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rybooks 's review for:
Heir to the Empire
by Timothy Zahn
Though I love Star Wars, I am sad to say this book was not really to my taste. I read a lot of Star Wars books for kids growing up, and loved them (most were set in the era of the Prequel Series). I also played some of the major games. But I'd never read any Post-Episode VI material treating Luke, Leia, and Han Solo. I heard this was basically the starting point for the Expanded Universe and required reading for fans of the trio. It was the first major hit (not counting Splinter of the Mind's Eye) after the movies wrapped to get people interested in reading Star Wars books, so historically it's an interesting artifact and a large debt is owed to Timothy Zahn for jump starting so many other works. However, I don't think it has aged well.
While it is more creative, world-building wise than the recent Star Wars: The Force Awakens (which despite its redemptive parts stuck mostly to already established conventions in the franchise), I found much of this book to be underwhelming and dull. The new characters Thrawn and Mara Jade seem to be trying too hard to be cool. The story is sometimes awkward about positioning itself as the true successor to the movies, as if the bad guys weren't bad enough the first time, or we had forgotten how cool the good guys were. For example, Han Solo starts out in a bar and some of the Lando segments feel like fanservice. I'm not going to say that the author doesn't get the voices right--for the most part he does. But it's a little "hokey."
One thing Zahn does well is deepen the character of Leia. And Luke has some really good moments as well. The arc with C'Baoth, a new force-using character, has plenty of interesting directions to go in the rest of the trilogy, although I was hoping to see him more in this one, as I probably won't read the others. I do recognize that as the first book of a trilogy, I may not have gotten to the best parts of the story. But being honest, I have already read some parts of the Darth Bane novels, the Darth Plageuis book, and even the New Jedi order series, and have liked them better. One thing that's been pointed out by others to Zahn's praise is that he is very gifted with describing the machinery and science of the universe. He is very technical. This is good for some people, but not for me, as i don't find it that interesting and was sometimes distracted.
Overall, this was a good romp of a Star Wars book, but I don't think it represents the best that Star Wars has to offer. Because of its importance to the Expanded Universe, I would tell people to at least give this first book a try. After seeing the new movie, I found it interesting to see the different directions that each generation has taken the characters to build a sequel series. This book has got a little bit of everything, and it does each thing--starfighting, force mysticism, adventure and banter well. For me, there were some plot bits that felt contrived, but if you turn your brain off many will find this to be a breezy and suitably entertaining read.
While it is more creative, world-building wise than the recent Star Wars: The Force Awakens (which despite its redemptive parts stuck mostly to already established conventions in the franchise), I found much of this book to be underwhelming and dull. The new characters Thrawn and Mara Jade seem to be trying too hard to be cool. The story is sometimes awkward about positioning itself as the true successor to the movies, as if the bad guys weren't bad enough the first time, or we had forgotten how cool the good guys were. For example, Han Solo starts out in a bar and some of the Lando segments feel like fanservice. I'm not going to say that the author doesn't get the voices right--for the most part he does. But it's a little "hokey."
One thing Zahn does well is deepen the character of Leia. And Luke has some really good moments as well. The arc with C'Baoth, a new force-using character, has plenty of interesting directions to go in the rest of the trilogy, although I was hoping to see him more in this one, as I probably won't read the others. I do recognize that as the first book of a trilogy, I may not have gotten to the best parts of the story. But being honest, I have already read some parts of the Darth Bane novels, the Darth Plageuis book, and even the New Jedi order series, and have liked them better. One thing that's been pointed out by others to Zahn's praise is that he is very gifted with describing the machinery and science of the universe. He is very technical. This is good for some people, but not for me, as i don't find it that interesting and was sometimes distracted.
Overall, this was a good romp of a Star Wars book, but I don't think it represents the best that Star Wars has to offer. Because of its importance to the Expanded Universe, I would tell people to at least give this first book a try. After seeing the new movie, I found it interesting to see the different directions that each generation has taken the characters to build a sequel series. This book has got a little bit of everything, and it does each thing--starfighting, force mysticism, adventure and banter well. For me, there were some plot bits that felt contrived, but if you turn your brain off many will find this to be a breezy and suitably entertaining read.