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Heir to the Empire (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, Vol. 1) | 
 enlarge | Author: Timothy Zahn
Publisher: Spectra
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
Buy Used: $0.01
You Save: $6.98 (100%)
New (38) Used (463) Collectible (10) from $0.01
Avg. Customer Rating:  377 reviews
Sales Rank: 13902
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 432
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.1 x 1.4
ISBN: 0553296124
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780553296129
ASIN: 0553296124
Publication Date: May 1, 1992
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Condition: Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More.
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Product Description
It's five years after Return of the Jedi: the Rebel Alliance has destroyed the Death Star, defeated Darth Vader and the Emperor, 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 Jedi Twins. And Luke Skywalker has become the first in a long-awaited line of Jedi Knights. But thousand of light-years away, 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. For this dark warrior has made two vital discoveries that could destroy everything the courageous men and women of the Rebel Alliance fought so hard to build. The explosive confrontation that results is a towering epic of action, invention, mystery, and spectacle on a galactic scale--in short, a story worthy of the name Star Wars.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 372 more reviews...
 Obi-Wan Taught Well but Zahn Wasn't Listening November 16, 2008
I picked up this book when it was first released in 1991. Back then, Star Wars fans were starving for ANYTHING new and this new book seemed like an answered prayer. I won't go into the plot of the story as other reviewers have done an awesome job in conveying it, and to be fair, it is an interesting plot. The delivery is something else altogether.
The characters we know: Luke, Leia, Han, the droids behave true to their nature. A cool snippet comes early in the novel where Luke is sipping a cup of hot chocolate which he says comes from "a planet called earth", silly maybe, but a cool connection to us from that galaxy far away. The new ones Admiral Thrawn, C'Boath, Mara Jade seem interesting, if flat. The problem is that Timothy Zahn is just not a good writer, at least not by this book.
Why?
Star Wars is as much a spiritual story (I'd argue more) as it is an action story but that aspect of the story is forgotten, what we get instead is a constant stream of tech-babble that tests patience. In fact, when I first picked up this book I had just learned English and put-off reading it since I felt I was missing out on a lot, as I couldn't understand half of what Zahn had written. Even as a kid, I always saw the Sci-Fi tech stuff as less important than the story, in this case it is almost the whole story. Zahn constantly re-characterizes the SW universe to fit his tale and cheapens deep moments from the movies to piggy-back on (grrrrr!).
Example? They abound...
1) The strongest, darkest and most beautifully symbolic scene in all SW movies, to me, was Luke's going into the cave in Dagobah. It took me years to fully understand all the nuance of that moment or why Yoda had called it "the failure at the cave" even when Luke had seemed to prevail. Zahn dispatches that moment with some tech object being left behind by a dark lord. So Luke wasn't just fighting himself, being driven by hate, confronting his shadow, integrating his shadow (which is why Yoda called it a failure), according to Zahn Luke was just attracted to some left behind do-wakie?! This is a downright insult!
2) The Force is understood to be another word for God or the basic energy of the Universe. It, Qui-Gon told us in the Phantom Menace, is the energy that moves everything from the midi-chlorians in our bodies to the galaxies in the universe. The Chi, the Prana, the Life Force. What I didn't know until Zhan told me in this book is that this all-pervasive energy is easily countered by a little furry animals called "ysalamiri", which are able to disable the force "within a short radius"!!! I was trying to give this book a chance until I read this. Apparently, the Force in the trees and forests they live in. This is just childish.
3) Thrawn, the Grand Admiral, discovers that the old Empire fleet had only been effective because Palpatine had used the Dark Side through meditation to "coordinate" their attacks. Besides from taking a lot credit away from the Army of the Empire, Palpatine wasn't meditating when Luke and Darth Vader fought in Return of the Jedi, and his fleet was kicking the Rebel's butt until Han and Leia blew up the shield generator on Endor. Thrawn uses C'Baoth to "meditate" his fleet into fighting better but is able to keep erratic C'Baoth under control because the "ysalamiri" keep him from killing him and taking over but not, mind you, from "coordinating" his fleet through his meditations... How people can read this nonsense and still give the book five stars is incomprehensible to me.
The final straw came midway through the book. At that point I realized there wasn't much hope for the rest of the book and no chance that I'd be reading anything else written by Zahn. After reading chapter #17 I realized that I could have skipped it and not miss a bit in the story! Where writers and editors scan entire books and and scripts for a line or two that does not add to the story, Timothy Zahn wrote a whole chapter that adds ZERO ZIPPO to his novel.
Heir to the Empire filled a void Star Wars fans felt since the last Lucas-approved Star Wars venture, the misguided Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: Battle of Endor. These days, when Star Wars fans are flooded with high quality games, books and TV shows, it is hard to imagine there was a time when nothing SW related came out. But Heir to the Empire failed on almost every count; a book written by a Star Wars fan who wrote like a technocrat and omitted the powerful spiritual dimension of this new mythology.
 Book is great, audio book is AWEFUL! October 16, 2008
The books in this trilogy are a fantastic read. The audio book of Heir to the Empire is the worst I have ever heard. The reader, Denis Lawson, is the most dry and inexpressive reader to ever have recorded his voice. Don't get the audio book for this. I gave it a 3 for Timothy Zahn's story. Listener beware!
 Superb kickoff to a great trilogy set five years after Return of the Jedi July 28, 2008
The cornerstone of the modern Star Wars Expanded Universe, Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire was published in 1991 in an environment where Star Wars was considered a dusty relic of the 70s and 80s, except to some die-hard enthusiasts. At least, that was the perception going around. The reality was there was enough latent interest in the franchise to send this book soaring up the New York Times bestseller lists. I remember at the time believing there would never be any more Star Wars films and that this trilogy would act as a surrogate Episodes VII, VIII, and IX. Well, here we are eighteen years later and we've gotten three (soon to be four with the animated Clone Wars) more films, but still no sign of the infamous sequel trilogy. So, for the time being, perhaps the Thrawn Trilogy can be considered the closest thing we've got.
In light of that, the great news is this is one of the best books of the Expanded Universe and also one of its most cinematic. Zahn moved the timeline forward to five years after Return of the Jedi, and in doing so permitted the main characters to develop beyond what we saw in the films. Han and Leia are married with twin children on the way, and Luke is laying the groundwork for the future course of the Jedi. All the usual sidekicks are back and true to their film selves.
The key, though, is the new villain Zahn introduces, Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn is a character of chilling intelligence, methodically plotting and executing a return to power for the scattered remnants of the Empire. He is ably assisted by Captain Pellaeon and a well-trained Imperial force of warships and troopers. Thrawn's earliest appearance in the Expanded Universe chronologically was in the excellent novel Outbound Flight, set decades earlier. Heir to the Empire does not reveal much of the intervening decades in his life but readers of the other book will immediately recognize the portrayal and development of Thrawn here.
Another significant addition to the Star Wars galaxy in this book is Mara Jade, former Emperor's Hand and Force user turned smuggler. Mara is a strong character who tends to dominate any scene she's in, but she makes a great foil to Luke Skywalker. They are connected by surprising events from the past, casting a new light on the battle at the Pit of Carkoon in Return of the Jedi. Mara's adversarial relationship to Luke creates many opportunities for growth in both her and Luke and Zahn handles this well.
The best thing about Thrawn is he brings a true sense of danger that was lacking in the Empire's leaders since the Battle of Endor. Ysanne Isard was smart and malicious but lacked a sweeping vision. Warlord Zsinj was somewhat clever but also a bit silly and trite. The New Republic has faced many other opponents but not any with the potential for complete ruin that Thrawn brings. The addition of the rogue Jedi Joruus C'baoth to Thrawn's forces completes building the most credible threat the fledging government has faced in the Expanded Universe.
The storyline itself works well both as a largely standalone episode, not dissimilar to A New Hope, but also in planting the seeds for the two sequels. The storyline itself is well-crafted and marries perfectly with Zahn's strong characterizations. This book is essential reading for any fan wanting to enter the Star Wars Expanded Universe but also continues to be a rewarding read for fans saturated in the tales of that galaxy far, far away.
 Good Surprise June 14, 2008
I did not expect that the star wars series could continue so interesting after The Return of the Jedi. The new characters that I saw for the first time in this movie are just as interesting as Han Solo and the others I was already familiar with. If you like Star Wars you'll have a lot of fun!
Almost the first Expanded Universe Novel! May 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
That is if you don't count Splinter of the Mind's Eye, or the Han trilogy, or Lando trilogy. This is a great series and could easily be credited with keeping the Star Wars series in the general populace's eye during the late eighties and early nineties. With no new films to date Star Wars was officially over in 1983 with Return of the Jedi, that is of course until this was published.
One thing that stands out as exceptionally well done is the sense of military tactics and space battles, which ironically was missing from even the Prequel Movies. Zahn's pacing is quick but precise and leaves readers with a good sense of tension that keeps them reading to see how it gets resolved. The natural progression of the characters from the end of the last film (Episode 6) is apparent and the dialog is well written. He really captured the feel of each of the characters and the sense of scope with his descriptions. The opening scene with Luke and Obi-Wan is touching and written with a good sense of the relationship between the characters. Having read this series twice I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Whether you care for Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy or not, you can't deny that it is the series by which all other Expanded Universe material is judged.
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