Time period: 7 years after Return of the Jedi

Note: I have been asked by several people why this book mentions the resurrection of the Emperor, when no such event took place in the novels prior to this one in the timeline. The answer is that other licensed properties exist (games, comics, etc.) and their events "count." In this case, the resurrection of the Emperor and Luke's journey to the Dark Side were shown in the Dark Horse Comics line of Star Wars comics. Specifically, the miniseries Dark Empire, Dark Empire II, and Empire's End. Look for paperback versions of the first two (at least) in your local comic store or bookseller. Click here to go directly to Dark Horse's Star Wars page for more details and cover scans.

Back cover text: As the war between the Republic and the scattered remnants of the Empire continues, two children -- the Jedi twins -- will come into their powers in a universe on the brink of turmoil and discovery, an extraordinary new Star Wars saga begins...

While Luke Skywalker takes the first step toward setting up an academy to train a new order of Jedi Knights, Han Solo and Chewbacca are taken prisoner on the planet Kessel and forced to work in the fathomless depths of a spice mine. But when Han and Chewie break away, they flee desperately to a secret imperial research laboratory surrounded by a cluster of black holes -- and go from one danger to a far greater one...

On Kessel, Luke picks up the trail of his two friends, only to come face-to-face with a weapon so awesome, it can wipe out an entire solar system. It is a death ship called the Sun Crusher, invented by a reclusive genius and piloted by none other than Han himself...