Heir to the Empire is a novel written by Timothy Zahn. It was the first installment of the Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, and it was originally released in May 1991. The novel is set five years after the events of Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and it is the introduction of Grand Admiral Thrawn to the Star Wars universe. The book is part of the Legends universe and is not considered to be canon.
Publisher’s Summary: It’s five years after 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 Jedi 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 two vital discoveries that could destroy everything the courageous men and women of the Rebel Alliance fought so hard to build.
Review: This is the first book in the Legends Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn (not to be confused with the canon Thrawn trilogy by the same author), and the first thing I want to say is that just because it now has Legends stamped on the front of the book, do not, and I repeat do not, run away from it. This is a great story with adventures from some of our favorites – Han Solo, Lando Calrissian, R2-D2, Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, and a host of other characters – but it also gives us the introduction to some new ones as well. Mainly Thrawn, of course, but also the dark Jedi Joruus C’Baoth, who tries to get Thrawn to get him Skywalker. You get to see the true brilliance of Thrawn begin to shine in this book, and it gives you the ground floor for what the new canon Thrawn is becoming.
You also meet Luke’s new friend, or should I say enemy, because it is Mara Jade and she is a woman that brings another meaning to the word badass. Every time I hear of her and see her on paper, I always wonder why George Lucas hated her so much. If you are a woman that loves Star Wars, you will love what you get out of Mara Jade as she is hiding behind the scenes of a sweet new criminal crime lord, Talon Karrde. The more I read, the more I wondered if this was Hondo from Clone Wars. The guy is a leader of a crime syndicate but yet you get the feeling you would love to hang out with him and maybe get a drink somewhere.
This isn’t going to be this ‘long epilogue, telling you every detail’ kind of review. What this is is me really telling you to give this book and this series a shot because if you ever wanted to see Leia with a lightsaber, or a Wookiee that speaks Basic, or if you ever wanted to see a woman put their hands on Luke’s lightsaber, then this would be a good read for you. Hell, you might want to read it while sipping over some hot chocolate. Yeah, I forgot to tell you that hot chocolate exists in Star Wars. Go enjoy the book and learn about things the grand stage of Star Wars has to give us. Yes, even the Legends.
Additional Thoughts: By the way, go and have some fun and watch Kevin Smets’ Knights of the Old Republic series Revan – The Mandalorian Wars. It’s great.
