With every new Star Wars story, more of the gaps between previous installments are filled with characters and information that only enriches the franchise. The novel ends shortly before the events of the Shattered Empire comic miniseries by Greg Rucka (writer) and artists Marco Checchetto and Andres Mossa. Quickly followed, of course, by a starcruiser honeymoon. It’s no secret - and not a spoiler, thanks to previously released excerpts and the book’s stellar marketing - that Han’s marriage proposal to Leia quickly leads to a wedding they won’t soon forget. In the immediate aftermath of the Emperor’s death and the rebellion’s successful takedown of the second Death Star, everyone is struggling to balance celebration with a growing urgency to snuff out what remains of the Empire before it can strike back … again. The book actually picks up right where Return of the Jedi ends - Luke is even described as still smelling like the smoke from Vader’s funeral pyre within the first few chapters.

To date, it is the canon book that takes place the closest to the final Original Trilogy film. The Princess and the Scoundrel, the next Star Wars novel to release from Del Rey Books, tells the story of Han Solo and Leia Organa’s love in the weeks following the destruction of the second Death Star.

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