Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back
May 1980
183ppg

Publisher: Del Rey
Author: Donald F. Glut
Cover Artist: Roger Kastel

Cover Price: $2.25
Media: Hardcover
ISBN: 0-345-23863-8 - 1st

NOTES
Science Fiction Book Club Edition. Partial ISBN number (3863) listed on the jacket. According to the defunct www.r2toyforce.net, the SFBC Item Number is 038638.

SYNOPSIS
Rejoin Luke, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2D2 and C3PO in the action-packed continuation of the Star Wars saga!

Commander Luke Skywalker reined his snow beast to a halt and scanned the bleak horizon. The planet Hoth was a frozen hell, but it was heaven to the Rebel Alliance...at least temporarily.

Luke pulled his cap down more snugly, fighting the urge to head back to base early. So far none of the patrols had detected native life forms or any sign of the Empire, and Luke didn't expect any trouble now. Yet the Rebels had to be absolutely certain they were alone on Hoth.

A fiery object suddenly streaked across the sky and crash-landed nearby, causing the Tauntaun to growl uneasily. Perhaps it was only a meteor, Luke told himself, well aware that it might be something far more unpleasant: an Imperial probe robot. The young commander reached for his communicator. "Echo Three to Echo Seven...do you read me?"

Han Solo's voice cut through crackling static. "Is that you, kid? What's up?" Solo was heading in, his own patrol finished.

"A meteorite just hit the ground near here and I want to check it out. I won't be long," Luke told his friend. But he was mistaken.

The Tauntaun's agitation had increased. Something other that the meteor was upsetting her, though Luke had no idea what it could be. He didn't see the savage, white-furred monster that rushed at him until it was too late to draw his blaster.

The Ice Creature struck him hard, an unconsciousness came quickly. So quickly, Luke never heard the Tauntaun's dying screams, or felt his own body dragged like a broken doll across the snow-covered plain.

A tall, black-clad figure stood in ominous silence on the Star Destroyer's bridge, watching the ship's viewscreens, and waiting.

"I think we've found something," an officer called out abruptly. "The report is only a fragment, from a probe droid in the Hoth System...."

A voice distorted by a breath mask interrupted. "You found something?" Darth vader asked.

"Yes sir." The man chose his words carefully. "We have visuals...."

But the Dark Lord was no longer listening. The viewscreens showed Rebel snowspeeders racing across Hoth's surface, as he clenched his fist in triumph. "That's it," he told his men. "And Skywalker is with them. Set your course for the Hoth System."

Instantly, the well-disciplined crew obeyed, eager to launch Vader's diabolical plan—and put an end to the Rebels once and for all!



Subsequent Printings
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (paperback)
May, 1980; ISBN: 0-345-28392-9 - 1st
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (paperback)
May, 1991; ISBN: 0-345-32022-0 - 15th
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (paperback)
June, 1992; ISBN: 0-345-32022-0 - 16th
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (paperback)
June, 1992; ISBN: 0-345-32022-0 - 16th
Classic Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (paperback)
October, 1994; ISBN: 0-345-32022-0 - 21st
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (hardcover)
September, 1995; ISBN: 0-345-40078-X - 1st
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (paperback)
January, 1997; ISBN: 0-345-32022-0 - 24th
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (paperback)
August, 1999; ISBN: 0-345-32022-0 - 32nd
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (paperback)
April, 2005; ISBN: 0-345-32022-0 - 34th