"Heir to the Empire," by Timothy Zahn [Bantam, 1991]

A great trilogy...second only to the Bounty Hunter Wars by KW Jeter. Just finished TTT this morning, and it was awesome! Highly Recommended!!!

 

This book was so good im today reading it for the 3rd time 10

 

I easily give this book a 10! This is the book that hooked me into the Expanded Universe!

 

It didn't blow me away. 5.

 

This book was the first I read of the SW universe - I think I was 12 when I read it, and I LOVED it. It's the only reason I got into Star Wars, and it made me like the movies more. Zahn's writing is a nice mix of technical juxtaposed with a lot of action and heroism, just enough to keep the good guys from being Mary/Gary Su/Stus. Plus, he brought us Fey'la, Karrde, and the Solo twins.

My favorite book by far.

 

10* 10* 10*


Zahn is KING. What else can be said?

 

I just finished this book today! It was EXCELLENT! A brilliant work of literature!

10 of 10!

 

I just read it...I liked it, Mara and Luke were awesome. I didn't care for Leia's part...

 

10 for thsi book and 10 for all the TNR. Mara rocks, Luke rocks, Thrawn Rocks, Heir of the Empire Rocks.

 

In my opinion The Thrawn trilogy to this day is still the best set EU books out there. It captured the sense of adventure and fun of the OT as well as having orginal charachters that are not just Lucas re-treads that to this day are long lasting and the most well known.

 

I went numb the first time these books finally touched my hands, but the second I opened them, I felt like I was in the adventure helping Luke and Mara! God she was hot, and reading more of her, made my blood boil!!!

 

It's been almost 10 years since the last time I read this book, but IMO this is probably the best SW book ever made! 10/10

 

I remember reading it in I'm guessing early 1992 when i found it at a bookstore while on holiday. Heir to the Empire and Dark Force Rising were both on the shelf and I convinced my parents to get me one of them (I wanted both!) and they said if you finish the first one you can have the second.

I had finished it by the end of the next day and got the second!

A year or so later Last Command came out in hardcover and I've never finished a book faster - got it late arvo at the shops - started reading it at the shopping centre and it was finished that night (will not admit what time i finished!)

A bigger debreif later but since I remember getting the books they reinforce how special they were.

Simply the best.

 

10/10

You mean there is more to the Star Wars story after RotJ? Count me in!

Timothy Zahn? Never heard of him, but he writes one hell of a good novel.

Darth Vader has grandchildren ??? Tell me more !

Thrawn. What a guy, I'm sold on the EU already.

I could go on, but I'd rather go back and re-read this book instead.

 

I just finished this book tonight and it was amazing. I enjoyed it probably more than Shadows of the Empire.

I rated it a 10. It had me sucked into the story and didn't let me go. I would need to read at least 7 chapters in one setting because I couldn't let go. I kept saying one more chapter, then no one more after this.

It's brilliant...My friend couldn't get into the Zahn writing and the Thrawn trilogy, after I started reading I was afraid I wouldn't be able to as well, but after I read the first chapter I was instantly hooked.

Highly recommended.

 

I'm reading this book for the third time and, since I've now read so many of the Clone Wars novels and "Outbound Flight", this book is almost twice as enjoyable. What's so great about Zahn's style is that everytime you re-read the book you catch something new. Case in point, I had never even noticed that Zahn had included the Praesitlyn Communications Center until this time, after having read "Jedi Trial".
Plus, the main villain is a bit more believeable. Thrawn isn't all "Ha ha, I'm evil, destroy everything." I actually see parallels between him and Jacen Solo in the Dark Nest trilogy (I haven't read Betrayal yet). Thrawn believes that restoring the New Order is the most important thing, and he fights for what is most important. Sure, he has the bad guy traits of oppressing people and ordering murder and whatnot, but he's also an embodiment of a true bad guy, not the Evil Emperor, but closer, in character to the X-Men's Magneto.

 

For me, it's hard to separate Zahn's books from each other. I'm a total fanboy, I think he's the best thing to hit the EU. I rate this book, and all of his books, a 10. IMHO, the only EU author who even comes close to Zahn is Stackpole, although I do read good things about Allston as well. Zahn is king of the hill, however. It also helps that he created my absolute favorite character, Mara Jade, and he seems to be the only writer who can handle her correctly. Although Stackpole does pretty well in that regard as well.

 

I'm giving this a 9.I loved this book,but I thought C'baoth was a little boring and the scenes on Myrkr with Luke and Mara didn't appel to me.

 

When this first came out, I was in heaven. I don't remember, did GL say this meant he was getting ready to do the PT? Anyway, I loved the characerizations, the nostalgia rekindled for the OT. Well-written. Thrawn is my favorite EU character.

 

Quite simply the most overrated, over-hyped Star Wars novel ever. After reading it I doubted if Zahn had watched any of the movies more than once, several years before. Reads like a Michael Crichton novel, filled with pointless info about technology. The creatures that can suck the force out of Jedi are one of the worst ideas yet. Though I like the character of Mara Jade, she's basically wooden in this book, not a great introduction.

Furthermore, Zahn obviously does not appreciate Vader as a character, his continual usage of the term "Dark Jedi" gets old fast, Grand Admiral Thrawn is not exciting, etc, etc, etc. The most positive aspect is Joruus C'Baoth, but this book was not my favorite Star Wars novel. 3 of 10.

 

Well, I finnaly finished 'Heir to the Empire' by Timothy Zahn. My first SW novel, read from cover to cover ever besides the movie novelizations. I have to admit, I had the book for years now and tried now and again to read it but, just coulden't do it. It may because I didn't like it I have a problem with all books, because I have a short attention span. But a week ago, I tried one last time and now I just finished it. It was overhyped for me and I'm a bit spoiled about TTT but you know what? I enjoyed it. I was pretty good. I loved Talon Karrade and Mara Jade, but I wasen't crazy about Luke being treated so poorly all through the book. Being hoarded into one cell after another, pushed around under blaster point, put down by Mara....It just feels so odd and stupid for the hero Luke who saved the galaxy in the OT, to be treated like this by a galaxy he helped...I don't know. He deserved more respect. I loved Mara Jade anyway though. Great character. The minor characters were cool too. Like Page, Ghent and Draviss. Lando was written very well but Han felt a little wooden. The references to lines from the OT were welcomed but went a little overboard sometimes. Almost every joke was lifted from the OT....My favorate parts were with Luke and Mara traveling through the woods of Mrykr. You could so feel: future husband and wife. Thrawn was tooooo perfect and intellegent sometimes. I was a little bored by the Leia subplot until the Noghri actrully spoke to Leia. The middle got me really pumped up all through till the end but then the space battle at the end dragged for me. I was like....wha?? I thought it was gonna wrap up now and be over. Cliffhanger was..meh but I like the line at the end about winning war just to have some bothan screw it up. It was a good read.


I guess I'll give it...a 7. Though this might change after I read 2 and 3.

 

Heir to The Empire was good but it had a few slow parts. I generally skip the Mrykk(sp) parts when I reread it because I feel they're a little boring and I don't like Mara, but the rest of it was good. I expecially enjoyed the very end with the Battle at Sluis Van, battles are definately one of Zahn's strongpoints in my opinion. I give it a 7, good but not great.

 

excellent novel. It was like I was watching the movies again. I love thrawn as well.

 

First of all, they don't 'suck' the force out of them, the ysalamiri can repele the force by creating a bubble, or force feild (whatever you want call it).

I did read Outound Flight before getting to this and seen more of the character, so that may have had effect on my opinion of him, but I did not see Thrawn as boring in any way. As far as the other parts, I grew up watching lV, v, and Vl. Seemed right to me.

Anyway, I loved this book and all others he wrote. Thrawn is without dout my favorite Star Wars character, especialy in the earier days at the time of Outbound Flight.

BTW, I don't really like Vader either. Honestly, Anakin just plain annoyed me. I tried but I didn't like him from the start.

 

The Ysalimiri merely repel the force, they do not "suck it in".
Your viewpoint is interesting, but to my mind, Zahn has a fluent writing style. I think he surpasses other SW writers such as Denning or Crispin, and I like the technological/scientific recurring theme, it reminds you that you're in the SW Universe where SO MUCH MORE is capable and available!

Mara has never been a favourite for me, although I do like Thrawn. Easily my favourite character. You can't help but feel some of the comments he makes would be perfect in that drawly cynical tone, for example:
"You're the Jedi Master, you tell me."