In fantasy
and science fiction, when the great evil is defeated there is a tendency for all
the underlings to just fall without a central leader. It’s a rather unrealistic trope though is
heavily associated with J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, though
that is specifically due to the Peter Jackson film adaptations cutting
essential portions of the wrap-up. Beth
Revis’ The Princess and the Scoundrel in a way is an examination of this
trope and what happens after the Emperor is killed in Return of the Jedi. The framing of the novel is the wedding
between Leia Organa and Han Solo, being carted off on an intergalactic cruise
for a honeymoon that leaves the both of them a little uneasy. Of course there are remnants of the empire to
be defeated, a woman with a particular vendetta against Han for unseen events
at some point during the original trilogy.
That’s what is largely where the back half of the novel succeeds at
doing, exploring this sense of uneasiness that the Imperial forces haven’t been
defeated, the Emperor could not possibly be dead, and like any rebellious
regime the reports could simply be propaganda.
It’s a great little idea though it’s also one that a single novel could
never see to resolve. Revis manages to
do this by including several smaller characters who have their own arcs, Alicia
Beck for instance, the novel’s ultimate antagonist, is a single person who has
her own motivation for what she did as an Imperial. Revis uses her to parallel Leia in a way
while using a man called Kelad as a parallel to Han, Kelad being someone
threatening Leia in the novel’s second act indirectly because of how the rebel
disruption of the Empire has actually made things more difficult. Revis is clearly aware that revolution is
complicated, it disrupts on a massive scale and despite having the greater good
in mind it does hurt people and their livelihoods. The novel, however is just a standalone so
Revis sadly cannot really have too much to do with resolving any of these ideas.
Where The
Princess and the Scoundrel does succeed, however, is really giving so much
time to the relationship between Han and Leia.
Revis doesn’t just replicate the chemistry between Harrison Ford and
Carrie Fisher, but instead delves deep into their insecurities leading up to
their wedding, while not forgetting to celebrate the joy of defeating an empire. The novel is structured through alternating
perspective between Han and Leia, Revis switching her prose style from a very
breezy style for Han and a very formal style for Leia which just adds to the
characterization. Leia is particularly
fascinating because this novel starts in the immediate aftermath of Return
of the Jedi, she is dealing with the revelation that Darth Vader was her
biological father. While Luke as a
character in the films accepted this fact, Leia is explicitly characterized
here as seeing Bail Organa as her true father.
It adds to the idea of found family that kind of drew Han and Leia
together as a couple. That’s a genuinely
great little exploration because Leia’s sense of personal identity is questioned. The novel has her always working, almost as a
distraction from processing these emotions and the fact that her entire life
has changed, only amplifying her own insecurities in identity. Han, on the other hand, uses the mask of
humor and flirting for almost the exact same insecurities. His part of the relationship is this fear of
stability which comes with a committed relationship. While it is manifesting in a completely
different way, as is fitting of the character, through signature snark, it is
the exact same fear. He is a man who has
never seen himself as an authority figure, he is an outsider, but now he has to
take up that responsibility for his wife.
The absolute best moments of the novel, however, is the actual lead up
to and execution of the wedding between the pair. Revis avoids any mention of the sequel
trilogy, not including any foreboding of the fact that the pair will be separated
by the time of The Force Awakens (this was written and published after The
Rise of Skywalker). That is for the
best, it means this is a nice little romance of two people having fallen in
love and making it work.
Overall, The
Princess and the Scoundrel has some weakness when it attempts to examine
the larger universe post-Return of the Jedi. It is playing with ideas far too great for a
single book, but when it is focusing on what its title sets out to do, it is a
completely fantastic read. There’s just something
sweet about the marriage and the honeymoon in the shadow of such a long journey
that really works. 8/10.
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