Rating: ★★★★★
Author: Timothy Zahn
Title: Star Wars: Heir to the Empire
ISBN: 0553404717 Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Bantam, 1992
Page Count: 404 pages
Synopsis: Five years after the Death Star was destroyed and Darth Vader and the Emperor were defeated, the galaxy is struggling to heal the wounds of war, Princess Leia and Han Solo are married and expecting twins, and Luke Skywalker has become the first in a long-awaited line of new Jedi Knights. But thousands of light-years away, the last of the Emperor’s warlords—the brilliant and deadly Grand Admiral Thrawn—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 create. 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.
Here's another Goodreads review, edited for this blog. I originally read this in 2018. Yes, Melody, I already see you seething at me. I will get to the sequel. I have it on my Kindle. I swear I will read it and review it here and Goodreads.
Simply put, this book was fantastic. Zahn is a titan when it comes to Star Wars fiction. My best friend Melody purchased this novel for me for either my birthday or a Christmas, and I'm very happy she did! So, let's see why I loved it enough to give it 5 outta 5 stars.
The Genetic Makeup
This novel takes place after "Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi".
Leia and Han are married and expecting twins. Luke is feeling the pressures of being a Jedi Knight—and one of the few remaining Jedi he knows. Leia is practicing her Force-sensitive talents. The droids are being my favorite robot sons. Chewie is still large and in-charge. And the Empire is trying to keep their momentum and take over anything within reach, despite their losses from the previous war.
The New Republic rose from the ashes to be the face of democracy in a time of little direction. And at the forefront of Zahn's novel, Grand Admiral Thrawn has assumed his position and taken on a full-frontal assault to track down the Skywalker twins and soon-to-be Solo twins. Mitth'raw'nuruodo, also known as Thrawn, is a Chiss officer. Even within the extended universe, little is known or seen of Chiss, which makes his political gains in the galaxy admirable, to the say the least. And it's one of the reasons why Heir to the Empire is as enticing as it is.
Zahn gives you a full-view of the worlds that were otherwise unexplored through just the films. More elusive races, from the edge of the galaxy, are fully-fledged characters. Planets of origin are finally seen. And all these characters, cultures, and planets are brimming with life.
My only "complaint" about this novel, is that the descriptions for these worlds were a little lacking in places. There were some settings that I could picture on my own, while some worlds I wouldn't have completely understood their makeup without having already known about them from previous stories or games. But even then, you're building a story based on an already-existing world. Which isn't easy, because how can you ever do it in a way that's new or helpful to an audience that will pick up the book?
The Mysteries Within
For comparisons sake, let's look at Game of Thrones' Petyr Baelish. He's a man of sheer cunning, wit, and manipulation. He can communicate and connect with others that offer him something to gain—whether that's their political seating or their services. He's a shmoozer. Throughout the TV series (because I have not read ASoIaF yet to speak on it), Petyr always had an air of mystique around him. You thought you knew his goals, but he had convoluted ways of accomplishing them to keep himself out of suspicion and outwit those who tried to call his bluffs.
Heir to the Empire has a similar mystique. Who is Thrawn? Who are the Chiss? Where did he come from, and how did he become a Grand Admiral of the Imperial Navy? Thrawn, by contrast of Petyr, is far more direct and obvious about his goals. You aren't left to assume it on your own, you know. His directives are clear, but his strategy keeps him several steps ahead of the game at all times. Zahn conveys this so well, it's almost scary. Thrawn's presence was striking from the moment he appeared.
Still, with as direct and firm as Thrawn is, Zahn intentionally held back when writing about him. Even when the story was angled around Thrawn, it was never truly in his perspective. You never knew what he was thinking, you never knew his desires, his motivations. Instead, you watched him callously respond to the Imperialists that served him, unbothered and unmoved. That air of mystery pulled me to Thrawn even more, and I hope I can learn more when I get to the rest of the series.
Final Impressions
Heir to the Empire was about establishing characters, relationship, and momentum. A lot in this book happens, but it feels very "episode IV" or "episode VII" in how it moves. You are learning more than you are doing. I appreciated that pacing, but I am looking forward to where the trilogy goes from there. How will we see Mara and Luke develop? Will we continue to see a respectable handling of female characters in the series?
The book completely captures the attitudes, mannerisms, manners and speech patterns of our well-known characters while illuminating spaces of lesser-known characters. At the end of the day, that's the main reason to love and enjoy this series from its start. It feels familiar and true.
