Heir to the Empire: Star Wars Legends (The Thrawn Trilogy) (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy Book 1) Kindle Edition

After the original Star Wars films ended with the release of Return of the Jedi, the interest in the franchise waned, seeming to end with the cancellation of the Marvel run in 1986. There appeared to be no market anymore for stories set in the galaxy far, far away, but some at Lucasfilm disagreed, so they pitched an idea to their superiors for further Star Wars adventures. They argued that these new adventures should take the form of novels set in the time period after Return of the Jedi.Once they received approval from George Lucas and the other higher-ups, they searched for a writer to pen this new trilogy, and decided to offer the contract for the trilogy to then-rising science-fiction writer Timothy Zahn. Thus, what would become known as The Thrawn Trilogy was born.The first book, Heir to the Empire outsold the modest hopes that had been held out for the books, and much more. It was a run-away best-seller that proved that there was still a HUGE market for SW stories. Timothy Zahn went on to become, for many fans, the definitive author of the EU (Expanded Universe) of SW stories.Twenty years after the initial release of Heir, Timothy Zahn released a special annotated version of the novel, with helpful notes, observations, and explanations from himself and (every once in a while) Betsy Mitchell, his editor at Random House.Of course the story is terrific fun. It takes us five years after the end of Jedi, where the Rebel Alliance has made huge gains since their victory over the Emperor at the Battle of Endor. In those five years, the Rebellion have established a formal government (called the "New Republic" as a continuation of the Old Republic Palpatine ended in his Sith plot), pushed back the Imperials from many star systems, and reached a slight military superiority to the heavily-armed Imperial forces.All of this success is threatened by a brilliant military commander, and last of the Imperial Grand Admirals, named Thrawn. For his own reasons, which are inscrutable (he seems to have no respect for the late Emperor and his "New Order") to all but himself, he believes the Empire must rise again and the "Rebellion" - he steadfastly refuses to call it the New Republic - must be destroyed. To this end, he has found an insane clone of an Old Republic era Jedi Master, Joruus C'baoth, and is using him to perform carefully-planned attacks to drive the Republic to it's knees.What's more, he has agreed to the madman clone's price for his help: Leia Organa Solo and her and Han's twin children she is pregnant with, to be kidnapped and handed over to C'baoth.So began the resurgence in the now truly massive Star Wars franchise. The plot is interesting, but what made this work truly compelling are the characters. Along with the favorites from the movies (such as Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie, Lando, so on), you have new characters to enjoy. You find yourself both cheering for and against the bad guys, for instance. This is because, though Thrawn is more polished and refined than the Emperor and Vader, is a genius to boot, and has some good motives for some of his actions, there is little doubt that he is still evil. After all, he is fine with killing incompetent subordinates, kidnapping innocents and handing them over to a homicidal maniac, among other lovely things. There is also no doubt that, though insane, C'baoth is the every bit the clone of his template, one of the more powerful pre-Empire Jedi. All in all, this is quite a challenge for the heroes.Part of the difficulty for the good guys is that Thrawn is careful and smart. He analyzes his enemies, unlike the Emperor and Vader he will retreat from a fight he can't win, and he plans his strategies so that, even when he does lose, he still either gets something, hurts the Republic, or both.One area that Zahn deserves both praise and some slight critique (but mostly praise) is in the area of how "hard" his SW books are. In science-fiction circles, there is a scale of "hardness" and "softness" in regards to the genre. For instance, how much does the story adhere to scientific fact (hard), or just use science jargon or vague ideas to give a template or justification for story elements (soft). Zahn was limited in how much "hardness" he could put in the Star Wars books due to the fantastical nature of the series. He still tried. Sometimes this could pull you out of the fantastical elements due to the explanations, which obviously was not a good thing. All in all, this is a tiny criticism, because his keeping the characters grounded made the story more compelling and believable than the truly ridiculous paths many other authors have taken stories down since then. While he is a bit long on explanations and science at times, his grounded approach really has been shown to be for the best.This novel also introduced three characters that would go on to influence future books, and be wildly popular with fans, despite not appearing in any of the films. Said characters are Mara Jade, Talon Karrde, and Imperial Captain Gilad Pellaeon. It's a testament to the story-telling and world-building skills of Tim Zahn that he was able to create characters that consistently are fan-favorites, even sometimes over movie characters.Of course, this edition of Heir being annotated offers added goodies. As I already stated, there are numerous notes from Zahn and Mitchell about the process of writing the trilogy. These tidbits open a window to the reader about how the tales developed, including what ideas were accepted, rejected, or fine-tuned by the folks at Lucasfilm. To get into the heads of Zahn and Mitchell in some ways helped to almost complete the book, as some questions fans have had about Heir and the rest of The Thrawn Trilogy are answered in the notes.For the Star Wars fan, and really science-fiction fans in general, this is a must-read.Highly Recommended.

Great book. Wish the sequel trilogy was made from this series. Love it. To bad a lot of main cast is probably too old to play the characters.

REVIEW SUMMARY: Zahn channels the spirit and energy of the original trilogy.MY RATING: 3.5 StarsBRIEF SYNOPSIS: The Emperor and Darth Vader may be dead, the Death Star destroyed, but the war has not yet been won. Struggling under the responsibility of politics and diplomatic duties Luke, Han, and Leia now face a new challenge. On the outskirts of the New Republic a brilliant Grand Admiral is gathering the remnants of the Empire in order to strike at the heart of the Rebels.PROS: Zahn accurately portrays well known characters, the fight against the Empire didn't end with the Ewoks on Endor, Grand Admiral Thrawn is a superb villain, author's notes enhance the experience.CONS: Luke is sort of a sissy, too many cases of coincidence, Mara Jade isn't all she's cracked up to be, Grand Admiral Thrawn might be too smart.BOTTOM LINE: Despite some flaws this is still better than anything offered in Episodes I-III and the 20th Anniversary Edition is a great collector's item.The news of Disney buying Lucasfilm accomplished something that I never would have thought possible. It got me excited about Star Wars again. I used to be a major fan of the series as I think most kids are. My aunt took me to see the original trilogy when the movies were re-released to theaters in the 90's. At the time Taco Bell had promotional Star Wars toys and I also got my first battery-powered lightsaber. It was the Golden Age of my childhood. I continued to love the series well into my teenage years. It wasn't the new trilogy that killed it for me (although that was the start), but the CGI movie, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and the Cartoon Network show it spawned. I hadn't looked back since...that is, until the news of Disney's acquisition.My first reaction was to laugh. Disney! Buying Star Wars! What a joke! And then I realized that I'd had the same reaction when Disney bought Marvel...and look how awesome The Avengers turned out. Then all the speculation started about what would be in store for Episode VII and that is how I came across Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire. And fortunately for me, Zahn's classic had been released in a beautiful 20th Anniversary Edition, complete with a foreword and author's notes. But enough background and onto the review!The Rebels won the Battle of Endor. The Emperor and Darth Vader are dead, the Death Star has been destroyed (again), and the Imperial forces have been routed. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi ends on a high note. Too high a note if you ask me. It would seem as though Timothy Zahn felt the same way when he wrote Heir to the Empire. The battle has been won but the war is far from over. Heir to the Empire picks up five years after we left off. Luke is coming to terms with the loss of his mentors. Leia is pregnant with twins. Han has gone legit. All three are chaffing at the roles they find themselves in within the New Republic. Organizing an effective rebellion isn't the same as building a working government. Politics threaten to tear the New Republic apart and a new threat is rising from Imperial territory. That threat is Grand Admiral Thrawn, a brilliant strategist that has gathered the remnants of the Empire together in order to take back what the Rebels have stolen.First I have to say that the author's notes are an awesome edition to the story. Zahn put an amazing amount of work into Heir to the Empire. The author's notes serve to highlight the special details that might otherwise be glossed over during the read. It turns out that Zahn is responsible for a lot of terms and ideas that most Star Wars fans probably take for granted. This is the man that came up with the legendary Rogue Squadron.Zahn's greatest strength is in translating everyone's favorite movie characters into text. As I read the dialogue I could hear the actors' voices and picture their mannerisms. Zahn is especially deft at writing Han Solo's roguish wit, Lando Calrissian's charm, C-3PO's neurotic twittering, and (surprisingly) R2-D2's beeping and chirping. Han and Lando really steal the show, it is great fun to see them operating as partners. Leia sort of gets shafted with Heir to the Empire, as she spends the majority of the novel running and hiding from Imperial kidnappers. I was also mildly disappointed with Luke Skywalker. When deprived of the Force and his lightsaber Luke loses most of his appeal. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi left a striking image of Luke in his black suit, taking matters into his own hands. That inspiring version of the Jedi Skywalker is not to be found here. I appreciate Zahn touching on Luke's light depression and anxiety but he fails to show him as the heroic figure that he became with the closing of the original trilogy.The star of Heir to the Empire is Zahn's creation, Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn is an amazing villain. He has a military background that is something that separates him from the Emperor and Darth Vader. He commands through loyalty rather than fear, and he understands strategy. What is cool is that Thrawn is not Sith. He has no Force powers. If he is going to defeat the New Republic it will be through sheer force of will and military superiority. Granted, Thrawn's intelligence can get to be grating at times. Thrawn is right 99% of the time. Stories aren't fun if the hero always wins and there is a lack of fun if the villain is always right.Mara Jade is supposed to be another of Zahn's greatest creations, though I'm not yet convinced. From what I understand, she is a favorite among fans. I'm guessing that she gets better in the later novels. I will say that it is nice to have another strong female, especially given that Leia gets swept to the side for most of Heir to the Empire, but Jade's beef with Luke just strikes me as silly. It basically comes down to, "You ruined my life because I didn't get to kill you at Jabba's Palace so now I hate you and want to kill you." It definitely doesn't help that once Luke finds out the motivation behind Jade's hatred he is almost apologetic about the fact that he is still alive.The plot is fun but the formula does get repetitive. The all knowing Thrawn sends his lackeys after our heroes, the heroes narrowly escape, the heroes devise a plan to avoid the Imperials, Thrawn almost automatically guesses what the plan is, annnnnd repeat. There is just too much coincidence. I'm willing to accept the guiding influence of the Force in the Star Wars universe but a rose by any other name is still deus ex machina. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back has always been my favorite of the movies because of the darker tone and so Heir to the Empire hits the sweet spot in that department. Heir to the Empire has that same dark flavor as well as some more mature themes relating to the politicking. The action isn't quite what I'd hoped for though the Battle for the Sluis Van shipyards is a great finale to the novel.All in all I enjoyed Heir to the Empire. It truly felt like the sequel Star Wars: Return of the Jedi always deserved. Those that dislike the Ewoks and found the Battle of Endor to end too cleanly will likely agree with this sentiment. I am interested to read more about Grand Admiral Thrawn and I hope to see Mara Jade develop into a better rounded character. I'd also like to see Luke return to his awesome heroic ways. I'd appreciate more of the Han/Lando team-up and maybe Leia will find more of the spotlight. I will be purchasing Star Wars: Dark Force Rising but I think perhaps I'll wait to see if they release a 20th Anniversary Edition of that as well.Nick SharpsSF Signal