Classic Star Wars: Luke's Fate

Luke's Fate

Author: Jim Thomas

Illustrator: Isidre Mones

Medium: Picture book

Publication Date: October 1996

Timeline Placement: 0 BBY

 

Picture book adaptation of a scene from the Star Wars radio drama, and then also part of A New Hope. As such it's another one of these books that doesn't have a truly original story and is thus skippable, but oh well, what the hell. 

Luke Skywalker is alone in his room "listening to an audio tape about the Imperial Space Academy" when his friend Windy bursts in, catching him in the act. You remember Windy from the previous picture book featuring Luke that we read, Adventure in Beggar's Canyon, and how he was for sure a boy in that story. Well now he's a girl, making Windom Starkiller the first transgender character in Star Wars. Except in some stories, where his name is Windy Marstrap. That's not misgendering because he is only she in this one book, then she's he again, and you are me, and we are all together.

 

Luke and Windy take Luke's skyhopper to meet the rest of the gang, led by obnoxious Internet tough guy Fixer Loneozner. Windy immediately rats out Luke for still listening to 8-tracks and Fixer bullies him mercilessly. Luke challenges Fixer to a drag race, but not the kind that Windy would be good at. Instead, they have to thread the Stone Needle in Beggar's Canyon, which means flying their skyhoppers through a big rock with a narrow hole going through it, which is like super dangerous. 

 

Luke forces Windy to come with him and they win the race, but Luke smacks the wing of his skyhopper against the side of the Needle and has to make a forced landing again, just like he did the last time he and Windy flew through Beggar's Canyon. Windy jumps out of the skyhopper and takes off, saying "You're nuts, Luke, I'm getting out of here and stopping my HRT." Luke doesn't care because now that he's threaded the Needle he knows he's a good enough pilot to get into the Imperial Academy.

He goes home and has the same conversation with his aunt and uncle as he does in A New Hope, except a day early. "Where are you going?" "Looks like I'm going nowhere." I like to think this was a deliberate creative decision and they just keep having the exact same conversation about Luke staying on the farm over and over again.

The next day the Jawas come by and Uncle Owen purchases R2-D2 and C-3PO and the rest of the story happens pretty much the same way it does in the movie, up until the point where Obi-Wan Kenobi invites Luke to come to Alderaan with him. Instead of initially refusing the call to adventure then changing his mind after his aunt and uncle are brutally murdered, Luke just immediately agrees to join Obi-Wan without ever going back to the farm, and the book ends.

An interesting curiosity for the Windy gender mixup, but ultimately too derivative and inessential. Skip this book, but not this banger!