Star Wars: Heir to the Empire, 20th Anniversary Edition [Hardcover]

Timothy Zahn (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 6, 2011

Here is a special 20th anniversary edition of the #1 New York Times bestselling novel that reignited the entire Star Wars publishing phenomenon—featuring an Introduction and annotations from award-winning author Timothy Zahn, exclusive commentary from Lucasfilm and Del Rey Books, and a brand-new novella starring the ever-popular Grand Admiral Thrawn. The biggest event in the history of Star Wars books, Heir to the Empire follows the adventures of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia after they led the Rebel Alliance to victory in Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.

Five years after the Death Star was destroyed and Darth Vader and the Emperor were defeated, the galaxy is struggling to heal the wounds of war, Princess Leia and Han Solo are married and expecting twins, and Luke Skywalker has become the first in a long-awaited line of new Jedi Knights.

But thousands of light-years away, the last of the Emperor’s warlords—the brilliant and deadly 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 create.

The explosive confrontation that results is a towering epic of action, invention, mystery, and spectacle on a galactic scale—in short, a story worthy of the name Star Wars.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA-- This first book in a trilogy takes place five years after Return of the Jedi (Ballantine, 1983) by James Kahn. Han and Leia are now married and expecting twins; Luke is continuing his training as a Jedi, while training Leia. The Republic is at peace, having defeated Darth Vader and the evil Empire. Enter Grand Admiral Thrawn, ex-warlord of the empire, with his rogue Jedi knight. They attack the Republic and attempt to kidnap Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia for their own nefarious purposes. It's great fun to romp with the ``Star Wars'' cast of humans, droids, and aliens again. While it is not on a par with Zahn's creative, powerful works such as Cascade Point (Baen, 1987), Heir is well written for what it is. Recommended for YA collections needing a Star Wars fix. --John Lawson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA2-
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Publisher

It's five years after Return Of The Jedi: the Rebel Alliance has destroyed the Death Star, defeated Darth Vader and the Emperor, and driven out the remnants of the old Imperial Starlfleet 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 thousand of light-years away... ®, (TM) and © 1995 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved. Used under authorization. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: LucasBooks; 20 Anv edition (September 6, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780345528292
• ISBN-13: 978-0345528292
• ASIN: 0345528298
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1.5 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (505 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,308 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Timothy Zahn is the Hugo Award-winning author of more than a dozen original science fiction novels and the bestselling Star Wars trilogy Heir to the Empire, among other works. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.

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#33 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

#41 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure

#56 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Science Fiction

#62 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure

#90 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#33 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

#41 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Action & Adventure

#56 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Science Fiction

#62 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure

#90 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

126 of 133 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Heir to the Empire worthy first literary Star Wars sequel September 19, 2003

By Alex Diaz-Granados VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

In 1991, Bantam Books and Lucasfilm Ltd. reinvigorated interest in the Star Wars universe (well, galaxy) by gathering a diverse group of noted science fiction writers and starting a regular series of novels set in the time period which follows Return of the Jedi.

Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, the first volume of a three-book cycle, was almost an instant phenomenon when it was published in hardcover. With its depiction of the continuing battle between what is left of the Galactic Empire and the fledgling New Republic, this novel cleverly mixes the characters from the Classic Trilogy with a cast of newly created heroes and villains, some of whom will make appearances in other authors' Star Wars works.

As Heir to the Empire begins, the New Republic has been engaged in a long campaign to mop up the remnants of the once-mighty Empire. The once dreaded Imperial Fleet is in disarray, political and military control of the late Emperor Palpatine's New Order has changed hands several times, yet the former Rebels have reduced Imperial dominion to one quarter of its former size. Yet even as Mon Mothma and the New Republic government establish democratic rule from Coruscant (former capital of both the Old Republic and the Galactic Empire), a new dark force has arisen in the form of one of the Empire's most cunning warriors.

His name is Thrawn, and his tactical and intellectual gifts are so great that the racist and sexist Palpatine had promoted him to be the only non-human to wear the white uniform of Grand Admiral. For several years after the Battle of Endor (where the Rebels destroyed the second Death Star and both the Emperor and Darth Vader died), Thrawn was pacifying the Unknown Regions until his return to Imperial territory. Now, with a small but powerful Imperial fleet at his command, the mysterious Grand Admiral believes he holds the key to the undoing of the New Republic and the restoration of the Empire.

Zahn not only introduced a set of new characters that would become essential to what fans know as the Expanded Universe series (the charming smuggler-chief Talon Karrde, the beautiful but mysterious Mara Jade, the devoted Imperial fleet captain Pelleaon, and the mad clone Joruus C'baoth), but he brought fans of the movie heroes up to date on the lives of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa Solo, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, and the droids.

A professional reviewer, at the time of the book's first appearance in 1991, wrote that Heir to the Empire "captures the spirit of the movie trilogy so well, you can almost hear John Williams' soundtrack." Indeed, Zahn does a superb job rendering the personalities from George Lucas' films that one can almost hear Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Billy Dee Williams, and Anthony Daniels when reading their characters' dialogue. The pace of the book is brisk and the action sequences are so well done that one can swear they are cinematic. Although there are many Star Wars authors whose novels are spellbinding, Zahn stands head and shoulders above the crowd.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Consider the ebook carefully September 16, 2011

By John

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

For those who are considering the Kindle version, take a moment to think about the mechanics of reading it. The hardcover version has the annotations in the margins of the pages, meaning you can easily ready, shift your eyes over to the notes and continue reading. The ebook has the notes all the way in the back. The annotations are numbered in the text of the book, and those numbers are hyperlinked, so you can go back and forth between the two, but I have to say it's a bit slow. I'm on a Nook Color, but even overclocked to 1.2 ghz, it takes about one to two full seconds to go back and forth. It doesn't sound like much, but some chapters have 20 annotations, that's a lot of time waiting to go back and forth. Further, if the annotation falls on the margin of a page, you can easily confuse your ereader as it won't know if you're trying to turn a page or link to the annotation.

Still, I can't fault the content here. The introductions are great, and the annotations range from little tidbits to genuine insight into Zahn's head at the time he was writing this.

32 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A blast from the past. September 6, 2011

By Shane

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

On September 6th, 1991 Star Wars fans were once again thrust into the heavens as Heir to the Empire blasted its way onto shelves and into the hearts of fans worldwide. With compelling characters and outstanding storytelling, author Timothy Zahn introduced readers to a new breed of characters that would make a tremendous impact for decades to come. In response to Zahn's stellar work, Heir to the Empire quickly rose to the New York Times Bestselling list and in so doing cemented both the book and Timothy Zahn into Star Wars history.

From page one the reader is taken back to the events shortly after the explosive conclusion to Episode VI as the Rebellion continues its long struggle against the Empire. Now, with the Emperor dead and gone, the Rebellion begins to consolidate its newly earned political and military power across a galaxy littered with the remains of the Galactic Empires naval armament. However, those in the Imperial navy have no intention to sit and wait for the Rebel reapers to call their names, instead they put in motion their own plans and in so doing introduce the reader to one of the best characters to ever hunt down rebel scum, Grand Admiral Thrawn.

>>>SOME PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD<<<

Mitth'raw'nuruodo, better known by Thrawn, is a Chiss; a species from planet Csilla and familiar in appearance to Humans. With blue skin and red eyes there is no doubt that Thrawn fits the physical appearance of a villain however, Thrawn recreates the average evil-doer persona with a mind that can only be described as genius. With an incredible talent for figuring out his enemies weaknesses through their artistic works, Thrawn uses his wisdom to quickly gain the rank of Grand Admiral. An achievement not one non-human has ever done before within the racist organization that Emperor Palpatine created.

Aided by an accomplished yet sometimes naive Captain, Gilad Pallaeon, Grand Admiral Thrawn uses the Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera to hunt down a relatively unknown creature called a ysalamiri. This species, that looks familiar to a furry lizard, has the ability to create a Force suppressing bubble around itself that is designed to fend off Force sensitive predators. Thrawn opts to use the ysalamiri to control a dark Jedi called Joruus C'Baoth.

Joruus C'Baoth, is a clone of the powerful Jedi Master Jorus C'Baoth, (note the lack of the second U in Jorus), and was created by Palpatine. Tasked with the guardianship of the Imperial storehouse at Mount Tantiss, Joruus, is recruited by Thrawn to use a rare and powerful Force power known as Battle Meditation, a Force power that is able to aid and control the actions of battle troops. In exchange for his assistance, C'Baoth demands that Thrawn help him capture both Luke Skywalker and his sister Princess Leia.

Agreeing to C'Baoth's demands Thrawn sends a group of Noghri to capture Luke and Leia on the planet Bimmisaari. After the attempt is met with dismal failure, Thrawn convinces C'Baoth to focus his efforts on capturing Luke while Thrawn and the Empire narrow their search for Leia. In an effort to elude their hunters, Leia and Chewbacca, flee to the planet Kashyyyk hoping that Chewbacca's home-planet will give them an advantage. Meanwhile, Han and Lando plan a visit to a smuggler named Talon Karrde in the hopes of acquiring cargo ships to aid them.

Talon Karrde, a smuggler and information broker, played both sides of galactic politics not wanting to pick either side and seeing the profitability of staying neutral. Karrde using a heavily armed and armored ship called the Wild Karrde and hiring the aid of a hand full of capable and deadly coworkers like Dravis, a graduate of the Imperial Academy; Fynn Torve, a former associate of Han Solo that was known for his piloting skills; Aves, a chief aide and communications officer to Karrde; Zakarisz Ghent, a slicer known for being absent minded and the beautiful but deadly Mara Jade.

Mara Jade, a strong and highly complicated human female is Talon Karrde's second-in-command and former special agent(emperors hand) to Palpatine himself. Still loyal to her fallen Emperor, Jade is hellbent on destroying the man that killed Palpatine, who she looked to as a father figure. After a failed attempt to capture Luke Skywalker by C'Baoth, Luke is lost in space and is recovered by the Wild Karrde and transported to the planet Myrkr. While being held in storage sheds on the planet, Luke escapes and is quickly hunted down by Mara. While Luke and Mara struggle against each other, Thrawn joins Karrde on the planet effectively cutting off Mara's ability to return Luke to Karrde.

As the story continues politics, war and personal strife continue to unfold and in the end there is no happy ending. We even find out that Admiral Ackbar is arrested on charges of treason.

>>>SPOILERS END<<<

Star Wars: Heir to the Empire sets in stone how Star Wars books should be created. Timothy Zahn using incredible imagination and hard work produced a storyline that has stood the test of time and has single handily made the Expanded Universe what it is today. There are few other authors whose work is so eagerly anticipated and no other has created the fanfare that he and his work has.

The actual 20th anniversary issue gives far more than the original installment. Included in the new issue is a ton of added notes by the author himself, telling snip-its of inside thoughts to the story. Also a nice feature is the secondary cover behind the new silver anniversary edition. Plus, a short story for all the Thrawn fans wraps up the whole package in explosive form.

For those who are true Zahn fans I suggest looking him up on Facebook, I have had a chance to talk to him about several pieces of his work and he has always been kind and generous to his fans whom post.

All Feedback is Appreciated. Thanks and Good Reading.