[[quoteright:199:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/starwarsshadowsofmindor-001_1707.png]]

->''"None of the stories people tell about me can change who I really am."''
-->-- '''Luke Skywalker'''

''[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Luke_Skywalker_and_the_Shadows_of_Mindor Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor]]'' is a 2008 ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' novel by Creator/MattStover.

It's been six months since ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', and the Rebel Alliance has become the New Republic while the Empire is in the early stages of splitting into rival factions. Luke Skywalker is now General of the Rapid Response Task Force, a small fleet that the Republic sends as needed to patch up the front and execute special missions. Their current assignment: to track the forces of a theatrical and megalomaniacal Imperial warlord with the unlikely name of [[MeaningfulName Lord Shadowspawn]] to his home base and bring him to justice. This base turns out to be on Mindor, a former vacation world devastated by repeated meteorite impacts.

When Luke tracks Shadowspawn's forces there, he gets drawn into a trap, as do Han, Leia, and Rogue Squadron who come after him, and Lando Calrissian and the gang of [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Mandalorian]] mercenaries who come after ''them''. It turns out that a dark presence has been waiting on Mindor to make its move with a scheme that threatens not only Luke's life, but his very soul...

Has much in common with two of Stover's previous works in this setting, with multiple characters from ''Literature/{{Shatterpoint}}'' appearing and various themes from it and the ''Literature/RevengeOfTheSith'' {{novelization}} recurring.
----
!!This work provides examples of:

* AbandonShip: When it's clear that the ''Justice'' is doomed, Luke orders everyone to evacuate -- except that so many {{Escape Pod}}s have been destroyed that it's no longer an option.
* ActionGirl: Leia (of course); Aeona Cantor
* AdaptationDecay: Luke frequently bemoans the fact that he is the subject of numerous over-the-top adventure holodramas in-universe that bear little to no resemblance to his actual life. [[spoiler: One of these, Luke Skywalker and the Jedi's Revenge, turns out to be not so harmless. Ironically, the FramingStory produces ''yet another'' in-universe example of this, due to the UnreliableNarrator. Who Luke hired to do exactly the opposite, but who found it more profitable to give Luke his money back and instead sell an over-the-top version to the holodrama producers.]]
* AndIMustScream: How Cronal prepares Luke to be broken so he can [[GrandTheftMe take over]]; make him live through an eternity of The Dark, the time after [[TheStarsAreGoingOut all the stars go out]], until he gives up. Luke escapes, and [[spoiler:Cronal tries it on Leia, but makes a more personal effort.]]
--> [[spoiler:He had taken away her sight, cut away her hearing, erased her senses of smell and taste and touch. He had stripped her kinesthetic sense, so that she was no longer aware of her own body at all. He had shut down the activity of certain neurotransmitters in her brain, so that she could no longer even remember how being alive had felt.\\
She wasn't fighting him. She didn't know how. He wouldn't let her remember what fighting was.\\
[[HeroicResolve She just wouldn't give up]].]]
* TheAntiNihilist: Luke has an existential crisis after being tormented with a vision of the darkness after the heat death of the universe. However, he ulimately manages to pull through it and rejects Cronal's nihilistic philosophy by acknowledging that even though nothing lasts forever, life is not meaningless and there are still things worth fighting for.
* ArcWelding: Agent Blackhole, Lord Shadowspawn, and [[spoiler:Cronal]] were all originally separate Imperial villains--Blackhole is the main villain of one of the newspaper strip storylines, Shadowspawn (and the entire Battle of Mindor) was mentioned offhand in ''The Essential Chronology'', and [[spoiler:Cronal]] was mentioned in an adventure outline in the West End Games RPG. The novel consolidates all three into a single villain, and ties him into the Prophets of the Dark Side from ''Literature/TheGloveOfDarthVader'' as well.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Shadowspawn's Sunset Crown and [[spoiler:Cronal's Shadow Crown]].
* AsteroidThicket: Mindor is surrounded by one, and it's justified for once. The Empire was developing yet another of its myriad superweapons on the next planet out, which for once came to an end besides the Rebels blowing it up--it malfunctioned to the tune of an EarthShatteringKaboom. Some of the debris which fell sunward was caught in Mindor's orbit, resulting in a thicket that should last a century or two.
* BecomingTheMask: After his [[AndIMustScream exposure to the Dark]], Luke becomes incredibly jaded and nihilistic. But he's still ''Luke'', and he can't and won't stop trying to save everyone. He consciously decides to act exactly like he would have before seeing the Dark and the "true" nature of the Force, in the hopes that if he does it for long enough, it won't be an act anymore.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: After Luke lets himself get captured, he asks too many questions and a stormtrooper clubs him with a blaster rifle, telling him to be quiet. Luke says "Please don't hit me" and is smacked again while the stormtrooper says "Didn't you ''hear'' me?" Luke says he did, but didn't see any particular reason to obey. The stormtrooper tries to hit him a third time, and Luke catches the blaster rifle and shatters it. Another stormtrooper tries to shoot him; Luke catches the blaster bolts.
--> "Please don't shoot me, either." He turned the palm upward in a friendly shrug and let the astonished troopers stare at the only effect of the Force-blunted blasterfire: a faint curl of steam that trailed upward from his unmarked palm. "Let's try to end the day with nobody else dying, shall we?"
* BigDamnHeroes[=/=]TheCavalry: We actually get ''nested'' [=BDHs=], when a few of the people who rescue other heroes get caught in traps themselves.
* BitingTheHandHumor: When we first see Han and Leia, they're in the middle of negotiations with Mandalorians, whom Han snarkily thinks of as thinking they're better than everyone else, ever. The book is dedicated, in part, to Mando fangirl Karen Traviss.
* BodyHorror: Cronal does ''nasty'' things with meltmassif. ''ROCKS DO NOT BELONG THERE!''
** Luke does some pretty horrifying things with the meltmassif Cronal stuck into his nerves, too. "Black crystalline hairs" "writhing and twisting and growing like it was ''alive''", anyone?
* CallBack:
** The {{novelization}} of ''Literature/RevengeOfTheSith'', also written by Creator/MattStover, has the recurring line ''All things die, Anakin Skywalker. Even stars burn out.'' as a fearful, intrusive thought Anakin keeps having. After Luke escapes the mother of all {{And I Must Scream}}s -- a vision of spending aeons alone after the heat death of the universe -- he is shaken, nihilistic, believing that everything is futile because everyone's going to die. ''All things die. Even stars burn out.'' But where Anakin was driven to do worse and worse things, frantically denying that this would happen to Padmé, Luke works around it, tries [[BecomingTheMask to act like he used to before]], and eventually is shaken out of it when he realizes that the darkness is not as all-encompassing as he'd seen.
** Geptun, [[spoiler:Nick Rostu, and Kar Vastor]] were all used in Stover's earlier ''Legends'' novel ''Literature/{{Shatterpoint}}''.
* CallForward:
** On the very last page of the book, Luke asserts that he [[spoiler:doesn't like abrasive redheads. He eventually marries the very abrasive, very redheaded Mara Jade.]]
** A subtle one to Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy, where Lando notes the idea of using shields to protect craft from solar radiation.
* CardCarryingVillain: Shadowspawn is so openly, unashamedly evil that he seems almost like a caricature of a melodramatic movie villain. [[spoiler:As it turns out, that's ''exactly'' what he is, as Cronal based his performance as Shadowspawn on trashy holothrillers]].
* {{Catchphrase}}: Luke has "That's not my best trick". At the end of the book, after using it, he finally explains what his best trick is. [[spoiler: It's to do one thing, one small move, even just a ''choice'', and kill thousands of people. It's not something he feels any vestige of pride about.]]
* CharacterNameAndTheNounPhrase
* {{Chessmaster}}: [[spoiler: Cronal.]]
* TheChewToy: Hobbie only has one chapter, but it's enough. Sure, he got his hand shot off, [[MajorInjuryUnderreaction but that's okay.]] [[ArtificialLimbs It happens regularly.]]
* CombatPragmatist: A Stover staple. For example, Han uses repulsorlifts to weaponize asteroids so well that his opponents think they're fighting some sort of Jedi.
* ContinuityNod: In the Literature/HandOfThrawn Duology, there was a ship called ''Spirit of Mindor''; the name Mindor had been mentioned since as a minor detail in several parts of the EU, and this book was the first to really take note of the world.
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler:Once Luke severs his connection to the [[ArtifactOfDoom Shadow Crown]], Cronal loses control of the liquid metal meltmassif. Which then [[BodyHorror leaks out of every orifice in his body]], turning first Cronal and then his entire ship into stone...in hyperspace, causing Cronal to be exposed to raw hyperspace and finally ''[[DeaderThanDead ripped apart on the atomic level]].'' Oh, and he's [[AndIMustScream conscious]] during all of this.]]
* DeadlyEuphemism: When Luke (who's currently being known as Emperor Skywalker) tells Group Captain Klick and his men to take care of several prisoners, Klick assumes that he means "kill them" (which is what [[Film/RevengeOfTheSith Palpatine meant when he sent Vader to "take care of" the Seperatists]]). Luke quickly has to explain that he's being literal--he wants Klick to give them food and water and tend to their injuries.
* DeathWorld: Mindor has been rendered completely uninhabitable after the Empire's failed superweapon test destabilized the entire system's gravitational field: most of the planet's surface is a barren, volcanic wasteland battered by constant meteorite impacts, what remains of its oceans are little more than toxic swamps, and the atmosphere is so full of dust and vaporized metal that merely being out in the open for a few minutes can cause permanent lung damage.
* {{Determinator}}: Luke Skywalker, as per usual. It may be that all things die. It may be that everything is futile and the Dark is all there is. But in the meantime, there are people who need him, and so he '''will not''' give up until they're safe, no matter how afraid he is.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: When Klick sees Luke for the first time he throws himself to his knees and gasps, "Forgive me, lord, I did not know you!" Clearly this is "I did not know it was you", but there's a decidedly religious tone to the phrasing that was used.
* TheDragon: [[spoiler: Kar Vastor]] serves as Cronal's unwilling henchman and, apart from Cronal himself, is the greatest threat Luke faces over the course of the story.
* DragonsVersusKnights: One holothriller has Luke fighting a fire-breathing krayt dragon while riding a bantha. He protests that krayt dragons don't breathe fire.
* DramaticIrony:
** In the opening scene, Hobbie daydreams about the beautiful actress Wynssa Starflare. Wedge probably wouldn't be pleased, seeing as unknown to Hobbie, that's actually his sister.
** Luke announces that {{fiery redhead}}s aren't his type. As the audience knows, his future wife and son are ''very'' {{fiery redhead}}s.
* DueToTheDead: When Admiral Kalback is killed in the destruction of the ''Justice'', Luke makes sure to pay his last respects.
--> Luke lowered his head, laid one gentle hand on the intact side of Kalback's face, and commended his departed spirit to the Force.
* EarthShatteringKaboom: A planet destroyed during Imperial weapons testing ends up as a astroid field in the Mindor system.
* EldritchLocation: The mental realm in which [[spoiler:Leia is a supermassive star tide-locked in Cronal's black hole, so Luke [[MindRape forces Cronal to]] [[IncrediblyLamePun see the light]].]] It's mentioned that it's not at all like what Luke sees it all--he changes his perceptions so that it can make more sense.
* EvilOverlord: It is noted by several characters that Shadowspawn's elaborate outfit, bombastic personality, and volcanic lair make him look like a villain straight out of a cheesy holothriller. [[spoiler:As it turns out, this is exactly what Cronal intended]].
* {{Fanboy}}: Aeona to Luke, just a bit. This wears off when she actually meets him; he is very calmly upset that she stole the ''Falcon'' from Han and Leia.
* FightingAShadow: The "Shadowspawn" initially set up to be the BigBad is [[spoiler: in fact a captured member of LaResistance who has been put under MindControl by the real one's [[ArtifactOfDoom Shadow Crown]], effectively turning him into a body double.]]
* FieldPromotion: Clone Wars veteran Klick is appointed commander-in-chief of the Imperials forces by Luke (after the latter reluctantly accepts that Klick believes him to be the Emperor's legitimate successor) to lead the evacuation of Mindor.
* FieryRedhead: Aeona has fiery red hair and is very impulsive. In an amusing CallForward to his later relationship with the similarly red-headed Mara Jade, Luke insists that she's not his type.
* {{Foil}}: There are frequent, mostly understated call backs to Stover's novelization of ''Revenge of the Sith'' that create a very dramatic contrast between Luke and his father. Early in his book Anakin told himself that he was TheHero and would save people, that's what he was ''for''. Luke doesn't think that at all, but he just ''is'' what Anakin wished he could be. The intrusive thought about stars going out, a metaphor for the inevitability of death, hurts Luke but doesn't consume him as it did Anakin. A sleep-deprived Anakin becomes increasingly paranoid and resents even his friends on some level. Battered and in terrible condition, Luke doesn't struggle with anger but with ''despair'' and never loses his ability to reach out to people. However, they do both make a lot of sarcastic comments.
* FramingDevice: Near the end, it's implied that the book we're reading is Geptun's report for Luke, until Luke expresses dissatisfaction with it, citing several elements that didn't appear in the book. ("I don't even know what a 'vibroshield' ''is''!") Then Geptun reveals that [[spoiler:he spiced it up to sell the holothriller rights]]; Luke counters by requesting a more accurate rewrite, which may or may not be what we read.
* DiscOneFinalBoss: [[spoiler: Shadowspawn, or at least the physical Shadowspawn "played" by Nick Rostu.]]
* ForegoneConclusion: Because other EU materials had already summarized the events of the novel, it was well-known going in what was going to happen--Luke would defeat Shadowspawn, but become saddened and disgusted by the rampant loss of life and resign from the military to devote himself fully to being a Jedi. [[spoiler: Cronal's survival was established beforehand as well]].
* GambitRoulette: [[spoiler: Blackhole]] has a ''very'' elaborate one built up around Luke--basically, he's lured Luke to Mindor, [[spoiler: and created the over-the-top Shadowspawn as a fitting nemesis for him to kill, with the idea that he will do so, but be captured by Blackhole's men. Blackhole will then transfer his consciousness into Luke's body and return to the Rebellion as its greatest hero, from where he will be in a position to seize control of the galaxy with no one the wiser]]. And of all things, the only reason it failed was because [[spoiler:Blackhole couldn't resist giving his most visible pawn a PunnyName]].
* GenderBender: [[spoiler: After failing to pull a GrandTheftMe on Luke, Blackhole attempts to take over Leia's body instead. Despite being definitely male Blackhole doesn't seem to have any issues becoming a "young and lovely girl" and even regards her as better potential 'host' than Luke.]]
* GenreThrowback: The book is, in many ways, a throwback to the earlier (or at least pre-Literature/NewJediOrder) EU stories such as the ''ComicBook/StarWarsMarvel1977'' comics and ''Literature/TheHanSoloTrilogy''.
* GoodNewsBadNews: Han Solo, arriving into the situation at Mindor and being filled in, reflects that it's like an extended good-news-bad-news joke. Bad: gravity-well projectors keep them from escaping. Good: too many for the enemy to protect them all. Bad: Because there are thousands. Good: They're little things on asteroids and can't stay powered for more than four days. Bad: the asteroids have destablized orbits and will start falling into the sun in two days. Good: Most of them are on little dinky asteroids which will just burn up. Bad: Some of them are on massive ones which will trigger solar flares which will kill pretty much everything in the system. Worse: Each projector destroyed hastens the process.
--> And to counter that bad news, there was no good news. None at all. Everyone was going to die.
* GrandTheftMe: What Blackhole planned to do to [[spoiler: Luke and later, Leia,]]
* HasAType: Luke has one and it [[DramaticIrony certainly isn't redheads.]]
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: To the point that Luke tries to get himself indicted for ''war crimes''. It doesn't quite go as he wanted.
* HopeSpot: Just when it seems as if everything is gonna end with our heroes dying, Luke Skywalker manages to get all Imperial forces to stand down and help the New Republic, evacuating civilians and wounded and what-not. Then Cronal [[spoiler: pulls a truly terrifying trick out of his sleeve and everything goes straight to hell.]]
* IControlMyMinionsThrough: Fanatical loyalty, in [[spoiler:Cronal]]'s case -- as the self-proclaimed (temporary) successor to Palpatine, he takes advantage of the loyalty that the Stormtroopers already have. [[spoiler:When that starts to break down, he switched to meltmassif-based mind control.]]
* IHaveManyNames: Lord Shadowspawn turns out to be [[spoiler:an artificial persona crafted by Cronal, who is also referred to as Blackhole, his code name from his time as Director of Imperial Intelligence]].
* InTheBlood: In ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', Anakin lands half of a huge, damaged ship which was never designed to land on a planet. Stover's [[Literature/RevengeOfTheSith novelization]] says that this was Anakin's masterpiece; it required all of his piloting skill and a deep, fluid connection to the Force. Luke replicates this feat with a chunk of a different ship early in this book. He does it again [[OffscreenMomentOfAwesome off-panel]] in ComicBook/DarkEmpire, with a Star Destroyer.
* KneelBeforeFrodo: Group Captain Klick and his men kneel before Luke--or, as they know him, Emperor Skywalker.
* KneelBeforeZod: Lord Shadowspawn demands that Luke tremble before him. Luke is ''not'' impressed.
* LargeHam: Shadowspawn is such a theatrical villain that, despite the threat he poses, the heroes have trouble taking him seriously. [[spoiler:Just as Cronal intended]].
* TheManBehindTheCurtain: [[spoiler:Shadowspawn is ultimately revealed to be a deliberately over-the-top villain persona created to hide the identity of the true mastermind behind the plot -- the elderly, decrepit Cronal]].
* ManBitesMan: Luke is bitten in the ''throat'', with "needle teeth", by [[spoiler:Kar Vastpr]]. However, this is one of the rare cases where the biter comes away vastly more horrified than the unruffled person who was bitten.
* MeaningfulName: Shadowspawn--[[spoiler:literally "Shadow's ''pawn''."]]
* MindRape: [[spoiler:Cronal]] tries to break Luke's spirit in order to take over his body by exposing him to "the Dark" -- a vision of the nothing after the end of the universe in which seconds feel like an eternity. Luke manages to escape, but is quite shaken by the experience and goes through a crisis of faith as a result. [[spoiler:Later on, Cronal tries to do the same to Leia, who manages to resist him through ThePowerOfLove]].
* MythologyGag: Far too many to list.
* NarrativeProfanityFilter: All the time with Rogue Squadron. Do they kiss their mothers with those mouths?
* NietzscheWannabe: [[spoiler:Cronal]] was raised by a cult called the Sorcerers of Rhand to believe in "the Way of the Dark", an extremely nihilistic philosophy based on the belief that since nothing in existence lasts forever, the only way to leave a permanent mark on the universe is to destroy things. He even looks down on ''Palpatine'' for wasting so much time and effort to build and maintain an Empire that was always doomed to crumble in the long run when he simply should have used his power to wreak as much havoc as possible.
* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: Said by Tirossk after the ''Justice'' [[ComingInHot crash-lands]] with Luke onboard, and everyone assumes that he's dead. They clearly underestimated him.
* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler: The end of the novel suggests that Cronal's mind survived his body's destruction. This is a bit of a ForegoneConclusion, as his survival was already confirmed in EU material published years before this novel.]]
* OhCrapThereAreFanficsOfUs: Luke's initial reaction to ''Luke Skywalker and the Jedi's Revenge''. [[ChekhovsGun It's a lot less benign than one fanboy's "extension" of Luke's adventures, though.]]
** Thankfully, there are no [[{{Twincest}} lemons of Luke and Leia]], [[{{Slashfic}} of Luke and Han]], or [[{{OT3}} of all three]]. Thank the Force for small miracles.
** To give you an idea, ''Luke Skywalker and the Jedi's Revenge'' is about a ''Franchise/StarWars'' where [[DracoInLeatherPants Palpatine is actually good but Vader steers him wrong]], Anakin and Vader really ''are'' separate people, Anakin as Palpatine's loyal knight and Vader as his [[SixthRangerTraitor traitorous knight]]. Vader [[EvilPlan convinced the Jedi Council to assassinate Palpatine, and then executed Order 66 himself]]. Anakin rescued Palpatine, and then [[HeroicSacrifice died trying to save the Jedi younglings]]. Anakin did, however, have a son that even ''he'' didn't know of: Luke Skywalker. Darth Vader tried to convince Luke Skywalker [[WeCanRuleTogether to join him in overthrowing Palpatine]], but Luke refused. Palpatine was convinced by this that the son of his most loyal general would be the ideal Emperor, further confirmed when Luke went out of his way to rescue Han Solo, and when Vader captured Luke, Palpatine offered him the chance to be the new Emperor. Before Luke could [[JumpedAtTheCall agree to be Emperor]], Vader attacked Palpatine, but Luke [[HeroicBSOD was still trying to process all that had transpired]]. With Palpatine dead, Luke eventually snapped out of it to kill Vader. But, since he couldn't save his benefactor, he felt himself only worthy of living among Rebels and pirates.
* OldSoldier: Group Captain Klick has been around since the Battle of Geonosis, and is damn well proud of it. He's not too fond of non-clone troopers, either...
* PeoplePuppets: The Pawns. Also, [[spoiler: the stormtroopers after the HopeSpot is revealed for what it is.]]
* PosthumousCharacter: Yoda. Although he doesn't show up in person, his teachings are in large part responsible for helping Luke through his battles, internal and external.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: As usual for the franchise, the Mandalorians are depicted as some of the galaxy's most capable fighters and like to boast about their martial prowess. Han finds their CulturalPosturing annoying, but even he admits that their confidence in their abilities is well-founded.
* PunnyName: "Lord Shadowspawn" ''can'' mean ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin, but it can also be read as [[spoiler: "Lord Shadow's Pawn"--which is what he really is]]. This actually becomes a plot point; [[spoiler:if Luke hadn't figured out the pun in the middle of his duel with "Shadowspawn", Cronal probably would've achieved his goal]].
* ReligionOfEvil: The Way of the Dark in a nutshell.
* RepeatingSoTheAudienceCanHear: Averted. Whenever Han repeats what Chewie says, he's doing it for the benefit of other characters. Otherwise, his responses are normal.
* RuleSixtyThree: Cronal eventually attempts to take over Leia's body. [[ForegoneConclusion Failure ensues]].
* RunningGag: The ''Millennium Falcon'''s sensor dish gets knocked off--[[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi again]]--and this time because of Luke's piloting. Given that Lando can [[OnceDoneNeverForgotten never live it down]], Luke doesn't expect to either.
* SelfDeprecation: Stover pretty much describes the entire EU as tripe. Or at least fanfic as tripe. Or AlternateUniverseFic as tripe. Or maybe all of them.
** And then Subv--Decon--[[ZigZaggingTrope Zig Zagged]] when [[spoiler:the "Sith alchemy" Luke scoffs at turns out to be real, and a lot more powerful, subtle, and just plain dangerous than some fancy sword. There's no elaborate Sith superweapon, and Shadowspawn is just a cat's paw. You know how a lot of EU Sith Lords seem to be trying to be Vader? Cronal wants to be ''Luke'', literally. That theatricality Luke mocks? Blackhole was using it in the propaganda films he had produced to affect the perception of Luke in his minds of the public and those of his forces. When "Luke" would leave, he'd have the films to "prove" what happened, and the hamminess would match the propaganda films. Cronal basically ''weaponized fanfic''.]]
* ShownTheirWork: Stover has read other books in the EU--even primarily EU-based characters act like they should. [[Literature/XWingSeries Wedge]] makes complex decisions after a second's thought and will cheerfully defy orders to do what's right; Tycho is more solemn and follows his lead. [[ComicBook/StarWarsMarvel1977 Fenn Shysa]] is an idealist and doesn't have the standard degree of Mandalorian arrogance. The other Mandalorians all believe themselves to be the bees' knees, but other characters find this annoying rather than agreeing with them.
* SlaveMooks: The Pawns
* SpaceIsCold: Averted except in the dream Cronal [[MindRape forces on Luke]], which takes place over countless millennia anyway, and the description actually mirrors what's been done to him with meltmassif.
--> This cold, though [unlike nearly freezing to death on Hoth], froze him without the comfort of numbness. Tiny razor-edged crystals of ice--colder than ice, so cold they burned, cold as liquid air--grew inward from his skin at every pore, becoming hairlines of freeze that crept along his nerves.
* SpaceIsNoisy: Also averted, most notably in the dream, in which he's floating bodiless in space.
--> Physical silence, deeper than a living creature can truly experience: not just the absence of external sound, but the absence of all concept of sound. No whisper of breath, no hush of blood coursing through arteries, no faintest beat of his heart. Not even the vaguest sensation of vibration, or pressure, or friction on his skin.
* StarfishAliens: The Melters are totally inhuman. They're basically a near-immortal HiveMind that inhabits bodies made of a crystaline rock called meltmassif that they can transmute into liquid form to create bodies. They have barely any concept of time or individuality.
* TheStarsAreGoingOut: Part of the dream of the Dark has this happening.
--> And in their place was left ''nothing''. Not even absence. Only him.\\
Floating. Empty of everything. Without thought, without sensation. Forever.\\
Almost.
* TakeThat:
** The book appears to take a rather amusing shot at the particularly gratuitous levels of HoldYourHippogriffs/ PardonMyKlingon in the early decades of the [[Franchise/StarWarsLegends EU]]
---> [Han had] preset the final leg in the ''Falcon'''s navicomputer, so they had been in and out of the jump point before those astonished Imps could so much as shout "Emperor's black bones!" or whatever stupid pretend curse they liked to shout when they got caught with their armored pants around their armored ankles.
** The Mandalorian arrogance, as mentioned above, is a bit of a TakeThat to Traviss' CharacterShilling of the Mandalorians.
* ThatsNoMoon: [[IncrediblyLamePun It wasn't a rock. It was a rock monster! Rock monster! Rock monster! Rock monster! Rock monster! Rock monster!]]
* WildCard: Aeona and her crew of Mindorese rebels, who hate the Empire, but don't really have much use for ''anyone''. [[spoiler: They wind up fighting for the Republic by the end, but not before some rough spots and Luke making a very understated threat.]]
* TheWorfEffect: Late in the book it's revealed that one of Cronal's Pawns is [[spoiler: Kar Vastor]], a huge warrior shaman who's personally committed crimes against civilization, and in Shatterpoint is seen as a personification of the jungle and a match to ''Mace Windu''. Here he's mind controlled, serving as a host for the book's BigBad, and when Cronal withdraws his control during a battle and Kar attacks Luke, Luke fends him off without breaking a sweat and tracks down a terrified Kar, whose defiance breaks into despair. Given that this is the same author who created that character, it seem likely [[WorfHadTheFlu another trope is in play]].
* YouAreACreditToYourRace: [[spoiler:Kar Vastor knew Old Republic Jedi. He hated them. Luke is in no way like the Old Republic Jedi. He's not [[DarkIsNotEvil afraid of the dark]]. In ''Literature/{{Shatterpoint}}'', Vastor at first extended similar respect to Mace Windu, who then rebuked him.]]
* YouAreInCommandNow: Cronal gives Group Captain Klick full authority to command the battle so he'll be undisturbed while he works on taking Luke over.
* YouHaveFailedMe: Klick expects to suffer this after the failed attack on the ''Corellian Queen''. He's surprised to learn that it was part of Shadowspawn's FailureGambit.
----