Jedi Search (Kevin J. Anderson)

Eleven years after the Battle of Yavin, the New Republic is still establishing itself.  Leia has married Han and they have three children, raised safely in hiding by Leia's friend Winter.  The twins (Jacen and Jaina) turn two and are prepare to come home, while baby Anakin remains in Winter's care on a secret planet.  While Leia adjusts to balancing government responsibilities and raising her twins, Luke Skywalker sets out to find others strong in the force and start a Jedi academy on Yavin 4.

Meanwhile, Han Solo and Chewbacca end up as slave laborers in the spice mines of Kessel when a diplomatic mission goes awry.  There they meet Kyp Durron, a young man with strong (but raw) Force ability.  They use a surprise encounter with a deadly spice-producing spiders to escape the planet . . . but are forced to flee into a series of black holes called the Maw.  Using Kyp's force ability, they navigate the treacherous area but run into a secret Imperial research facility, the Maw installation- known only to Grand Moff Tarkin and cut off from the outside world for over a decade.  There Admiral Daala overseas the top secret research- that produced the Death Star among other things- with her four Star Destroyers.  Capturing Han and company, Daala learns under their torture that the Empire has fallen, the Emperor is dead, and there's a New Republic.  Outraged, she takes her fleet and sets off to wreak havoc.  Before she does, though, chief scientist Qwi Xux has remorse over her role in developing deadly weapons, and helps Han, Chewie, and Kyp escape in the latest- the Sun Crusher, an indestructible ship capable of making stars go nova and wiping out entire systems.

I recall little of my childhood, but I still remember seeing this book in the store in 1994.  One look at the cover was enough to hook this young teenager- "Wow!  The Millenium Falcon crashed?!"  It was in an era when new Star Wars books had just started to expand the adventures of the movies- this book followed the Thrawn trilogy and Truce at Bakura.  It was an awesome time to be a Star War fan.
The book itself is okay.  Re-reading this as an adult, it's a good story poorly told.  I loved the concept of a secret installation cut off from the outside world for years, but the 'yet another superweapon' concept starts getting old [and it would continue time and time again in Star wars books].  The dialogue was frequently poor, but the action was good, and the characters (especially Admiral Daala) were enjoyable.  Relegated to the 'Legends' pile now that Disney wiped out this old canon, it was an enjoyable walk down memory lane.

Rating: B