David's Review of Specter of the Past

5/5 Rancors - About four years ago, two of us launched a blog at "rancorslovetoread" in which our goal was to read all of the books in the Star Wars Expanded Universe in as close to chronological order as we could and then publish reviews of each book. So far we have read about 90 of the just less than 150 books on the list. My personal feeling is that the best author writing in the Star Wars world is Timothy Zahn. His stellar efforts have included Outbound Flight, Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command. Those last three, of course, make up The Thrawn Trilogy.

In Specter of the Past, Mr. Zahn continues his winning ways. This first volume in a two-part series is outstanding. It is set in a time when the Empire appears to be on the verge of a complete collapse. New Republic forces are busy around the galaxy dealing with a myriad of problems, and the Empire turns out to have a few tricks left. A plot is in place that could destroy the New Republic in a civil war. Plus, the truly disturbing news is that Grand Admiral Thrawn, a military leader of unparalleled skill and cunning, appears to have returned from the dead to lead the Empire's forces once again.

Mr. Zahn's plots are always excellent, and the tale in this book is certainly no exception. On the one side, we have most of our favorite heroes going off in different directions to see what is actually going on and what can be done. Luke, Leia, Han, Lando, Mara Jade, C-3P0, and R2-D2 all have major roles to play. On the other side, Admiral Pellaeon, Moff Disra, and Grand Admiral Thrawn (apparently) are leading the way. Other characters come along for various stretches of the book and play important roles. Character development is one of the author's strengths, and he certainly does well with it here. He also can tell an excellent story. Some of the Star Wars authors go overboard with philosophizing and trying to analyze the motives of key individuals. Mr. Zahn does not get bogged down in such things. His story moves along and holds the reader's attention.

Specter of the Past is a must-read book for any fan of Star Wars. I look forward to the second volume, Vision of the Future.