Mass Market Paperback, 404 pages
English language
Published April 29, 1992 by Spectra.
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 …
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.
Me ha gustado, pero solo me ha enganchado al final, quizá por eso he tardado más de un año en terminarlo. Aún así pienso que es entretenido y recomendable. En inglés se hace un poco duro la jerga. Seguiré con la saga. #StarWars
Great novel, hate the bit about hot chocolate though.
A fun book, rife with zingy lines I would expect to hear from my favorite characters. This was my first Star Wars book and it seems like a good place for someone curious about the novels to start. It contains enough familiar characters, places, events, etc. to not feel overwhelming and like I needed to study beforehand, but was different enough to really hold my interest.
A rollicking good space opera, although it doesn't quite catch the tenor if Luke, Han, Leia, and Chewbacca.
Very plot-driven, nice nods to the movies. Fun to learn about Wedge and Mara Jade, I didn't know those characters previously.
The story is as engaging as I remember it. Zahn deftly extrapolates the actions, concerns, relationships, and experiences of the familiar Star Wars characters from the original trilogy, while giving them new situations – threats and otherwise – to adapt to, managing to fill out even more of their stories through, for example, a visit to Chewie's home planet and yet another return trip to Dagobah for Luke. That the primary protagonists seem to keep ending up together in the places where the main action seems to be occurring is not more or less providential than in the original movies.
However, Zahn's genius has always been the introduction of his new antagonists: most importantly the alien Imperial strategist, Grand Admiral Thrawn (for whom the trilogy has been post hoc named), and the hate-filled Emperor's Hand, Mara Jade. Expertly crafted characters in their own rights, both are given plausible backstories as …
The story is as engaging as I remember it. Zahn deftly extrapolates the actions, concerns, relationships, and experiences of the familiar Star Wars characters from the original trilogy, while giving them new situations – threats and otherwise – to adapt to, managing to fill out even more of their stories through, for example, a visit to Chewie's home planet and yet another return trip to Dagobah for Luke. That the primary protagonists seem to keep ending up together in the places where the main action seems to be occurring is not more or less providential than in the original movies.
However, Zahn's genius has always been the introduction of his new antagonists: most importantly the alien Imperial strategist, Grand Admiral Thrawn (for whom the trilogy has been post hoc named), and the hate-filled Emperor's Hand, Mara Jade. Expertly crafted characters in their own rights, both are given plausible backstories as to how, despite being marginalized by the Empire (and the Emperor himself), they yet remain loyal to it (and him) in ways that exceed the rote conditioning of the average officer and stormtrooper in the Imperial Navy.
Perhaps more subtly inspired, and something that I had not picked up on with previous reads, is the use of Capt. Pallaeon and Talon Karrde to explicate the more fascinating personalities of Thrawn and Jade, respectively. Zahn uses these two characters in much the same way that Tolkien uses the hobbit characters (mostly) in [b:The Lord of the Rings|33|The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings, #1-3)|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1411114164s/33.jpg|3462456] – what Michael Drout has called the "epistemic regime." The reader wonders and learns alongside Pallaeon and Karrde about the motives and insights of Thrawn and Jade, respectively, and while it's not quite as expertly done as in Tolkien, the effect is much the same, with our seeing through the eyes of those who have less information.
The only chagrin I have with re-reading this is, of course, that the last time I read the book, I had not even seen the "new" movies, let alone learned that the Expanded Universe was no longer canonical in any way. I still enjoyed the story very much, but knowing that these aren't the events that "actually" happened post-Return is, as the kids say, booty. Given that the Thrawn trilogy was my own introduction to the EU, at a time when it was supposedly curated by Lucas Films, it's disappointing to know that this is not the direction which Disney, Abrams, et al, will be taking the new stories. That said, it is blessedly free of midi-chlorians. (For more thoughts on how I think the jettisoning of the EU from canon is a terrible idea, please listen to the 100th episode of my podcast, Kat & Curt's TV Re-View.)
Nonetheless, I still really enjoyed the story and have the second book in the series sitting here beside me waiting to be cracked as soon as I hit save on this review....
It's strange to go back and read books I loved in high school, before I became interested in "real" Literature. The story here is great, action-packed and exciting, just as I remember it. But the writing... Well, I suppose it's fitting that a Star Wars novel has terrible dialogue and really awkward writing at times. It's a great way to honor the legacy of the original films.
My continued adventures down the nerd rabbit hole has brought me to the Star Wars Expanded Universe. This book came recommended as one of the best examples of EU fiction and though I have nothing to compare it to I can sort of see why fans love it so much. Reading this felt like watching a whole new Star Wars movie.
It's a fun read if you're in the mood for some Star Wars but don't expect groundbreaking literature here - just a nice flavor of candy.
Spoilers ahead!
A fine beginning, but that's all. After reading it a lot of times, I feel quite disapointed with the first book, maybe because Zahn is almost building a "new Star Wars trilogy" and is introducing the new characters (despite being a lot of times better than the new movie trilogy...). I definitely prefer the third book in this book cycle, "The Last Command".
The book that essentially started the "expanded universe" of Star Wars (although building off the work of the RPG and earlier novels). Zahn is a talented writer and I enjoyed this book when I read it, but it's probably not something I'd read today.
'''Pull up!' Wedge snapped to his squadron, leaning his X-wing into a tight turn to get out of the path of that deadly surge. 'Come around and re-form; S-foils in attack position.'
And as they swung around in response, he knew with a sinking feeling that Captain Afyon had been wrong. Rogue Squadron was indeed going to earn its pay today.
The battle for Sluis Van had begun.''
