Book Review: 'Star Wars: Mission From Mount Yoda'

(C) 1993 Bantam Skylark Books

Although most of the Star Wars novels and other literary spin-offs (graphic novels, reference works, and screenplays) are primarily written for general audiences that include adult fans, the sextet of Bantam Skylark books written by Paul and Hollace Davis is targeted squarely at a specific audience, namely, young readers between the ages of 10 and 13.

The first three novels in the series (The Glove of Darth Vader, The Lost City of the Jedi, and Zorba the Hutt's Revenge) purport to be a continuation of the Star Wars saga set in a nebulous time period between the events in Return of the Jedi and Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire. With the second Death Star's destruction and the deaths of both Emperor Palpatine and Lord Darth Vader at the Battle of Endor, rival factions vie for control of the crumbling Galactic Empire.

One faction, led by the surviving Grand Moffs, has temporarily installed the former Slave Lord of Kessel, Trioculous, as the new Emperor, proclaiming him to be Palpatine's long-rumored (but never confirmed) three-eyed mutant son. In order to achieve legitimacy, Trioculous acquires the almost mystical relic that is Darth Vader's indestructible glove and receives the grudging "dark blessing" of Supreme Prophet Kadann, head of the secretive Prophets of the Dark Side. With the aid of Grand Moff Hissa, Trioculous then sets out on a multi-pronged campaign to secure his power...a campaign that has these three main goals:

* The destruction of Luke Skywalker, the galaxy's sole Jedi Knight

* The capture of Luke's twin sister, Leia Organa, not only because she's a leader of the Rebel Alliance, but because Trioculous wants to marry her and install her as his Queen of the Empire

* The capture of Ken, the Jedi Prince who was found by Luke Skywalker in the Lost City of the Jedi on Yavin 4

By the end of Zorba the Hutt's Revenge, Trioculus had made far too many enemies and lost even the grudging support of Kadann, and as a result of a falling out between the three-eyed mutant pretender to the throne and the elderly but still vicious Zorba (Jabba the Hutt's father), he ended up frozen in carbonite and placed as a trophy in the Cloud City museum. Now the Empire is temporarily in the hands of Kadann and the Prophets of the Dark Side...and they are now unwilling to give the reins of power to anyone else.

As Mission From Mount Yoda begins, the prophets -- really part of a vast Imperial network of spies and operatives who lurk behind the shadows and use bribery, sabotage, and even murder to make Kadann's "prophecies" come true -- have come to the conclusion that they will not give up the rule of the Empire, and Kadann, a dwarfish, bearded man dressed in a glittering black cloak, issues a Nostradamus-like quatrain:

"When the Dragon's Pack,

Perched upon Yoda's stony back,

Receives a visitor pierced by gold,

Then come the last days of the Rebel Alliance."

Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO, and Ken are enjoying a much needed respite on the balmy planet Z'trop, "one of the most scenic planets in the galaxy." With nothing more dangerous than a plant-eating septapus nearby, the small group of Rebels is in paradise, relaxing and generally having a good time away from the war against the Empire.

But when R2-D2 discovers an abandoned Imperial Compact Assault Vehicle on a cliff nearby, the vacationing heroes of the Rebellion find themselves starting off on a perilous mission to figure out what Kadann's quatrain means, starting off from the secret Alliance outpost on Mount Yoda on the planet Dagobah and including a destiny-changing search for a relic on the planet Duros, where the Rebels meet Triclops, the Emperor's true son, who has been long hidden in an asylum by the Empire.

Triclops, whose third eye is on the back of his head, appears to be a man of peace and rejects his late father's tyrannical ways, but Luke Skywalker and the leaders of the Alliance sense there's something oddly wrong with him. They agree to take him to Rebel-held space, but do they dare trust him?

Mission From Mount Yoda isn't the best of books for older Star Wars fans.  They might be all right for younger readers who like George Lucas's space fantasy trilogies set "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." The storyline is somewhat apocryphal (since none of the other Expanded Universe novels seems to be linked to it), and some of the Davids' little running gags (such as the constant references to "zoochberries") are extremely annoying to adults, but young children may find this book  entertaining.

 Think of Mission From Mount Yoda as Star Wars for Very Young Kids. There is plenty of action and mayhem, including a harrowing encounter between Grand Moff Hissa and the Rebel heroes in a dark cave on Duros. In addition, the characters, particularly the established ones from the film trilogy, are nicely done; there is the banter between Leia and Han, the earnest heroism of Luke, the nervous prissiness of C-3PO and the usual eccentric bravery of R2-D2, albeit watered down somewhat for younger readers.

Each of the three books in the second batch of Star Wars novels for young readers includes:

* An illustrated list of the cast of characters, divided into Rebel and Imperial camps

* Pencil and ink drawings by June Brigman and Dark Horse Comics' illustrator Karl Kesel, with cover art by Drew Struzan.

* A glossary of characters and terms related to the book's narrative and Star Wars universe

Keep in mind that these books were written for grade school-level readers and are not as enjoyable for adults as any of the other novels (or even Dark Horse Comics graphic novels) published in the 1990s.