Title: The Lando Calrissian Adventures
Author: L. Neil Smith
Pages: 405
Type: Adventure
Time: 4 BBY

Introduction
First of I want to tell you that I decided to review the three Lando Calrissian in one go. Reason is that none of them is long enough to be a true novel in its own right. The publisher apparently agreed with me, all three stories come together in just one novel. The review is about three more or less connected stories: "Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu", "Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon" and "Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of Thonboka". Here's what I think of them.

Novel quality
The novel picks up when Lando has just left Nar Shaddaa and is in his way to start making some profit by playing Sabacc. Of course this is not all that happens in the novel; soon enough Lando finds himself in a whole lot of trouble and will have to use all his cunning to survive. The first story is rather nice. The planet on which it takes place is set up nicely and the story itself has a nice flow. The way Lando ends up in trouble however seems rather far-fetched and kind of forced. The little droid he's teamed up with seems way too advanced for anything from this timeframe in the Star Wars galaxy, but provides for some interesting reading. Overall this story was quite enjoyable.
It is in the second story that the problems start. The sorcerer called Rokur Gepta, a relatively minor character from the first novel, is back and is chasing Lando. Somehow the sorcerer blames Lando for everything that has transpired in the first story. The grudge the sorcerer has against Lando seems a bit much, considering what happened and it feels like Mr. Smith needed it to be create a story. There is also a group of mercenaries that are hunting Lando's droid Vuffi Raa. Their reasons for hunting Vuffi Raa are "different" and their presence in the story feels like a weak attempt to make the story a bit longer. The problem is that it all just feels really uninspired. The nice settings and the very nice dialogue between Lando and Vuffi Raa is not enough to make up for that.

The third novel is where everything is coming down. Rokur Gepta now seems able to control everything and everyone around him. He's even able to make the empire do his bidding, all apparently without Palpatine noticing anything. He is also in possession of a weapon powerful enough to wipe out everything for light-years and light-years of space. In short, he is the most powerful and influential being in the galaxy. This doesn't fit in the Star Wars galaxy at all and as such feels kind of silly. The new race of beings Lando discovers is put together nicely, but they seem too grandiose to be true as well. And why oh why did Mr. Smith make these enormous and ancient aliens interested in Sabacc, I believe you can't get any lamer than that. When Lando defeats Rokur Gepta, a scene which has been written quite well, the story finally comes to an end. But not before finding a reason for Vuffi Raa to be separated from Lando. His parents (!) come to get him. At this moment I wanted to throw the novel into a fire. Yet another overly-powerful and never heard from race is being introduced. One good thing though, the story was over. The problem with this novel is that everything is so pretentious. The story itself isn't really bad, but it just doesn't fit into Star Wars. The Star Wars galaxy has been pretty much defined by George Lucas. This novel never gives the reall Star Wars feeling and as such fails miserably in adding anything useful to your Star Wars experience. My advice: If you love Lando, you could consider reading this novel. Lando's character is portrayed really well and that could be enough to overlook the weaknesses of this novel. If you are a regular Star Wars fan however, stay as far away from this novel as possible.
Rating: 50/100

Personal Tilt
What can I say; I really disliked this novel and had a really hard time finishing it. I completely disagree with the concepts introduced in the story and that alone is enough to ruin the novel for me. The interaction between Lando and Vuffi Raa is interesting but repetitive and is not nearly enough to make up for the rest of the novel. I feel Mr. Smith should have continued down the road he started on in the first story and never should have tried to make everything so grandiose. It ruined the story for me. Don't read this novel unless you are a really hardcore fan or if have nothing better to do, which is unlikely.
Rating: 40/100


Overall rating: 46.0/100

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For an overview of al reviews and a ranking see my Book review summary