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The Courtship of Princess Leia

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55-553: The Courtship of Princess Leia is a 1994 science fiction novel by American writer Dave Wolverton , part of the Star Wars franchise. It continued the streak of New York Times Bestsellers, which started with 1991's Heir to the Empire . The Courtship of Princess Leia is set in the Star Wars expanded universe , and deals with the downfall of Warlord Zsinj and the circumstances leading to

110-467: A Galactic Empire traversed through hyperspace through the use of a "hyperatomic drive". In Foundation (1951), hyperspace is described as an "...unimaginable region that was neither space nor time, matter nor energy, something nor nothing, one could traverse the length of the Galaxy in the interval between two neighboring instants of time." E. C. Tubb has been credited with playing an important role in

165-458: A world map at one's current location, walking across the map to a different continent, and then stepping off the map to find oneself at the new location—noting that the hyperspace "map" could have a significantly more complicated shape, as in Bob Shaw 's Night Walk (1967). Hyperspace is generally seen as a fictional concept not compatible with present-day scientific theories, particularly

220-519: A Finger " from 1942). The concept of hyperspace travel, or space folding, can be used outside space travel as well, for example in Stephen King 's short story " Mrs. Todd's Shortcut " it is a means for an elderly lady to take a shortcut while travelling between two cities. In many stories, a starship cannot enter or leave hyperspace too close to a large concentration of mass, such as a planet or star ; this means that hyperspace can only be used after

275-455: A Rancor. Fett mentions wanting to ride the rancor, "Like the witches on Dathomir." Dave Wolverton John David Wolverton (May 28, 1957 – January 14, 2022), better known by his pen names Dave Wolverton and David Farland , was an American author, editor, and instructor of online writing workshops and groups. He wrote in several genres but was known best for his science fiction and fantasy works. Books in his Runelords series hit

330-470: A convenient background tool enabling FTL travel necessary for the plot, with a small minority making it a central element in their storytelling. While most often used in the context of interstellar travel, a minority of works focus on other plot points, such as the inhabitants of hyperspace, hyperspace as an energy source, or even hyperspace as the afterlife . The basic premise of hyperspace is that vast distances through space can be traversed quickly by taking

385-453: A deed to an entire habitable planet , Dathomir . Han thinks he has found a gift which would prove his worthiness to Leia and compare favorably with the gifts of Isolder (and provide a place to resettle the expatriates of Alderaan ). When Leia examines his gift and points out that he has been conned (since Dathomir was in the section of the galaxy controlled by Zsinj), Han is further devastated. Isolder compounds insult with injury by denigrating

440-549: A fall, resulting in a severe head injury and a hemorrhagic stroke . He was on life support until he died early the next morning at the age of 64 in St. George, Utah . He was buried in the Tonaquint Cemetery in St. George, Utah. At the time of his death he was known to be working on three books: A rewrite of 2011's Nightingale , a new Runelords installment titled A Tale of Tales , and

495-719: A farm in Monroe when he was six years old, where he grew up and graduated from Monroe High School . Following graduation, he served a volunteer mission in Illinois for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . Afterward, he attended Ricks College before transferring to Brigham Young University . He met his wife, Mary, there, and they married in the Provo Utah Temple on June 22, 1985. He and his wife had two daughters and three sons. He began writing in 1985 during college, publishing

550-459: A fourth book in his Ravenspell series titled S.W.A.R.M. The Runelords Serpent Catch Originally released as two books: Rereleased as four books under his Farland pseudonym: The Golden Queen Originally released as by Wolverton, later as by Farland: An omnibus was also released as by Farland. A related short story was also released: Ravenspell A middle-grade fantasy series. Star Wars L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of

605-417: A kind of shortcut. There are two common models used to explain this shortcut: folding and mapping. In the folding model, hyperspace is a place of higher dimension through which the shape of our three-dimensional space can be distorted to bring distant points close to each other; a common analogy popularized by Robert A. Heinlein 's Starman Jones (1953) is that of crumpling two-dimensional paper or cloth in

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660-451: A shorter (but still safe) path through hyperspace , shaving time off accepted conventional routes. There they both discovered that Zsinj had truly laid claim to Dathomir—in orbit around it was the Iron Fist , a number of other capital ships, and the complete orbital shipyard Han had hunted for so long. The Millennium Falcon had been forced to land on Dathomir itself, where it is captured by

715-457: A starship gets to the outside edge of a solar system , so that it must use other means of propulsion to get to and from planets. Other stories require a very large expenditure of energy in order to open a link (sometimes called a jump point ) between hyperspace and regular space; this effectively limits access to hyperspace to very large starships, or to large stationary jump gates that can open jump points for smaller vessels. Examples include

770-486: A window is opened into a new "hyperplane of hyperspace" containing those who have already died on Earth, and similarly, in Bob Shaw 's The Palace of Eternity (1969), hyperspace is a form of afterlife , where human minds and memories reside after death. In some works, hyperspace is a source of extremely dangerous energy, threatening to destroy the entire world if mishandled (for instance Eando Binder 's The Time Contractor from 1937 or Alfred Bester 's " The Push of

825-454: Is a concept relating to higher dimensions as well as parallel universes and a faster-than-light (FTL) method of interstellar travel . In its original meaning, the term hyperspace was simply a synonym for higher-dimensional space . This usage was most common in 19th-century textbooks and is still occasionally found in academic and popular science texts, for example, Hyperspace (1994). Its science fiction usage originated in

880-581: Is a cunning strategist whose skills have earned him the allegiance of almost a full third of the entire galaxy . Both the Imperial Remnant and the New Republic have dedicated considerable forces to end his reign. But Zsinj has possession of one of the few Super Star Destroyers left, and whenever nearly cornered, slips away to a secret stronghold where the SSD Iron Fist is repaired. At the opening of

935-461: Is described as a higher dimension through which the shape of our three-dimensional space can be distorted to bring distant points close to each other, similar to the concept of a wormhole ; or a shortcut-enabling parallel universe that can be travelled through. Usually it can be traversed – the process often known as "jumping" – through a gadget known as a "hyperdrive"; rubber science is sometimes used to explain it. Many works rely on hyperspace as

990-489: Is often called a "hyperdrive", and navigating hyperspace is typically referred to as "jumping" (as in "the ship will now jump through hyperspace"). A number of related terms (such as imaginary space, Jarnell intersplit, jumpspace, megaflow, N-Space, nulspace, slipstream, overspace, Q-space, subspace, and tau-space) have been used by various writers, although none have gained recognition to rival that of hyperspace. Some works use multiple synonyms; for example, in

1045-464: Is often left to the reader's imagination, or depicted as "a swirling gray mist". In some works, it is dark. Exceptions exist; for example, John Russel Fearn 's Waters of Eternity (1953) features hyperspace that allows observation of regular space from within. Many stories feature hyperspace as a dangerous, treacherous place where straying from a preset course can be disastrous. In Frederick Pohl 's The Mapmakers (1955), navigational errors and

1100-645: Is used for storage. In George R.R. Martin's FTA (1974) hyperspace travel takes longer than in regular space, and in John E. Stith 's Redshift Rendezvous (1990), the twist is that the relativistic effects within it appear at lower velocities. Hyperspace is generally unpopulated, save for the space-faring travellers. Early exceptions include Tubb's Dynasty of Doom (1953), Fearn's Waters of Eternity (1953) and Christopher Grimm 's Someone to Watch Over Me (1959), which feature denizens of hyperspace. In The Mystery of Element 117 (1949) by Milton Smith ,

1155-468: Is usually explained through the existence of magic . While mainly designed as means of fast space travel, occasionally, some writers have used the hyperspace concept in more imaginative ways, or as a central element of the story. In Arthur C. Clarke 's " Technical Error " (1950), a man is laterally reversed by a brief accidental encounter with "hyperspace". In Robert A. Heinlein's Glory Road (1963) and Robert Silverberg 's " Nightwings " (1968), it

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1210-691: The Millennium Falcon and offering Han a Nova battle cruiser if he abandons his quest to win Leia's heart. Han snaps. He abducts Leia using the Gun of Command, and flees with her and Chewbacca aboard his recently refitted Millennium Falcon to Dathomir. Prince Isolder pursues him with his Hapan fleet. He arrives at Dathomir shortly after Han despite Han's headstart, as Isolder is aided by the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker , who uses his Force powers to navigate

1265-609: The New York Times bestsellers list. In 1987, he won the Writers of the Future contest. He has been nominated for a Nebula Award and a Hugo Award . He died in the early morning hours of January 14, 2022. He lived in St. George, Utah , with his wife at the time of his death. Wolverton was born May 28, 1957, in Springfield, Oregon to Jack and Lola Jean Wolverton. His family moved to

1320-596: The Star Trek franchise, the term hyperspace itself is only used briefly in a single 1988 episode (" Coming of Age ") of Star Trek: The Next Generation , while a related set of terms – such as subspace, transwarp, and proto-warp – are employed much more often, and most of the travel takes place through the use of a warp drive . Hyperspace travel has also been discussed in the context of wormholes and teleportation , which some writers consider to be similar whereas others view them as separate concepts. Emerging in

1375-594: The Hapes cluster had sent a delegation of some manner to the New Republic. He lands and enters the Imperial Palace , where, with the help of C-3PO , who translates and comments on the formal diplomatic reception, he watches the Hapes delegation present to Leia a number of stunning gifts: the dozen Star Destroyers Han had seen, a Hapan gun of command , a small plant resembling a bonsai which promotes longevity and intelligence, and

1430-916: The International Book Award for best Young Adult Novel of the Year, the Grand Prize at the Hollywood Book Festival , and the Southern California Book Festival for Best Young Adult Novel. It was also a finalist in the Global Ebook Awards. He has been nominated for other awards, including the Nebula Award in the Best Novelette category for his short story "After a Lean Winter". In the summer of 1998, Dave Wolverton broke

1485-638: The Philip K. Dick Award for "Best Novel in the English Language". He became a judge for the Writers of the Future contest in 1991 and was the Coordinating Judge and Editor at the time of his death. After co-editing volume 8 with Algis Budrys in 1992, he took over editing of the annual anthology from volume 9 until volume 14 before passing the role back to Algis Budrys . Wolverton again took over editing

1540-402: The theory of relativity ). Some science fiction writers attempted quasi-scientific rubber science explanations of this concept. For others, however, it is just a convenient MacGuffin enabling faster-than-light travel necessary for their story without violating the prohibitions against FTL travel in ordinary space imposed by known laws of physics. The means of accessing hyperspace

1595-644: The "jump" technology in Babylon 5 and the star gate in Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Just like with the very concept of hyperspace, the reasons given for such restrictions are usually technobabble , but their existence can be an important plot device . Science fiction author Larry Niven published his opinions to that effect in N-Space . According to him, an unrestricted FTL technology would give no limits to what heroes and villains could do. Limiting

1650-546: The Future Wolverton edited the following anthologies: Wolverton has been nominated for and won multiple awards for his various works. Interviews Hyperspace (science fiction) Black holes in fiction • Portable hole • Teleportation in fiction • Wormholes in fiction • Stargate • Warp drive • Hyperspace • Time travel in fiction In science fiction , hyperspace (also known as nulspace , subspace , overspace , jumpspace and similar terms)

1705-571: The Imperial garrison Zsinj had marooned on the surface years ago. Isolder sets out in his Miy'til fighter accompanied by Luke's X-wing fighter while the Hapan fleet fights a covering action before it retreats into hyperspace to inform the New Republic, Imperial Remnant, and the Hapes Consortium of the whereabouts of Zsinj heretofore secret redoubt. On the surface, Isolder and Luke discover the remnants of

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1760-458: The anthology from K. D. Wentworth , beginning with volume 29 and continuing through volume 37. His historical novel, In the Company of Angels , won the 2009 Whitney Award for best novel of the year, and was a finalist in the best historical novel category. Wolverton also received an outstanding achievement award at the 2009 Whitneys. In 2012, his young adult fantasy thriller Nightingale won

1815-445: The book were disappointing, "the novel [raised] expectations for Wolverton's future works once he moves on to other things". Tor.com included the book in a list of "Where to Begin with Star Wars Books", as they saw it as "one of the craziest Star Wars novels ever written" and that "after you read it you won’t be able to think of any other way that Han and Leia’s relationship could have progressed towards marriage". The Chu'unthor

1870-547: The bridge, killing Zsinj, and knocking out the ventral shields. With Iron Fist so exposed, the Hapan Battle Dragons move into position with their ion cannons , disabling Iron Fist . Defeated, Zsinj's empire soon crumbles. Shortly thereafter, Solo and Leia marry, having realized during their intrepid journey together that they loved each other. Isolder is consoled by the fact he has fallen in love with his captor, Teneniel Djo. Reception for The Courtship of Princess Leia

1925-404: The development of hyperspace lore; writing a number of space operas in the early 1950s in which space travel occurs through that medium. He was also one of the first writers to treat hyperspace as a central part of the plot rather than a convenient background gadget that just enables the faster-than-light space travel. In 1963, Philip Harbottle called the concept of hyperspace "a fixture" of

1980-417: The early 20th century, within several decades hyperspace became a common element of interstellar space travel stories in science fiction. Kirk Meadowcroft 's "The Invisible Bubble" (1928) and John Campbell 's Islands of Space (1931) feature the earliest known references to hyperspace, with Campbell, whose story was published in the science fiction magazine Amazing Stories Quarterly , likely being

2035-678: The first writer to use this term in the context of space travel. According to the Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction , the earliest known use of the word "hyper-drive" comes from a preview of Murray Leinster 's story "The Manless Worlds" in Thrilling Wonder Stories 1946. Another early work featuring hyperspace was Nelson Bond 's The Scientific Pioneer Returns (1940). Isaac Asimov 's Foundation series , first published in Astounding starting in 1942, featured

2090-514: The gaming industry and greenlit screenplays in Hollywood. In 1998, Wolverton started working part-time at Saffire Studios, helping create video games. He was responsible for the concept of "lurkers" in the well-known RTS ( Real-time strategy ) game Starcraft: Brood War . In 2002, he began working as a movie producer and also greenlighted movies. He was working on a film adaptation of his Runelords series. On January 13, 2022, Wolverton suffered from

2145-415: The hand of the Hapes cluster's ruler Ta'a Chume's son, Prince Isolder , in holy matrimony. The effect is devastating; Leia nearly accepts, driving Han into a frenzy of fear and jealousy. Han eventually wanders into a cantina in the lower reaches of Coruscant, where he participates in a high-stakes sabacc game. One of his opponents runs out of liquid financial instruments and instead proffers real estate:

2200-479: The last name Wolverton had. Wolverton worked as an English professor of creative writing at Brigham Young University from 1999 to 2002, and held writing workshops for aspiring and established writers. The creative writing class he taught at BYU was taken over by one of his former students, Brandon Sanderson . He taught other writers such as Brandon Mull , Jessica Day George , Eric Flint , Stephenie Meyer , James Dashner , as well as others. He worked in

2255-483: The magazine Amazing Stories Quarterly in 1931 and within several decades it became one of the most popular tropes of science fiction, popularized by its use in the works of authors such as Isaac Asimov and E. C. Tubb , and media franchises such as Star Wars . One of the main reasons for the concept's popularity in science fiction is the impossibility of faster-than-light travel in ordinary space, which hyperspace allows writers to bypass. In most works, hyperspace

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2310-597: The marriage of Han Solo and Princess Leia , characters that originated in the 1977 film Star Wars: A New Hope . Though the Battle of Endor resulted in the destruction of the Emperor and Darth Vader , along with the best of the Imperial Starfleet , the remnants of the Empire are still a danger. One of the recently formed New Republic 's most dire foes is a splinter faction of the former Empire, led by Warlord Zsinj. Zsinj

2365-636: The novel, Han Solo , who from aboard the Mon Remonda has been prosecuting the search for this hidden fastness, wearily returns to the recently captured Coruscant expecting an end to the long separation between him and his beloved, Princess Leia, head of the New Republic. To his great surprise, when his vessel drops out of hyperspace and into the Coruscant system, what appears are a number of fearsome Imperial Star Destroyers , Hapan Battle Dragons , and Hapes Nova Class battle cruiser . Eventually, Han learns that

2420-910: The perils of hyperspace are one of the main plot-driving elements, and in K. Houston Brunner 's Fiery Pillar (1955), a ship re-emerges within Earth, causing a catastrophic explosion. In some works, travelling or navigating hyperspace requires not only specialized equipment, but physical or psychological modifications of passengers or at least navigators, as seen in Frank Herbert 's Dune (1965), Michael Moorcock 's The Sundered Worlds (1966), Vonda McIntyre 's Aztecs (1977), and David Brin 's The Warm Space (1985). While generally associated with science fiction, hyperspace-like concepts exist in some works of fantasy , particularly ones which involve movement between different worlds or dimensions. Such travel, usually done through portals rather than vehicles,

2475-458: The places a ship can appear in, or making them more predictable, means that they will meet each other most often around contested planets or space stations, allowing for narratively satisfying battles or other encounters. On the other hand, a less restricted hyperdrive may also allow for dramatic escapes as the pilot "jumps" to hyperspace in the midst of battle to avoid destruction. In 1999 science fiction author James P. Hogan wrote that hyperspace

2530-491: The planet. Eventually, they infiltrate the Imperial garrison and steal the Falcon , piloting it out into the ongoing Battle of Dathomir. Solo allows the Iron Fist to acquire the Falcon with a tractor beam ; once it is within the deflector shields , he breaks it free of the beam lock, piloting his vessel over the superstructure of the gigantic vessel. Arriving upon the main bridge, he launches two concussion missiles , destroying

2585-494: The science fiction genre, and in 1977 Brian Ash wrote in The Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction that it had become the most popular of all faster-than-light methods of travel. The concept would subsequently be further popularized through its use in the Star Wars franchise. In the 1974 film Dark Star , special effects designer Dan O'Bannon created a visual effect to depict going into hyperspace wherein

2640-432: The short story "The Sky Is an Open Highway" in the fall 1985 issue of The Leading Edge . Following that, he entered short stories into various contests, eventually winning first place in the 1987 Writers of the Future contest with the novella "On My Way to Paradise". The story was expanded into the novel of the same name, published in 1989 through Bantam Spectra . The novel was nominated for multiple awards, including

2695-560: The star-borne Jedi training academy, the Chu'unthor . Luke had seen recordings noting how Yoda and a number of other Jedi knights had failed to retrieve the library of the Chu'unthor , due to interference by the Witches of Dathomir. The best they had been able to do was seal the vessel thoroughly, so thoroughly that only centuries later the first intruder would need a lightsaber to gain access. As they peruse

2750-607: The stars in space appear to move rapidly toward the camera. This is considered to be the first depiction in cinema history of a ship making the jump into hyperspace. The same effect was later employed in Star Wars (1977) and the "star streaks" are considered one of the visual "staples" of the Star Wars franchise. Hyperspace is typically described as chaotic and confusing to human senses; often at least unpleasant – transitions to or from hyperspace can cause symptoms such as nausea , for example – and in some cases even hypnotic or dangerous to one's sanity. Visually, hyperspace

2805-551: The third dimension, thus bringing points on its surface into contact. In the mapping model, hyperspace is a parallel universe much smaller than ours (but not necessarily the same shape), which can be entered at a point corresponding to one location in ordinary space and exited at a different point corresponding to another location after travelling a much shorter distance than would be necessary in ordinary space. The Science in Science Fiction compares it to being able to step onto

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2860-690: The vessel, however, Isolder and Luke are captured by a Dathomiri witch, who enslaves them and takes them to her village. Having learned about Han Solo's presence on the planet, Zsinj had dictated a combination of ultimatum and deal with the head of the Nightsisters, Gethzerion : they would give him Solo to torture and execute as he liked, and he would give them an Imperial shuttle to pilot where they like. If they did not, he would keep his "nightcloak" (an interconnected network of geostationary satellites, which reflected all solar emissions back into space) intact, which would slowly freeze Dathomir, ending all life on

2915-536: The world record for the largest single author book signing which he achieved with A Very Strange Trip , a book he wrote based on a story by L. Ron Hubbard . He wrote under his own name at the beginning of his career, changing to the pseudonym David Farland in the mid-1990s with the release of the first Runelords book. Wolverton chose the pseudonym in order to have a name more fitting for a Fantasy author and so his physical books would be shelved closer to customers' eye levels in bookstores, rather than on lower shelves as

2970-578: Was mentioned in the 2010 reference book The Jedi Path , although in 2014, following the acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney , all spin-off works up to that point (excluding The Clone Wars ) were made non-canon. Dathomir became a major location in The Clone Wars, retroactively established as the homeworld of both Darth Maul and Asajj Ventress (replacing Rattatak). Dathomir, and the witches, were both referenced in The Book of Boba Fett when Fett receives

3025-581: Was predominantly positive and the book was a New York Times Bestseller in both its hardback and paperback formats. Both The Hamilton Spectator and the Milwaukee Sentinel have given positive reviews for the novel and the reviewer for the Milwaukee Sentinel commented that the book continued the "stellar tradition of George Lucas' Star Wars movies". Trade reviews were also mostly positive, and Publishers Weekly opined that although parts of

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