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Star Wars: Survivor's Quest

(Star Wars Legends Universe)

Timothy Zahn (Goodreads Author)

3.97 · Rating details · 8,414 ratings · 162 reviews

After fifty years, the remains of Outbound Flight—a pioneering Jedi expedition viciously destroyed by the alien warlord Grand Admiral Thrawn—have been found on the planet Nirauan. The beings who reside there wish to turn over to the New Republic the remnants of the doomed mission. Accepting the gesture will mean a long voyage into the treacherous cluster of stars where the ...more

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Paperback, 480 pages

Published February 3rd 2005 by Arrow (first published 2004)

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Jan 23, 2015 Branwen Sedai *of the Brown Ajah* rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy-science-fiction, star-wars

This was the New Jedi Order, and he and Mara were walking together in as perfect a harmony with each other and with the Force as he could ever expect. "The Force will be with you always, Mara," Luke murmured into her ear. "And so will I."
"Yes," she murmured back. "Whatever the future brings."
They were still holding on to each other as they fell asleep.

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I am basically the biggest, hugest sucker for romance in the Star Wars universe. I know, I know, the fighting and the politics and the world-s ...more

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Jul 07, 2013 Michael rated it really liked it

Timothy Zahn is one of the two or three best authors of Star Wars books. You know when you are reading a Zahn novel that you are in for an enjoyable ride. "Star Wars" Survivor's Quest" deals with two of my favorite Star Wars characters; Luke Skywalker and his wife Mara Jade. It is an odd combination to say the least as Luke is a former Rebel leader and Mara was once the "Emperors Hand," a kind of assassin enforcer for Palpatine (actually tasked at one time to kill Luke Skywalker). Both are Force ...more

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Aug 06, 2008 Caroline rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Fans of the author, sci-fi hardcore fans

Shelves: lowbrow, star-wars, sci-fi

"Survivor's Quest" is a great book, though not for everyone. Anyone who dislikes sci-fi will not like this. Why? It's all sci-fi, all the time. This book doesn't even offer a hint of anything else. Luke and Mara are husband and wife, off to rid the galaxy of evil. They must find out who are the traitors, and who stole their datapad. And they must help the Chiss Ascendancy with Outbound Flight, which departed around the time of the Clone Wars. A wonderful book, and well-written! ...more

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Jul 12, 2011 Jessica Petree rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Zahn is amazing! And I love all his books that relate to Thrawn and Outbound Flight, especially. In this novel, they examine the wreck and find much they never expected...

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Feb 18, 2011 William rated it really liked it

Shelves: paperback, star-wars

Timothy Zahn knows the Star Wars universe as well as any one one Earth (except for maybe George Lucas).
First, he accurately characterizes Luke; a more mature but the same person from the movies, and Mara Jade who is Luke's perfect foil. His calmness alongside her fiery disposition makes them the perfect team.
Secondly, he gives us (finally) a book worth calling a novel without all of the little side stories that sometimes haunt other Star Wars literature. This one is all about Luke and Mara Jade, ...more

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Jul 25, 2010 Ron rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: star-wars, science-fiction

Perhaps not a four on an absolute scale, but certainly that compared to many other SW books. Zahn comfortably weaves together threads from many of his previous books with enough old SW lore to keep the (SW) universe together.

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Mar 05, 2014 Markus rated it really liked it

Shelves: star-wars, science-fiction, 2014

Survivor's Quest is another rather enjoyable Star Wars book by Timothy Zahn. It doesn't quite reach the level of the Thrawn trilogy, but I found it to be significantly better than the Hand of Thrawn duology. It comes with a lot of major changes from what Zahn is used to, and it has one big disadvantage and one big advantage. The former is that all the epic maneuvering and fast-paced action of the full-scale wars that Zahn normally writes about is gone. The latter is that Zahn apparently decided ...more

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Oct 28, 2009 Brennan rated it really liked it

I had to reread Survivor's Quest after reading Outbound Flight, and I'm very pleased at the consistencies in detail between the two. Reading the latter gave a lot more depth to the story behind the former. I've always enjoyed Zahn's work in the Star Wars universe (I'm partial because the Thrawn trilogy was my first EU experience), and this wouldn't be a work of Zahn if it didn't include the Chiss. It's also always nice to see elements of different time periods weaved into the story line (I parti ...more

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Jul 31, 2017 Rock or Something rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Sep 29, 2010 Eric Moreno rated it really liked it

Shelves: scifi, spaceopera-my-stories

Great story, loved limiting the story to just one Mara and Luke. Chiss, plus the following of Outbound flight. Great story all the way to the end.

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Mar 09, 2014 MC rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Surivivor's Quest, by Timothy Zahn, is part of the former Expanded Universe of Star Wars stories, now rendered as the alternate continuity by the Lucasfilm/Disney story folks. Written by Zahn, it is, of course, high quality.

It is also a tad unique in that it is much more action-packed than the other books. Yes, there is the "realism" of other Zahn titles, combined with the aspect of trying to figure out a mystery, but the main action takes up about a third of the book in a series of battles.

The Surivivor's Quest, by Timothy Zahn, is part of the former Expanded Universe of Star Wars stories, now rendered as the alternate continuity by the Lucasfilm/Disney story folks. Written by Zahn, it is, of course, high quality.

It is also a tad unique in that it is much more action-packed than the other books. Yes, there is the "realism" of other Zahn titles, combined with the aspect of trying to figure out a mystery, but the main action takes up about a third of the book in a series of battles.

The basic story is that Jedi Masters Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker (Luke's wife) are summoned by the Chiss, via the Empire of the Hand. The Chiss Ascendancy, the people of Grand Admiral Thrawn, have discovered the remains of the Outbound Flight (which readers know from earlier books that Thrawn destroyed), and wish to hand them over to the Republic and the Jedi.

On the way, they meet aliens who wish to thank the Jedi of Outbound Flight for what they did saving their people from the slavers the Vagaari. But all is not as it seems, and if Luke, Mara, and others, including a man posing as an ambassador for personal reasons and Baron Fel's son leading a squad of the 501st Stormtroopers from the Empire of the Hand, can not figure out the truth, many lives will be lost.

The favorite part for me was seeing both the Chiss, who are awesome, and Luke and Mara's marriage. The Chiss are fascinating, and to see ones that are not anti-villains, but more heroic, was really cool. I loved also the closeness that Luke and Mara had. Seeing their marriage was nice because you see they love each other. I so hope they have Mara adapted into the main universe in Episode 7. I'd love to see her as Luke's wife there too. :D

Another part of the book I liked I can't describe well, as I'd give away major spoilers. Let's just say that Zahn gives us an emotionally and intellectually satisfying tale and leave it there.

Only thing I disliked was wincing at how Thrawn was given an in-universe historical hero upgrade among the characters. He wasn't as evil as other villains, but was still a bad guy.

All in all though, a great book that I Highly Recommend. ...more

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May 02, 2011 Todd rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, science-fiction

Zahn is always a great writer, but some of his characters and plots don't always live up to expectations. I have never found that to be the case when he is writing in the Star Wars universe. He takes characters old and new and breathes life into them. Here he focuses more on Mara Jade than in past stories, but nonetheless gives us the perspective of a number of characters including Luke and several members of the new imperial 501st (Empire of the Hand). The mystery and suspense is wonderful, eve ...more

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Oct 18, 2013 Tiana rated it really liked it

Shelves: star-wars, science-fiction

This book was a little different from Zahn's other Star Wars books I've read because it's a single novel and not part of a trilogy or duology. Don't get me wrong, it was a very good book but I feel like Zahn is better at writing books with more intricate plots which require either a very long book or more than one.

This is book written by Zahn that I've read that was written after the prequels came out. So it was little different because he brought in some things from that.

One thing I have to say ...more

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Sep 10, 2018 Paul rated it really liked it

The good: Any Zahn book that I have read is categorized by a many-layered plot. A plot that includes numerous factions, each one with an intricate plan for power. It’s a satisfying experience to step into the minds of these characters. Luke and Mara share the task of deducing the power play in this book. Each has strengths that create a good balance in the relationship. Survivor’s Quest is very good read, especially if you enjoy Zahn’s work and you are pretty well versed in the ‘legend’ history. ...more

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Jun 11, 2008 Walt rated it it was amazing

Shelves: star-wars

This was a rarity, a mystery within the Star Wars genre. There were some really clever plot twists that made the book even more enjoyable. Of course, one needs to read Outbound Flight to appreciate the complexities of this book.

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Jul 10, 2009 Lisa Brown rated it really liked it

Shelves: star-wars, science-fiction

Kevin says he knows I have read this, but I don't remember much. I assume I really liked it, especially since Luke and Mara are finally married :). I need to reread it to give a more competent review, but know that I am always happy with Zahn's writing. ...more

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Jun 06, 2016 Peter Wilson rated it really liked it

Shelves: sci-fiction

Another great one from Timothy Zahn, its interesting to see what life is like for luke and the rest of the characters of star wars after return of the jedi, will find more if i can to continue with this author

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Mar 07, 2018 Kevin McGinn rated it liked it · review of another edition

I didn’t like the first half but I really liked the 2nd half of this Star Wars story. This would make more sense to put in the new Star Wars stories. They want strong women in positions of power and Mars Jade Skywalker is exactly that.

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Mar 05, 2009 Matt Hartzell rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Star Wars Fans

Shelves: star-wars

This one-off tale from Zahn provides a fun journey that relates back to times before the Empire.

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Feb 26, 2018 David Elkin rated it really liked it

I would get it a 4.5 if could. Zahn is one of the best Star Wars writers and this follows up after his Thrawn trilogy. It deals with the "Outbound Flight" legend which has been found after 50 years. Luke and Mara Skywalker are the main characters. Here are spoilers about Mara; http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Mara_J....

This is not the book to start out with here. The website above is a fount of information. I ran into her in Heir to the Empire. Read the Thrawn trilogy first.

Here is a partial list ...more

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Jun 11, 2020 Morgan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-ve-read-in-2020

FINALLY a book that’s pretty much all about Luke and Mara. I love them together. They’re such a great team. Though, Mr. Zahn, it would really be okay if they kissed each other once in a while. I mean, they ARE married, and they aren’t facing immediate danger on EVERY page. The plot is kinda complex, but unlike the other Zahn books, it’s one storyline instead of, like, five, so it was a little easier to follow. All in all, a good book. And I need more of Luke and Mara during their marriage becaus ...more

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Feb 06, 2019 Meggie rated it liked it

Shelves: own-paper-copy, fiction, star-wars

Before this novel, “Outbound Flight” was something referenced in Zahn’s Star Wars books, but never hashed out in much detail. We knew that a group of Jedi, led by Jorus C’Baoth, tried to find a way out of the galaxy; we also knew that Thrawn, at the prompting of Palpatine, destroyed the Outbound Flight Project. Lucasfilm and Del Rey had originally intended Survivor’s Quest to be a Luke/Mara parallel to Tatooine Ghost, a Han/Leia book that came out in 2003. However, Zahn came up with the idea of ...more

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Jan 19, 2020 Sam rated it really liked it

Shelves: star-wars

Mara Jade, greatest Star Wars character ever, I think

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May 07, 2018 Jacinta Jade rated it it was amazing

Shelves: star-wars

I love Timothy Zahn's Star Wars book! Especially this one! Luke, Mara, stormtroopers and taking on new aliens! Love it! Great twists and action throughout, this book doesn't disappoint. ...more

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Dec 15, 2020 Alexander Röck rated it really liked it

Great Luke and mara story from the new republic era.

This story is set right before the you'zahn vong war, and is a smaller story that connects with zahns prequel novel outbound flight. It expands the lore quite a bit with a look into Chiss culture and the introduction of the infamous 501st legion. The new Characters where interesting and I loved seeing what happened to outbound flight and seeing the new republik era connected to the prequels. Luke and mara are written fantastically and this boo ...more

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Oct 21, 2012 Jaime K rated it really liked it

What I love about Zahn is that he makes the 'verse his home while bringing in elements of previously released works. Because this was written in 2004, aspects of the PT are very evident: droidekas, the mention of an acklay...and Jedi relationships. It is a quite convenient retcon that Luke just happened to not think of any of the conversations he had with Yoda on Dagobah with regards to the former Jedi Order and their thoughts on love, and training.
Also, the droideka fight towards the end was q ...more

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Feb 03, 2016 Michael Otway rated it liked it

3.5 Stars. An entertaining book that, while amazing in parts, just had too many dull parts that dragged on in places and in the end, didn't quite satisfy.

Firstly, this book took a LONG time to get started and I found myself being very frustrated for the first 140 or so pages at the dialogue between Luke and Mara. Every time something happens for one page, they then sit around and discuss it for three. Then another strange thing happens, then they sit around discussing it for 4. It's quite tireso 3.5 Stars. An entertaining book that, while amazing in parts, just had too many dull parts that dragged on in places and in the end, didn't quite satisfy.

Firstly, this book took a LONG time to get started and I found myself being very frustrated for the first 140 or so pages at the dialogue between Luke and Mara. Every time something happens for one page, they then sit around and discuss it for three. Then another strange thing happens, then they sit around discussing it for 4. It's quite tiresome.

About 140 pages in, the story kicks into gear and this is where it becomes a 5 star book, the middle third. Once aboard Outbound Flight, things get really interesting. Mysterious characters, mysterious rooms, enemies reveal themselves. It's simply perfect. I love this part. It actually makes the slow start completely forgivable. It was lots of talking and setup for this amazing pay-off because it does get really good.

And then, very quickly, a little after the enemy is revealed, for the last 100 or so pages, it slows to a grinding halt again. The danger basically disappears as its made clear to the reader that the enemy is actually extremely weak and no match for Luke and Mara. So the last section of the book is Luke and Mara battling henchman, easily winning, and then spending pages talking about it again. Then battling another henchman, talking through a plan for another 5 pages, then easily beating them too. It was 100 pages of talking and easy fights right up until the last battle, which involved talking and a way too easy fight.

But the most disappointing thing is that you never discover why the crew of Outbound Flight were so fearful of Jedi. And while I'm aware that this will be clearly explained for the reader when they read the sequel, (Outbound Flight, which is written as a prequel to fill in the missing pieces) it felt very unsatisfactory that the characters didn't get that explanation and that left the ending feeling a little hollow and I think that was a huge mistake. Readers know they'll find the answers, but we read to see the characters find them. It's a real shame this was brushed aside and forgotten. Overall, it left finishing this story, quite unsatisfying when looking at this book as a single work.

Survivors Quest overall is a good book. It's exciting and good fun with some nice mystery thrown into the mix, and the slow start is fine, as the middle becomes amazing! But it is really let down by the last hundred pages which sees the threat, danger and excitement instantly drop to zero and just drag and drag to the finish. Would have made a great movie but as a book, it's stretched out beyond its limit and doesn't resolve all the story threads satisfactorily. 3.5 ...more

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Nov 06, 2019 Andrew Miller rated it really liked it

A transmission from the Empire of the Hand has reached one of Talon Karrde’s outposts, addressed to Luke Skywalker. Unfortunately, one of Karrde’s people is not who he seems, and has stolen the message, leaving Luke in the dark as to what Admiral Parck of the Empire of the Hand wants with him. Lacking any other options, Luke and his wife, Mara Jade Skywalker, head out for the Nirauan system, where they last were in contact with Admiral Parck, in hopes of learning what his intentions were in cont A transmission from the Empire of the Hand has reached one of Talon Karrde’s outposts, addressed to Luke Skywalker. Unfortunately, one of Karrde’s people is not who he seems, and has stolen the message, leaving Luke in the dark as to what Admiral Parck of the Empire of the Hand wants with him. Lacking any other options, Luke and his wife, Mara Jade Skywalker, head out for the Nirauan system, where they last were in contact with Admiral Parck, in hopes of learning what his intentions were in contacting them. What they discover is shocking: the Chiss Ascendency, the governing body of the Chiss race, has discovered the remains of Outbound Flight, a doomed venture of the Old Republic to reach a distant galaxy and plant colonies along the way. The Chiss request Luke’s presence on their voyage to recover the remains of the project; but along for the ride is the rogue agent of Karrde, posing as the ambassador for the New Republic. And to complicate matters more, the Chiss also pick up a mysterious group of aliens who wish to pay their respects to the remains of Outbound Flight, who they say rescued their people from their oppressors. Into this mix is also thrown a group of Stormtroopers from the Empire of the Hand, and Luke and Mara must discover who they can trust, and who is hiding something from everyone else. But will they discover everybody’s motives in time?

Survivor’s Quest is a little different from previous Zahn fare that has been read by this reviewer. For one thing, of the original heroes from the films, Luke is the only one who actually makes an appearance in the story, though Leia and Han are mentioned, along with R2-D2 and C-3PO. And as far as Zahn’s own characters that he has established in the Thrawn books, Talon Karrde makes an appearance, as well as one or two others, but for the most part, besides Luke and Mara, the story brings the reader a whole new cast of characters.

In some ways, the author had to play cleanup crew with his previous stories, as Survivor’s Quest was released in 2004, after the movies Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones were brought to the world, effectively nullifying or requiring the reinterpretation of Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy. Therefore, strangely present after their strange absence is the appearance of battle droids in the story, in particular, the droideka. While the use of them in the story is interesting, and in a way, to speak in the vernacular, cool (that is, to see what the consequences of the events of the prequels and the use of battle droids may have been), it also may appear to simply be a prequel nod. The very first appearance of a droideka in the story is almost painfully obviously simply a reference to The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones. Later on, it seems as though this is not the case, as it foreshadows a later scene in the book; but that later scene is almost unnecessary to the story save as a payoff for the initial droideka appearance ([SPOILER] and as a climactic battle for the story’s end).

It should be noted that, while in many respects not up to Zahn’s usual quality, Survivor’s Quest does allow the reader to watch Luke and Mara interact with one another as a married couple, which can be rather entertaining at times. Mara still comes across as the main character, as she has throughout the Thrawn saga; though Luke also shares quite a bit of the perspective.

An interesting theme that comes up at one point in the book is really quite remarkable in that it practically comes straight from the Bible. One of the characters is trying to encourage a young girl with Jedi abilities to embrace her gift in order to save those around her. He says that a person doesn’t get to choose what gifts they are born with; they only get to decide what to do with them, whether use them to grow and serve, or bury them in the ground. The idea and the imagery very closely resembles a parable that Jesus tells where a group of servants are given a certain sum of money, and two of them bring back a good return on their master’s investment; but the third servant takes his money and buries it in the ground. The scene in Survivor’s Quest is a good reminder to make use of the abilities we have been given, rather than ignoring them or using them for our own self-interest. Other themes in the story are not quite so clear; though the Jedi doctrine of putting others above oneself is present throughout, as Luke and Mara and other characters continually risk themselves for the good of other people. Mara has some interesting character development in regards to her allegiance to the New Republic, and there is definitely some potential in the story to throw some twists around, but ultimately the author doesn’t bring that storyline into maturity. There are quite a few other twists throughout, however, which add some definite intrigue.

Overall, the story is very much Zahn’s Star Wars. An interesting plot, characters with hidden motives, and mysterious plans are riddled throughout the story. However, much of the mystery either does not pay off (at least in this book) or ends up being somewhat disappointing and anticlimactic. For example, there is quite a bit of mystery surrounding the Vagaari, a race of cruel tyrants who conquer worlds and enslave them, such as who they are allied with, certain types of weaponized creatures that they use, and where they come from. But when the story is all said and done, many of these things have seemingly been forgotten and ignored. Perhaps they are addressed in other books; but even if they are, Zahn could have done a better job at least hinting about them. Instead, the book is wrapped up very quickly (though most of his books are) and the reader is left disappointed. The first two-thirds to three-quarters of the book are really quite intriguing; but the last part is mostly action (i.e. fighting), without much story development. The story ends up feeling quite a bit different by the end than it did when it started.

Survivor’s Quest had the opportunity to open up the galaxy beyond the New Republic and the Empire to its readers; and it succeeded marginally. But much of the voyage to Outbound Flight is skipped over, besides where a few momentous occurrences took place; and these had more to do with the ship the characters were one rather than the regions they were flying through. This was perhaps necessary to the story, but one would think that an author as skilled and successful as Timothy Zahn would have been able to figure out a way to incorporate the Unknown Regions a little more into the story. This is perhaps the biggest disappointment with the story; he drops many hints throughout that something bigger is going on, but in the end, it really isn’t all that big, or else he just doesn’t touch any more on it; it’s as though Zahn really wanted to tell the reader about some of the big bad threats in the Unknown Regions, but was not allowed to, and so he just lets it drop. As stated above, the story was good for most of the way through; it just fell apart at the end. But not every book an author writes is destined to be great. This is one of those, a marginal story in a universe of marginal stories. But such marginality only makes the really great ones shine out all the brighter. ...more

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Jul 30, 2020 Barb rated it it was amazing

"Survivor's Quest" by Timothy Zahn is one of my favorite Star Wars Extended Universe books for not other reason than I absolutely love how it portrays the relationship between Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade Skywalker. Yes, I know -- I normally don't do spoilers, but if you're reading the Extended Universe in chronological order, than you know that Luke and Mara despite their very opposite backgrounds, recognize their natural connection and then fall in love. "Survivor's Quest" takes place after th ...more

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Feb 19, 2015 Peter rated it really liked it

Shelves: library

Ah Mr. Zahn, you are one of the few that I trust to write Star Wars novels. You may have already seen how I absolutely gushed about the excellence of Heir to the Empire and the rest of its trilogy in a previous review. I talked about how those books changed my life and were almost single handedly responsible for my Star Wars nerdery. I read Survivor’s Quest not for a burning desire to see what happens to Luke and Mara, but because of Heir to the Empire’s legacy. Is Survivor’s Quest of the same c ...more

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About Timothy Zahn

Timothy Zahn

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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