The beginning of Mara Jade's career is interesting and there is a robust plot running through this novel but the pulpy style repelled me. On the first page a character "gazes out" with "a mixture of anticipation and dark brooding swirling through him. As far as he was concerned the entire planet was a snake pit, crawling with smugglers, third-rate pirate gangs, and other dregs of society." If this sort of thing is acceptable then you will enjoy this novel far more than did I. ( )

This was the first Zahn novel I'd read in several years. I was pleasantly surprised: Zahn's writing is still compelling; the Mara Jade information was an unexpected treat; the Han/Leia/Luke development was well done. I was especially intrigued by the "lower decks" (hidden Star Trek reference for the initiated) concept of following some self-doubting stormtroopers around. Not great art, but a fun, quick read. ( )

Although Allegiance isn't an awful book, Timothy Zahn has certainly done better. The plot is interesting, but had trouble keeping my attention.

I like how the main stormtrooper characters struggle with loyalty and principle, two of the main themes, but Karen Traviss has a better notion of dynamics within a squad, including each trooper's inner conflicts. The troopers here aren't nearly as fleshed out.

I could be wrong, but I believe this is the first novel in which Mara Jade is introduced at the beginning of her career. At the age of eighteen, her Force abilities are impressive, especially if she'd been training since childhood. More background on her would have been welcome. What makes her interesting is the combination of her abilities and her naivete.

Meh. That's about it. ( )

Things I liked about this book - it was interesting to see the growing relationship of Luke, Leia, and Han. Things that are only hinted at in the movies are fleshed out in this installment of the Rebellion Era. I also liked that we got to see the motivations of a group who left the Empire - to see some of the reasons why the Rebellion grew. ( )

This book was disappointing only because I know Timothy Zahn is capable of so much more. It was cool seeing Mara in action as the Emperor's Hand, but parts of the book were dull and overall it seemed to lack focus. ( )

Entertaining, but not too deep. ( )

If Zahn had quit Star Wars novels after the Thrawn trilogy, he would still be a genius. If he'd quit after the Hand of Thrawn series, he'd have still been great. But he keeps on churning out books, and each one is a lesser book than the last. Allegiance is fine, there's nothing wrong with it, but it's not exactly compelling stuff either. Really, it should have just been about Mara Jade and the Hand of Judgment, as the movie heroes feel squeezed in and don't seem to contribute much (and they never really know what's been going on). That said, Zahn does write a mean Han Solo, showing him in his glory days, before he gave up smuggling and craziness for good.

I was thrilled to see the beginning of Mara Jade's career. I was a little disappointed with the stormtrooper part of the story, though, it never really followed what I assumed their story was about from reading the blurb. ( )