A brief one today because this week is
kicking my ass and I have two reviews to write and a beta read that I
need to finish, among other things.
I started Re-reading the A. C. Crispin
Han Solo Trilogy with The Paradise Snare. The trilogy is, at its
core, an origin story for Han Solo that ties together the various
fragments of Expanded Universe material that accrued around him into
something coherent.
“But Han Solo doesn't need an origin
story!”
Indeed. Neither does Indiana Jones or
other characters that draw from broad heroic archetypes.
But, there is this one passage in the
first chapter of the book that is outstanding.
“He'd learned long ago that showing
fear of any sort was a swift guarantee of a beating—or worse. The
only thing bullies and fools respected was courage—or, at least,
bravado. So Han Solo had learned never to allow fear to surface in
his mind or heart. There were times when he was dimly aware that it
was there, deep down, buried under layers of street toughness, but
anytime he recognized it for what it was, Han resolutely buried it
even deeper.”
This is on page 8 and it cuts to the
quick of Han's character. He's about 19 years old at this point and
already we have a character portrait that is true to his presentation
in the movies and gives him a deeper layer of complexity without
undermining his heroism.
Its also bittersweet. He's had a rough
childhood, and his recklessness is his coping mechanism.
It manages to tell you all of that
within four sentences so that the real story can begin.
That's good writing.
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