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Star Wars Allegiance
by
Timothy Zahn
Never before has the incendiary mix of action, politics, and intrigue that has become Timothy Zahn’s trademark, been mmore evident that in this new Star Wars epic. On the heels of the stunning events chronicled in Star Wars: A New Hope, the newly minted heroes of the Rebellion–fledgling Jedi Luke Skywalker, smuggler turned reluctant freedom-fighter Han Solo, and Princess L...more
Mass Market Paperback, 432 pages
Published
June 28th 2011
by Del Rey
(first published January 30th 2007)
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Uncommonly good for fan fiction. Good in its own right.
Zahn had broken the code on creating fresh, exciting characters and tales within the the SW framework. Mara Jade like Grand Admiral Thrawn are more fun, if nothing else, than the cardboard cutouts Vader and Solo ended up. (Being mortal helps.)
Rumor has it a sequel it on its way.
Zahn had broken the code on creating fresh, exciting characters and tales within the the SW framework. Mara Jade like Grand Admiral Thrawn are more fun, if nothing else, than the cardboard cutouts Vader and Solo ended up. (Being mortal helps.)
Rumor has it a sequel it on its way.
As big a fan as I am of Star Wars, one thing I always had a problem with was the intentional dehumanization of the Imperial Troops. Most of course were nigh-faceless Stormtroopers, and many of the rank and file units were glossed over, leaving only the higher ranked officers who were portrayed as sniveling, overconfident, incompetent, and generally detached from any sense of "service" or "duty" (with the notable exceptions of Daine Jir, General Veers, and Captain/Admiral Piet...more
Timothy Zahn is my absolute favorite author so when I saw this book about Mara Jade in the Empire era I jumped.
Plot:
There are three plots that intertwine towards the end. LaRone, a stormtrooper, accidentally kills an ISB agent. He and four other stormtroopers desert and run to the nearest planet where they begin an investigation into pirate activities.
Mara Jade was sent to investigate a Moff's possible embezzlement. This leads to a pirate consortium.
Han, Luke, and Leia a...more
Plot:
There are three plots that intertwine towards the end. LaRone, a stormtrooper, accidentally kills an ISB agent. He and four other stormtroopers desert and run to the nearest planet where they begin an investigation into pirate activities.
Mara Jade was sent to investigate a Moff's possible embezzlement. This leads to a pirate consortium.
Han, Luke, and Leia a...more
A pretty unique Star Wars story. I liked the idea of a small core of stormtroopers "deserting" because they see the Empire as corrupt. Puts a human face on the Imperial troops instead of them all being numbered clones like in the movies. Timothy Zahn's stories are almost always better than the other authors in the SW novel universe...he brings better depth, better characters and an attention to detail that is not as prevalent in other novels.
The only weak element in the st...more
The only weak element in the st...more
Well, this was not too bad . . . and not too good . . . but somewhere in between. Set not long after "Star Wars: A New Hope"
I was thinking I would get a good dose of Han, Luke and Leia . . . but alas, no.
You see, the slipcover had me thinking I would get a lot more of Luke, Han and Leia the way it was written, but that was not to be. And what I did get was not what I was expecting. Lots of Ben force whispering to Luke (guess he has nothing better to do?) Han act...more
I was thinking I would get a good dose of Han, Luke and Leia . . . but alas, no.
You see, the slipcover had me thinking I would get a lot more of Luke, Han and Leia the way it was written, but that was not to be. And what I did get was not what I was expecting. Lots of Ben force whispering to Luke (guess he has nothing better to do?) Han act...more
Been a long time since I read a Star Wars book. Used to read a lot of them. Of all the ones I read the Zahn books were always the best. I loved his originally Thrawn series. And liked the Mara Jade character in that book...so it was good to see another story with her in it.
The book takes place between the New Hope and Empire and really dosn't much deal with the main characters...they are in it but not as much as you would expect...especially Vader. I would have liked to see more of him.
The ...more
The book takes place between the New Hope and Empire and really dosn't much deal with the main characters...they are in it but not as much as you would expect...especially Vader. I would have liked to see more of him.
The ...more
Unfortunately, I had to set this book aside for about a month when several library books came in that I had to read before they were due back. So I lost the thread of the story somewhat during the break. Like all Timothy Zahn's books, this had particularly well-developed and interesting characters. The details of the plot were a bit confusing, but the moral choices confronting the major characters were crystal clear. A very young and naive Mara Jade is a central character, and it's interesti...more
One of my favourite Star Wars books to date.
The story centers mostly in Mara Jade, Emperor's Hand. The Emperors personal errand girl. She's been in a few other Star Wars books, but this book is the first to focus on the height of her career.
The story also involves a squad of stormtroopers who desert the Empire after being ordered to fire on civilian targets. After leaving the Empire service, they continue to fullfill thier oath of protecting the citizens of the Empire.
I really liked the idea ...more
The story centers mostly in Mara Jade, Emperor's Hand. The Emperors personal errand girl. She's been in a few other Star Wars books, but this book is the first to focus on the height of her career.
The story also involves a squad of stormtroopers who desert the Empire after being ordered to fire on civilian targets. After leaving the Empire service, they continue to fullfill thier oath of protecting the citizens of the Empire.
I really liked the idea ...more
To be honest, there is never much I expect from a Star Wars book nowadays than a quick read. However, this one is set in the post-A New Hope, pre-Empire Strikes Back time period, and is pretty well written and paced. It was a fun read, but not exactly the type of work that will draw in more fans to the expanded writings of the Star Wars universe.
For those of you who are fans, the added bonus of this book's plot is that it's Mara Jade's first official mission as the Emperor's Hand...more
For those of you who are fans, the added bonus of this book's plot is that it's Mara Jade's first official mission as the Emperor's Hand...more
I really enjoyed this book. But I hope everyone realizes I rate Star Wars books within the realm of only other Star Wars books. My 4 stars review is great for Star Wars books but not on the same par as a regular fantasy book.
For a person who has never read a SW's book before, I think you could easily jump into it and not be lost, which is the problem if say you started to read the New Jedi order series without previous knowledge.
The best thing is it has Mara Jade who is ...more
For a person who has never read a SW's book before, I think you could easily jump into it and not be lost, which is the problem if say you started to read the New Jedi order series without previous knowledge.
The best thing is it has Mara Jade who is ...more
Empire was pummeling rebels and rebels fought back. Standard Star Wars story but in Zahn version it was very enjoyable to read and it was a readable exception of the horde of Star Wars franchise horror of bad literature. The plot line is set post New Hope and pre Empire strikes back movies. Mara Jade, the Emperor´s Hand, had her first mission and yes she did not know Luke Skywalker yet. Ben Kenobi ghost was there more then was necessary, but well Jedis are used to be obnoxious. Some stortrooper...more
Enjoyed this book by Timothy Zahn, definetly a master of Star Wars writing. Enjoyed seeing a stormtrooper force going through what Han Solo when through as they see the terrible things the empire is really doing as opposed to the idealistic views they felt when they signed up. Enjoyed some character exploration of Luke, Leia, and Han before Episode V as well as Mara Jade. Too much Ben Kenobi intervention though, I felt. He was giving Luke too many answers. Very enjoyable read especially for thos...more
While Zahn's Allegiance is not, from my perspective, a bad book—it's reasonably well written, with fascinating stories revolving around a group of Stormtroopers, Mara Jade, and Han/Luke/Leia/Chewie—I do think it is a forgettable one: apparently, I had read this book not long after getting it and, since then, promptly forget having done so; this was a fact I did not discover until about 60 pages into a second reading. Given that the book is only two/three years old (at time of this writing in lat...more
I usually enjoy Zahn, but the last two, this one and Outbound Flight, were missing something, like an identifiable protagonist. I stuck with OF, but I skipped to the end after about 120 pages with this one. It ended pretty much where I figure, all the parties converging and pursuing their own objectives wihout knowing who was next door and how it all meshed. As with OF, having to fit the story within existing storylines takes some of the suspense out of it, but this felt like wisely deleted s...more
Ce roman contient deux histoires. La première est celle de cinq Stormtroopers qui décident de ne pas exécuter des ordres demandant d'exécuter des civils. Ils vont donc demander l'aide des rebelles qui enverront Luke, Leia, Chewbacca et un Han Solo qui ne sait toujours pas s'il veut être dans la Rébellion. la deuxième histoire raconte la première mission de Mara Jade, une orpheline qui sait un peu maîtriser la Force grâce aux enseignements de l'empereur Palpatine. Tout ceci se passe environ...more
How good a sign is it when my overwhelming impression of a book to tell you is that "yeah, I didn't mind reading it." I gave this one two stars out of five. A common theme in positive reviews is how much everyone has enjoyed the humanization of Stormtroopers; I actually am not going to deviate from that because I agree that this was the book's chief selling point. Granted, there was little enough else going for it--a small corps of troopers desert the Empire because they have a problem...more
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Out of all the authors that have written Star Wars novels there are two authors that I love the most that make me keep coming back to read the Star Wars books and Timothy Zahn is one of those authors. He has written over 90 works ranging from shorts stories to novels since 1978. He has reinvigorated the Star Wars Expanded Universe with other writers but I believe that he is better then any of the other other then Aaron Allston. Yes I did, I named another author other then the one who wrote the b...more
Callista
rated it
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review of another edition
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Recommended to Callista by:
Cilghal2
Shelves:
star-wars
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The plot was honestly a little confusing. It promised to explore some interesting issues of patriotism, the tendency of those with power to be corrupted by it, and the gray areas civil wars tend to be rife with. All these were just barely touched on, and in that sense I was a little disappointed. I like that this book at least acknowledged that some good, decent people helped run the Empire, even after the destruction of Alderaan.
Beach Reading Totals:
-Cool Vader cameos
-C...more
Beach Reading Totals:
-Cool Vader cameos
-C...more
It was a nice book and better then Quest and Outbound Flight that he wrote. Still not better then the other 5 he wrote...which isn't bad. His books are still way better then 95% of the other Star War books out there.
The good stuff was a nice spin on 5 stormtroopers that he introduces and gives a little bit of a background of his character Mara Jade, Emperor's Hand that he created. The only thing I didn't like about her was that it seemed like she was more advanced about being a Si...more
The good stuff was a nice spin on 5 stormtroopers that he introduces and gives a little bit of a background of his character Mara Jade, Emperor's Hand that he created. The only thing I didn't like about her was that it seemed like she was more advanced about being a Si...more
Zahn is, by far, the best Star Wars writer out there. While this book is not quite as good as the bookends of his original "Thrawn Trilogy" (Heir to the Empire & The Last Command), it is better than anything else ot there in the Star Wars universe these days.
His ability to distill the complex political machinations in a galaxy full of disperate peoples into a simple storyline emcompassing only a handfull of characters never ceases to amaze me. Zahn has a first-class politic...more
His ability to distill the complex political machinations in a galaxy full of disperate peoples into a simple storyline emcompassing only a handfull of characters never ceases to amaze me. Zahn has a first-class politic...more
This was a fun read. Not as dramatic in some areas as I would have expected, especially taking in to account the characters involved.
I think some of the strength of Zahn's book comes from his usage of the time covered during the story, and he is able to touch on the still malformed Rebel Alliance.
Don't expect grand scenes with the classic characters, because their appearances are brief. Leia and Han are really the only key classic characters. Luke is still stumbling his w...more
I think some of the strength of Zahn's book comes from his usage of the time covered during the story, and he is able to touch on the still malformed Rebel Alliance.
Don't expect grand scenes with the classic characters, because their appearances are brief. Leia and Han are really the only key classic characters. Luke is still stumbling his w...more
Every time I think that Timothy Zahn is done with the Star Wars Universe, he surprises me by coming back. Zahn was conspicuously absent from the New Jedi Order series (an 18 book epic that pitted the cast of the original trilogy against a race of bio-tech wielding aliens), and his Hand of Thrawn duology seemed to wrap up most major lingering questions raised by Zahn’s original Heir to the Empire trilogy that re-launched the Star Wars novels. With the rise of the New Jedi Order, and the sudden ex...more
The great thing about this story is you get to see the opposite side of the coin a lot more than usual. Most Star Wars novels focus on the opinions, actions, and motivations of the Old Republic/Rebel Alliance/New Republic. Anything on the other side is presented more to highlight the actions of the Heroes. Thrawn's scenes showed how brilliant he was, and how dire the New Republic's fight against him was. Yuzon Vhong scenes highlight how unlike anything else in the galaxy they are, and how brutal...more
Neil
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Star Wars fans, particularly fans of Timothy Zahn
This book is worth reading because it is written by arguably the best author in the Star Wars genre, even though this ranks pretty far down the list of his books.
The story takes place between "A New Hope" and "The Empire Strikes Back" and follows four different groups: Luke and Han, Leia, Mara, and a group of disillusioned stormtroopers who have deserted from their unit. The plot follows these groups as they all become involved in an elaborate plan by a sector go...more
The story takes place between "A New Hope" and "The Empire Strikes Back" and follows four different groups: Luke and Han, Leia, Mara, and a group of disillusioned stormtroopers who have deserted from their unit. The plot follows these groups as they all become involved in an elaborate plan by a sector go...more
Quoted from my review @ http://misscz.wordpress.com
Comments: Like with Outbound Flight, I never thought I’d be rooting for characters that are normally viewed as the bad guys in the Star Wars universe. The five stormtroopers, ordinary young men who joined the Empire because they wanted to keep the peace and protect the citizenry, get a rude awakening when they are ordered to kill innocent, and unarmed, civilians. One, Daric LaRone, kills an Imperial officer in self-defense and he is ...more
Comments: Like with Outbound Flight, I never thought I’d be rooting for characters that are normally viewed as the bad guys in the Star Wars universe. The five stormtroopers, ordinary young men who joined the Empire because they wanted to keep the peace and protect the citizenry, get a rude awakening when they are ordered to kill innocent, and unarmed, civilians. One, Daric LaRone, kills an Imperial officer in self-defense and he is ...more
If you are a Timothy Zahn fan then you are going to be disappointed with this book. If you aren't then you are going to think it's just an average Star Wars book. I'm in the latter group. I don't think Timothy Zahn is that great of a Star Wars writer because I get into characters, their development and the politics of the world. Mr. Zahn is more into the action. This book has action but no focus. There are about 4 or 5 different storylines that are all over the place. I enjoyed the Mara Jade one...more
This is one of Zahn's best Star Wars novels, I think. The interweaving plots and conspiracies are deftly handled, and he uses dramatic irony to beautiful effect as the different characters each try to figure out what the other ones know and what they're plotting. The stormtrooper characters are fairly flat, but their situation is an interesting one, and the plotlines with Luke, Han, Leia, and Mara Jade are all very satisfying.
James
rated it
·
review of another edition
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Timothy Zahn lovers, SW fans, not so much for casual readers
Shelves:
sci-fi-fantasy
Timothy Zahn is widely thought of by geeks, and myself, as the greatest writer in the SWG. I have thoroughly enjoyed most all of his books, save for Outbound Flight, and this one is no exception. The only fault I have with this story is the lack of attachment to many of the characters. The rogue stormtroopers are endearing for their heroism and integrity, but I found it hard to be emotionally drawn to their story arc. I was pleased with the focus on Mara Jade and her relationship with the Empero...more
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Timothy Zahn attended Michigan State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 1973. He then moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and achieved an M.S. degree in physics in 1975. While he was pursuing a doctorate in physics, his adviser became ill and died. Zahn never completed the doctorate. In 1975 he had begun writing science fiction as a hobby, and he bec...more
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