Star Wars: The Courtship of Princess Leia

By: Dave Wolverton

Narrated by: Anthony Heald

Length: 3 hrs

Publisher's summary

Darth Vader and the emperor are dead, but the Empire lives on, and the Alliance must continue to struggle with dwindling supplies of cash and resources. Princess Leia, seeking new allies to bring into the Alliance and a new planet as home for the influential refugees of Alderaan, considers a proposal that could tip the balance of power against the evil Empire. The Hapes consortium, a cluster of 63 high-tech worlds, is ruled by the Queen Mother. She wants Leia to marry her son, the dashing and wealthy Prince Isolder.

When Han Solo hears the news of Leia's impending nuptials, he reacts with shock. Han has always dreamed of marrying Leia. Yet, in spite of his heroic exploits, he feels she sees him as nothing more than a rogue and a pirate, unworthy of her hand. Now he makes a desperate last gamble to win her back. Tricking Leia into accompanying him, Han flees with her to the beautiful and untamed planet Dathomir, where he hopes to win her heart.

Fearing the imperious queen's reaction to Han's rash move, Luke Skywalker forms an unlikely alliance with Prince Isolder to track down the runaways. Luke has been traveling the far reaches of the galaxy in search of the scattered lore of the Jedi Knights. But when he, Artoo, and Isolder set off to Dathomir, Luke does not suspect that he is beginning an adventure that will lead to the discovery of an awesome treasure, a group of Force-trained "witches"...and a showdown with an invincible foe.

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Critic reviews

"Anthony Heald is a superb performer for the various Star Wars audiobooks. He slides in and out of distinctive Star Wars characters with such smoothness that the characters are instantly recognizable, as if the original actors were working in ensemble." (AudioFile)

Courtship Review

Above Average:
Written very well, encompases humor and action with a well thought through plot. Need to read/listen to this book in order to understand future Star Wars novels. A very small percentage of the book actually pertains to courting Leai.

I loved it.

While there was a few cringey moments I thought it was very well structured. My only complaint is about the pronunciation choices made by narrator were a bit grating.

Great story, but narrator ruins it for me

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I would recommend that they listen to this book if they need to fill story gaps, but not if they can't ignore bad narration with multiple mispronunciations. Coruscant is pronounced "CorusKant", Han Solo sounds like a 1940's gangster, and Wedge Antilles sounds like Scotty from Star Trek. Very distracting after hearing the amazing Mark Thompson in so many great readings!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Luke Skywalker

How could the performance have been better?

Pronounce the words in the Star Wars universe correctly since most of the people who listen to these books are big Start Wars fans.

Did Star Wars: The Courtship of Princess Leia inspire you to do anything?

Listen to the next story

Any additional comments?

Please have Mark Thompson narrate any book previously narrated by Anthony Heald!

Courtship of Preincess Leia

This is a story of Han and Leia's wedding.
And how she was also courted by a prince from a different system. It is a short 2 hour an about 30mins. Check it out when you can.

Nice listening

Kept my attention and was able to focus on book without rewinds from being lost

Poor Abridgement

For the book being called the Courtship of Princess Leia, it was pretty sad how little it had to do with the romance of Han & Leia. The condensed version was also very confusing & hard to follow. I hope they release a full version of it, perhaps with a woman narrator, instead. Probably better to start with the actual book.

Not Your Typical Romance... Come on It's Star Wars

For those of you who saw the credits roll for Return of the Jedi and thought, "BUT are Han and Leia are going to get married?" well, this is the book for you. This isn't your typical Romance, largely because its Star Wars. But it is a blast. Those seeking romance and those seeking action can both be pleased here (perhaps akin to a Gerard Butler RomCom).

But let's talk about the true draw to this book (in my opinion). This is no longer canon, for those concerned, but this story had much to do with influencing current canon. The Nightsisters of Dathomir had a long run on The Clone Wars and Rebels, and this is where that all started. And they are the reason I keep coming back to this book. A primitive society of ladies who use the force and ride rancors. What more could you ask for?

The biggest disappointment is the abridged story. It's a nice length, but I've read the book and I wish I could've heard the whole thing. For those unfamiliar with this story, I think it will feel completed and conclusive.

Story Quality: One can find much to enjoy here. Admitedly, it can be cheesy at points, and yet much of the novelty and fun makes up for it.

Audio Quality.: Fantastic. You couldn't ask for better.

Still love it!

I read this book many years ago and loved it then. It is great to hear it now.

Well

The book was fun but I don’t know if the author ever had a healthy father figure in his life or if he just has fantasies of being dominated by women but he introduces two matriarchal societies and gets a little too heavy on the whole “women are superior” trip.

A little hard to follow - found out it was abridged after the fact

A little hard to follow - found out it was abridged after the fact and now it makes sense why. Also agree to not waste your credit, but it was a cute story nonetheless.