Heir to the Empire

I remember reading this back in the day and thinking it was amazing and should have been the basis for the next Star Wars movie. Since then, we've had the prequels and now Episodes VII and VIII, and I wasn't sure how well this would hold up. It holds up brilliantly, as it turns out. Zahn does an amazing job of using all the characters from the original trilogy, both primary and secondary (and even some tertiary), while also peppering in new creations. He makes references to the original trilogy without copying its plot elements wholesale. In short, he builds upon the Star Wars universe we know and love; respecting the past while building a new future. Its just so well done, and a crying shame that we never got to see it adapted, as it's show more better than anything we've seen on screen in decades. show less

The story is as engaging as I remember it. Zahn deftly extrapolates the actions, concerns, relationships, and experiences of the familiar Star Wars characters from the original trilogy, while giving them new situations – threats and otherwise – to adapt to, managing to fill out even more of their stories through, for example, a visit to Chewie's home planet and yet another return trip to Dagobah for Luke. That the primary protagonists seem to keep ending up together in the places where the main action seems to be occurring is not more or less providential than in the original movies.

However, Zahn's genius has always been the introduction of his new antagonists: most importantly the alien Imperial strategist, Grand Admiral Thrawn show more (for whom the trilogy has been post hoc named), and the hate-filled Emperor's Hand, Mara Jade. Expertly crafted characters in their own rights, both are given plausible backstories as to how, despite being marginalized by the Empire (and the Emperor himself), they yet remain loyal to it (and him) in ways that exceed the rote conditioning of the average officer and stormtrooper in the Imperial Navy.

Perhaps more subtly inspired, and something that I had not picked up on with previous reads, is the use of Capt. Pallaeon and Talon Karrde to explicate the more fascinating personalities of Thrawn and Jade, respectively. Zahn uses these two characters in much the same way that Tolkien uses the hobbit characters (mostly) in [b:The Lord of the Rings|33|The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings, #1-3)|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1411114164s/33.jpg|3462456] – what Michael Drout has called the "epistemic regime." The reader wonders and learns alongside Pallaeon and Karrde about the motives and insights of Thrawn and Jade, respectively, and while it's not quite as expertly done as in Tolkien, the effect is much the same, with our seeing through the eyes of those who have less information.

The only chagrin I have with re-reading this is, of course, that the last time I read the book, I had not even seen the "new" movies, let alone learned that the Expanded Universe was no longer canonical in any way. I still enjoyed the story very much, but knowing that these aren't the events that "actually" happened post-Return is, as the kids say, booty. Given that the Thrawn trilogy was my own introduction to the EU, at a time when it was supposedly curated by Lucas Films, it's disappointing to know that this is not the direction which Disney, Abrams, et al, will be taking the new stories. That said, it is blessedly free of midi-chlorians. (For more thoughts on how I think the jettisoning of the EU from canon is a terrible idea, please listen to the 100th episode of my podcast, Kat & Curt's TV Re-View.)

Nonetheless, I still really enjoyed the story and have the second book in the series sitting here beside me waiting to be cracked as soon as I hit save on this review.... show less

I saw The Force Awakens (and really liked it), which gave me the urge to reread the original “sequel” to the Star Wars trilogy. Heir to the Empire takes place a few years after Return of the Jedi, when the New Republic is desperately trying to bring the galaxy together and the Empire is equally desperately grasping on to what space it still occupies. When new allies and technology seem to start tipping the balance in the Empire’s favor, Luke, Leia, Han, and the rest are left scrambling to keep up. At the same time, internal squabbles begin to threaten the delicate balance of the New Republic’s politics.

Zahn did an excellent of translating the worlds and characters to the page, while also giving new locations and people the show more depth and history they needed to exist in the same galaxy. Heir to the Empire has the vast, far-reaching storylines required in a space opera, but also a variety of smaller, more personal plots and events that give characters on all sides a surprising amount of relatability. There are no paragons or one-note villains in these books; all the characters, protagonist or antagonist, have nuance.

Aside from being an excellent Star Wars book, Heir to the Empire - and its two sequels - are just simply good books. show less

I first read Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy when it was originally published in the early 1990s, and while I retained positive memories of the books I was content with leaving them as a positive reading experience in my memory. The release of Episode IX in the film series, however, led me to revisit what was once the “official” sequels to Lucas’ movies, to see how they measured up to my recollections of them.

Reading them after having viewed the trilogy that replaced them helped to deepen my appreciation for Zahn’s work. Faced with the stricture that he had to work with the survivors of the original film trilogy (something that unfortunately wasn’t imposed on J. J. Abrams as well) but benefiting from a lack of accumulated show more backstory to accommodate, Zahn creates an effective adventure filled with interesting characters and an enjoyable plot. At the heart of it is Grand Admiral Thrawn, the last great leader of the Empire, who five years after the battle of Endor is determined to rebuild the imperium. His most effective weapon in this effort is knowledge, particularly of the Empire’s secret resources and hidden information. Drawing upon that knowledge, he begins to challenge the New Republic in ways that threaten the existence of that fragile and overstretched organization, which has barely been able to start rebuilding after its years-long fight against Emperor Palpatine’s tyranny.

In Thrawn Zahn provides an effective main antagonist to his central characters. Yet it is the original trio of Luke, Leia, and Han that are at the heart of his novel. Here he benefits greatly from their development in Lucas’s films, which allows him to focus in his first novel on building up the post-Empire world and the characters central to his story. This includes not just Thrawn, but the insane Dark Jedi clone Joruus C’baoth, the calculating smuggler Talon Karrde, and the cunning and driven Mara Jade as well, all of whom went on to become fan favorites. Here they are introduced to readers in a way that hints at a clearly-defined past, rather than presented with undefined backstories that would be filled in randomly and in an incoherent manner. This is undoubtedly a reason why they became as popular as they did.

When combined with a coherent plot that could play out over the course of all three novels, Zahn provides Star Wars fans with one of the greatest stories of the entire franchise. In this he benefited from all of the advantages that I’ve described, yet it is a testament to his skills as an author that he took these elements and crafted them into a tale that balances politics, mystery, and adventure in ways that surpass most of the “canon” produced since. It’s unfortunate that so much of Zahn’s achievement in creating the post-Original Trilogy Star Wars universe has been undone by the later movies, especially considering how poorly they measure up to Zahn’s work. While turning Zahn’s novels into films was never possible, they certainly demonstrate how to do do Star Wars storytelling right. show less

I really liked this book. I recently got finished with National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo from here on out) so I wanted something light to read. I decided to go back into my stash of Star Wars books that I had never read before. I had heard that this book, and the whole trilogy, was one of the best. I found out that people were right!

This was published in a time when the entire concept of an "Expanded Universe" wasn't even a thing. Back when this was being published, a new book or comic was something exciting and new. New stories about Han, and Leia, And Luke! The Empire being evil! Chewbacca and other wookies! At the time this was published it was basically a sequel to Return of the Jedi and it was super exciting. I think Timothy show more Zahn treats the characters well and they all have the voices you remember from the movies. It is also the book that (i think) introduces Mara Jade who is , i'm told, pretty polarizing in the Star Wars Fandom.

This book takes place five years after the events of Return of the Jedi. The Rebel Alliance has destroyed the Death Star, defeated Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, and driven out the remnants of the old Imperial Starfleet to a distant corner of the galaxy. Princess Leia and Han Solo are married and expecting twins. Luke Skywalker has become the first in a long-awaited new line of Jedi Knights.

Thousands of light years away, Grand Admiral Thrawn, the last of the Emperor's Warlords, has taken command of the shattered Imperial Fleet, readied it for war, and pointed it at the fragile heart of the New Republic. Thrawn is searching for a Dark Jedi and is succeeding in restoring the Empire.

Thrawn is a very cool addition to the Star Wars galaxy. Like almost literally. He is calm, cool, and unruffled throughout this entire book. Even when things go wrong he basically just shrugs and says "all according to plan". General Pellaeon is his second in command and is written pretty well. He is always making asides about how different Thrawn is than his last boss *coughPalpatinecough*, and how amazing his plan is, which could have very quickly gotten annoying. Mara Jade is OK. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to think she is this ultimate bad ass right now, mostly i find her moody and whiny. This is actually the first book I have read with her in it, she either gets more sympathetic or less sympathetic. I have heard both. I guess I'll have to continue reading to find out for sure.

The trio is handled pretty well. Han is still sarcastic and cynical and Leia still strives for peace and understanding. Their relationship is handled well. They seem like a couple who are equals and fight but ultimately love and respect each other. Luke is written like he always is, at least in the books I've read. Calm, composed, and in control of himself and the force on the outside but unsure and worrying on the inside. I think that this characterization might have started here but who knows. It can get old. I like the characters i read to have some emotions other then "stoic", but the chapters and section where you get a glimpse of the thoughts and feelings inside his head help alleviate that somewhat.

Zahn’s invention of the ysalamiri—creepy little slugs who negate the Force is a cool invention. I like the idea of a life-form that can repel the force and negate its effects. Maybe the new continuity will bring them back?

The battles are well written and each is pretty interesting and the Noghri who chase after our heroes are cool and a bit scary. I almost forgot Joruus C’Baoth, an insane Dark Jedi clone of a Jedi named Jorus (one “u”) C’Baoth. He is crazy, and he wants Luke, Leia, and Leia's unborn twins. He wants to lead them and mold them in his image. CRAZY. Luke gets a Force Message from him and wants to head out and find this random new Jedi. (Luke is not the most cautious person. and he is way too trusting of strangers calling to him through the force). I'm pretty interested in where this story is headed.

This was a great book and I am looking forward to reading the next books in this series! show less

I had forgotten Star Wars. Really, I had. I grew up playing with the toys and "Return of the Jedi" is one of the first movies I remembering seeing in the theater, but in an odd way it all slipped my mind--horses were far more interesting, there was school, the pain of being the bookish non-athletic kid who writes and wants to act and sing and dance, and besides, they weren't making any more movies but Star Trek at least kept turning stuff out . . . and then one day at the barn, I noticed that the book my mom had brought to read while I had my lesson said "Star Wars" on the cover.

And I had never seen it before.

"What book is that?"

"It's the new Star Wars book."

"New...Star Wars?"

"Yeah."

"Can I read it when you're done?"

I read it.

It was show more all the things I'd WANTED the prequel to be and what I hope the sequel trilogy will end up being. I was back in a Galaxy Far, Far, Away, with all my old favorites, and even though I had never dreamed it possible there was more to the story than "The Emperor died and they all lived happily ever after." Old favorites were just like they should be, and new characters like Mara Jade and Grand Admiral Thrawn fit right in as if they'd always been part of the plot. I could barely wait for the second book and was so anxious for the third even being on vacation in Toronto didn't stop me from rushing to the bookstore to grab a copy the day of its release. On rereading, sure, there are bits that seem a little awkward (Zahn, like many Star Wars authors, sometimes drifts towards 'Star Wars Catchphrase Bingo', and even his own characters seem a little out of tune with their later selves. This is most notable with Thrawn and Captain Pellaeon when compared to later depictions.) C'baoth is probably not the most compelling character ever written. But especially compared to later Star Wars books, this is most like sitting down and watching a new Star Wars movie, only with the added benefit of gray-area characters who are genuinely gray, characters with complex motivations, and most of all a villain who's believably competent even without being Force-sensitive. Zahn's engineering and military SF background pays huge dividends in having Imperial adversaries who do something other than glower villainously and fire a thousand rounds at our heroes without hitting them. There's actual tension-we know in the end Luke, Leia and Han have to come out on top, but just like in Empire Strikes Back, you're not really sure how.

Yes, later Star Wars books have issues. But this one stands the test of time. If you love Star Wars, do yourself a favor and read the Zahn trilogy. show less

Nostalgin är total.
Det kan inte ha varit lätt att ta en så älskad bunt karaktärer och skriva något tillräckligt nytt men samtidigt tillräckligt likt Star Wars-filmerna, men Zahn gör det med bravur.
Första tjugo sidorna räcker för att jag ska känna mig helt övertygad om att det här verkligen är Luke, Leia, Han och Threepio, så som jag minns dem men några år äldre. Visst finns det problem här och var, men de överskuggas för mig av det rafflande äventyret och igenkänningen. Grand Admiral Thrawn är dessutom en helt igenom värdig efterträdare till Lord Vader. Det här vill jag ha mer av.