Star Wars Legends Fan Group discussion

What Happens
(view spoiler)[Luke and Leia start walking to the homing beacon they believe is there on Minban. Leia falls in mud. The two (plus R-2 And C-3PO) camp out. Then they find a city at the location of the homing beacon. Leia realizes from the sound that the Imperials are mining energy, which is not allowed. But she knows that the Imperials never care about laws. Luke steals them new outfits as a disguise and there might be a bit of Luke & Leia shipping, with Luke staring at Leia as she changes. (hide spoiler)]
On boards.theforce.net, kataja says
There's two minor scenes where it's hinted that Luke's attracted to Leia, i.e. having non-brotherly feelings towards her, but nothing is spelled out - and with a bit of good will you can read both scenes as less sexual as they certainly were intended from the start. And in the later-made comic one of them is actually tuned into soft-sweet nuances as Luke also is very protective about Leia all through this story. I read it back in the 80's, but I liked it then, and in a later re-read I still think it worked amazingly well, not least considering how much has changed since then. The most silly part of the book is that Leia can't swim in the novel but Luke - coming from a desert planet - can! But it's minor stuff like that.
Questions
1. Is the shipping okay, because they don't know that they are related yet?
2. Is Luke's staring at Leia okay?
3. What do you think of this book so far, because some people say it hasn't aged well?

I have no problem whatsoever that Luke has the hots for Leia. The reason this does not bother me is because this novel was written shortly after the first 1977 film finished showing. At that time, no one knew Luke and Leia were related; not Alan Dean Foster; I doubt even George Lucas had thought of that plot twist by then! If you take this book as purely an extrapolation of what happened after the earliest film, and I do, there's nothing to object to.

The only plot hole that troubled me slightly that happened in this chapter was Leia's observation of illegal mining. Then Luke claimed the Empire didn't worry about illegalities. But if the Empire establishes the law and they are engaged in mining, how can it be illegal? That's like citing a policeman for speeding when chasing down a speeder to give a ticket. He's a policeman. He is the traffic law. He can't by definition be breaking it any more than the Empire can break its own law by its established practice. Or so it seems to me.

I consider this one of the strongest chapters in the entire book. It has just Luke, Leia, and the droids in it with lots of dialog. What's not to love?

I read chapter 3, but lost my notes 4 it. I will try to read more of it, but am busy.

Dan wrote: "I have no problem whatsoever that Luke has the hots for Leia. The reason this does not bother me is because this novel was written shortly after the first 1977 film finished showing. At that time, ..."

My clarification is that the Empire never bothered to change the Republic era law. They just broke it anyway.

I thought the third chapter one of the best in the book. Luke and Leia go to a tavern and try to blend, failing completely. I also enjoyed the introduction of and interactions with Halla. Women may not think much of Luke's attempts to sell a Leia the servant girl story, but I think it was good, quick thinking.

Dan, the discussion of the whole book will be merged with the
January 2021 Group Read: Splinter of the Mind's Eye thread. (once we figure out how to do it)

The discussion will continue there. We love your insight and we'd appreciate if you continue to comment there. Thanks.

You can join the discussion here.

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