Star Wars is an epic space-opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon.

It is a death ship called the Sun Crusher, invented by a reclusive genius and piloted by none other than Han himself. On Kessel, Luke picks up the trail of his two friends, only to come face to face with a weapon so awesome, it can wipe out an entire solar system. But when Hans and Chewie break away, they flee desperately to a secret imperial research laboratory surrounded by a cluster of black holes-and go from one danger to a far greater one. While Luke Skywalker takes the first step toward setting up an academy to train a new order of Jedi Knights, Han Solo and Chewbacca are taken prisoner on the planet Kessel and forced to work in the fathomless depths of a spice mine. In this time of turmoil and discovery, an extraordinary new Star Wars saga begins. (Oct.As the war between the Republic and the scattered remnants of the Empire continues, two children-the Jedi twins-will come into their powers in a universe on the brink of vast changes and challenges. This is probably the most accessible of the Star Wars hardcovers fans of the movies should experience nostalgic delight, but it often comes off as more of a marketing device than a novel proper, especially with George Lucas's three-part prequel to the Star Wars movies now in the works.

Anderson manages to keep everything fast-paced, yet the whole never coheres into a properly exciting story. Meanwhile, Durga the Hutt is using Bevel Lemelisk, co-designer of the original Death Star, to create a similar weapon for his own nefarious purposes, and the still-living Admiral Daala is working to reunite various factions of the Empire to reassert their glory. Set just after the events of Barbara Hambly's Children of the Jedi, this novel follows the quest of Luke Skywalker and Callista to reestablish the latter's Jedi powers. Anderson is careful, though, to include plenty of present-day action. Unlike many of the previous series hardcovers, Darksaber often harkens back to the time of the Star Wars movies, invoking familiar scenes and flourishes (Princess Leia being forced to wear a ``humiliating costume'' after she's captured by Jabba the Hutt Han Solo entreating, ``It's not my fault!'').

Anderson, whose Jedi Academy trilogy of Star Wars paperbacks were all bestsellers, makes his Star Wars hardcover debut with this novel.

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