Honor Among Thieves is the second novel to take place in the Empire and Rebellion series. While the first book was great, it was hampered (in my opinion) by some serious flaws in character development and a lack luster ending. Does Honor Among Thieves pick the series up and put it back where it belongs?
From the Back: When the mission is to extract a high-level rebel spy from the very heart of the Empire, Leia Organa knows the best man for the job is Han Solo—something the princess and the smuggler can finally agree on. After all, for a guy who broke into an Imperial cell block and helped destroy the Death Star, the assignment sounds simple enough.
But when Han locates the brash rebel agent, Scarlet Hark, she’s determined to stay behind enemy lines. A pirate plans to sell a cache of stolen secrets that the Empire would destroy entire worlds to protect—including the planet where Leia is currently meeting with rebel sympathizers. Scarlet wants to track down the thief and steal the bounty herself, and Han has no choice but to go along if he’s to keep everyone involved from getting themselves killed. From teeming city streets to a lethal jungle to a trap-filled alien temple, Han, Chewbacca, Leia, and their daring new comrade confront one ambush, double cross, and firestorm after another as they try to keep crucial intel out of Imperial hands.
But even with the crack support of Luke Skywalker’s x-wing squadron, the Alliance heroes may be hopelessly outgunned in their final battle for the highest of stakes: the power to liberate the galaxy from tyranny or ensure the Empire’s reign of darkness forever.
I’ll just cut right to the chase here; this book was fantastic. Never have I been so excited reading a Star Wars novel, or had such feelings of yesteryear, since reading Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy. It had everything that a Star Wars novel should in this time period. Bits of mistrust, space battles, ground action, espionage, an exciting and well paced plot, and most importantly, since this was his book, an extremely well done Han Solo. Not only does it have all of this, it introduced a new character in Scarlet Hark, done so well that I would LOVE to see more books written with her in it!
There are quite a few nods for fans of the series. The Rebel Alliance hasn’t decided on where to go next after the destruction of the Death Star. So you get quotes like, “Just anywhere but Hoth, it’s cold there.” Which I found quite humorous.
Before they decide though, Han Solo is tapped to extract a spy in the heart of the Empire to help them in finding a rumored weapon that could control travel in space. Scarlet Hark is that spy. If there ever was a female counterpart to Han Solo she is it. Stubborn, brash, and witty, she matches Han Solo blow for blow, tit for tat. I instantly fell in love with her.
What was more important to me, was you saw the evolution of several characters between the movies. You saw more inklings of the Leia and Han relationship coming to light, and a LOT of inner conflict towards the end of the book with Leia.
Probably the most shocking thing in this book to me was how attached I got to the character of Bassan Ray. He was hired by Jabba the Hutt to track Han down, but smugglers and thieves tend to stick together when there is a common enemy. His character seemed like a more seasoned Han; older, more wise, but no less brash and just as much “shoot first, ask questions later.” His character goes through a bit of an evolution throughout the entire book, and while a despicable type of character, became one of my favorites.
The Bottom Line: The only thing I can say is. This. Is. Star Wars. Action, Comedy, Suspense, Mystery, all there. It’s been a long time that I got a good feeling, and the debut novel by the duo of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck (James SA Corey) offered more in getting that ‘vintage’ Star Wars feel than a lot of authors out there. I don’t give a lot of books a 5 star review, it has to have something special. This was something special.