Story Mode Activated. Apologies!
Before giving Heir to the Empire a try, I had read through six books in the Star Wars library. Barely a sliver considering that the SW books usually have their own section at bookstores, but it's decent! I think. I hope.
Four of those six books had been written by Matthew Stover, a legend among SW fans due to his singlehandedly defining the Force in a way that has had an effect on how I watch the SW movies ever since. Another of those six was Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn, Lead Writer of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, the best video game to ever come into existence, (I know, I know. Exaggeration is what I do. It's my thing). Path of Destruction, while good, is one of the most okay books I've ever read. It was all talk and no action. All formula and no character. I couldn't love Bane as the main character and I couldn't hate him as the villain. He just sucked.
The sixth was Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno, known for his extensive knowledge of SW lore and his ability to make anything he writes sound boring. I did really like that book, though. A unique take on several different events and characters, and it did its best to characterize Darth Vader as he took his first steps as a Dark Lord, for all his stumbles. It was better than PoD by miles, I'll say that.
After finishing up Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, I sort of hit a wall. I couldn't find anything that I wanted to read, and ended up buying half a dozen books that are still sitting pretty on my shelf. Neuromancer turned out to be wildly inventive, but ultimately a chore to read. God of War was a bust and a disappointment. Among other titles, I even tried to reread some of my old favorites just to give me something to read! I was getting desperate, so I turned back to Star Wars.
Not really knowing where to start, I remembered that Matthew Stover had said that his favorite Star Wars book had been Han Solo at Stars' End. So I gave that a try, but couldn't finish it. The story wasn't bad, and he captured Han Solo really well, but for such a short read, there really wasn't a lot in there to keep me interested. Mister Daley (rest in peace, sir) had a talent for drawing things out when it wasn't necessary.
After that, I kept doing my research, looking up fan-favorites of the SW library. Many of them would always point to the Darth Bane Trilogy as their favorite, and I would silently cry myself to sleep. Karpyshyn is a great writer when it comes to games, but the misadventures of Darth Bane could not be lesser in the spirit of Star Wars. Could not be. Luckily, Bane wasn't the only book getting some love. An overwhelming majority would point to Heir to the Empire and the Thrawn Trilogy as the books that made them believe in Star Wars again. A bit more research showed that this was the series the sparked the ENTIRE Expanded Universe. Almost everything you've heard of that takes place after Return of the Jedi had its roots in Timothy Zahn's trilogy: the Solo twins, Mara Jade, Coruscant!, Thrawn, the New Jedi Order, the Skywalker siblings...the list goes on.
Yeah, I'll get it a try.
Of course, the Borders in town was out of it, so I had to order it online. Once I got it though, I came to realize just why this series and its author have garnered such wide acclaim.
The opening scene begins how all three movies of the Original Trilogy opened, with a shot of an Imperial Star Destroyer and the dread plot of an evil tyrant leading the Empire. This tyrant goes by the name of Thrawn, and he is one of the coolest and most calculating villains I've ever read in fiction. The way he goes about bringing down his enemies is extremely creative and a bit scary in a "It Makes You Wonder" kind of way.
The rest of the story is intricately and creatively woven together, to the point where you can almost get a sense of the Force at work throughout. The main characters come into contact with each other through some insanely unforeseen ways that, sometimes, I never saw it coming. A lot of work went into this story to make sure you weren't just getting a novel based on a movie.
As for the characters, all of the main players are here and are as true to their movie counterparts as you can get. If by chance you've read Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, then you can expect the same kind of characterization here. Though Zahn, with the vast scope of the story, was given more leeway to take Luke and his characters back to places and memories that correspond with the Original Trilogy, a luxury Stover's story did not have.
To say much about the story will give it away, so let me just say that it's a story certainly worthy of Star Wars. It's not bogged down with action; it lets its characters take up the forefront with everything else coming second. Zahn also, frequently, writes to his strengths, so you are not likely to get bored during these 400 pages, on account of the brisk pace at which the story moves along. You will also be treated to a vast amount of dialogue, more than I've seen in any Star Wars story, and you might just be grateful for it.
One more thing I must point out is that Zahn is a smart writer, and, therefore, his characters are smart. Reading how Luke or Thrawn go about logical problem-solving is amazing to watch. This book felt like one big game of chess, and you could feel the tension when one of the players made a wrong move or a really good one. It made for great emotional rides all through the book.
This Star Wars book is a proper adventure. You won't just visit one world; you'll visit many. You'll learn about new cultures, practices, religions. You'll bear witness to the dark forests of an unknown world, a moving city made entirely from Imperial wreckage, and the overwhelming flora of a familiar Wookiee homeworld.
People sometimes forget that what made Star Wars so successful is that it is fantasy as well as science fiction. Zahn hasn't forgot that. In Heir to the Empire you'll find an adventure that you'll be grateful to tag along with, military science fiction that rivals Ender's Game and echoes Starship Troopers, as well as a fantasy overtone throughout. This book has everything. Sometimes I forgot that I had two books left to read through. =O
That good, eh? I must say, I'm reading several chapters a night, now, and really loving it. It's a 'page turner'. I love Stover's books too, but there were certain things he did that annoyed me in every chapter. So far this has none of that. And I'm liking the plot, the dialogue as you say, and Thrawn in particular, a lot.
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