The Key (Star Wars zine)
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Key |
| Publisher: | |
| Editor: | |
| Author(s): | Janet D'Agostino-Toney |
| Cover Artist(s): | |
| Illustrator(s): | Victoria Laus |
| Date(s): | 1988 |
| Medium: | fanzine, print |
| Size: | |
| Genre: | |
| Fandom: | Star Wars |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Key is a Star Wars novel published in 1988 by Janet D'Agostino-Toney. It has a black and white cover and is 148 pages.
Publisher's blurb: "It's been almost twenty years since the end of the Rebellion -- how do you believe in yourself, or prove yourself -- when your parents are legends?"
From the Author's Afterward
When I first conceived this story, I had no plans to write a sequel – my intention was to turn loose on the galaxy another young Han Solo – cynical, self-centered, embittered. Anyone wanting a sequel could read any of the numerous pre A New Hope Solo stories – other authors have done a far better job with this than I ever could. David didn’t turn out quite like I intended, though – his own personality is too strong to fit into anyone else’s mold. I still don’t feel I could do justice to a sequel – I’m not good at writing action-adventure. (“At least not a making them interesting”) and I’m currently busy on a Fall of the Republic epic. Ann Berry is writing a sequel told from Hannah’s point of view and several other friends delight in verbally relating to me their versions of “what happens next.” I’d love to hear any other readers’ ideas. I’ve become too fond of young David to never meet him again.
Gallery
sample text, the first page
Reactions and Reviews
A whole novel, an absolutely must-read, featuring Han's kid in a very original post-ROTJ story. [2]
The Key is an intense and powerful Star Wars novel that focuses almost exclusively on the children of the movies' top characters. Although Han and Leia, with Luke off-stage, play a role in this story, the plot centers on David Organa and his cousins. Matt and Alzaa'da Sky walker. Luke has been outlawed years before, for trying to re-establish the Jedi, and Leia is now Premier. She and Han have brought up Luke's twins because Matt needed extensive surgery for injuries he received when his mother was killed. Han erroneously suspects that David is Luke's son, and thus David cannot win his father's approval, no matter how well he does at the Academy. Home on leave, he is captured along with the twins by Imperials, who plan to use Matt's abilities to re-build the Empire. General Tagge uses brutal methods, including rape, to subdue Matt's rebellious nature, while David is forced to drastic and humiliating actions to keep the twins alive.
This novel has scenes of sexual violence and brutality, although the detail is not very graphic. Everyone's favorite characters are not portrayed in attractive lights; Han realizes late that his jealousy has cost him his son and his best friend, while Leia is self-centered and distant. Yet David and Matt are very real characters, striving to survive in a violent world. The Key is a refreshing sign that Star Wars fiction can deal with adult issues. [3]
References
- ^ by Mary Urhausen, editor of The Wookiee Commode, quoted in Datazine #56
- ^ from a fan in Southern Enclave #24
- ^ from "A Consumer Guide to 1989 SW Zines, or The Year of the Disappearing Fanzine," in The Wookiee Commode #7