Heir to the Empire (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, #1) in The Expanded Universe

Apr 23, 2010 Jeff Diamond rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sci-fi, star-wars

Many fans of the Expanded Universe praise Heir to the Empire as one of the best books in the contiuum. After having read it, I can say that every voice in that chorus is absolutely right. Not only is it one of the first truly canonical Star Wars books written, is set the standard for excitement and pacing that is still in use.

Heir to the Empire follows the same basic formula as the films do: heroes versus villains. Heroes are well established by the movies, as are their motives. Several new prot ...more

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Apr 06, 2008 Keith rated it it was amazing

Shelves: star-wars, best-covers

Stars: 5
Re-read: For sure
Recommend to: This is the best jumping off point for anyone interested in the EU. If this trilogy doesn't do it for you, then the EU probably won't be to your liking. Do not read the 20th anniversary edition if you haven't read pretty much the entire EU.

It's been 15 years since I've read this trilogy, and it was nice to find that it lived up to my memory. This trilogy is peak Star Wars EU in pretty much every way. Zahn does a wonderful job capturing the essence of each o Stars: 5
Re-read: For sure
Recommend to: This is the best jumping off point for anyone interested in the EU. If this trilogy doesn't do it for you, then the EU probably won't be to your liking. Do not read the 20th anniversary edition if you haven't read pretty much the entire EU.

It's been 15 years since I've read this trilogy, and it was nice to find that it lived up to my memory. This trilogy is peak Star Wars EU in pretty much every way. Zahn does a wonderful job capturing the essence of each of the main characters, which is something that many other authors have failed to do. I often subconsciously fixate on all the of the poor decisions authors make and spend much of my reviews criticizing these mistakes (at least as I see them). It was very pleasant to spend almost the entire book satisfied and impressed with what Zahn was able to accomplish.

I read the 20th anniversary edition and I would caution most readers against this for two reasons. 1. I think I would find all of the notes on the side with insights from the author and the editor to be distracting if I were reading it for the first time. It kind of ruins the pace. 2. There are spoilers for the trilogy and more importantly there are stories for the books much further down the line. Zahn causally mentions something that happens at the end of the Legacy of the Force series, which is over 45 books further in the EU. I was surprised when Zahn was having spoilers for his own work, but I was floored when he spoiled things in the distant future. That spoiler is here: (view spoiler)

If you have already read most of the EU (you should at least read through the Legacy of the Force to avoid spoilers), then the 20th anniversary edition was really cool. My appreciation of what Zahn created increased the more he explained his reasoning for making different decisions. There would often be little things that most of us would probably not consciously recognize where Zahn would explain in a note what he was trying to accomplish. One example that stood out in the beginning was Pellaeon would make a comment to an officer that his response did not need to be shouted. I would probably normally think nothing further on that, but Zahn would include a note saying, "I wanted to set up the Fleet as having suffered during the chaos and retreat of the years since Endor, slipping back from the generally efficient war machine shown in the movies to something less polished. Lieutenant Tschel was an example of the eager but inexperienced crewers that the Empire now had to whip into fighting shape, contrasting with the old-school competence and tradition of Captain Pellaeon." That probably isn't the best example, but Zahn would often point out the little things like that that make his writing so believable and seem to fit Star Wars so well. My usual gripe is that the authors for Star Wars novels seemingly have no grasp of who these characters are or how things work in universe. It's really fun to see Zahn illustrate exactly why he is justifiably considered the master of the EU. Here is another example of a note that illustrates Zahn's brilliance: "Early on, I decided that I was going to use only humans as point-of-view characters. Not because I have a problem with aliens or droids, but because I was afraid of giving those POV segments a truly alien flavor might distract from the flow of the story. That meant I would never get into Thrawn's skin and see how exactly he thought. Thus Pellaeon's role was expanded from simply Thrawn's second in command to the man through whom Thrawn was to be seen. To be, in effect, the Dr. Watson to Thrawn's Sherlock Holmes."

My only complaint isn't really a complaint because it didn't really bother me, it is just kind of silly. (view spoiler)

Zahn also proved that excellent writing can overcome a somewhat slow plot. I was interested even on parts I think I would normally find kind of dull because Zahn captured the characters so well.

Other things:
- I found it humorous how often Zahn brings up the complaints he received for a variety of things from fans. It was nice that he didn't need to go into therapy like modern SW creators do, but he also defended his decisions. I didn't always agree with them, but they were always logical. Most of his complaints were about things that screamed EARTH too much for the SW universe. I laughed because the note where he griped a bit about this was one that I had already rolled my eyes at. He mentioned Luke having hot chocolate. This is one of those things that could seem inconsequential and not out of place to some, but to me it's just one of those things that doesn't fit. It's like how you wouldn't think twice about Luke eating a steak, but it would be jarring if he ate a corndog or some smores. Zahn details how he thought this would be a drink that would interested Luke because people on a desert planet probably don't ever have an interest in drinking hot drinks. He even thought about how some deserts are cold, but Tatooine probably wasn't because it had two suns. So even though I rolled my eyes at that line, I still left impressed that Zahn put that much thought into what Luke would drink in a throw-away line. Zahn is the best for a reason.
- There is a line where Luke recognizes that fives floors was too far for even a Jedi to safely leap. I wish Lucas would've shown some of Zahn's restraint.
- It is wild how many key features of the EU were invented by Zahn in this book. To name a few, he introduced: the name of Coruscant for the capitol city. The Katana Fleet. The Chiss. the Noghri. Leia having twins. The characters Thrawn, Pellaeon, Winter, Talon Karrde, Mara Jade, Borsk Fey'lya, Lieutenant Page.
- If only Disney wouldn't have been too proud to make some form of adaptation of this trilogy. It was too late to use the OT characters, but they could've used the basic storyline as a template and use their children or new characters in the OT characters place. This trilogy is lightyears beyond anything Disney created.
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Dec 30, 2011 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: favorites, star-wars, 100-in-2014

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 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 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! ...more

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Sep 15, 2011 Raquel rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: star-wars, scifi

This was the third (or fourth?) time I read this novel. The last time was probably seven years ago and, partly due to having forgotten some details about what happens, this was a great re-read.

A detail that made this 20th Anniversary Edition worthwhile to me was the annotation by the author. When I was reading the regular version, I did't realize how much thought was put into decisions on how the story and characters evolved. This edition clarified that, and while doing so made the book seem eve ...more

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Jun 28, 2008 Jude rated it it was amazing

I read Shadows of the Empire, which was entertaining, but something about it didn't feel natural, like some details were skimped on. With this novel, however, Timothy Zahn really brought the Star Wars universe back to life, with the characters truly feeling like the characters we knew and loved with the movies and introducing new, deep and interesting characters. The writing here is very good, and I definitely am looking forward to reading the second novel in the Thrawn Trilogy. ...more

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