job telling a good story.

-Joe Sherry

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Show me the Lando
Review: Back in the day when there was no massive glut of Star Wars books, you had Splinter of the Mind's Eye, the Han Solo triliogy, and this very little known saga of Lando adventures. While Han was popular enough to keep in print, Lando struggled. I found two of these stories in old bookstores but never the third. That's probably the only good thing about this book. I FINALLY got to read the elusive Lando story. Sadly, these books lack something and I still don't know what it is. Like the one reviewer said above, Grade B Han Solo ripoff adventures. Still though, a must for Star Wars fans, and the stories aren't that bad... not really...not quite... well,....maybe.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The Transitional Hero
Review: First thing first: My review is biased. I love Lando Calrissian. He is probably my favorite character in the whole series and I'll explain why. When we first see him in Empire Strikes Back, he is someone that doesn't have the same freedom that the others have. He is responsible for the well being of an entire populace, on his own. His apparent betrayal of our heroes is one of necessity. Only when he realizes that his betrayal will not save his city and will make things even worse for his friends does he correct the situation as best he can. By the end of the trilogy, he is the hero of Endor, having led the defeat of the Death Star. Lando is a transitional hero; he is not as clear cut as the rest, but develops with the story. His actions are weighed by responsibility and eventually he does the right thing; not only that, but he redeems himself for his apparent betrayal. So, let's look at the book itself. We get to see what Lando did while he owned the Millenium Falcon, back before he became Baron Administrator, previous to his heroics in the rebellion. And his story is very fun to read. It takes place when the Jedi are gone, the Empire strong and growing, and the galaxy falling to despair. Never a better time to make one's fortune. He flies his ship through uncharted backwater worlds to become involved in an "international" adventure that leads to some terrific conclusions and plot twists. Not only that, the scenes that stand out are Lando's James Bond-like lifestyle and the casino scenes are well written. Lando could beat 007 at a hand of cards and with style. Don't look for an all out battle that redefines the fate of the galaxy. Instead, sit back and enjoy the suspense of a good card game, the mystery of the past revealed, and the wonder of discovery in classic sci-fi fashion. Lando is young, the Millenium Falcon, well, still an old piece of junk that can outfly anything, and there are destinies to be made. This book lays the foundation of Lando's adventures and gives us a glimpse into his past. p.s. If you want to find out what happens after the Lando Calrissian Trilogy, read the second Han Solo trilogy by A.C. Crispin; highly recommended.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My Favorite Star Wars Book
Review: Great compilation of three Lando Tales. Fun intergalactic entertainment!

Lando Calrissian and the MindHarp of Sharu
Lando just got the Falcon, and has little ability as to how to fly it, you see, this is several years before A New Hope, and Lando is the only character you know of that will be mentioned of in these 3 books. He goes to a system, gets a droid, Vuffi Raa (Don't call me Master) and goes looking for treasure. He makes folks mad at him. This is one of my all-time favorites. The combination of Adventure, mirth, star Wars and Lando himself make this a great book. Read it, and may the Force be with you.

Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon
Lando gets arrested. His punishment: deliver some goods, though he's not supposed to during the time when the Flamewind is occuring, making it dangerous. He cuts some deals, gets into trouble and gets away. It's good but not the best of the three. Read it anyway.

Lando Calrissian and the Starcave at Thonbaka
This is very interesting. Several new concepts are introduced by this book. These creatures that live in vaccuum are very interesting. Lando begins to Learn how to control the Falcon. As You read on it gets better. He even gambles with these creatures. It's throughly well written and I think should be read by all who claim to have seen, heard of, or had anything to do with Star Wars.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My Favorite Star Wars Book
Review: Great compilation of three Lando Tales. Fun intergalactic entertainment!

Lando Calrissian and the MindHarp of Sharu
Lando just got the Falcon, and has little ability as to how to fly it, you see, this is several years before A New Hope, and Lando is the only character you know of that will be mentioned of in these 3 books. He goes to a system, gets a droid, Vuffi Raa (Don't call me Master) and goes looking for treasure. He makes folks mad at him. This is one of my all-time favorites. The combination of Adventure, mirth, star Wars and Lando himself make this a great book. Read it, and may the Force be with you.

Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon
Lando gets arrested. His punishment: deliver some goods, though he's not supposed to during the time when the Flamewind is occuring, making it dangerous. He cuts some deals, gets into trouble and gets away. It's good but not the best of the three. Read it anyway.

Lando Calrissian and the Starcave at Thonbaka
This is very interesting. Several new concepts are introduced by this book. These creatures that live in vaccuum are very interesting. Lando begins to Learn how to control the Falcon. As You read on it gets better. He even gambles with these creatures. It's throughly well written and I think should be read by all who claim to have seen, heard of, or had anything to do with Star Wars.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: One of the best
Review: Having read many of the Star Wars novels I would rate this as one of my very favorites--Or I should say 3 of my favorites as this is a three book set.

The story was a fresh one not a rehash of former themes (like many of the tedious Rogue Squadron books).

And the author added some nice touches; for instance: throughout this series Lando has a sidekick named Vuffi Raa, Vuffi is a Robot that Lando won in a card game; Lando can't stand him at first; but his relationship with Vuffi is one that teaches us what kind of a person Lando is.

This is also a nice, money-saving format for purchasing these series books.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Perhaps the worst books ever written
Review: I cannot stress how bad these books are. I'm giving this 1 star because Amazon doesn't allow 0 stars. Unless you are like me and have to read all the books in the Star Wars series, please save yourself the terrible agony and skip these.

The stories are descent, it is the writing that is so darn bad. It is full of cliches and trite expressions, terribly lame attempts at humor that were dumb the first time you heard them, but then the same dumb joke are repeated countless times. In essence, these three books are the same story told three times.

If you are still interested in torturing yourself, go ahead and read them, but thumb screws would be less painful.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not the best, but not the worst......
Review: I decided to read this book because I wanted to know alittle more about the Star Wars universe. It was an ok book. I guess I'm a stickler for the usual shoot'em up type hero, which Lando is not. Lando is the kinda guy who thinks his way out of problems, which happens to just get him in to more problem in The Flamewind of Oseon. The Mind Harp of Sharu was problely the most interesting because it take a lot of sudden turns and leaves you always guessing. But the one I did not care much for was was The Starcave of Thonboka. That was a bit far fetched even for Star Wars. And the thing that hurt this book most of all is that it's villian Gepta of Tund just keeps coming back blaming Lando for his problems. I have to give this book one star for unqiueness, one for the story line, one for the characters, one just because I'm a Star Wars fan; but I have to subtract a star because of the reaquiring villian, the lack of fighting on Lando's part, and the conflicts of his droids programming. Over all I would recommend this book only if you are a die hard fan or you are looking for a book to lull you to sleep at night.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good for experienced fans...
Review: I definitely feel that this trilogy as an all deserves a full four stars, for, if nothing else, the pure enjoyment I got out of reading it. Isn't that what Star Wars books are for? While the writing style was not as great as many of the others, considering how early on it written, this author made surprisingly few continuity mistakes. How was he to know at this time that the word for a popular stimulative drink in the Star Wars universe is "caf" and not "coffeine"? However, if these small details really bother you, than stay away from this trilogy at all costs. As for the story, some parts of it are silly, but overall Lando was portrayed flawlessly, as was his irritating little companion. So,if you're an experienced Star Wars fan, and have read at least enough of the mainstream books to know the basic storyline, then yeah, these books are fun to read, but if you're just starting out, wait a while on these.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Did the Author forget this is another Galaxy?
Review: I did not like these books. I have to admit that the 3rd book was the best of the three. But the first two are two of the worst books I have ever read. There are way too many references to cigarettes, sardines, children's TV icons, Rabbits from Breakfast cereals, and many other things from our galaxy and not the Star Wars galaxy. I know that this was one of the first Star Wars books ever written, but these books do not even fit in with the original trilogy, much less the Expanded Universe. If you want to read these books I would recommend forgetting everything you read in them, as soon as you are finished, especially if you are going to read any of the other Star Wars books. I have read several of the Star Wars books and these three are the worst by far.


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