Continuing where New hope has left, George Lucas pens the story of Luke, Leia and Solo’s adventure’s through galaxies, planets and space battles.
Despite the destruction of the Death Star, the rebel forces have suffered massive causalities and are forced in to hiding in an icy planet Hoth. Darth Vader, obsessed with the capture of Luke has sent in probes across the galaxy to find information. One of the probes reach Hoth and crashes as a meteor. Luke goes to find it and is captured by an evil predatory creature called a Wampa. Luke with the help of the force retrieves the light saber to slice the Wampa and escape. But he soon collapse out of cold and exhaustion. Hans Solo who rescues him and brings him to the base. Luke has visions of Obi-Van-Kenobi exhorting him to go to Dagohaath and train under the legendary Jedi master, Yoda.
The imperial probe sends in the position of Hoth as a rebel base and is destroyed by Darth Vader. But Rebel troops evacuate and Solo and Leia leave aboard Millennium Falcon. Darth Vader tries to capture them but they manage to slip away. Mean while Luke reaches Dagohaath and s under intensive training with Yoda. Darth Vader under takes Boba Fett a bounty hunter to capture Hans Solo. Hans and Leia reach Solo’s friend Lando Clarissian’s Cloud city for asylum. But Clarissium, threatened by Vader turns them in. Hans is frozen and is given to Boba Fett as a bounty to be presented to Jabba the Hutt. Leia and Hans fall in love with each other but are separated.

Luke under training gets premonitions of Hans and Leia and leaves to rescue them promising Yoda to return and complete his training. Meanwhile Lando Clarissium chastened by Vader’s betrayal returns to rescue Leia and Hans. But Boba Fett flies away with Hans to Jabba the Hutt. Luke who goes to fight Vader is attacked and cornered wherein Vader offers him great riches to join him. But Luke rebuffs Vader’s offer which angers him to slice away his hand. As an ultimate inducement he reveals to Luke that he is his father. A stunned Luke lets himself to be sucked in to the training chute and sends a telepathic message to Leia. Leia along with Lando rescue him and carry him aboard the rebel ship where he is fitted with a new hand. The film ends with Luke’s new hand and the staggering revelation about his father.
The second episode was one of the most eagerly awaited movies and not surprisingly the box office scorcher of that year. George Lucas and his team had delivered an iconic classic and again was followed by audience adulation and critical acclaim. It won Oscars for the best special effects and best back ground score. In addition it also won the Golden Globes, Grammy and BAFTA awards. The Saga continues with new viewers and even in the face of more technologically advanced films of the century Star Wars holds its on through sheer brilliance. The Force is still with the movie.

Alistair MacLean is a Scottish writer who specialized in writing thrillers and crime stories. He was third son of a Scottish minister and joined the Royal Navy during the world war two. He was a senior torpedo operator at the height of his career. He was in the thick of the war theater during the world war and saw action on many fronts especially the arctic north. After retiring he started penning his novels based on the war he saw and many of them became best sellers. MacLean never looked back as a writer until his death in 1987.
Another book about the battles in world war two from the MacLean Stable. Here the author takes the reader to Yugoslavia where the war rages on with its convoluted politics. On one hand the Germans and the Italians are fighting the war with the native Yugoslav’s called Partisans ably aided aadn supported by the communist led by general Tito. They are thwarted by one of their own I.e the Chetniks who side with the germans. The allies try to hitch their horse to the Partisans to defeat the Nazi’s.

The main lead is Pete Peterson, an Yugoslav royalist who is the typical macLean man with his dour and cynical ways receives coded orders from his German commanders to deliver it to the German resistance deep in Yugoslavia. Just as the Germans even the readers are confused about the name Pete Peterson for an Yugoslav. But MacLean has an humorist explanation for that. It seems that Pete is the son of an Englishman who never went back to england after coming to Yugoslavia. MacLean provided another funny anecdote about a village in Italy populated by Scots who had landed there decades ago for a battle. It seems those villagers had ruddy Scottish faces and a name starting with “Mac” .
Well the fun ends there for this novel. The plot meanders through the boring fist fights and Nazi vs Allies dialogues. Pete is accompanied by two operatives, gEorge the fat and Alex the dour. He gets two radio operatives, part of the Yugoslav Royalist gang, Sarina and Micheal, the pretty fraternal twins. And so they set pace to Yugolavia and meet many characters on the way, the drinking Giacomo, pretty Lorraine, Marija, Major Harrison and of course the villains.
No prizes for guessing that Pete is really a Partisan. But the loyalties of the other participants is always circumspect. They fight the Nazi’s and are captured many time. But each time they are released as a group in tact to reach the other side. Contrary to MacLean’s earlier books the fighting is pretty tame and easy passage for the heroes. In the end the villains are captured, the traitors are unmasked and the hero loves his pretty operative. As usual the women whine a lot and cry over his shoulder. One gets her husband and the pther falls for Pete. The villains are captured and delivered to the Britishers.
MacLean is said to have reached a low point in his career during the 80′s and many books witness his decline and this book is one of those. There is nothing much to offer the reader and I do not recommend it during a holiday. Just pick it up when you just need to fill your gaps in your day with some light reading.

Alistair MacLean is a Scottish writer who specialized in writing thrillers and crime stories. He was third son of a Scottish minister and joined the Royal Navy during the world war two. He was a senior torpedo operator at the height of his career. He was in the thick of the war theater during the world war and saw action on many fronts especially the arctic north. After retiring he started penning his novels based on the war he saw and many of them became best sellers. Maclean never looked back as a writer until his death in 1987.
River of Death is a thriller by Alistair Maclean which happens around the Amazonian jungle. Maclean has always placed his settings within the confines of the most inhospitable environments. Here the protagonists have to battle the jungle with insects, piranhas, crocodiles and hostile cannibal tribes. He says something for the preservation of the old civilizations and the environment itself.
The story opens with the fag end of world war two, where at the docks of Wihelmshaven, the SS soldiers are loading crates of gold and precious stones in the submarine. General Von Monteuffel and Colonel Spatz head overseeing the loading of the crates. Spatz leave to check on the operations along the border with the Russians and the general promises to wait for him. Spatz returns with Russians and allies hot on his heels and is betrayed by Von Monteuffel who leaves him stranded at the dock.

As the flash back settles in, the story moves in a different direction. John Hamilton, is the archaeologist who has discovered a lost city deep in the Amazonian Jungle. As soon as he has made the discovery public, Smith a German millionaire who has a mysterious shady connection makes him a proposal of funding the expedition to the lost city. Hamilton agrees and along with his trusted lieutenants, Ramon and Navarro, he sets off to the Jungle with Smith and his henchmen, Hiller and Tracy. In the group, Smith’s secretary Maria is also present.
As soon as they set in to the Jungle they get easily lost. They fight huge crocodiles and insects. Maria who seems to have developed a soft corner for Hamilton is saved from the anaconda who has almost devoured her. Ramon and Navarro seem the happy go lucky people who crack jokes and are never afraid of anything. The whole group run for their lives from the cannibalistic tribes.
They soon reach the destination and the action hots up. They discover a German settlement which is headed by General Von Monteuffel. Smith is revealed to be Spatz who was seeking them to avenge his betrayal. Maria turns out to be the secret agent from the Mossad. As the action hots up many are killed and Von Monteuffel is captured. Hamilton reveals to him that his actions were also to avenge the killing of his wife by the general. Soon huge treasure and the murderers are captured and brought before the world.
Maclean has given an innovative setting for a thriller but fails to keep the reader riveted in his seat. The Action sequences are too predictable and many work in favor of the hero. So there is no adrenaline rush or a special affection for the characters. But the tale is short and one can finish it in two hours. So if you are in a mood for some flippant reading, take it up.

New Hope is one of the first films to be released among the six movies depicting the star war saga. Directed and conceived by the legend George Lucas, the Star Wars movies are iconic and have influenced generations, becoming a cult classic. This sci-fi space fantasy film debuted in 1977 is one of the top grosser at the box office also pioneering the production of endless movie merchandises and successful sequels.
As the opening line goes “in a galaxy far far away” a young farm boy Luke Skywalker comes across two droids R2D2 and C3PO. While cleaning the druids Luke accidentally triggers the holographic message in R2D2 in which Princess Leia has hidden the plans for the death star. The Death Star is a battle station designed and constructed by the evil Sith Emperor Palpatine and manned by his trusted lieutenant Darth Vader. Leia asks the listener to find Obi-Van-Kenobi a Jedi Knight to help her.
R2D2 followed by Luke finds the old hermit Ben, who reveals himself as Obi-Van-Kenobi and asks Luke to utilize the force to train himself as a Jedi Knight. Jedi are skilled practitioners of the “Force” who fight the unjust to maintain the balance in the universe. Their order are highly trained knights who use the light sabers to protect the weak. Luke returns to find his uncle and aunt murdered and his planet Tatooine under siege by the imperial forces. He returns to Ben and they plan to escape with the droids to join the rebel forces headed by Princess Leia.

They hire the good hearted smuggler Hans Solo and his co-pilot Chewbecca to ferry them across Tatooine in the space Vehicle Millennium Falcon. Meanwhile Princess Leia is imprisoned in the death star and is tortured by commander Tarkin to reveal the rebel army base. He threatens to annihilate the planet Alderaan. Leia pretends to cooperate but Tarkin destroys the planet anyway. Meanwhile the Millennium Falcon is trapped by the tractor beam of the Death Star and is forcefully captured. Hans solo, Luke and Obi-Van-Kenobi are captured. They rescue Princess Leia and flee the death star to the rebel base while Ben Kenobi is killed by Darth Vader.
Luke and Leia organize a daring guerrilla attack to destroy the death star. As their fighters attack the star, Darth Vader himself comes in to defend it. Soon thrilling fighting is engaged and ultimately with the help of Hans Solo the death star is destroyed by Luke Sky-Walker. Both Solo and Skywalker are honored by Leia and an uneasy truce prevails in the universe.
What can you say about Star Wars? The box office success is unparalleled in history spawning video games, books, sequels and toys. Both adults and kids are ensnared by this complex saga of love, hate and deception. Awards it has many, notable being the 7 Oscars, Golden Globes, Grammy and the BAFTA nominations. Nothing compares to the iconic value of the film which can be best described as an experience on its own with special effects and great dialogue.
Star Wars is a must watch for any citizen of the earth and denizens of other planets. As you may watch this thrilling adventure “May the Force be with you”.