Troy Denning and his portrayals of H/L

[Shelley]

Of the EU authors, I think Denning has done the best job portraying Han and Leia. His portrayals are consistent, both with their characters and with the events of each story. In fact, I think the only person who has written Han and Leia better was the man who created them: Lucas.

Here's a list of Denning's EU works and how he portrayed H/L in them:

• "Star by Star" - while I'm not crazy about it overall, I think Denning did a terrific job with Han and Leia. Yes, they are denied love scenes, but in all honesty, I think it would've been slightly inappropriate for them to be getting it on while their kids are off on a dangerous mission.
  
• "Recovery" - Again, I'm not crazy about it, but I do think Denning did a good job of portraying Han and Leia. Yes, they had reunited, but there was still tension between them, as there would be between any newly reunited couple. There were still a lot of issues that needed to be worked out between them, plus Leia's injuries put the kibosh on most romantic stuff. I was annoyed at the interrupted attempt to kiss, but Denning really does seem to be very contrite about it.
  
• "Corphelion Interlude" - absolutely wonderful. Some of the best, most romantic/sexy H/L moments I've ever seen in profic. My only complaint was that it was too short.
  
• "Tatooine Ghost" - love it. It quickly replaced "The New Rebellion" as my favorite EU book. Spot-on characterizations for Han and Leia, both individually and as a couple, and Denning skillfully weaves in the prequels, letting both Leia and the reader get a glimpse into Shmi's life. I could've done without the mentions of Grand Admiral Zahn...er, Thrawn...and the Outbound Flight Project, but the story and the H/L interaction is so good that I could overlook those things. I did think Leia's issues with having children weren't satisfyingly resolved -- it's as if Denning was saying, "Well, we know she gets pregnant not long after the events of this book, so obviously she did work them out -- no need to go into them." That's the only real beef I had with his portrayal of Leia.
  
  The now-famous page 210 passage is a definite keeper. ;D
  
• "The Trouble with Squibs" - I cannot comment on this story, as I haven't read it yet. I don't much care for the art; Leia's disguise makes her look like one of the kids in "Village of the Damned," and while I think Han/Harrison looks good with facial hair, the goatee look just isn't good. It actually makes him look kind of like Jimmy Smits in AOTC, which might raise a few Electra complex issues for Leia... The story is available in SW Insider #67, (ROTJ 20th Anniversary issue).
  

[I am CMinor]

Thanks for that sum up, Shelley (it's good to be actually talking about SW right now...)

Unfortunately Tatooine Ghost hasn't come out here yet. I'm looking forward to it though (you've gone and made me more eager for it, which is not fair )

CMinor

[Abrodd]

I haven't read anything by Denning.
But after what you've said I'll try to.

I thought of reading Tatooine Ghost, but it's so expensive so I'll have to wait a year or so...

[Shelley]

Guest-I said:

Thanks for that sum up, Shelley (it's good to be actually talking about SW right now...)

Yeah, I felt with all the unpleasant stuff going on that it would be nice to discuss something fun. And this has been a good couple of months for Han/Leia fans.

Unfortunately Tatooine Ghost hasn't come out here yet. I'm looking forward to it though (you've gone and made me more eager for it, which is not fair )

CMinor

Terribly sorry; I didn't realize it hadn't come out yet in your neck of the woods. I should've put spoiler warnings in the subject or the post.

I recently got the comic "Star Wars Tales #11", which has several stories about Han in his smuggling days, and also "The Princess Leia Diaries," which is about Leia on Alderaan, from age 10 to just before the events of ANH. I'm not wild about the artwork, but it's a cute little story. No H/L stuff, of course, as it takes place before they met, but at one point Leia sneaks out of the palace at night to go for a ride on a pterodactyl-like creature piloted by a scruffy-looking humanoid wearing a white shirt and black vest.

[CMinor]

lol, don't worry about it shelley - nothing here ever comes out on time. I'm used to the fact that reading books and seeing movies here is pretty much just a filling in the gaps exercise.

I can't afford it till it comes out in paperback anyway, so spoiler me, baby!

I have Tales 11 too (it's not with me) and I wasn't really keen on the art (most of it was really good but just didn't look like H/L) I really like the Princess Leia diaries. It was a good cuckle. I also bought the Valentine's Day story, andthought it was a big rip off, frankly.

CMinor

[Yanksfan is me]

I would love to start reading Tatooine Ghost, but apparently it's playing the slot machines in Vegas right now.

[hansprincess]

I really really need to buy Tatooine Ghost now i guess eh?
thanks for the review on Denning, that helps!!

[starwarsfan68]

It was tough to spend the 25$ but in the end i was glad I did. It sumed up a lot of questions and loose ends.
As for A Valentine Story I couldn't find it around here so i had to buy it on line. Wish I hadn't bothered!

[Shelley]

CMinor said:

lol, don't worry about it shelley - nothing here ever comes out on time.

That bites.

I also bought the Valentine's Day story, andthought it was a big rip off, frankly.

Yeah, the best part of the Valentine comic was the cover. The story was OK -- cute H/L banter, though nothing we hadn't seen before -- and Leia was drawn well, but Han was drawn horribly.

Leela's similarly-themed story "Ice" was much better. ;D

[Shelley]

Guest-Yanksfan said:

I would love to start reading Tatooine Ghost, but apparently it's playing the slot machines in Vegas right now.

Is it winning?

[Kelly Jane]

I love Troy Denning's work on Han and Leia. I think he's a fabulous author and I agree with Shelley - he's the only one who does them better than their creator, George Lucas.

[janes0l0]

Where does one find "Corphelion Interlude"?