From the Bookshelf of The Expanded Universe…

Heir to the Empire (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, #1)

Timothy Zahn

Start date: June 1, 2013

Finish date: June 30, 2013

Why we're reading this: Since its release in 1991, this has been an EU classic for almost every one of us. Zahn started lifting t…more
[close] Since its release in 1991, this has been an EU classic for almost every one of us. Zahn started lifting the curtain on the Galaxy far, far away, and we've been loving the stories ever since.

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

No group discussions for this book yet.

What Members Thought

Jan 20, 2015 Scott Rhee rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: old-canon-legends, star-wars

11/13/2023 addendum: I just finished the Audio CD version of this classic Zahn novel, narrated by Marc Thompson. I hadn't read this since 2006, so it was nice to refresh my memory with this. A lot of (now-Legend non-canon) characters were introduced in this book, included Grand Admiral Thrawn, the smuggler Talon Karrde, and future wife-of-Luke-Skywalker Mara Jade. It must be said that Thompson does a great job of emulating the voices of the characters. His Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill are prett 11/13/2023 addendum: I just finished the Audio CD version of this classic Zahn novel, narrated by Marc Thompson. I hadn't read this since 2006, so it was nice to refresh my memory with this. A lot of (now-Legend non-canon) characters were introduced in this book, included Grand Admiral Thrawn, the smuggler Talon Karrde, and future wife-of-Luke-Skywalker Mara Jade. It must be said that Thompson does a great job of emulating the voices of the characters. His Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill are pretty dead-on, and his Anthony Daniels as C3-PO is perfect. Fun audiobook with sound effects and John Williams' wonderful score, makes it feel like an old-fashioned radio show. Highly recommended for fans.

9/3/23 addendum: I just caught up with the first three episodes of the Disney + show "Ahsoka", which is everything I expected it to be, namely awesome and wonderful. I love how it brings in a lot of characters from previous Star Wars shows (Clone Wars and Rebels) and seems to be leading up to the reintroduction of Admiral Thrawn, one of the best villains ever to not appear in a single Star Wars movie. It's making me want to re-read the now-classic original trilogy by Timothy Zahn that basically started the whole SWEU and introduced the world to Thrawn.

I came late to the Star Wars Expanded Universe (SWEU) party. I first read Timothy Zahn's "Heir to the Empire" in 2006, roughly fourteen years after it was originally published. Many other authors had already joined in the fun, and the prequel films had already come and gone from theaters. I remember loving the book---the first of what has come to be called the "Thrawn Trilogy"---and thinking how cool it would be if Lucas ever decided to bring it to the big screen. It would, of course, be another decade before "Episode VII: The Force Awakens" arrived in theaters, and many fans of the SWEU would, of course, secretly (or not-so-secretly) be disappointed.

"Heir to the Empire" represents, to fans, an alternative timeline that carried on the adventures of the original cast of characters that have become beloved icons. I haven't read these books since my initial 2006 read, but I have always intended to someday go back and re-read them. ...more

26 likes · Like · see review

Dec 03, 2014 Josh Lewis rated it really liked it

Shelves: sweu

To start with, Thrawn is easily my favorite character in the book: in my opinion, he is a refreshing change from the villains we knew from the original movie trilogy. What separates him from the run-of-the-mill high-ranking Imperial officer is his glacial calm (he is, in fact, often described as some form of the adjective "cold"), calculating, and focused on the end result. He relies on an insanely high intellect and abundance of experience to guide his actions, all without the aid of the Force To start with, Thrawn is easily my favorite character in the book: in my opinion, he is a refreshing change from the villains we knew from the original movie trilogy. What separates him from the run-of-the-mill high-ranking Imperial officer is his glacial calm (he is, in fact, often described as some form of the adjective "cold"), calculating, and focused on the end result. He relies on an insanely high intellect and abundance of experience to guide his actions, all without the aid of the Force (well mostly... but I'll try not to get into spoilers) and the knee-jerk reaction to make a final stand and take out as many Rebels as possible when a plan goes awry. Also, the fact that he is a non-human Chiss in the Empire's top command like a Jew being part of the Third Reich only adds to his image of effectiveness. He is the ideal military commander.

Captain Pellaeon makes a great foil to Thrawn as a typically experienced commander who relies on core military disciplines but doesn't really think creatively beyond that. The Imperials definitely make a good enemy in this first book following the movies and diving into the Expanded Universe.

The book as a whole was a fun read, taking me back to a lot of the things that I loved about the original characters, especially Luke. (ROTJ Luke was unquestionably my favorite Luke.) He is outwardly the collected Jedi from ROTJ while now brushed with inward uncertainty as he tries to figure out how to teach what he's learned.

All that being said, this is definitely a book based in nostalgia. This isn't necessarily a bad fact: the original trilogy is certainly my favorite and it's good to have characters that you know and love. Also, given its status as the FIRST book after the movies trying to make smooth an uncertain transition into a new venture, it's a good starter. However, as someone who began with books later down the line, knowing some of the twists already (Hi, Mara Jade!), and enjoying new material a little more, the not-so-subtle hails back to the movies invoked a groan more than once. (SPOILERS) Luke goes back to Dagobah, we're going to see Lando at some new "respectable" business location (but can we really trust him again, even after 5 years?) etc. etc. Additionally, while Thrawn is a great enemy of intellect, the book liberally toed the line of being completely contrived with all of the coincidences and gut feelings that run rampant through the book.

Overall, it's an excellent transition from the movies to the Expanded Universe for first time readers who have watched the original trilogy. Not my favorite novel, but Timothy Zahn still does an awesome job! ...more

Like · see review