I first read this book sometime between 1981 and 1983. I remember borrowing it from the library in the summer. I remember sitting on the deck of the pool reading it. I remember liking it well enough that I borrowed Alan Dean Foster’s Nor Crystal Tears on the next trip. I do not remember the story. I remember the story to Nor Crystal Tears vividly, but not this one. So when I found the book again at Half Price Books I bought it with a certain trepidation. I mean, wouldn’t I remember it if it was good?

Well, it was good and I don’t know why it slipped through the cracks of my brain.

Splinter of the Mind’s Eye recounts the adventures of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia when they go on a diplomatic mission to Circarpous alone. There’s some engine trouble and they have to set down on the planet Mimban. Mimban is important enough to the Empire that they have a garrison there so our heroes have to sneak around a little to get the part they need to get off the planet and on with their mission. In the course of their sneaking around they discover the Kaiburr crystal which has the power to boost the user’s Force ability. Believe it or not, this was nearly part of the main story.

Overall, the adventure is just that. A simple, some what silly adventure. It’s better than half of the current crop or expanded universe material, but maybe not the best. However, there are 2 things that make this worth reading.

One, Foster’s bad guesses as to where the story was going. Now that we know Luke and Leia are siblings it’s a little weird to read about them wrestling in the mud. And now that we know the strength of the Force having Vader try to catch Luke’s thrown lightsaber by hand and miss is pretty funny. Then there’s the whole Kaiburr crystal story line which is especially funny if you’ve read the complete annotated screenplays.

Two, Princess Leia’s reasons for joining the Rebellion. Part of the point of Science Fiction is to hold up a mirror to society and point out the blemishes. Think of 1984, Brave New World, and Fahrenheit 451. Foster is that kind of sci fi guy. Nor Crystal Tears was really about prejudice, not aliens. The Star Wars Universe doesn’t give that much room to move, but Foster gets his bit in. Somewhere in the book Princess Leia launches into a speech about how she joined the Rebellion because of what the Empire was doing to the arts. I’m going to sidestep my soap box here, but when I got to this passage I had to set the book aside because I realized that most of my views on government involvement in / control of the arts was formed here. How I forgot that I’ll never know.

If you like the Star Wars stuff, give this one a chance. It’s old, it has a certain charm and it comes from somewhere. It has a point. There’s adventure for it’s own sake, but Houston, we have a moral.


Recommended: Yes