Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn
I remember reading Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn a long, long time ago – 1992 – in a place that was far away – Hong Kong. (That obviously doesn’t work if you are in Hong Kong.)
It is hard to imagine the hype and excitement of new Star Wars stuff in that simple and bygone time. This was before the Lucas prequels and Disney taking over. (Before all this…) Now there are a ton of Star Wars TV shows, cartoons, anime, books, comics, films, and all the rest.
Nine years before Heir to the Empire there was Return of the Jedi. Then nothing. (There may have been a couple of comics.) For massive Star Wars fans like myself, it was a bleak and horrible time that finally came to end with the release of Phantom Menace. I have repressed my memories of the whole period.
Many may have forgotten, but there was Splinter of Mind’s Eye by the superb Alan Dean Foster. But that came out between the A New Hope – or Star Wars as it was known back then (I was there, I know what I saw) – and Empire Strikes Back. As it features Luke and Leia having adventures and erm… having feelings for each other… it has dated pretty poorly. I really enjoyed it though.
But when Heir to the Empire came, it was a pretty big deal for Star Wars fans. I bought it the moment my reserved copy arrived at my favourite bookshop in Hong Kong and read it that night.
Now, 30 years later, I thought it was time to reread it, and the other two books in the trilogy – Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command. I’ll review them separately.
What is Heir to the Empire about and is it any good?
I will use the blurb to describe what it’s about:
Five years ago, the Rebel Alliance destroyed the Death Star, defeated Darth Vader and the Emperor, and drove the remnants of the old Imperial Starfleet to a distant corner of the galaxy. Princess Leia and Han Solo are married and expecting twins. And Luke Skywalker has become the first in a long-awaited line of Jedi Knights.
But thousands of light-years away, the last of the Emperor’s warlords, Grand Admiral Thrawn, 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 a vital discovery that could destroy everything the courageous men and women of the Rebel Alliance fought so hard to build.
Heir to the Empire is superb, and a must read for all Star Wars fans. I had forgotten how much I had enjoyed this book. Happily, enough time has passed that all I could remember was Thrawn being smart, Leia carrying Jedi twins, Mara Jade, and some vague Jedi and smuggler related storylines. Oh, and that the gang were all back together in a proper Star Wars adventure.
What makes the story so great is that it retains the spirit of adventure, optimism, and fun of the original trilogy. It features our favourite disparate group of heroes fighting against a ruthless antagonist in space. There’s adventure, new characters, and interesting new planets.
This time the baddie is Thrawn, a superb character and a military genius. (Happily, he looks set to return in the new Ashoka TV, plays by Lars Mikkelsen.) But Thrawn first appears in Heir to the Empire, so check it out if you want some background.
I should point out that Heir to the Empire is not canon and is now part of ‘Legends’. Instead of having Han and Leia officially stay in love with each and raise kids while uncle Luke learns the ways of the Jedi, Disney has opted for divorce, an emo kid, and an embittered Jedi hermit.
Ok, I am turning to the dark side. Sorry.
Final thoughts…
Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn is a brilliant read. It’s also proper Star Wars: full of adventure, planets, cool aliens, and treats the characters with the love and respect they deserve. Plus an awesome baddie.
I loved it 30 years ago because it continued the story in a way that was logical and exactly what I wanted from it. I have also loved rereading it for the same reasons. I don’t like what they did with the recent sequel trilogy movies, they were depressing. But maybe that made me enjoy this story so much more. Recommended.