Pirate’s Price, written by Lou Anders and with illustrations by Annie Wu, can best be described as the ultimate Hondo Ohnaka book and honestly, I could not think of anything more perfect for a middle grade Star Wars novel.
A part of the expansive, cross-medium Flight of the Falcon project, Pirate’s Price follows Bazine Netal on her hunt for the Millennium Falcon which has conveniently taken her to Batuu and the one and only Hondo. He insists on telling her about his history with the Falcon: a misadventure involving Novian rubies in the Undervaults of Gwongdeen, a ship stealing escapade on Takodana, and a far more recent encounter involving porgs. So many porgs.
What really makes the book work is how almost all of it is told in first person from Hondo’s point of view. His voice is impossibly unique and Anders completely nails it. I dare anyone to read this book and not hear Jim Cummings’s voice in their head. (If you actually want to hear his voice, pick up the audiobook as he did the narration!) Hondo Ohnaka’s charm lies in both his absurdity and how his view of the world makes perfect sense to him. Sure he may try and steal your ship multiple times but you are his friends! It is nothing personal; it’s simply all about the ship! Hondo is fun because he’s someone who doesn’t take himself all that seriously in a galaxy where just about everyone else does. We could all use a bit more levity in our lives.
Han and Chewbacca both play prominent roles in the book and Anders does well with both of them too. It may be Alden!Solo on the front cover but I kept hearing and seeing a delightful blend of the younger and older Han Solo in my mind especially throughout the first story. It’s a well done rendition of a character still evolving from one version we’ve recently been introduced to to the one we all know so well. Chewbacca is equally well handled, something that Star Wars authors in general seem to be getting better and better at doing nowadays.
Honestly, there’s not all that much else to say about the book. If you’re a fan of Hondo or at least enjoy watching his episodes of The Clone Wars or Rebels, this book is definitely a must read. If you hate him, it probably won’t change your mind about him. But for those of us who love that absurd old smuggler, this book is a gift and will make you laugh out loud more than a few times. Pick yourself up a copy.
Thank you to Disney Lucasfilm Press for providing a copy of the book for review purposes.
