Lit Rereading The Thrawn Trilogy

So I was skimming through my copy of Jedi vs Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force and ended up reading through the lightsaber section, which mentioned the whole C'baoth and Luuke mess in The Last Command. Which of course inspired me to spurge and purchase the whole trilogy on my Kindle, cause for some reason I don't own the hard copies like I thought I did.

Anyway, to make a long story short I'm rereading Heir to the Empire right now and was wondering what you guys had to say on the subject. Favorite parts? Least favorite? Memorable quotes and scenes? Let's hear it all, yeah?

 

I had a very polarised reaction when I finally read the TTT. I found the Chiss as a race and Thrawn interesting in concept but the execution and presentation left me feeling pretty void. It is likely because Thrawn is very difficult for me to read or relate to because his make up is so detached. I much prefer Karrade and Gilad. Can't stand Mara Jade.

The style is too brief and basic for me to invest much. The Noghori were intesting but I didn't care for their blind devotion to 'Lady Vader'. Jorus was interesting but the multiple clones and madness not so much. Love that Mara begins a redemption path but not the tone or how it's done.

Could really tell they were trying to hard to link it to the films. Good ideas but poor presentation.

 

I think I'll join you in rereading them. The last I read them was maybe 18 months ago. I enjoyed Thrawn, and I enjoyed how they respected the villains moreso than in the OT. Thrawn's death was also done really well and not in a clichè way.

 

I suppose it is a little rough around the edges. But personally Zahn is my favorite Star Wars author, because of how well he manages to present his villains as clearly as he does his heroes. Plus I just loved Thrawn. He's complex in a way that the movie villains, OT or PT, never were. His death was well-orchestrated and Palleon's one of those characters that you sort of root for no matter what side he's on. Plus the side characters, like Karrde, were fantastic and I love Mara's story in general. She's just a good, strong character that still manages to keep her feminine attributes. Which is something that a lot of writers don't seem to realize is possible. If a female hero is physically strong they feel they have to make her less feminine, and if she's feminine then she can't have as much physical strength. That's not to say that Leia's more diplomatic skills aren't strong and necessary, they are. There just doesn't need to be a huge rift between the two options.

 

Best EU trilogy easily. Thrawn is one of my favorite villains ever. Mara, Karrde, Pelleaon etc are all awesome additions to the EU.
This trilogy feels the most similar to the OT imo.
I didn't have time to discuss this in a committee. I am not a committee.
Battle at Sluis Van Shipyards. Bilbringi, Katana Fleet! Mount Tantiss. Love it all.

 

They were wonderful books, especially back in the day. I had a great time a couple months ago with the unabridged audiobook I rented from the library, Heir to the Empire still has a lot going for it. Zahn was great at hinting at mysterious, intriguing backstory. Thrawn remains an innovative, different type of villain. I quite like how much the Force gets used throughout the HttE, and Luke's extensive period on Myrkr strengthens my regard for his ability to be heroic in the face of adversity.

Dark Force Rising I enjoyed, except for the mechanics of Luke's plan to Karrde out of an Imperial prison. It's good and bad, I guess, because it evokes strong imagery straight from the first movie; but it's the kind of thing that makes the Back to the Future movies exasperating. Going up through the garbage chute kind of took my out of Zahn's narrative. I was also a little disappointed at what I perceived to be a diminishing of Thrawns intuitive powers. At a moment in the story when Thrawn's intuition could have been so much more scary, and made the heroes' proximity and efforts to escape more intense, Thrawn suddenly seems off his game. That escape sequence could have been much more frightening, so a bit of a missed opportunity. I still very much enjoyed DFR, I plowed through it when I originally read it.

The Last Command was a fine wrap up. It's hasty resolution for what happens to Thrawn has been commented on by plenty of others, it's too abrupt after how great everything else is in TTT.

Retrospect makes me think that if the books were designed as a sequel trilogy these days, it might have been good to see some advancement with Luke taking on an apprentice or two and passing on what he has learned. But that's a view from modern perspective. The books are still a source of fond memories, ultimately great fun. I'll still have the books, and the memories, after the new movies come out; they'll still have meaning for me. They have endured as an accepted version of what happens post-RotJ for more than 20 years, so Episode VII has it's work cut out to win people over to a new understanding of the post-RotJ era.

 

Well, out of all the Legends characters who may never show up again, I will miss Mara and Karrde the most. I'm so sad we never got a book with just the two of them.

As for the trilogy as a whole, I reread it after Revenge of the Sith came out. I thought it'd feel really dated, with what we'd learned about the Clone Wars in the prequels. I was surprised how well it held up--perfectly, in fact. The story and characters are so well-written that the continuity flubs don't really matter.

 

I read TTT right when it first came out, and it was water to my desert. loved it