A couple of quick updates involving the sons of Han Solo and Princess Leia.




It's not really a spoiler any more to say that in the Legacy of the Force novels, Jacen, the elder Solo boy, is being transformed into the next Dark Lord of the Sith, the heir to his grandfather, Darth Vader. A lot of readers will probably also know that Jacen's younger brother Anakin - named after that same grandfather - has been dead since Star by Star in 2001...

But both of them, in their different ways, are in the Star Wars news right now.

The people at LucasFilm and DelRey books are giving the fans a chance to choose Jacen Solo's new Sith name, through a contest called Darth Who? - and they have released a couple of rather funky official banners for this competition. You can see the first of them at the top of the page, while the second is right here:




Jacen's new name will be revealed in the upcoming novel Sacrifice by Karen Traviss, due to be released in the final week of May, to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars saga. Until then, though, you can head over to the relevant thread at TheForce.Net's message boards to discuss the latest news....

The upcoming jubilee in May isn't the only anniversary that fans might be mindful of right now, though. Star by Star, the novel in which Anakin Solo was killed, was released on 30th October 2001, five years ago at the end of this month.

Some fans have long memories, though, and, mindful of the contrast between Anakin's unfinished Hero's Journey and Jacen's descent into darkness, a group claiming to act for the "Corellian government" has decided to mark the anniversary at the end of this month by organizing a commemoration.

In contrast with the official Darth Who? contest for Jacen, this is an entirely unofficial fan project; and I should probably make clear that it's not being organized by TheForce.Net, either. But you heard it here first:

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Communique from the Corellian Government
Office of the Five Worlds Prime Minister

NEVER FORGET.

Five years ago this month, we saw the death of Anakin Solo.

Accordingly, the Corellian government has declared the upcoming anniversary to be a day of commemoration.

We in the Five Worlds administration believe that this day offers an opportunity to reflect on the cause in which young Jedi Solo's life was spent; to consider the subsequent course of Galactic events; and to question the accepted frame of interpretation through which these events are so often viewed.

But we also recognize that one man is always bigger than any constructs or interpretations that the world can try to impose on him. Accordingly, we invite all people to share their own points of view, to build towards a unity that is greater than the sum of our parts.

Further information on planned commemorative events will be released closer to the time. Interested parties should contact us through the local Corellian embassy: corellianembassy@wrighton.org

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We'll bring you more information on this as we get it, but for the time being, this story too can be discussed in this thread on the TF.N message boards.