Heir To The Empire Review

Heir To The Empire (Thrawn Trilogy #1)
by Timothy Zahn

Review By: Neil Richard

Rating: 5 out of 5



Tim Zahn produced created a masterpiece of Star Wars literature when he penned this book. For me, this was the dawn of a new era. Star Wars as a whole had been on the back-burner in so many ways, people had almost forgotten it was even a movie. Sure, the die-hard fans kept up with things, and it’s probably thanks to them that this book got so much press early on (word of mouth is the best advertiser).

So when Heir To The Empire hit the shelves, I ignored it. I’ll admit, I was one of those that loved Star Wars, but thought I was doomed to watching it on VHS (an in full frame to boot) for the rest of my life. It wasn’t until the last book of the series came out that I happened to see it in the bookstore. The rest is history. I’m 300-plus books into a collection that keeps growing and I can’t stop buying them.

Enough about how this book started my addiction. For me, this is the best “classic” Star Wars novel out there. By “classic” I don’t mean from the 1970s. I mean pre-NJO (New Jedi Order). I classify all the books published between the first book and Vector Prime as “classic.” Nobody really gets hurt, no main characters die, and the good guy wins.

And that pretty much sums up Heir To The Empire. All the main characters show up as well as some great new characters. We have Luke, Obi-Wan (in spirit form), Leia, Han, Mon Mothma, Admiral Ackbar, 3PO, R2, Lando, and Chewie as the main ingredients. Added to that are Grand Admiral Thrawn, the Noghri, ysalamiri, Talon Karrde, Mara Jade, Joruus C’baoth, and Captain Pellaeon.

Aside from setting the foundation for some great characters that will eventually span numerous novels, Zahn also set the pace for awesome action sequences mixed with moments of intrigue and good dialogue. He nails the existing characters and defines the new ones. He gives future writers something to aspire to (and readers to wait for). And he does an overall great job in telling the story.

Now, aren’t you glad I didn’t write that poem I was thinking about?

Available in Word and PDF.

Neil@tk42one.com
© 2006 TK42ONE.com Productions