Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor

"None of the stories people tell about me can change who I really am."

- Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor is a standalone novel by Matthew Stover that chronicles the Battle of Mindor. It was originally scheduled to be released in hardcover in February 2008 by Del Rey, but was later moved to October 21 before being eventually released on December 30. The paperback was released on February 23, 2010.

American

 * ISBN 9780345477446; December 30, 2008, Random House, 336-page hardcover.

Foreign

 * ISBN 978-80-252-1340-7; November 18, 2009, EGMONT ČR, 266-page Czech paperback (Luke Skywalker a stíny Mindoru).

Back cover
'''Overthrowing the dark side's empire has made them heroes. But underestimating the fury of the Sith will make them targets.'''

Internal flap
''Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader are dead. The Empire has been toppled by the triumphant Rebel Alliance, and the New Republic is ascendant. But the struggle against the dark side and the Sith order is not over. Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, and their faithful comrades have had little time to savor victory before being called on to defend the newly liberated galaxy.''

''Powerful remnants of the vanquished Empire, hungry for retaliation, are still at large, committing acts of piracy, terrorism, and wholesale slaughter against the worlds of the fledgling Republic. The most deadly of these, a ruthless legion of black-armored stormtroopers, do the brutal bidding of the newly risen warlord Shadowspawn. Striking from a strategically advantageous base at the planet Mindor, they are waging campaigns of plunder and destruction, demolishing order and security across the galaxy&mdash;and breeding fears of an Imperial resurgence. And another reign of darkness beneath the boot-heel of Sith despotism is something General Luke Skywalker cannot and will not risk.''

''Mobilizing the ace fighters of Rogue Squadron&mdash;along with the trusty Chewbacca, Threepio, and Artoo-Detoo&mdash;Luke, Han, and Leia set out to take the battle to the enemy at the site of its stronghold, and neutralize the threat before it's too late. But their imminent onslaught against Mindor will be playing directly into the hands of their cunning new adversary. Lord Shadowspawn is no freshly anointed Sith Chieftain, but in fact a vicious former Imperial Intelligence officer&mdash;and Prophet of the Dark Side. The Emperor's death has paved the way for Shadowspawn's return from exile in the Outer Rim; and mastery of ancient Sith knowledge and modern technology has given him the capability to mount the ultimate power play for galaxy-wide dominion. Dark prophecy has foretold that only one obstacle stands in his way, and he is ready&mdash;even eager&mdash;for the confrontation.''

All the classic heroes, all the explosive action and adventure, all the unparalleled excitement of Star Wars come breathlessly alive here, as the further adventures of Luke Skywalker continue.

Behind the scenes
Matthew Stover stated on his blog that "Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor is my attempt to get the EU back to its pre-Zahn roots -- specifically, to evoke memories of my all-time favorite Star Wars books, Brian Daley's Han Solo novels."

Beginning with its structure, with a frame story and an inner narrative, evidence abounds that the bulk of Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, complete with opening crawl, excessively colorful language and a curiously-named villain, is, in fact, the mostly fictional basis for a holothriller or a novelization thereof, penned by one of the characters of the frame story. This would put the majority of the book into a quantum state of being possibly, but not certainly, canonically true. Two interviews with Stover, linked to on his blog, lend credence to this theory.

Throughout the novel, C-3PO's name is misspelled C-3P0 (with a zero instead of an "oh").