In 1992, Lucasfilm began releasing a series of six children's books written by Paul and Hollace Davids, chronicling events set one year after the Battle of Endor. The Empire's Central Committee of Grand Moffs attempt to consolidate their power among the splintering Empire by proclaiming that a Kessel slavelord, Trioculus, is the long-lost son and heir of Emperor Palpatine himself. These books have unofficially come to be known as the Son of Palpatine series.There is some debate about how official this series is in relation to the rest of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Lucasfilm's official public position is that all sanctioned works have equal standing in the Expanded Universe, subordinate to the canon films of George Lucas and their adaptations to other media. However, some state that Lucasfilm has a different internal policy, in which several works are simply not recognized as official, even though they've been published with the sanction of Lucasfilm. The Son of Palpatine series is included by them among those works.
No one claims these books are works of literary genius. Though they have a passable plot, they are a monument to poor characterization, with Han Solo obssessing over building a house, Imperial officers acting as dedicated Dark Side devotees, and the esteemed Admiral Ackbar acting as a glorified pilot for a mere Commander, Luke Skywalker. However, being of poor quality is not in and of itself a bar to being an official part of the Expanded Universe.
Several data points from the Son of Palpatine series have filtered into official works. This would seem to suggest that they are, indeed, regarded as official; but the naysayers simply state that, just because a fact or event from the Son of Palpatine series exists in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, it does not mean that the series itself does. However, there comes a point where so many of those facts and events are referenced in official works that it simply doesn't make sense to think that the sources of those events themselves aren't official.
I have collected all of all the facts and events from the Son of Palpatine series I have been able to locate in official works. Following that, I have made some suggestions regarding ways to rectify some of the inconsistencies between these books and the rest of the Expanded Universe. Be aware that what follows is, essentially, a giant spoiler for the entire Son of Palpatine series. If anyone discovers any data points I've missed, contact me.
-The Central Committee of Grand Moffs moves to consolidate their power (EC 70-71)
-The Central Committee holds a convocation on Kessel which a Grand Admiral (Takel) attends (SWI#66 48)
-Trioculus is a Kessel Slavelord chosen to by the Grand Moffs as their candidate to lead the Empire (EC 71)
-Grunger is a Grand Admiral who has turned warlord and has a fleet of thirty Star Destroyers based at Gargon (EC 73; SWI#66 47)
-The Senate Planetary Intelligence Network (SPIN) is an analysis and infiltration task force formed by Mon Mothma. (EC 71)
-The Prophets of the Dark Side are a shadowy cabal, with shimmery starscape robes, who accurately predicted the destruction of the second Death Star (WCDS ??; SWG#5 50; EC 71; NEGC 210)
-Trioculus has a Grand Admiral from the planet Gargon (Takel) executed for questioning his tactics (EC 73; SWI#66 49)
-Whaladons are sentient whale-like creatures that live on Mon Calamari. They are ruthlessly hunted by the Empire, and are led by Leviathor, the great white Whaladon (EGAS 171)
-Doonium is a heavy metal used in Imperial war machines (SWAJ#10 232)
-The Lost City of the Jedi exists on Yavin IV (NEGC 160)
-Baji was a rhyme-speaking Ho'din herbalist and healer who spent time on Yavin IV (EGAS 56)
-The Prophets of the Dark Side are led by a dwarf, Supreme Prophet Kadann, and his tall lieutenant, High Prophet Jedgar (WCDS ??; NEGC 210; EGAS 58).
-The Prophets have a stronghold in space called Scardia (SWI#66 48)
-Supreme Prophet Kadann of the Prophets of the Dark Side named Trioculus the new Imperial leader (NEGC 210)
-Luke discovered the Lost City (NEGC 160)
-Fifteen years before Yavin, Jabba the Hutt's father Zorba was imprisoned on the planet Kip for illegal gemstone mining (CCG; NEGC 89)
-Zorba was released from prison during the Trioculus affair and ultimately became involved in the incident (EC 71; NEGC 90)
-Kossak the Hutt was a great Hutt conqueror (GG12 90)
-Zorba found his son's true will and regained control of his son's holdings (NEGC 90)
-Zorba put a Death Mark on Leia for the death of his son (NEGC 90)
-Zorba won Cloud City from Lando Calrissian at a game of Sabacc (NEGC 41)
-Queen Rana was a wise and benevolent ruler of Duro tens of thousands of years ago (EGPM 76)
-Duro is a terribly polluted world, a victim of Imperial mining operations run amuck, with ore mines near the ancient Valley of Royalty and vast reservoirs of toxic waste (EGPM 77; BP 21)
-Duro is the location of an Imperial Reprogramming Institute. (CCW 85)
-The only creatures that survive on Duro are mutant Fefze beetles (EGPM 77; BP 21-22)
These facts about Duro established in MMY are interesting in that they actually have overwritten an official source - GG4, which describes Duro as a standard, terrestrial planet covered with automated farms. Later sources have chosen to follow MMY's lead in depicting the world as a planet devastated by Imperial pollution instead.
-Triclops exists (SWI#66 48)
-The New Republic initiates Project Decoy, a program attempting to create human replica droids (FH2 376)
-After losing Cloud City, Calrissian turned his attentions to opportunities at Hologram Fun World (NEGC 41)
-Kadann declared himself Emperor (NEGC 210)
-Bnach is a desolate Imperial prison world (SWAJ#5 143)
-The planet Arzid has dense macaab mushroom forests infested with dangerous, web-spinning arachnors (EGAS 5)
-Kadann was trapped in the Lost City of the Jedi (NEGC 210)
-The Central Committee of Grand Moffs, Zorba the Hutt, and the Prophets of the Dark Side wipe each other out in their maneuverings (EC 71)
-Mount Yoda
The base on Dagobah is named after Yoda, though it's clear from other books (such as VF) that Luke Skywalker never revealed the Jedi Master lived there. However, Luke wasn't the only person to know of Yoda's hermitage on the swampy planet. Alliance historian Arhul Hextrophon once discovered Yoda and kept a private diary entry on the meeting (SWSB 137-138). He promised never to reveal Yoda's whereabouts until after "all the great deeds had been done." Perhaps Hextrophon suggested to Mon Mothma that Mount Dagger be renamed after Yoda in honor of an important figure of the Old Jedi Order, secretly also harboring the desire to honor the individual he once met on that planet.-A Base on Dagobah
Equally troubling about the secret DRAPAC base on Mount Yoda is the fact that the planet, shown to have no appreciable settlements a year before (RJ) or four years after (HE) the series, is given an installation with a population large enough to support a school, called Dagobah Tech, at which the Jedi prince Ken attended classes. On the other hand, my summer home is serviced by an International Airport, if you believe the jokes of the town locals about the dirt landing strip just outside of town. Dagobah Tech may be a similar euphemism for an informal education system for the few children of DRAPAC personnel on site. A smaller base of this size could easily be created in a year, and its secretive nature means it could easily be totally abandoned three years later if discovered by the enemy.-The Infamous Marriage
At the end of PDS, Leia begins walking down the aisle to marry Han Solo, but CPL clearly indicates they don't get married until after the end of that novel, three years later. It has been suggested that the marriage at the end of PDS was annulled a short time afterward. A less drastic solution is to simply assume the ceremony was never completed. Perhaps an Imperial strike on Yavin interrupted the wedding before the completion of the vows, or perhaps something more mundane happened, like one of the parties getting last minute cold feet. Either way, the tempestuous nature of their relationship could have kept them apart after the interruption until the events of CPL finally brought them together.The Son of Palpatine Series:
GDV: Davids, Paul, and Hollace Davids. The Glove of Darth Vader. New York: Bantam, 1992.
LCJ: Davids, Paul, and Hollace Davids. The Lost City of the Jedi. New York: Bantam, 1992.
ZHR: Davids, Paul, and Hollace Davids. Zorba The Hutt's Revenge. New York: Bantam, 1992.
MMY: Davids, Paul, and Hollace Davids. Mission From Mount Yoda. New York: Bantam, 1993.
QE: Davids, Paul, and Hollace Davids. Queen of the Empire. New York: Bantam, 1993.
PDS: Davids, Paul, and Hollace Davids. Prophets of the Dark Side. New York: Bantam, 1993.Films:
RJ: Return of the Jedi film, 20th Century Fox, 1983.Essential Guides and other reference books:
EC: Anderson, Kevin J, and Daniel Wallace. The Essential Chronology. New York: Del Rey, 2000.
EGAS: Lewis, Ann Margaret. The Essential Guide to Alien Species. New York: Del Rey, 2001.
EGPM: Wallace, Daniel. The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons. New York: Del Rey, 1998.
NEGC: Wallace, Daniel. The New Essential Guide to Characters. New York: Del Rey, 2002.Novels:
BP: Tyers, Kathy. Balance Point. New York: Del Rey, 2000.
FH2: Williams, Sean, and Shane Dix. Force Heretic II: Refugee. New York: Del Rey, 2003.
CPL: Wolverton, Dave. The Courtship of Princess Leia. New York: Bantam, 1994.
HE: Zahn, Timothy. Heir to the Empire. New York: Bantam, 1991.
VF: Zahn, Timothy. Vision of the Future. New York: Bantam, 1998.Role-Playing Supplements:
CCW: Carey, Craig R., et al. Coruscant and the Core Worlds. Renton: Wizards of the Coast, 2003.
GG4: Denning, Troy. Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races. Honesdale: West End Games, 1994.
GG12: Carey, C. Robert, et al. Galaxy Guide 12: Aliens: Enemies and Allies. Honesdale: West End Games, 1995.
SWSB: Slavicsek, Bill, and Curtis Smith. The Star Wars Sourcebook. Honesdale: West End Games, 1994.
WCDS: Herndon, Corey, et al. The Dark Side Sourcebook. Renton: Wizards of the Coast, 2001.Star Wars Magazines/Journals:
SWAJ#5: Schweighoffer, Peter, ed. Star Wars Adventure Journal. Vol. 1, #5 (Feb. 1995).
SWAJ#10: Schweighoffer, Peter, ed. Star Wars Adventure Journal. Vol. 1, #10 (May. 1996).
SWG#5: Perkins, Christopher, ed. Star Wars Gamer. Vol. 1, #5 (Aug./Sept. 2001).
SWI#66: Gross, Dave, ed. Star Wars Insider. Vol. 1, #66 (Mar./Apr. 2003).Games:
CCG: Decipher, Inc. Star Wars Customizable Card Game, 1995-2001.Special Thanks:
Several persons helped me in the compilation of this information. My thanks go out to Dogbert, James T. Skywalker, and the resources at theforce.net for their information and assistance with this project.