Having first shown up in some catalogues as The Adventures of Han and Chewy, this is the first book in a new series by Scholastic targeted at readers around the 8-10 year range – but easily enjoyed by other ages as you’ll soon see. This book takes place during the time before A New Hope, when Han was working for Jabba – and it fits nicely into the saga without causing any issues for the fans of continuity. In fact, it’s a fun adventure – in a series that I can really see working very well for a number of age groups, a combination novel and picture book that still manages to take the story seriously enough to warrant any fan’s attention.

Han and Chewie (not “Chewy” anywhere in the book) are hired by Jabba to retrieve some very expensive silk he has ‘acquired’ and is currently in storage on Fornax Station – a space station in orbit around a gas giant with one amazing feature – it is surrounded by rings of fire. Because of this, Fornax station is a tourist destination – a place where lots of people come to see the sights, and even some who come to get married in the picturesque setting.

It’s one of these tourists whom Han and Chewie bump into just after arriving – a kind of running gag throughout the book as he they continue to have the misfortune of meeting up with Royal Margravine Abominelle as she inadvertently gets caught up in their adventure. Once on the station, Han and Chewie retrieve the silk – narrowly avoiding the authorities – only to find themselves set up as the thieves of Abominelle’s silken wedding gown by Chief Smurdap – head of station security. He’s looking to either sell the dress at a profit, or return it to the owner for a reward.

So Han and Chewie blast their way out of the station – only to discover, their hyperdrive has been disabled. So with Smurdap on their tale, they head into the Fire Rings – in a race that few ships have ever managed to survive. Can Han and Chewie clear their names (as much as they can be anyway), reveal the true thief and return the dress to Margravine? You know they can – but it’s fun to see how it all comes together.

This is a 92 page story, broken up every few pages with a black-and-white sketch showing some of the action or characters. The reading level is what I’d expect – my 5-year-old had no trouble following the plot (though it would have been too much to ask him to read this himself) and I never had to explain any words to him. There are some nice moments of humor, some good Star Warsy references (Chewie plays dejarik for instance), and while most of the plot is tied up by the end – I can also see how this could be a larger story set in motion that won’t be resolved until some future book (Han and Chewie do not give the silk to Jabba at the end of this book – it could be assumed it happens next, or the next book could pick up at that point). Either way, I know my son and I will continue reading this series – he didn’t want me to stop once we started. He was riveted the entire time, and afterwards told me he’d like to read it again. I enjoyed it myself – so I’d call that a big success.

Review Copy courtesy of Scholastic.