David's Review of Heir to the Empire

5/5 Rancors - Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn is the first book in a series that has come to be referred to as the Thrawn Trilogy. That is as it should be because Grand Admiral Thrawn is one of the best villains in the entire Expanded Universe and this is one of the best books.

Our timeline is approximately five years after Return of the Jedi, so our favorite characters are still around, just five years down the road. Han and Leia have twins on the way. Luke is trying to establish a direction for the Jedi movement. Other favorites also have roles to play, but Thrawn steals the show. You can’t help but be impressed by him even though he is one of the bad guys. His intelligence is overwhelming. He always seems to be at least one step ahead of everybody else. Captain Pellaeon, the commander of Thrawn’s flagship, is constantly trying to understand the rationale behind the orders he receives. Thrawn is the last of the Emperor’s warlords, and he has taken command of the remains of the Imperial fleet. His goal, in short, is to do what the Emperor failed to do, i.e., destroy the Republic. Mara Jade also is an important presence in Heir to the Empire. She is the former Emperor’s Hand and a Force user, so her skills are considerable. One other character who has sided with Thrawn is Joruus C’baoth, a strange Jedi with a prickly personality and significant powers in the Force.

This book was first published in 1991 and was like a breath of fresh air for Star Wars fans who were missing the films. They could pull for their heroes again. Heir to the Empire is an excellent read on its own, but it also does a fine job of leading into the next two books in the trilogy. This is a must read for any Star wars fan.