Vision of the Future

http://speculiction.blogspot.com/2013/05/review-of-hand-of-thrawn-duology-by.htm... ( )

I realized once again, upon taking up the second book in this duology, that Timothy Zahn's Star Wars Expanded Universe story The Hand of Thrawn Duology should have been a trilogy. The second book, here reviewed, is the longest novel contributed by any author to the Star Wars universe.

As Vision of the Future begins, several threads from the first book were picked up. Luke has gone after Mara Jade, to rescue her from the planet on which she has gone missing. Though he sees several possibilities for danger against loved ones, he follows a Force-vision, and goes in search of her. On separate tracks, Han Solo and Lando Calrissian, as well as Talon Karrde and Shada Du'kal, head off to find copies of the so-called Caamas Document in hopes of ending the bloodshed that has occurred, and preventing a war from beginning. Meanwhile, realizing that the only hope for the tiny remnants of the Empire to survive lies in peace with the New Republic, Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon battles internal forces that want to prevent peace at all costs, even at the cost of billions of innocent lives.

To say that this is a high-stakes ordeal for our heroes is an understatement. And of course, that's not all it is. Since this is Timothy Zahn we're speaking of, there is much more to the story than is apparent early on. As an author, Zahn is a master of weaving together complex plots. Yet he is a master for a reason. He has the ability to work out the complicated narratives, and make it work.

This second novel had everything a major Star Wars fan can want. There was a great deal more of Luke Skywalker and also Mara Jade (one of the most popular non-film characters). There was the roguish charm and brilliance of Han Solo, and the suave intellect of Lando Calrissian, as well as appearances by Talon Karrde, Wedge Antilles, and other movie and expanded universe favorites.

Also fantastic was the treatment of Leia and Lando. Leia was finally shown displaying significant skills as a Jedi, which she hasn't done enough in the later stories. Lando was doing some important, brilliant stuff too. It seems that too often Lando is not used in these later tales, but Zahn remedied that, and gave Lando a truly epic part in this duology.

On top of all of that, Zahn also finally paired off Mara Jade and Luke Skywalker. It was a wonderful ending to the Bantam publishing run of Star Wars. That I end my own Star Wars canon with those volume or Survivor's Quest is something which I readily admit. Hope and optimism are how I view the “galaxy far, far away”, not as the crapsack universe that Del Rey later made it.

The only issue I had was that there was a typical, almost trite way that the the heroes were “forced” into a situation that solved a very worrisome and complex problem at the end, without them having to resort to any moral difficulties. This habit of stories, especially in comics and fantasy, to give the heroes an easy out, always annoyed me, as it does here. But that is the only criticism I can think of in regards to this book.

As I said in the review of the previous volume, I repeat here. This book is masterful, a great tonic against the dark and edgy garbage in other SW books, and is well-worth a read.

Highly Recommended. ( )

This book is just amazing and very fun to read. Its so romantic and excellent, its my most tattered and reread Star Wars book. ( )

A more complex book that one might expect from a journeyman author whose command of dialogue is suspect. ( )

Nice conclusion to the story began in 'Specter of the Past'. I especially enjoyed the deepening relationship of Luke and Mara, as well as the hints of where the star wars storyline might be headed in the future. This book does a lot of stuff with appearances vs. reality. Almost every storyline in this novel played with this theme. Mr. Zahn ultimately comes down on the side of knowing who to trust and then doing so despite the appearances. ( )