Star Wars: Heir to the Empire
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.
Author: Timothy Zahn
Cover artist: Tracie Ching
Publisher: Del Rey
Release date: June 15, 2021
Pages: 462
ISBN: 9780593358764
What’s it’s about?
The galaxy is still picking itself up after decades of war. The Clone Wars was followed by two decades of stunned submission to the expansion of the Galactic Empire before the Civil War erputed, ending in the defeat of the Empire at Endor. With a thinly-stretched New Republic struggling to keep the peace and the scattered factions of the former Empire spread across the galaxy, a new threat arises in the form of Grand Admiral Thrawn, a brilliant and charismatic tactician determined to restore the Empire to its former glory.
Should I read this book?
As the book that not only tested the waters regarding the wider interest in further adventures from the galaxy far, far away, Heir to the Empire also showed that there were plenty of stories still to be told in an era when more movies felt like a forlorn hope rather than a new one. It seems incredible 30 years later, but Lucasfilm were unsure whether or not the public were keen to see the further adventures of Han, Luke and Leia; by the end of the decade, not only had the digitally refreshed Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition brought in hundreds of millions of dollars at the global box office, but also the start of the long-promised prequel trilogy, and while Heir to the Empire took place a number of decades later, it’s huge success – it topped the New York Times Bestsellers list – primed the public for more and more and more Star Wars in a torrent of content that has barely paused for breath since.
In terms of the story, there’s every reason to read Heir to the Empire. Not only do we rejoin our heroic trio half a decade after their triumph at the Battle of Endor, but the passage of time is clear and deeply evocative. The galaxy is living through a fragile peace as the New Republic struggles to hold the galaxy together while the mysterious Chiss Grand Admiral Thrawn gathers scattered Imperial forces to launch an attack on the Republic. Add in the mad clone Jorus C’Baoth, Thrawns loyal underling Captain Pellaeon, underworld lynchpin Talon Karde and arguably the most popular Star Wars character of the 90’s Mara Jade and you instantly have the ingredients for a classic tale. We set up the future of the series with Leia pregnant with twins, establish Thrawn as the brilliant, villainous threat for our heroes and lay out an uncertain galaxy with plenty still left to fight for as Luke Skywalker continues his journey as a Jedi. As the opening of a trilogy it was brilliant, and after a four year stretch known as the Dark Times, Star Wars was well and truly back.
What did you like?
There’s a confidence that permeates Heir to the Empire, a sureness of foot that instantly eased the reader into believing ‘yes, this is what happened next.’ Sure, plenty changed in the Star Wars galaxy both in and out of universe, and George Lucas always made it clear that ‘his‘ stories and those of the publishing program were two separate entities, but despite this and the books and comics trying their level best to co-exist and compliment each other, for the longest time Heir to the Empire and the ensuing publishing program were what happened next. Someone somewhere gave their approval to this and other stories, and the fandom generated off the back of these new stories and the renewed interest in what had come before kickstarted the saga. Now we were introduced to a galaxy that hadn’t recieved the fairytale happy ending but instead stewed itself into a nervous, fractious peace of sorts, one that Thrawn and his cunning intellect was only too willing to threaten. The Chiss Grand Admiral may have lost that first major engagement at Sluis Van, but his perisstence would continue to be a threat to the galaxy.
What did you not like?
Not much at all. Lucasfilms insistence that Timothy Zahn fold in elements from the growing library of West End Games sourcebooks was a smart move, underpinning a swiftly developing and unified Expanded Universe, but one has to wonder what Zahn would have done with a blank slate. That’s not a criticism of anything WEG related, just a query as to what Zahn might have done left entirely to his own devices.
What’s next?
Dark Force Rising would follow almost exactly a year later in 1992, with Dark Empire from Dark Horse Comics landing just a few months after Heir, ushering in a grand age of comics that ran right through until 2015 when Star Wars returned to Marvel. The next few years would see the completion of the Thrawn trilogy and the arrival of Truce at Bakura, but Heir to the Empire will always be remembered as the landmark release, giving us one of Star Wars greatest storytellers in Timothy Zahn and two of its most indelible original characters in Grand Admiral Thrawn and Mara Jade.
Anything else to add?
It’s hard to undersell the historical importance of Heir to the Empire, and it’s not overstating it to say that if the book hadn’t been the blistering success that it was, Lucasfilm may not have thown themselves back into the GFFA so wholeheartedly. It launched a golden era for Star Wars – the 90’s are often overlooked – a renaissance in publishing, merchandise and the hearts of the public that laid the foundations for everything that followed. If you want to know where the modern age of Star Wars began then it’s The Force Awakens you need, but if you’re seeking the moment Star Wars secured an enduring future then look no further than 1st May 1991 and the release of Heir to the Empire.
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Zahn, Timothy (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 513 Pages - 06/28/2011 (Publication Date) - Random House Worlds (Publisher)
