In light of the fact that I haven't posted any new book reviews in two weeks, I'm glad to say "I'm back."
In June 1991, Timothy Zahn wrote the first part of the epic Thrawn Trilogy. Bantam Spectra published the novel with LFL's authorization. Zahn kicked off the Expanded Universe in a way that affected both the movies and the EU for decades. Luke and friends face off against their most deadly adversary for the fate of the New Republic. Synopsis: Here is the science fiction publishing event of the year: the exciting continuation of the legendary Star Wars saga. Picking up where the movie trilogy left off, Heir to the Empire reveals the tumultuous events that take place after the most popular series in motion-picture history—masterfully told by Hugo Award-winning author Timothy Zahn. In spring 1977 a film called Star Wars was released—and a cultural phenomenon was born. Its epic story, about a young man named Luke Skywalker, whose destiny was to save the galaxy from conquest, caught the imaginations of millions and broke all box-office records. Today Star Wars and its sequels, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, are acknowledged as the most popular series in movie history, and rank among the top ten films of all time. The three Star Wars films form a spectacular saga of bold imaginations and high adventure. But the stories of its characters did not end there. Now for the first time, Lucasfilm Ltd., producer of the Star Wars movies, has authorized the continuation of this beloved story. In an astounding three-book cycle, Timothy Zahn continues the tale of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and the other characters made world famous by Star Wars, as he brilliantly expands upon George Lucas's stunning vision, "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." Heir to the Empire begins five years after the end of Return of the Jedi: the Rebel Alliance has destroyed the Death Star, defeated Darth Vader and the Emperor, and driven the remnants of the old Imperial Starfleet back into barely a quarter of the territory that they once controlled. Leia and Han are married and have shouldered heavy burdens in the government of the new Republic. And Luke Skywalker is the first in a hoped-for new line of Jedi Knights. But thousands of light years away, where a few skirmishes are still taking place, the last of the Emperor's warlords has taken command of the remains of the Imperial fleet. He has made two vital discoveries that could destroy the fragile new Republic—built with such cost to the Rebel Alliance. The tale that emerges is a towering epic of action, invention, mystery, and spectacle on a galactic scale—in short, a story that is worthy of the name Star Wars.
The novel opens with Captain Gilad Pellaeon, on the bridge of the Chimaera, as a New Republic task force shows up. Pellaeon alerts Grand Admiral Thrawn, who promptly points out that an Elomin is in charge of the task force; Thrawn tells the crew to perform a Marg Sabl to which the Elomin in charge falls against. On Coruscant--this is the book that introduced Coruscant as the galactic capital of the galaxy and which George Lucas picked up to use--Luke Skywalker receives a farewell from Obi-Wan Kenobi's Force ghost, stating that Luke is the first of the new Jedi Order; Leia worries about Luke. Meanwhile, Han Solo and Chewbacca attempt to lure Dravis to the New Republic because the NR needs to get trading reinstalled. Dravis turns him down and alerts Han that Han's back-up--Wedge Antilles--was lousy at hiding; Judder Page informs Han that no one yet wants to kill him, but Wedge is worried about the missing Elomin task force. On Myrkr, smuggler Talon Karrde and his second in command, Mara Jade, welcome a shuttle from Chimeara and help them harvest a couple of ysalimir off their native trees. Thrawn and Pellaeon go to a backwater world called Wayland and convince--by using the ysalimiri--the Dark Jedi Joruus C'baoth to join them in restoring Palpatine's New Order and giving C'baoth Luke and Leia, and Leia's unborn twins: Jacen and Jaina; Thrawn reveals to Pellaeon that C'baoth isn't the original Jorus--Thrawn intercepted Outbound Flight decades ago and destroyed it--and that the one they have aboard is a clone. By order from Mon Mothma, Admiral Ackbar, and Borsk Fey'lya of the New Republic Provisional Council, Han, Chewie, Leia, Luke and the droids go to Bimmisaari to ask the Bimms to join; once there, a Noghri team attempts to capture Leia and Luke--it fails. The Provisional Council admonishes Han for abruptly leaving Bimmisaari.
After a three-pronged attack by Thrawn in the Sluis sector, Han and Leia, with Chewie, are dispatched to find out what caused it. Luke checks out the Dark Jedi Bpfasshi incident that occurred on Dagobah during the Clone Wars; Luke discovers a Jedi beacon in the cave near Yoda's home. Despite having Rogue Squadron with them, Han and Leia are again attacked; Han tells Ackbar that they'd be better off with Page's Katarn Commandos. They leave to find Lando to help them find out who the assassins are. Luke arrives at Nkllon with Han and Leia; Thrawn attacks, C'baoth tries to persuade Luke to find him, and 51 mole miners are stolen. Lando agrees to travel with Han and C-3PO while Chewie takes Leia to Kashyyyk and Luke goes to find C'baoth. Thrawn deduces that Leia and Chewie went to Kashyyyk and sends a third Noghri team after them. After narrowly escaping Chimaera's gunners, Luke is captured by Talon and Mara. Talon learns through Luke that the Empire is after the New Republic's Jedi and potential Jedi; he lets Luke stay until Talon's man on Bpfassh is able to learn more. Han and Lando check out Abregado-rae and are brought to Karrde on Myrkr; Han offers the New Republic's proposal, but Talon rejects it. Thrawn shows up unexpectedly. Han and Lando hide aboard a camouflaged Millennium Falcon; while Luke steals a ship--Mara chases and shoots him down. On Kashyyyk, Leia is again attacked, but this time, the Wookiees capture one of the Noghri--Khabarakh--and, via sniffing her hand, concludes that she's Darth Vader's daughter and throws himself on her mercy.
Mara and Luke are trapped in the Myrkr forest and take days to get back to near civilization, by which time Thrawn's stormtroopers capture Luke and Mara and R2-D2. Han, with Lando and some of Talon's men, free Mara and Luke from the Imperials. Talon decides to pull off Myrkr. Luke confides to Han that Mara wants to kill him and Hand tells Luke that there's another Grand Admiral still loose; Han flies the Falcon to Sluis Van to get Luke's X-Wing repaired and get Lando patched up. Thrawn tells Pellaeon to set course for Sluis Van. Thrawn attacks the shipyards and Luke, Han, Chewie, Lando, Wedge, and Rogue Squadron engage in battle. Thrawn uses the mole miners to steal ships. Lando, finally remembering about the codes, has them mine faster; the electrical wires on all the ships shorts the mole miners out. Thrawn withdraws, stating to Pellaeon that he's merely been slowed down by the New Republic. Han is planning to return to Coruscant because Leia informs him that Fey'lya had Ackbar arrested for treason. Luke and Lando stay behind to help with the repairs.
All in all, a great novel with wonderful characterizations, great action, believable villains, and tons of new planets and characters. Zahn brought Star Wars to life in novel format. So much potential in the old Bantam era books. Too bad so much is ignored by the current publisher, Del Rey and it's band of awful writers: Troy Denning, Christie Golden, Drew Karpyshyn, etc.
In June 1991, Timothy Zahn wrote the first part of the epic Thrawn Trilogy. Bantam Spectra published the novel with LFL's authorization. Zahn kicked off the Expanded Universe in a way that affected both the movies and the EU for decades. Luke and friends face off against their most deadly adversary for the fate of the New Republic. Synopsis: Here is the science fiction publishing event of the year: the exciting continuation of the legendary Star Wars saga. Picking up where the movie trilogy left off, Heir to the Empire reveals the tumultuous events that take place after the most popular series in motion-picture history—masterfully told by Hugo Award-winning author Timothy Zahn. In spring 1977 a film called Star Wars was released—and a cultural phenomenon was born. Its epic story, about a young man named Luke Skywalker, whose destiny was to save the galaxy from conquest, caught the imaginations of millions and broke all box-office records. Today Star Wars and its sequels, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, are acknowledged as the most popular series in movie history, and rank among the top ten films of all time. The three Star Wars films form a spectacular saga of bold imaginations and high adventure. But the stories of its characters did not end there. Now for the first time, Lucasfilm Ltd., producer of the Star Wars movies, has authorized the continuation of this beloved story. In an astounding three-book cycle, Timothy Zahn continues the tale of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and the other characters made world famous by Star Wars, as he brilliantly expands upon George Lucas's stunning vision, "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." Heir to the Empire begins five years after the end of Return of the Jedi: the Rebel Alliance has destroyed the Death Star, defeated Darth Vader and the Emperor, and driven the remnants of the old Imperial Starfleet back into barely a quarter of the territory that they once controlled. Leia and Han are married and have shouldered heavy burdens in the government of the new Republic. And Luke Skywalker is the first in a hoped-for new line of Jedi Knights. But thousands of light years away, where a few skirmishes are still taking place, the last of the Emperor's warlords has taken command of the remains of the Imperial fleet. He has made two vital discoveries that could destroy the fragile new Republic—built with such cost to the Rebel Alliance. The tale that emerges is a towering epic of action, invention, mystery, and spectacle on a galactic scale—in short, a story that is worthy of the name Star Wars.
The novel opens with Captain Gilad Pellaeon, on the bridge of the Chimaera, as a New Republic task force shows up. Pellaeon alerts Grand Admiral Thrawn, who promptly points out that an Elomin is in charge of the task force; Thrawn tells the crew to perform a Marg Sabl to which the Elomin in charge falls against. On Coruscant--this is the book that introduced Coruscant as the galactic capital of the galaxy and which George Lucas picked up to use--Luke Skywalker receives a farewell from Obi-Wan Kenobi's Force ghost, stating that Luke is the first of the new Jedi Order; Leia worries about Luke. Meanwhile, Han Solo and Chewbacca attempt to lure Dravis to the New Republic because the NR needs to get trading reinstalled. Dravis turns him down and alerts Han that Han's back-up--Wedge Antilles--was lousy at hiding; Judder Page informs Han that no one yet wants to kill him, but Wedge is worried about the missing Elomin task force. On Myrkr, smuggler Talon Karrde and his second in command, Mara Jade, welcome a shuttle from Chimeara and help them harvest a couple of ysalimir off their native trees. Thrawn and Pellaeon go to a backwater world called Wayland and convince--by using the ysalimiri--the Dark Jedi Joruus C'baoth to join them in restoring Palpatine's New Order and giving C'baoth Luke and Leia, and Leia's unborn twins: Jacen and Jaina; Thrawn reveals to Pellaeon that C'baoth isn't the original Jorus--Thrawn intercepted Outbound Flight decades ago and destroyed it--and that the one they have aboard is a clone. By order from Mon Mothma, Admiral Ackbar, and Borsk Fey'lya of the New Republic Provisional Council, Han, Chewie, Leia, Luke and the droids go to Bimmisaari to ask the Bimms to join; once there, a Noghri team attempts to capture Leia and Luke--it fails. The Provisional Council admonishes Han for abruptly leaving Bimmisaari.
After a three-pronged attack by Thrawn in the Sluis sector, Han and Leia, with Chewie, are dispatched to find out what caused it. Luke checks out the Dark Jedi Bpfasshi incident that occurred on Dagobah during the Clone Wars; Luke discovers a Jedi beacon in the cave near Yoda's home. Despite having Rogue Squadron with them, Han and Leia are again attacked; Han tells Ackbar that they'd be better off with Page's Katarn Commandos. They leave to find Lando to help them find out who the assassins are. Luke arrives at Nkllon with Han and Leia; Thrawn attacks, C'baoth tries to persuade Luke to find him, and 51 mole miners are stolen. Lando agrees to travel with Han and C-3PO while Chewie takes Leia to Kashyyyk and Luke goes to find C'baoth. Thrawn deduces that Leia and Chewie went to Kashyyyk and sends a third Noghri team after them. After narrowly escaping Chimaera's gunners, Luke is captured by Talon and Mara. Talon learns through Luke that the Empire is after the New Republic's Jedi and potential Jedi; he lets Luke stay until Talon's man on Bpfassh is able to learn more. Han and Lando check out Abregado-rae and are brought to Karrde on Myrkr; Han offers the New Republic's proposal, but Talon rejects it. Thrawn shows up unexpectedly. Han and Lando hide aboard a camouflaged Millennium Falcon; while Luke steals a ship--Mara chases and shoots him down. On Kashyyyk, Leia is again attacked, but this time, the Wookiees capture one of the Noghri--Khabarakh--and, via sniffing her hand, concludes that she's Darth Vader's daughter and throws himself on her mercy.
Mara and Luke are trapped in the Myrkr forest and take days to get back to near civilization, by which time Thrawn's stormtroopers capture Luke and Mara and R2-D2. Han, with Lando and some of Talon's men, free Mara and Luke from the Imperials. Talon decides to pull off Myrkr. Luke confides to Han that Mara wants to kill him and Hand tells Luke that there's another Grand Admiral still loose; Han flies the Falcon to Sluis Van to get Luke's X-Wing repaired and get Lando patched up. Thrawn tells Pellaeon to set course for Sluis Van. Thrawn attacks the shipyards and Luke, Han, Chewie, Lando, Wedge, and Rogue Squadron engage in battle. Thrawn uses the mole miners to steal ships. Lando, finally remembering about the codes, has them mine faster; the electrical wires on all the ships shorts the mole miners out. Thrawn withdraws, stating to Pellaeon that he's merely been slowed down by the New Republic. Han is planning to return to Coruscant because Leia informs him that Fey'lya had Ackbar arrested for treason. Luke and Lando stay behind to help with the repairs.
All in all, a great novel with wonderful characterizations, great action, believable villains, and tons of new planets and characters. Zahn brought Star Wars to life in novel format. So much potential in the old Bantam era books. Too bad so much is ignored by the current publisher, Del Rey and it's band of awful writers: Troy Denning, Christie Golden, Drew Karpyshyn, etc.
