Book Review: Star Wars - Splinter in the Mind's Eye

Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye, by Allan Dean Foster

Source: Amazon.com

From the book’s cover:

Luke Skywalker expected trouble when he volunteered to follow Princess Leia on her mission to the planet Circarpous. But he discovered that hidden on the planet was the Kaiburr crystal, a mysterious gem that would give the one who possessed it such powers over the Force that he would be all but invincible. In the wrong hands, the crystal could be deadly. So Luke had to find this treasure and find it fast....

The review:

Star Wars: Splinter in the Mind's Eye was read after I had just finished reading Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.  What can I say?  It was a Star Wars-sort of couple weeks.  So I will probably refer off-hand to the latter title from time to time in this review.  This is a good thing actually, as I thought Mind's Eye was the better of the two books, despite its age.  Read on and I'll tell you why.

The author, Alan Dean Foster. Almost looks like he's thinking: "I was writing Star Wars Expanded Universe when you were all in diapers.  We didn't have no stinkin "canon" in my day.  We made it up as we went along." / Source: intemblog.blogspot.com

The changes in the use of language between generations is funny.  While describing a mushroom that had a bell-like sound when pushed on, the author said it made a "bong."  I immediately pictured a waterpipe.  It made for an unintended moment of levity.

You could tell the book was written during a time when the Star Wars mythos were not thoroughly laid out, as they have been in the years since.  For instance, one of the first and really obvious was the term "D-2 unit," when referring to R2-D2.  Luke calls the little droid R2, but the author also refers to it as a D2, which - to my knowledge - is the only time this particular colloquialism is used.

The chivalrous sexual tension between Luke and Leia is funny, given the backstory that comes from Empire and onward.  In fact, it is amazing, based on this book, to see the impact of Empire on the saga.  Without Episode V (if you follow those naming conventions), a lot of things are left out.  It really puts A New Hope into perspective.

As an aside, the lady doing the narration for the audiobook must have been reading it for blind people, and not for audiobook dramatization as we have these days.  She sounded like a middle-aged librarian and pronounced some words kinda funny, like Leia as "Lee-a."  Also, no sound effects or music, which is de rigueur these days for Star Wars books.

A cover image for the Dark Horse comics adaptation of Splinter in the Mind's Eye.  I'll have to check it out, one of these days.  The novel was a bit hokey at times, but by way of comparison with other Star Wars media I have read lately, it wasn't the worst thing I've read. / Source: bluemilkspecial.com

The primary bad guy on the planet, before Vader shows up, actually gets serious injury after Luke and Leia make their escape and Luke uses grenades to cover them.  It was kinda nice to see a bad guy get hurt after some many people got stabbed with lightsabers in The Force Unleashed and shook off such things with almost no real pain or consequences.  That is something I respected about this book after reading The Force Unleashed.  The consequences in Splinter seemed more dire. 

I also appreciated the scale of time, though I have read other reviews who argue the stretching out of time was annoying.  But for me, it was nice that time seemed to pass.  So often these days it feels like movies -and even novels - squish everything in as tight as possible.  Like they are scared to death that the plot might lag if people get a chance to actually think between action scenes.  Let people feel slowness from time to time, I say.  Hyper stimulation is for children and people with ADHD.  In fact, it seemed like the whole plot of The Force Unleashed could fit in just a chapter of Splinter, based on the feel of the progression.

I also read some complaints that Foster's prose is thick and almost monolithic, but I felt he had a better grasp of nuance than many modern authors.  Yes, the text in Splinter did get a bit long in the tooth sometimes, but it was refreshing after reading so much clipped and forced sentences.

It is also nice that the events contained in the plot seemed to hold tension.  A video game-based story would struggle to compete, based on my take on it.  Again, I point to The Force Unleashed.

Speaking of the Dark Horse adaptation, here is a comic panel from a parody of it, I surmise.  This comes from Blue Milk Special.com.  I'll have to look this up as well, as it looks very offbeat.  And why, pray tell, is Leia smoking?  Maybe that was in the book, but I sure don't remember it. / Source: BlueMilkSpecial.com

I thought it was funny that Vader was described as Grand Moff Tarkin's henchman.  But if you think about it, in A New Hope it sure feels that way.  It was also funny how much low-level swearing the book had.  "Hells" and "Damns" and such.  The movies had a bit of this too, but it was more noticeable in this book.

One thing that was really quite quaint was how Luke kept having to "recharge" his lightsaber.  That's one I never heard of before.  Also it was funny that nobody really takes notice of an old Jedi weapon.  Even the author refers to it as an heirloom.  This is in stark contrast to how important lightsabers become in later stories/movies.  The prequel trilogy made them practically holy icons.

Speaking of light sabers, I thought it funny that Luke used his lightsaber as a lock-pick.  And not in the "slash the lock away" method.  He tunes his lightsaber to be a micro lock pick.  It's an odd touch.  But then the '70s touches throughout the book are obvious.  Data tapes and complicated devices and the whole "plastic rod that records conversations" device and such.

The Wonderella was cool.  A huge worm with spider eyes that is really determined to get a meal.  Also, it is funny how the planet Minbah seems so much like Dagobah in the opening chapter or so.  And the hairy aliens seem like Wookies.

Not so long ago, and in a galaxy not too far away, you still can't charge your lightsaber enough to effectively cut through butter, but now you can charge your iphone with a lightsaber.  That's what I got when I Googled images of "lightsaber charging." / Source: http://i2.cdnds.net/

On the other hand, I don't think Foster got Luke or Leia right.  They don't fit even A New Hope.  The characterizations seem off balance.  I also thought it annoying that C3P0 wasn't his usual translator self.  In fact, the characterizations of most of the people in the story are either a bit off, or pretty thin.  Characterization doesn't seem like Foster's strong suit.

The weakness of the Force is amazing in this book.  An Old Republic Jedi  could fend off 100 spears and thousands of primitive natives, but it is such a big deal in this novel that all these cave-guys are too much for Luke.  And then when Luke says "You misunderstand the Force's usefulness"?  That's way off.  An "old-school" Jedi or Sith could use the Force to win a duel easily without using a lightsaber.  Sure Luke is a novice at this point, but still.  The Force really seems a bit wimpy in this novel.

And what about how Leia claims to have chosen the Rebellion because "Art, not politics"?  That she chose to rebel because she was bored, and the Imperial culture was too stifling.  Doesn't fit compared to everything the canon series gives us.  And better still, stormtrooper armor supposedly protects against blasters?  No.  Check the films.  They get killed if they get a paper cut!

Vader shakes an angry fist at the cavemen who fight off his troops.  How silly.  The whole thing with Vader seems overly melodramatic.  And Vader gets shot by Leia?  And then it gets worse and she duels with him?  And gets beat, but...  come on.  Empire makes it clear that Vader is a master swordsman.

A still image from the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special.  I wonder what everybody got paid to participate.  And I love Chewbacca's Lifeday dress-thing.  With them wookie toes sticking out at the bottom. / Source:blogs.indiewire.com 

Another funny part where the narrator calls it a "T - I - E fighter."  That's funny.  Then there is the trapped leg gimmick for Luke.  And Vader doesn't use the Force to grab Luke's saber out of the air when he loses it?  You can see things weren't well formed yet in this novel.  And then Vader's saber was said to be blue, when red is such a fixed Sith color now-a-days.  It almost seems like the author was going off an early print of A New Hope where the sabers had little or no color yet.

Sadly, the end of the book smacks of the hokiness of The Star Wars Holiday Special.  It's not pretty, and its not surprising this book is in the shadows these days.  But it was worth a one-time reading.  If you are a die-hard Star Wars fan, give it a look.  But expect some silliness.  And not the same type of silliness of the more recent Star Wars novels, with their over-the-top-ness.  I guess a fine balance is tough to find in these Star Wars Expanded Universe stories.  But worth the try, I believe.  But I'm a nerd, so what can I say?

And if you don’t like my spin, here’s another point of view:

A review from Amazon.com

The first work of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, January 6, 2013

By Paul Klein

This review is from: Splinter of the Mind's Eye: Star Wars (Kindle Edition)

The first work of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. The genesis of this book is now a fairly well-known story amongst those familiar with Star Wars literature. It goes something like this. Alan Dean Foster was originally contracted to write two Star Wars novels - the original film's novelization and a second book. Before the first film's debut, before George Lucas knew that Star Wars would be a smash hit and a financial success, he instructed Foster to write a story that could serve as a sequel of sorts to Star Wars. If Star Wars was a success, Lucas would be able to go on with creating and completing the rest of his planned saga. If the film turned out to be unsuccessful, his thinking was that he would still be able to make a sequel, but not with the resources that, say, a The Empire Strikes Back would necessitate. Thus Foster was told to construct his story in a certain way. It had to feature a setting that could be easily replicated using low-budget film techniques (a fog-shrouded swamp world would do nicely). It could not feature any space battles (which would be too costly for a low-budget movie). And it could not feature Han Solo (as Harrison Ford had yet to sign on to do more Star Wars films). In this way, Splinter of the Mind's Eye was born.

The plot of the book couldn't be simpler. Luke and Leia are aboard separate Y-wings (along with R2-D2 and C-3PO, respectively) flying to a meeting of underground resistance leaders on Circarpous IV. Leia's starfighter experiences a sudden and unexplained malfunction and she is forced to crash land on one of the other planets in the system - Circarpous V, or as the locals call it, Mimban. On the surface, Luke and Leia's prime motivation is to get off the planet and make the meeting on the next planet over. However, they are seriously waylaid when they agree to help a mysterious old woman named Halla find a powerful Force artifact known as the Kaiburr crystal, which is located in an ancient temple somewhere on the planet.

Unfortunately, the characters we're familiar with don't feel particularly familiar here, and Luke and Leia in particular make absolutely bone-headed, out-of-character decisions that get them into the exact trouble they so desperately needed to avoid (such as the "fight" between Luke and Leia outside the diner, although this is but one of many examples). Luke's crush on Leia can be a bit cringe-inducing at times, but they never kiss, and it really isn't as bad as it is often made out to be (it's perfectly understandable given when this book was written). Darth Vader is mostly recognizable from his film counterpart, although he talks far too much during his scenes, and even lets loose an evil laugh once or twice, as if Vader were just another pulp villain. As far as new characters go, Grammel is a joke, once again exhibiting all the worst traits of a pulp villain, and it is a wonder that, despite the lure of the Kaiburr crystal, Luke and Leia trusted and followed Halla, who was clearly insane and more unlikable than otherwise.

Vast stretches of time elapse off-screen, but the effect is not handled well. For example, after driving for several days through the swamps of Mimban, a character will ask "are you sure this is the way?" conversationally, as if they'd been travelling for twenty minutes. Because of this, I couldn't have cared less about the supposed meeting of resistance leaders that Leia and Luke so desperately needed to get to, even though Leia kept reminding Luke of the fact during their stay on Mimban. Considering how much time they spent on Mimban, it was quite clear that they weren't going to make this meeting, unless Leia's original intention was to arrive weeks early. Of course, it is implied at the book's end that they do make this meeting, so what was with the rush in the first place? Ultimately, it doesn't matter, as this is the same book that decided Luke, quite conveniently, would be fluent in the Yuzzum's language because he studied languages while living on Tatooine.

This is a low-budget, simple, and inconsequential story set in a likewise low-budget setting, marred by Alan Dean Foster's awkward prose. It might have ignited the imagination in 1978, but the only reason to read this book today is if one were a completionist.

Learn more about Star Wars – Splinter in the Mind’s Eye, by Allan Dean Foster, on Amazon.com

The parting comment:


And speaking of the Holiday Special, here's some info on it that you probably didn't know.... though the comment made by Lucas about wanting to smash every copy?  I'd believe it.