Callista trilogy

Last updated

Callista trilogy
Childrenofthejedi.jpg
The cover of Children of the Jedi
Author Barbara Hambly
Kevin J. Anderson
Cover artist Drew Struzan
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Subject Star Wars
Genre Science fiction
Publisher Bantam Spectra
Media type Hardcover & Paperback

The Callista trilogy is a series of three Star Wars novels featuring the ex-Jedi character Callista Ming; while not officially branded as a trilogy, they are often regarded as such. They take place beginning several months after the Jedi Academy trilogy, or eight years after Return of the Jedi . The first book, Children of the Jedi (1995), was written by American writer Barbara Hambly. The second book is Darksaber (1995) by Kevin J. Anderson. Hambly also wrote the final novel in the cycle, Planet of Twilight (1997).

Contents

After the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney, the books were rebranded as Star Wars Legends .

Summary

Children of the Jedi

Han Solo and Princess Leia learn of the now-abandoned Jedi stronghold on the planet of Belsavis from Drub McKumb and travel there, only to discover a political conspiracy involving a Force-adept, members of the Ancient Houses and the Emperor's Hand who is able to change the programming of droids and mechanicals. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, two Jedi students (Nichos and Cray), and a myriad selection of alien life-forms along with a former stormtrooper are abducted aboard the sinister Eye of Palpatine , impossibly reactivated after thirty years. Fighting the effects of massive indoctrination, injury, and cold manipulation by the ship's artificial intelligence and its horrific security measures, Luke discovers the Eye is bound for the destruction of Belsavis. Racing against time and exhaustion he struggles to rescue his companions; who are being held hostage as the Will has decided they are Rebel Saboteurs, find a way to transport all the ship's prisoners back to their home worlds, and find a way to destroy the super-weapon. He makes an unexpected ally in the form of Callista Ming, the brave Jedi who sacrificed her life to stop the ship thirty years before, and now exists as a fading spirit in the gunnery computers. Tenderness grows between them, but time is running out, and the destruction of the Eye will mean the final loss of Callista forever.

Beyond all hope, Callista is revived as a human when Cray chooses to die and be reunited with her dead lover Nichos and offers her body to the former Jedi. But everything has to be paid for, Callista loses her Jedi powers. Their love and trials continue in Darksaber and The Planet of Twilight.

Darksaber

While searching Jabba the Hutt's palace on Tatooine, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo learn that the Hutts are planning to build another superweapon. Meanwhile, in the Hoth Asteroid Belt, Durga the Hutt is planning a diplomatic mission to Coruscant, where he will secretly obtain the plans for the Death Star super laser for Bevel Lemelisk, the Death Star's designer. Skywalker and Solo reveal their discoveries, but not before Durga's subordinates steal the plans from the Imperial Palace. In order to find out the location of the superweapon, the New Republic launches a covert operation to Nal Hutta, disguised as a diplomatic summit. Back at the Hoth asteroid belt, Lemelisk starts construction on the cylindrical superlaser, which he calls the "Darksaber" for its shape is similar to the hilt of a lightsaber. [1]

Luke and Callista embark on a journey to help Callista regain her Force powers. They discover that Callista can only tap into the Dark Side of the Force after they were attacked by some strange flying creatures on Dagobah. Their journey continues to the Hoth system where they encounter a group of stranded refugees. The group is attacked by a pack of wampas, led by the same wampa Luke dismembered several years ago. The refugees are killed in the attack, Luke and Callista try to escape only to find their ship wrecked. They lift off, but have little power and become stranded in the asteroid belt surrounding Hoth.

They are rescued by Han and Leia, who just returned from the successful mission on Nal Hutta. However, Luke and Callista's rescue is mainly thanks to the Republic fleet, who arrived to launch Crix Madine and his squad to locate the Darksaber reported to be under construction in the region. While Madine succeeds in relaying the location to the fleet, he is captured and killed by Durga. However, Durga's triumph is short-lived when the Republic fleet spots the Darksaber and begins pursuit. The Darksaber attempts to fire its superlaser and make an escape, but the weapon fails and the ship is destroyed by two large asteroids.

Meanwhile, Admiral Daala succeeds in uniting the remains of the Empire in the core systems. With the help of Pellaeon, she plans a strike force against a series of New Republic targets, including the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4. They also attack Khomm, where Jedi trainees Kyp Durron and Dorsk 81 are visiting. Furious, the pair of Jedi spy on Daala's fleet and succeed in warning the academy of the attack. Using the powers of the Force, the Jedi trainees back at Yavin 4 manage to hold off Daala's forces until New Republic reinforcements arrive. Daala is forced to retreat when her Super Star Destroyer, the Knight Hammer, is destroyed. After the failed attack, Daala transfers control over the Imperial forces to Pellaeon. Meanwhile, Callista decides to temporarily leave Luke and venture on a journey to regain her powers. Luke is heartbroken but decides to move on and continue to build the Jedi Academy.

Planet of Twilight

The story takes place about a year after the previous book on Nam Chorios, a backwater world in the Outer Rim which infamously was the center of the Death Seed Plague centuries ago. It is now home to a fanatic religious cult which is plotting to use a new weapon system of quasi-intelligent crystals as unstoppable, unmanned starfighters to attack the New Republic. Leia unofficially goes on a trip to meet with Seti Ashgad, the leader of the Rationalist Party.

Luke Skywalker is there after receiving a message from Callista. Luke's ship is shot down and Leia is kidnapped by the ancient and corrupt Beldorion the Hutt.

After a series of adventures the two escape and end the political conspiracy between the Rationalists and the New Republic.

Reception

As with all of Bantam Spectra's Star Wars releases from the mid-1990s, Children of the Jedi is a bestseller. [2] Although Darksaber was not as successful as the Jedi Academy trilogy, it peaked at number three on the New York Times Best Seller list. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wedge Antilles</span> Character in Star Wars

Wedge Antilles is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He is a supporting character portrayed by Denis Lawson in the original Star Wars trilogy, and voiced by David Ankrum in Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) and Rogue One (2016). He is also featured in the Star Wars expanded universe, most notably as the lead character in most of the X-Wing novels. Antilles has also appeared in the sequel trilogy film The Rise of Skywalker (2019), with Lawson reprising his role; in the 2014 animated series Star Wars Rebels, voiced by Nathan Kress; and in the 2023 second volume of Star Wars: Visions, voiced again by Lawson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Leia</span> Fictional character in the Star Wars franchise

Princess Leia Organa is a fictional character and one of the main characters in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Carrie Fisher. Introduced in the original Star Wars film in 1977, Leia is princess of the planet Alderaan, a member of the Imperial Senate and an agent of the Rebel Alliance. She thwarts the sinister Sith Lord Darth Vader and helps bring about the destruction of the Empire's cataclysmic superweapon, the Death Star. In The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Leia commands a Rebel base and evades Vader as she falls in love with the smuggler Han Solo. In Return of the Jedi (1983), Leia helps in the operation to rescue Han from the crime lord Jabba the Hutt and is revealed to be Vader's daughter and the twin sister of Luke Skywalker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke Skywalker</span> Character in Star Wars

Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. Portrayed by Mark Hamill, Luke first appeared in Star Wars (1977), and he returned in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). Over three decades later, Hamill returned as Luke in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, with a cameo in The Force Awakens (2015) before playing a major role in The Last Jedi (2017) and The Rise of Skywalker (2019). He later played a digitally de-aged version of the character in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, appearing in the second-season finale, which premiered in 2020, and The Book of Boba Fett, in the sixth episode, released in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death Star</span> Fictional moon-sized space station and superweapon

The Death Star is a fictional space station and superweapon featured in the Star Wars space-opera franchise. Constructed by the autocratic Galactic Empire, the Death Star is capable of obliterating entire planets, and serves to enforce the Empire's reign of terror. Appearing in the original 1977 film Star Wars, the Death Star serves as the central plot point and setting for the movie, and is destroyed in an assault by the Rebel Alliance during the climax of the film, with the 2016 prequel film Rogue One and the 2022 television series Andor exploring its construction. A larger second Death Star is being built in the events of the 1983 film Return of the Jedi, featuring substantially improved capabilities compared to its predecessor, before it is destroyed by the Rebel Alliance while under construction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C-3PO</span> Robot character from the Star Wars universe

C-3PO or See-Threepio is a humanoid robot character in the Star Wars franchise who appears in every movie of the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy and the sequel trilogy. Built by Anakin Skywalker, C-3PO was designed as a protocol droid intended to assist in etiquette, customs, and translation, boasting that he is "fluent in over six million forms of communication". Along with his astromech droid counterpart and friend R2-D2, C-3PO provides comic relief within the narrative structure of the films, and serves as a foil. Anthony Daniels has portrayed the character in eleven of the twelve theatrical Star Wars films released to date, with the exception of Solo: A Star Wars Story, where the character does not appear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebel Alliance</span> Fictional military alliance in Star Wars

The Rebel Alliance is a fictional organization in the Star Wars franchise. The Alliance is portrayed as a stateless coalition of rebel dissidents and defectors who oppose the Galactic Empire and its authoritarian rule. Its stated goal is to restore the liberal governance of the previous Galactic Republic, which had been dissolved after its leader Palpatine seized absolute power and declared himself emperor. It is the main protagonistic faction of the original Star Wars trilogy, along with the mostly fallen Jedi Order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacen Solo</span> Character in Star Wars

Jacen Solo is a fictional character in literature based on the Star Wars film series, set in what is now designated as the original-canon Star Wars Legends continuity. The son of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo, as well as the nephew of Luke Skywalker, he is a major character in several novels, particularly the New Jedi Order series. He becomes the antagonist of the Legacy of the Force series under the name Darth Caedus. Jacen's other familial connections of note to his native continuity include being the brother of Jaina Solo and Anakin Solo as well as the cousin of Ben Skywalker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skywalker family</span> Fictional family in the Star Wars series

The Skywalker family is a fictional legendary human family in the Star Wars franchise. Within the series' fictional universe, the Skywalkers are presented as a bloodline with strong inherent capabilities related to the Force and sometimes lightsaber skills. Luke Skywalker, his twin sister Princess Leia Organa, and their father Darth Vader are central characters in the original Star Wars film trilogy. Darth Vader, in his previous identity as Anakin Skywalker, is a lead character in the prequel film trilogy and so is his wife and the twins' mother Padmé Amidala; while his mother Shmi is a minor character in the first and second films respectively. Leia and Han Solo's son, Ben Solo, renamed himself Kylo Ren and is the main antagonist in the sequel film trilogy, while they and Luke serve as supporting characters. Shmi, Padmé, and Han are the only members who are not Force-sensitive. The Skywalker bloodline, alongside the Palpatine bloodline, are the two bloodlines that are the strongest with the Force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoth</span> Fictional planet in Star Wars

Hoth is an ice planet in the Star Wars fictional universe. It first appeared in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back and has also been a setting in Star Wars books and video games.

<i>Thrawn</i> trilogy 1991-93 novel trilogy

The Thrawn trilogy, also known as the Heir to the Empire trilogy, is a trilogy of novels set in the Star Wars universe, written by Timothy Zahn between 1991 and 1993. The first book marked the end of the notable drought of new Star Wars material during a four-year period from the tenth anniversary of the original 1977 film's release to the release of Heir to the Empire in 1991.

Star Wars Infinities is a graphic novel trilogy published by Dark Horse Comics from 2002 to 2004. It tells a non-canon alternate version of each film in the original Star Wars trilogy in which a point of divergence occurs and changes the outcome of the story. Each individual Infinities story is unrelated to the others and is set within the timeline of their original film.

Young Jedi Knights is a Star Wars young adult fiction series by science fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta. It was published from 1995 to 1998. It covers the Jedi training of Jacen and Jaina Solo, the twin children of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo. The series begins 23 years ABY, when the twins are fourteen years old.

<i>The Han Solo Trilogy</i>

Star Wars: The Han Solo Trilogy is a trilogy of non-canon ('Legends') science-fiction novels set in the Star Wars galaxy. It follows Han Solo's origins and life before the events depicted in the original Star Wars trilogy (1977–1983). The trilogy was written by Ann C. Crispin, and released in June 1997, October 1997, and March 1998, respectively. The author stated that "Per Lucasfilm's request, I did not cover Han's time in the Imperial Academy, or his first meeting with Chewbacca"; these events were eventually depicted in the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story.

<i>The Empire Strikes Back</i> (novel) 1980 science-fiction novel by Donald F. Glut

The Empire Strikes Back is a science-fiction novelization written by Donald F. Glut and first published by Del Rey. It is based on the screenplay to the film of the same name by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan. Along with the film, it introduces new characters, most notably Lando Calrissian and Boba Fett.

<i>Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II</i> American TV series or program

"Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II" is a 2008 episode of the television comedy series Robot Chicken, and the sequel to the Annie Award winning "Robot Chicken Star Wars", which aired as a one-off special during Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block on November 16, 2008. Like "Robot Chicken: Star Wars" it has been released on its own DVD, on July 21, 2009, and will not be part of a season box set. The DVD contains the original broadcast version, and the "Extended Version", which features an additional 15 minutes of footage cut from the broadcast version. It was nominated for a 2009 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's a Trap!</span> 18th episode of the 9th season of Family Guy

"It's a Trap!" is a direct-to-video special of the animated series Family Guy which later served as the double-episode season finale of the ninth season and is the final part of the series' Star Wars parody trilogy Laugh It Up, Fuzzball. It is named after the phrase uttered by Admiral Ackbar in the Star Wars film Return of the Jedi. The home video was first released on December 21, 2010, and the episode later aired on Fox in the United States on May 22, 2011.

First Order (<i>Star Wars</i>) Fictional military power in the Star Wars franchise

The First Order is a fictional military movement and rump state in the Star Wars franchise, introduced in the 2015 film The Force Awakens. It is formed following the fall of the Galactic Empire after the events of Return of the Jedi (1983). Secretly guided by the resurrected Emperor Palpatine, the First Order aims to destroy the New Republic and rule the galaxy as an autocratic military dictatorship. Under the leadership of Supreme Leader Snoke and Kylo Ren, it is the main antagonistic faction of the sequel trilogy and is fought by the Resistance. Aside from the films, the First Order appears in various related Star Wars media.

<i>Star Wars</i> (comic strip)

A Star Warscomic strip ran in both daily strips and Sunday strips, originally distributed between 1979 and 1984 by two American newspaper publishers, the Los Angeles Times Syndicate and Watertown Daily Times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chapter 16: The Rescue</span> 8th episode of the 2nd season of The Mandalorian

"Chapter 16: The Rescue" is the eighth and final episode of the second season of the American television series The Mandalorian. It was written by showrunner Jon Favreau and directed by Peyton Reed. It was released on Disney+ on December 18, 2020. The episode received strong critical acclaim, in particular for the action sequences, Reed's direction, writing, performances, score, and emotional weight, with the surprise cameo of a digitally de-aged Luke Skywalker being a major highlight among fans.

References

  1. "Darksaber". Star Wars. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  2. Blindreaders: Star Wars. URL accessed on January 4, 2006.
  3. Interview with Kevin J. Anderson