I recently picked up the compilation of the three novels based on Lando's life prior to the Battle of Yavin, more out of curiosity than anything else. All three were released in '83 (four years prior to my birth), in what I assume was meant to coincide with the release of Return of the Jedi.
I must say, I was quite impressed with the series. All three books tied together well to tell one overall story. For the most part, they steer clear of any major systems or other persons that will have an involvement in future events. Apart from the implication that the Empire is much older than it would've been (which no one really knew of lacking a PT) it fits the continuity quite well.
Rokur Gepta, while in many ways a Vader fill in, still had a enough unique backstory to be interesting. Lando's character in the novels seemed off at times, mostly due to the way he talked. He has pet names for everything, and it's as annoying as an infant Gungan with a lisp. The real star of the novels is Vuffi Raa, the little droid has a complex, realistic personality, and fits in well with the way I think of Threepio or Artoo.
Much of the main villains abilities are described as 'magical' rather than being born from the Force, but it is fairly obvious he comes from a Dark Side cult and has had ties with Emporer Palpatine. Whether or not he has any true Sith knowledge is unclear. I actually liked this fact, as it suggests how little the majority of the galaxy really knows of the Force, and how it seems in A New Hope that they find the idea of a Jedi a mere 20 years after they were initially labelled traitors unimaginable, as if they'd been gone from the galaxy for eons.
There are a number of Earth references which the Star Wars revival of the '90s avoided do subtract from the feel of the universe, but given the efforts of some of those authors replacing them with confusing substitutes this could be seen as a benefit to some readers.
The other oddity is smoking. Cigars, cigarettes, tobacco. While the universe itself is not free of this health-hazardous habit, the sheer frequency of smoking within the three novels is overwhelming. How times have changed.
I don't want to talk much on plot for those who may be interested in reading these, but they're not as bad as you'd think. I was pleasently surprised, and while I may never bring myself to read Splinter of the Minds Eye, I will definetly hunt down the Han Solo Adventures for somemore light reading. Not great works of literature, but light-hearted, fun adventure stories.
At any rate, I'm curious to know if anyone else has read them, and their thoughts on the trilogy of novels.
Darth Acheron
you really should try Splinter of the Mind's Eye. I read it, and it really wasn't that bad.
I'm curious, what other "Earth" references were there?
Darth Acrimonus
Mostly animals. Things like "[He] didn't know what a cat was, but fully understood why it died". Machine guns and fighter planes is another, but you can pass that off as natural technological progression. I still need to look up some of the military maneuvres mentioned to see if "another time and place" means they're Earth related as well.
Trivas
The trilogy was very strange for me. The different adventures are sort of out there and very incongruent with the rest of SW. While they do not interfere with the rest of the books, you can tell they were written before the start of the Bantam/Spectra/LucasArts line of adult novels.
Emperor Shadow
I enjoyed them. But I couldn't read them as Star Wars. My mother bought them when they were still three seperate books.
