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In the Star Wars universe, there is no vessel more famous and revered than the Millennium Falcon. Yet how much do we really know about the circumstances that led to her pivotal role in the greatest conflict in the history of that long-ago, far-away galaxy? In Star Wars: Millennium Falcon, that story is finally told.

Han Solo and Princess Leia are grandparents now, enjoying their retirement with their granddaughter Allana. Precocious and full of curiosity, seven-year-old Allana is exploring her grandfather's cherished old ship one day when she discovers a strange object embedded in the bulkhead in the cockpit. She shows it to her grandparents, but neither Han nor Leia can guess at its origin or its purpose. The encounter leads to Allana asking questions about the history of the Millennium Falcon: how did Han acquire it and who owned it before he did? Han relates the story of how he won it from Lando Calrissian in a card game, but realizes that he knows almost nothing about the ship's pedigree. Indulging their granddaughter and following the urge to satisfy their own curiosity, Han and Leia agree to embark on a family quest to trace the history of the Millennium Falcon to its roots.

The story of the Solo family's mechano-genealogical adventure intertwines, in alternating chapters, with the history of one Tobb Jadak, who piloted the legendary ship nearly 60 years before Han Solo took her helm. At first, it seems that the Jadak narrative serves only to illuminate the early history of the vessel and illustrate the origins of some of the idiosyncrasies that endear her to the Solos and to Star Wars fans. Before long, however, the listener learns that Jadak is more than just a footnote from the Falcon's distant past. Following what should have been a fatal crash, he awakens in a medical facility to discover that the latest technology has been employed to keep him alive -- and youthful -- for 62 years. But why? And what about those flashes of memory that are all Jadak has left from the time leading up to the crash? What was the fate of that remarkable ship that he knew as the Stellar Envoy? And why does it seem so vitally important that he track it down?

As Jadak works his way forward in search of his lost ship, and the Solo family work their way backward, tracing the ship's trajectory, the listener can begin to link the common threads and prepare for the inevitable convergence of the two narratives. It turns out that the Millennium Falcon has had quite a colorful history, in the service of enterprises both noble and very much the opposite. The two parties pursuing her story hop from planet to planet, criss-crossing the galaxy and meeting characters representing the entire spectrum of species and alliances in the Star Wars universe.

A fun trip through Star Wars time and space for the devotee and the dabbler alike, Star Wars: Millennium Falcon references and draws on recent events in the Star Wars timeline, but it is possible to follow and enjoy the story perfectly well without having read any of the books detailing those events. A basic knowledge of the original movie trilogy will suffice.

Star Wars: Millennium Falcon is nimbly voiced by Marc Thompson, whose bio indicates that he is a veteran of numerous television cartoons. This experience serves him well here, as he is called upon to voice a wide array of beings from all over the galaxy. In addition to employing a dazzling range of vocalizations and characterizations that bring the sprawling cast of major and minor characters to life, Thompson even does an uncanny rendition of Harrison Ford in the voice of Han Solo. Sound effects and the familiar strains of Star Wars theme music complete the atmosphere.

Sarah Trowbridge reads (and listens) compulsively, chronically, and eclectically. She is a public librarian in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia.