Though Han Solo has thrilled Star Wars fans for decades, the notorious wisecracking scoundrel was chasing adventure and dodging trouble long before he walked into the cantina at Mos Eisley spaceport.

Young Han dreams of someday soaring into space at the helm of his own starship and leaving his home, the gritty industrial planet Corellia, far behind. But as long as he’s trapped in a life of poverty and crime—and under the thumb of the sinister Lady Proxima and her brutal street gang—reaching the distant stars seems impossible. When Han tries to escape with his girlfriend and partner-in-crime, Qi’ra, he makes it out—but she doesn’t. Desperate for a way to find his own offworld vessel and free her, Han enlists in the Imperial Navy—the last place for a rebellious loner who doesn’t play well with others.

When the Empire clips his wings, Han goes rogue and plunges into the shady world of smugglers, gamblers, and con artists. There he meets the charming and cunning high roller Lando Calrissian, makes an unlikely friend in a cantankerous Wookiee called Chewbacca, and first lays eyes on the Millennium Falcon. To snag his piece of the outlaw pie, Han joins a crew of pirates to pull off a risky heist. The stakes are high, the danger is great, and the odds are slim. But never tell Han Solo the odds. 

I am loving this new trend with these “Expanded Edition” Star Wars novelizations (which started with The Last Jedi)! I mean, the reason I’ve read novelizations in the past (and I haven’t read many) is to just dig in a little deeper, and get a little more than we saw in the movie. With these Expanded Editions, it’s like…like we’re getting more MORE!!! I’m a fan.

In truth, the only Star Wars novelizations I’ve read before SOLO are The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and Rogue One. And with SOLO, it’s a different experience for me because it’s the only one of the Star Wars films that I’ve seen just once prior to reading the book! 

SOLO was fucking great!! Mur Lafferty manages to not just nail down the breathless pace & tone of the film, but also adds quite a lot of depth to each of the characters. 

One of my favorite things about having all the different versions of a Star Wars character (the movies, the books, The Clone Wars/Rebels, or even the comics, which I’m not currently reading), is that where someone maybe doesn’t click for you in one format, you may fall in love with them in another. The best example of this for me is with Mace Windu…I just never much cared for Sam Jackson’s portrayal, but grew to absolutely LOVE Mace in The Clone Wars, and in Matthew Stover’s novel, Shatterpoint. 

That character for me in SOLO is Qi’ra. I think Emilia Clarke is a great actor, but I just wasn’t over the moon about her in that role. But in the novelization, she really just came alive for me. Lafferty really lets us explore & better understand characters like Qi’ra & Lando (and his many, many capes) & L3 & Chewbacca on a much deeper level. Oof…some of the Chewbacca scenes she’s written here are just incredibly beautiful & gut-punchy. He’s one of my very favorite Star Wars characters, and she writes him so perfectly.

The added content is great…I’m not sure if these scenes are based on the original script, or from deleted scenes, or just straight from the author’s imagination. One in particular, with Lando reluctantly allowing Chewbacca to use not only his shower, but some of his beloved PRODUCT, is goddamn hysterical. 

This book really captures that Star Wars magic, and I hope to see Mur Lafferty continue to work within my favorite galaxy!