Han Solo
A Youtini Collection

Star Wars books you should read if you like
Han Solo

This is some text inside of a div block.
Han Solo
"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid."
F

rom the moment Han Solo slid into frame surrounded by the most wretched scum and villainy Mos Eisley had to offer, fans have been obsessed. The bad boy with a heart of a gold may have already been a tried and true trope in 1977, but our favorite smuggler redefined its meaning when the Millennium Falcon came soaring back to the Death Star to save the day, and ever since, we’ve been willing to follow this fateful Corellian to the end of any galaxy.

Since our initial meeting, we’ve seen him make the legendary Kessel Run, lead a Galactic Rebellion, fall in love with a princess, become a father, and sacrifice himself in an effort to rid the darkness within the one he loved most. Victory, loss, love, and heartbreak have colored the onscreen journey of Han Solo, and that trademark smirk has accompanied him through it all.

But there are so many more adventures to be had.

Within the pages of both Legends and Canon, readers have witnessed the near entirety of Han’s life as he travels from the streets of Corellia to planets, freighters, and moons too numerous to count (in this collection, anyway). Although each creator assuredly brings their own take to the pilot, the theme of a daring scoundrel on the edge of the law is ever present throughout these stories.

If you love Han Solo, smugglers, bounty hunters, and heists, you can’t go wrong with this collection.

THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY PATREON CONTRIBUTOR JEREMY KIZINA.

This reading guide is
Coming Soon
Our team is hard at work building out this collection. Stay tuned!

Books in this Collection

The Youtini Collections team has hand-selected the books in this collection
Canon
Canon
YA Novel

Most Wanted

Written by
Rae Carson
Artwork by

Set before Solo: A Star Wars Story, Rae Carson gives us a glimpse into how Han and Qi’Ra’s relationship began. In a story that gives us a glimpse into life with the White Worms and on the streets of Corellia, we see the pair start out as rivals pitted against each other by Lady Proxima and evolve into the duo we see at the beginning of the film, getting help along the way from intriguing new characters after their job takes a messy turn.

Don’t let the ‘young adult’ tag deter you: Most Wanted is a fast-paced heist adventure with just enough twists to keep you guessing while it keeps you turning pages. The extra depth and gravitas it lends to Han and Qi’Ra’s relationship may well change the way you see that spaceport scene and Qi’Ra’s fateful decision aboard Dryden Vos’s yacht.

Han and Qi'ra don't have a lot in common other than not having a lot. They're street kids on the industrial planet Corellia, doing whatever it takes to get by, dreaming of something more. They each jump at a chance to prove themselves in the perilous world of Corellia's criminal underbelly, only to discover they are on the same mission for the same unscrupulous boss. When the job goes disastrously wrong, Han and Qi'ra are on the run - from pirates, a droid crime syndicate, the Empire, and their boss - and will have to learn to trust each other if they are going to survive.
Canon
Canon
Adult Novel

Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition

Written by
Mur Lafferty
Artwork by

More than just a novelization, in her Expanded Edition Mur Lafferty offers us glimpses of scenes cut from the film and gives further development to some of the other characters. We learn more about what happened to Qi’Ra after the spaceport and get more insight into Tobias Beckett and his relationship with Val. Lafferty gives us a new insight into L3’s fate and ends with a wonderful epilogue that nicely links the movie to yet more parts of the Star Wars lore.

From a prologue that nicely captures young Han’s personality, to looks into the White Worms den that are somehow even more cringe-inducing than seeing it on screen, to Han’s time in the military and that wonderful epilogue, Lafferty’s adaptation is what we imagine reading a director’s cut would be like!

Young Han dreams of someday soaring into space at the helm of his own starship and leaving his home, the gritty industrial planet Corellia, far behind. But as long as he’s trapped in a life of poverty and crime—and under the thumb of the sinister Lady Proxima and her brutal street gang—reaching the distant stars seems impossible. When Han tries to escape with his girlfriend and partner-in-crime, Qi’ra, he makes it out—but she doesn’t. Desperate for a way to find his own offworld vessel and free her, Han enlists in the Imperial Navy—the last place for a rebellious loner who doesn’t play well with others.

When the Empire clips his wings, Han goes rogue and plunges into the shady world of smugglers, gamblers, and con artists. There he meets the charming and cunning high roller Lando Calrissian, makes an unlikely friend in a cantankerous Wookiee called Chewbacca, and first lays eyes on the Millennium Falcon. To snag his piece of the outlaw pie, Han joins a crew of pirates to pull off a risky heist. The stakes are high, the danger is great, and the odds are slim. But never tell Han Solo the odds.

Canon
Canon
Graphic Novel

Han Solo & Chewbacca Vol 1: The Crystal Run (Trade Paperback)

Written by
Marc Guggenheim
Artwork by
David Messina
Star Wars: Han Solo & Chewbacca Vol. 1: The Crystal Run

A Trade Paperback compilation of the Marvel Comics Han Solo & Chewbacca Series

The galaxy's best buddies star in a hair-raising adventure from the days before they joined the Rebellion! Loveable rogue Han Solo and his Wookiee partner-in-smuggling, Chewbacca, set off on a heist for none other than Jabba the Hutt — and this time, the Rodian bounty hunter named Greedo is working alongside them! It's supposed to be a nice, straightforward job. What could possibly go wrong? Well, for starters, how about a reunion with the very last person Han expected to see? When the target safe is cracked, you won't believe what's inside! Plus, celebrate the galaxy's favorite holiday with a collection of festive tales from all across the saga of Star Wars. Happy Life Day!

Canon
Canon
Graphic Novel

Han Solo & Chewbacca Vol 2: The Crystal Run: Part 2 (Trade Paperback)

Written by
Marc Guggenheim
Artwork by
David Messina
Star Wars: Han Solo & Chewbacca Vol. 1: The Crystal Run: Part 2

A Trade Paperback compilation of the Marvel Comics Han Solo & Chewbacca Series

Chewbacca behind bars! Chewie is held captive on the prison planet of Gulhadar — and you'll never believe who his cellmate is. None other than…Maz Kanata! But where is Han Solo…and whatever happened to the Millennium Falcon?

Collecting: Issues: #6-10

Canon
Canon
Graphic Novel

Han Solo (Trade Paperback)

Written by
Marjorie Liu
Artwork by
Mark Brooks
An absolute blast of a Marvel miniseries, 2016’s Han Solo is a perfect blend of high-speed piloting and Rebellion espionage. The Force Awakens revealed that Han has a history as not only a smuggler, but a racer. This series explores Han’s racing hobby as he enters the legendary Dragon Void Run. But he’s entered the race as a front for a Rebel mission—Han has been sent to rescue Rebel spies as he stops from planet to planet. But someone on the Falcon isn’t who they say they are. . . The series sees Han both in competition and alliances with other racers, in tension with himself as he wants to fulfill his mission for Leia but also wants to win the race, and he even has to escape Imperial entanglement. George Lucas liked the series so much, he bought all of the original art for his collection—a glowing endorsement to be sure!

Star Wars: Han Solo is a Marvel comic book miniseries written by Marjorie Liu and illustrated by Mark Brooks. The comic is set between the events of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back, and centers on the character of Han Solo in his early days with the Rebel Alliance.

Canon
Canon
Adult Novel

The Princess and the Scoundrel

Written by
Beth Revis
Artwork by
The Princess and the Scoundrel is a Star Wars novel by Beth Revis, set shortly after the events of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi. The novel follows the story of Han Solo and Leia Organa as they embark on their honeymoon aboard the Halcyon Star Cruiser. Along the way, they must contend with the remnants of the Galactic Empire, as well as their own personal demons. The Princess and the Scoundrel is a fun and exciting read that will appeal to fans of Star Wars and romance novels alike. Revis does an excellent job of capturing the characters of Han and Leia, and she brings their relationship to life in a way that few other authors have been able to do. The novel is also full of humor, action, and adventure. If you're looking for a fun and exciting Star Wars story, then "The Princess and the Scoundrel" is definitely worth checking out.

The Princess and the Scoundrel

You are cordially invited to the wedding of Princess Leia Organa and Han Solo.

The Death Star is destroyed. Darth Vader is dead. The Empire is desolated. But on the forest moon of Endor, amongst the chaos of a changing galaxy, time stands still for a princess and her scoundrel.

After being frozen in carbonite, then risking everything for the Rebellion, Han is eager to stop living his life for other people. He and Leia have earned their future together, a thousand times over. And when he proposes to Leia, it’s the first time in a long time he’s had a good feeling about this. For Leia, a lifetime of fighting doesn’t truly seem over. There is work still to do, penance to pay for the dark secret she now knows runs through her veins. Her brother, Luke, is offering her that chance—one that comes with family and the promise of the Force. But when Han asks her to marry him, Leia finds her answer immediately on her lips . . . Yes.

But happily ever after doesn’t come easily. As soon as Han and Leia depart their idyllic ceremony on Endor for their honeymoon, they find themselves on the grandest and most glamorous stage of all: the Halcyon, a luxury vessel on a very public journey to the most wondrous worlds in the galaxy. Their marriage, and the peace and prosperity it represents, is a lightning rod for everyone in the galaxy—including Imperial remnants still clinging to power.

Facing their most desperate hour, the soldiers of the Empire have dispersed across the galaxy, retrenching on isolated worlds vulnerable to their influence. As the Halcyon travels from world to world, one thing becomes abundantly clear: The war is not over. But as danger draws closer, Han and Leia find that they fight their best battles not alone but as husband and wife.

Canon
Canon
Adult Novel

Last Shot

Written by
Daniel José Older
Artwork by

When a common foe from Han and Lando's past shows up on the latter's doorstep, the recent hero of the Rebellion and new father to Ben Solo must rush off once more to save both his friend and possibly, the entire galaxy.

Last Shot uniquely employs a number of different eras throughout the novel, and while jumping between time periods, we get to experience Han, Lando, L3-37 and more at various points in time, allowing us to witness the maturation and evolution of our favorite characters right before our eyes.

With a host of new characters right alongside the classics, including a villain that can't help but terrify all those who encounter him, Last Shot is an essential addition to the Han Solo story.

THEN:

It’s one of the galaxy’s most dangerous secrets: a mysterious transmitter with unknown power and a reward for its discovery that most could only dream of claiming. But those who fly the Millennium Falcon throughout its infamous history aren’t your average scoundrels. Not once, but twice, the crew of the Falcon tries to claim the elusive prize—first, Lando Calrissian and the droid L3-37 at the dawn of an ambitious career, and later, a young and hungry Han Solo with the help of his copilot, Chewbacca. But the device’s creator, the volatile criminal Fyzen Gor, isn’t interested in sharing. And Gor knows how to hold a grudge. . . .

 

NOW:

It’s been ten years since the rebel hero Han Solo last encountered Fyzen Gor. After mounting a successful rebellion against the Empire and starting a family with an Alderaanian princess, Han hasn’t given much thought to the mad inventor. But when Lando turns up at Han’s doorstep in the middle of the night, it’s Fyzen’s assassins that he’s running from. And without Han’s help, Lando—and all life on Cloud City—will be annihilated.

With the assistance of a young hotshot pilot, an Ewok slicer prodigy, the woman who might be the love of Lando’s life, and Han’s best and furriest friend, the two most notorious scoundrels in the New Republic are working together once more. They’ll have to journey across the stars—and into the past—before Gor uses the device’s power to reshape the galaxy.


Legends
Legends
Adult Novel

The Paradise Snare

Written by
A.C. Crispin
Artwork by
Part of the
Han Solo Trilogy

The Paradise Snare offers a glimpse into some of the most formative years of Han Solo’s life. After getting away from a rough upbringing on Corellia, Han looks to make his way in the galaxy as a pilot. Being new to the scene, he takes up a less than desirable job running cargo for priests in a religious colony on the planet Ylesia. However, dark secrets about the true nature of the colony soon emerge and force Han to make the toughest decision of his young life: stay and help the colonists or save his own skin.


AC Crispin pens a beautiful story with this novel that offers a rich, rewarding insight into Han’s earliest years. It’s one of the deepest dives you can take into the history of Solo. As the book progresses, readers will note more and more familiar characteristics of the galaxy’s scruffiest nerf herder.

Han Solo was a child without a past, a Corellian street urchin, abandoned, foraging for scraps of food, when the cruel Garris Shrike whisked him away to a nomadic band of spacefaring criminals. Now, years later, Han fights his way free. His goal: to become an Imperial Navy pilot. But first he needs hand-on experience flying spacecraft, and for that he takes a job on the planet Ylesia—a steaming world of religious fanaticism, illicit drugs, and alluring sensuality…where dreams are destroyed and escape is impossible.

Legends
Legends
Adult Novel

The Hutt Gambit

Written by
A.C. Crispin
Artwork by
Part of the
Han Solo Trilogy

The Hutt Gambit continues AC Crispin’s masterful addition to the Star Wars catalogue by bringing Han face to face with some of the most colorful characters in a galaxy far, far away. Within the second novel of Crispin’s trilogy, Han meets a Wookiee named Chewbacca, a gambler named Lando Calrissian, and he begins to work directly with one of the most vile factions imaginable: the Hutts.

However, when the Galactic Empire threatens not only Han’s business dealings, but possible the first home he’s ever known, he has to decide how far he’ll go to protect these new alliances - dare he call them friendships? And, of course, he’s being hunted by the notorious Boba Fett, because it couldn’t be too easy, right?

Here is the second novel in the blockbuster trilogy that reveals the never-before-told story of the young Han Solo. Set before the Star Wars movie adventures, these books chronicle the coming-of-age of the galaxy's most famous con man, smuggler, and thief.

Solo is now a fugitive from the Imperial Navy. But he has made a valuable friend in a former Wookiee slave named Chewbacca, who has sworn Han a life debt. Han will need all the help he can get. For the Ylesian Hutts have dispatched the dreaded bounty hunter Boba Fett to track down the man who already outsmarted them once.

But Han and Chewie find themselves in even bigger trouble when they agree to lend their services to the crime lords Jiliac and Jabba the Hutt. Suddenly the two smugglers are thrust into the middle of a battle between the might of the Empire and the treachery of their outlaw allies - a battle where even victory means death!

Legends
Legends
Adult Novel

Rebel Dawn

Written by
A.C. Crispin
Artwork by
Part of the
Han Solo Trilogy

In the third installment of AC Crispin’s Han Solo trilogy, the final threads of Han’s backstory are expertly weaved together. After coming into possession of the Millennium Falcon, Han is looking for smuggling jobs. When he accidentally reunites with Bria Tharen, he is pulled into a mission with the Rebellion. However, not everything is as it seems, and Han soon finds himself on the wrong side of the Hutts, the Empire, and even supposed friends.


With Rebel Dawn, Crispin once again delivers a phenomenal story that not only serves as a perfect ending for her own trilogy, but a seamless springboard for the events of the Original Trilogy. Readers are in for an absolute treat as this fantastic trilogy comes to a close.

The Millennium Falcon is "the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy." So when Han Solo wins it in a game of sabacc, he and Chewbacca become kings of the smugglers--uncatchable, unstoppable. But with the Empire clamping down, Han knows his luck can't last. Still, when an old girlfriend who is now the leader of an insurgent Rebel group offers him a shot at an incredible fortune, Han can't resist. The plan seems a sure thing. The resistance will be light and the take enormous. Han and his friends will divide it equally with the Rebels. Too bad for Han that the planet of Ylesia is far from a pushover, that the Rebels have an agenda of their own, and that smuggler friends can often turn into enemies...quicker than lightspeed.

Legends
Legends
Adult Novel

Empire and Rebellion: Honor Among Thieves

Written by
James S. A. Corey
Artwork by

The would-be second volume of the Empire and Rebellion trilogy (Kevin Hearne's Heir to the Jedi was originally intended to be the third book, but was made canon after Disney's purchase of Lucasfilm) Honor Among Thieves is a thrilling caper written by James S. A. Corey (The Expanse) set during the time shortly after Star Wars: A New Hope. We find the rebellion on the hunt for a new world to serve as a base for their fight against the Empire.

While Leia sets about negotiations to secure a new home for the rebellion, she sends Han Solo on a rescue mission. Scarlet Hark, a deep cover rebel agent has signaled extraction from a core world that also serves as a stronghold for the empire.

Han Solo is the man for the job, and he and Chewie oblige Leia's request, and as it often goes for our lovable rogue, Han finds himself in scrape after scrape, and escape after narrow escape as the plot becomes more complicated, and greater dangers are revealed.

Scarlet Hark, a new character created by Corey, makes a strong impression, and Honor Among Thieves is one of only two appearances of the character, the other being in a short story that appeared originally in Star Wars Insider #148, Silver and Scarlet. Of particular note, Honor Among Thieves is the last novel published in the original EU, now referred to as Legends.

When the mission is to extract a high-level rebel spy from the very heart of the Empire, Leia Organa knows the best man for the job is Han Solo—something the princess and the smuggler can finally agree on. After all, for a guy who broke into an Imperial cell block and helped destroy the Death Star, the assignment sounds simple enough.

But when Han locates the brash rebel agent, Scarlet Hark, she's determined to stay behind enemy lines. A pirate plans to sell a cache of stolen secrets that the Empire would destroy entire worlds to protect—including the planet where Leia is currently meeting with rebel sympathizers. Scarlet wants to track down the thief and steal the bounty herself, and Han has no choice but to go along if he's to keep everyone involved from getting themselves killed. From teeming city streets to a lethal jungle to a trap-filled alien temple, Han, Chewbacca, Leia, and their daring new comrade confront one ambush, double cross, and firestorm after another as they try to keep crucial intel out of Imperial hands.

But even with the crack support of Luke Skywalker's X-Wing squadron, the Alliance heroes may be hopelessly outgunned in their final battle for the highest of stakes: the power to liberate the galaxy from tyranny or ensure the Empire’s reign of darkness forever.

Legends
Legends
Adult Novel

Scoundrels

Written by
Timothy Zahn
Artwork by

Scoundrels is a classic heist story involving none other than Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Lando Calrissian.

After Han’s reward for helping the Rebellion at the Battle of Yavin is stolen, he finds himself in desperate need of credits. So, when he is approached about a job stealing back hundreds of millions of credits from a crime lord on the planet Wukkar, he jumps at the chance. However, more than a few twists and turns along the way threaten to derail the entire operation and leave Han wondering which of the people standing by his side can be trusted…

Han Solo should be basking in his moment of glory. After all, the cocky smuggler and captain of the Millennium Falcon just played a key role in the daring raid that destroyed the Death Star and landed the first serious blow to the Empire in its war against the Rebel Alliance. But after losing the reward his heroics earned him, Han’s got nothing to celebrate. Especially since he’s deep in debt to the ruthless crime lord Jabba the Hutt. There’s a bounty on Han’s head—and if he can’t cough up the credits, he’ll surely pay with his hide. The only thing that can save him is a king’s ransom. Or maybe a gangster’s fortune? That’s what a mysterious stranger is offering in exchange for Han’s less-than-legal help with a riskier-than-usual caper. The payoff will be more than enough for Han to settle up with Jabba—and ensure he never has to haggle with the Hutts again.

All he has to do is infiltrate the ultra-fortified stronghold of a Black Sun crime syndicate underboss and crack the galaxy’s most notoriously impregnable safe. It sounds like a job for miracle workers . . . or madmen. So Han assembles a gallery of rogues who are a little of both—including his indispensable sidekick Chewbacca and the cunning Lando Calrissian. If anyone can dodge, deceive, and defeat heavily armed thugs, killer droids, and Imperial agents alike—and pull off the heist of the century—it’s Solo’s scoundrels. But will their crime really pay, or will it cost them the ultimate price?

Legends
Legends
Adult Novel

The Courtship of Princess Leia

Written by
Dave Wolverton
Artwork by

You know those novels your mom always had by her bedside, the ones with half-shirtless Fabio embracing a dainty lady in a thin gown? Well this is kind of like that, but Star Wars style. Han finds out that Leia has arrangements to marry another man for political reasons, but he’s not having it. His plan? Kidnap Leia so she can’t get married to anyone else. That’s romantic, right?

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.

By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. View our Privacy Policy for more information.