Editing Splinter of the Mind's Eye

{{Short description|1978 novel by Alan Dean Foster}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{redirect|Mimban|the planet Mimban as reimagined after [[Star_Wars_in_other_media#Disney acquisition and canon restructuring|Disney's acquisition of Lucasfilm]]|Solo: A Star Wars Story}}
{{Infobox book
|name         = Splinter of<br/>the Mind's Eye
|image        = Splinter of the Minds Eye.jpg
|caption      = First edition
|author       = [[Alan Dean Foster]]
|cover_artist = [[Ralph McQuarrie]]
|country      = United States
|language     = English
|series       = ''[[Star Wars]]''
|genre        = [[Science fiction]]
|publisher    = [[Del Rey Books]]
|release_date = [[Hardcover]]:<br>March 1978<ref>{{cite news |title='Star Wars' Author Alan Dean Foster on 'Splinter of the Mind's Eye,' the Sequel That Might Have Been |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/star-wars-splinter-of-the-minds-eye-alan-dean-113794483282.html |access-date=July 19, 2018 |work=Yahoo.com |publisher=Oath |date=March 16, 2015}}</ref><br>[[Paperback]]:<br>April 1, 1978
|media_type   = Print ([[Hardcover]] & [[Paperback]])
|pages        = [[Hardcover]]: 216<br>[[Paperback]]: 199
|isbn         = 0-345-27566-7
|preceded_by  = [[Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker|From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker]] (1976)
|followed_by  = [[The Empire Strikes Back (novel)|Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back]] (1980)
}}
'''''Splinter of the Mind's Eye''''' is a 1978 [[science fiction]] novel by American writer [[Alan Dean Foster]], a sequel to the film ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' (1977). Originally published in 1978 by [[Del Rey Books|Del Rey]], a division of [[Ballantine Books]], the book was written with the intention of being adapted as a low-budget sequel to ''Star Wars'' in case the original film was not successful enough to finance a high-budget sequel.

''Splinter of the Mind's Eye'' was the first ''[[Star Wars]]'' novel with an original storyline published after the release of the original film, and is thus considered, alongside the [[Star Wars (comic strip)|''Star Wars'' newspaper comic strip]] and [[Star Wars (1977 comic book)|Marvel's 1977 comic series]], to mark the beginning of the [[Star Wars Expanded Universe|''Star Wars'' Expanded Universe]].

The story focuses on [[Luke Skywalker]] and [[Princess Leia]], who are marooned together on the world of Mimban, where they encounter the locals and struggle against the forces of the evil [[Galactic Empire (Star Wars)|Galactic Empire]], including [[Darth Vader]].

== Background and publication ==
In 1976, [[Alan Dean Foster]] was contracted to [[ghostwriting|ghostwrite]] a [[Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker|novelization of ''Star Wars'']].<ref name="sfw">{{cite news |last=Wenz |first=John |title=The First Star Wars sequel: Inside the writing of Splinter of the Mind's Eye |url=http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/the-first-star-wars-sequel-inside-the-writing-of-splinter-of-the-minds-eye |access-date=July 19, 2018 |work=Syfy |publisher=SyFy Channel |date=January 1, 2018 |language=en}}</ref> Foster was given some drafts of the script, rough footage, and production paintings for use as source material in fleshing out the novel.<ref name=ds>{{cite news|last=Armitage|first=Hugh|title=Star Wars has a lost sequel you've never heard of|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/star-wars/feature/a805216/star-wars-sequel-splinter-of-the-minds-eye/|access-date=July 19, 2018|work=Digital Spy|date=August 21, 2016}}</ref> His contract also required a second novel, to be used as a basis for a low-budget sequel to ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' in case the film was not successful.<ref name="sfw" /> Though Foster was granted a great deal of leeway in developing the story, a key requirement was that many of the props from the previous production could be reused when shooting the new film. Foster's decision to place his story on a misty jungle planet was also intended to reduce set and background costs for a film adaptation. [[Han Solo]] and [[Chewbacca]] were left out, as [[Harrison Ford]] had not signed a contract to film any of the sequels at the time of the novel contract.<ref name="sfw" />{{efn|While not featured in the book, Han Solo is alluded to by Luke as "a pirate and a smuggler" he knows.}} Lucas's only request upon reviewing the manuscript was the removal of a space [[dogfight]] Luke and Leia undertake before crash-landing on the planet, which would have been effects heavy and expensive to film.<ref name="ds" />

An additional sequel novel was planned,{{sfn|Kaminski|2008|p=118}} but by the time ''Splinter of the Mind's Eye'' was published, ''Star Wars'' had broken box office records. The film adaptation of ''Splinter of the Mind's Eye'' was abandoned in favor of Lucas's vision of a big-budget sequel (''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'').<ref name="ds" /> Nevertheless, riding on the success of the film in its first year of release, the book became a bestseller.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hidalgo|first1=Pablo|title=Star Wars: The Essential Reader's Companion|last2=Trevas|first2=Chris|publisher=Del Rey|year=2012|isbn=978-0345511195|page=vii|author1-link=Pablo Hidalgo}}</ref> It was reprinted in 1994 as ''Classic Star Wars: Splinter of the Mind's Eye'' and retroactively placed two years after the original film, thus one year before ''The Empire Strikes Back''.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hidalgo|first1=Pablo|title=Star Wars: The Essential Reader's Companion|last2=Trevas|first2=Chris|publisher=Del Rey|year=2012|isbn=978-0345511195|pages=226–27|author1-link=Pablo Hidalgo}}</ref>

==Plot==
[[Luke Skywalker]] and [[Princess Leia]] are traveling with [[R2-D2]] and [[C-3PO]] to the planet Circarpous IV to persuade its inhabitants to join the [[Rebel Alliance]]. A strange energy storm forces them to crash land on the swampy Circarpous V, known to the locals as Mimban. They begin looking for a space port to get off the planet but instead find a town, near which agents of the [[Galactic Empire (Star Wars)|Empire]] have an energy mine—the cause of the crash. Forced to keep their identities secret, Luke and Leia take refuge in a nearby bar. An old woman named Halla approaches them, identifies Luke as strong with [[the Force]], and shows him a splinter of what she claims to be the Kaiburr crystal,{{efn|The Kaiburr concept originated in the early drafts of the original ''Star Wars'' film, where it featured as a [[MacGuffin]] the [[Jedi]] needed to retrieve from the [[Sith]]. It was also the antecedent of the [[kyber crystal]] which was canonized as the power crystal used in both [[lightsaber]]s and the [[Death Star]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Kaiburr crystal|url=http://www.starwars.com:80/databank/technology/kaiburrcrystal/index.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110913133807/http://www.starwars.com/databank/technology/kaiburrcrystal/index.html|archive-date=September 13, 2011|access-date=November 17, 2018|website=StarWars.com|df=mdy-all}}</ref>}} which focuses the Force. Halla strikes a deal with Luke and Leia to help her find the whole crystal, in return for which she will help them get off the planet. A squabble between Luke and Leia attracts the attention of miners emerging from the pub, who claim that fighting in public is against Imperial law; they all get into a brawl. [[Imperial stormtrooper]]s intervene and incarcerate Luke and Leia. They are questioned by Imperial Captain-Supervisor Grammel, who confiscates the crystal shard and Luke's weapons. Luke and Leia are placed in a maximum-security cell with two drunk but friendly [[Yuzzem]], hairy creatures called Hin and Kee. Grammel reports the incident and gives the crystal shard to the Imperial governor of the star system. Halla uses the Force to help Luke, Leia, and the two Yuzzem. The Yuzzem rampage through the jail while Luke and Leia escape.

The four meet Halla and the droids to find the Temple of Pomojema, which Halla believes is the location of the Kaiburr crystal. They travel through the swampy wilds of Mimban and encounter a [[wandrella]], a huge wormlike creature, which pursues them and separates Luke and Leia from the others. Luke and Leia hide in a well, down which the wandrella falls, leaving the two trapped. From the lip of the well, Halla suggests that there must be an escape route underground, at the end of which Halla and the others will rejoin them. Luke and Leia journey underground, floating across a lake on lily pads, and fend off sea creatures. On the other side of the lake, they encounter the secretive residents of the caves, the [[Coway]], who have captured Halla, the droids and the Yuzzem. To save his friends, Luke defeats the Coway's champion fighter, impressing the tribe. At a tribal banquet, Luke senses [[Darth Vader]], confirmed by Coway patrols: Imperials, led by Vader and Grammel, are approaching.

When the Imperials arrive, they are surprised by the Coway tribe's resistance in battle. Vader and Grammel retreat with the handful of surviving stormtroopers, though Vader loses patience with Grammel for the defeat and kills him. Luke and company steal a recently abandoned Imperial transport and travel to the temple, where they find the Kaiburr crystal. They encounter a monster and unsuccessfully try to fight it off with blasters. Luke cuts down one of the pillars holding up the temple, crushing the monster, but his leg is pinned under a boulder. Vader then enters the temple, announcing that he killed Hin and Kee. Leia takes up Luke's [[lightsaber]] and begins fighting Vader, who gives her multiple superficial burns with his own saber. Hin, mortally wounded, appears and lifts the rock off of Luke before perishing. Luke then duels Vader, deflecting some Force-based attacks and eventually slicing off Vader's arm. Despite this, Vader seems about to win, but then falls into a pit. Luke senses that this is not the end of Vader. He and Leia, healed by the crystal, drive off with Halla into the mists of Mimban.

== Comic book adaptation ==
The book was adapted as a [[graphic novel]] by [[Terry Austin (comics)|Terry Austin]] and [[Chris Sprouse]] and published by [[Dark Horse Comics]] in 1996; it incorporated characters from ''The Empire Strikes Back'' who did not appear in the original novel.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hidalgo|first1=Pablo|title=Star Wars: The Essential Reader's Companion|last2=Trevas|first2=Chris|publisher=Del Rey|year=2012|isbn=978-0345511195|page=228|author1-link=Pablo Hidalgo}}</ref>

== Legacy ==
''Splinter of the Mind's Eye'' was the first full-length ''Star Wars'' novel with an original storyline published after the release of the original film, and is thus considered, alongside the [[Star Wars (comic strip)|''Star Wars'' newspaper comic strip]] and [[Star Wars (1977 comic book)|Marvel's 1977 comic series]], to mark the beginning of the [[Star Wars expanded to other media|''Star Wars'' Expanded Universe]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hidalgo|first1=Pablo|title=Star Wars: The Essential Reader's Companion|last2=Trevas|first2=Chris|publisher=Del Rey|year=2012|isbn=978-0345511195|pages=264, 471|author1-link=Pablo Hidalgo}}</ref>

In 2008, the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' listed the novel as one of the most essential works of the Expanded Universe.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Day|first1=Patrick Kevin|last2=Boucher|first2=Geoff|others=Chris Pizzello, [[Associated Press]]|date=2008|title=''Star Wars''{{'}} expanded universe|page=9 of 10|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/la-starwars-expanded-2008-pg,0,6986243.photogallery?index=8|access-date=May 7, 2008}}</ref> Elements from the book, such as the planet Mimban, have appeared in various other Expanded Universe works.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Harrison|first=Mick|author-link=Randy Stradley|title=Star Wars Omnibus: Dark Times, Vol. 1|publisher=Marvel Comics|year=2015|location=New York|pages=227}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Wallace|first=Daniel|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/752590192|title=The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force|publisher=[[Chronicle Books]]|year=2017|isbn=978-1-4521-0227-6|location=San Francisco, CA|pages=134|oclc=752590192|orig-year=2010}}</ref> With [[The Walt Disney Company]]'s 2012 acquisition of [[Lucasfilm]], most of the licensed ''Star Wars'' novels and comics produced since the originating 1977 film were rebranded as ''Legends'' and declared non-canon in April 2014.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/lucasfilm-unveils-new-plans-star-698973 |last=McMilian |first=Graeme |title=Lucasfilm Unveils New Plans for ''Star Wars'' Expanded Universe |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=April 25, 2014 |access-date=May 26, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.starwars.com/news/the-legendary-star-wars-expanded-universe-turns-a-new-page |title=The Legendary ''Star Wars'' Expanded Universe Turns a New Page |website=StarWars.com |date=April 25, 2014 |access-date=May 26, 2016}}</ref>

Concept art for ''[[Rogue One]]'' (2016) used Mimban as a name for the city that eventually developed into [[Jedha]] (another source of [[Kyber crystal|kyber]]),<ref>{{cite book |last=Kushins |first=Josh |title=The Art of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story |date=2016 |publisher=Abrams |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4197-2225-7 |page=117}}</ref> and a planet called Mimban featured in 2018's ''[[Solo: A Star Wars Story]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mimban |url=https://www.starwars.com/databank/mimban |website=StarWars.com |access-date=August 23, 2019}}</ref> Additionally, [[Marvel Comics]]' ''The Rise of Kylo Ren'' features [[Ben Solo]] traveling to Mimban, where he learns of the Mindsplinter—possibly the Kaiburr crystal by another name.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bacon |first=Thomas |title=Star Wars Easter Egg Brings FIRST Novel Back Into Canon? |url=https://screenrant.com/star-wars-splinter-mind-canon-easter-egg/ |website=ScreenRant |access-date=March 16, 2020 |date=March 15, 2020}}</ref>

==See also==
*''[[Classic Star Wars]]'', a collection of early ''Star Wars'' spin-off comics
*''[[Star Wars: Heir to the Jedi]]'', a canon novel set between the same films
*''[[Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire]]'', a ''Star Wars'' story also set between films of the original trilogy

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book|last=Kaminski|first=Michael|title=The Secret History of Star Wars: The Art of Storytelling and the Making of a Modern Epic|publisher=Legacy Books Press| location=Kingston, Ont.|year=2008|orig-year=2007|isbn=978-0-9784652-3-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YkzKPAAACAAJ}}

==External links==
*{{Wookieepedia|Splinter of the Mind's Eye}}

{{Star Wars Legends novels}}
{{Star Wars comics}}
{{Star Wars Trilogy}}

[[Category:1978 American novels]]
[[Category:1978 science fiction novels]]
[[Category:Star Wars Legends novels]]
[[Category:Novels by Alan Dean Foster]]
[[Category:Del Rey books]]