Jennifer | Pushing Pages
Written on Jan 27, 2018
This book was fantastic. Zahn is a titan when it comes to 'Star Wars' fiction. My best friend Melody purchased this novel for me for either my birthday or a Christmas, and I've been holding onto it since, waiting for the right moment to dive in.
This novel takes place after Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi. Leia and Han are married, expecting twins. Luke is feeling the pressures of being a Jedi/Jedi Knight, and one of the few remaining that he is in contact with. Leia is practicing her Force-sensitive talents. The droids are being my fav robot sons. Chewie is still large and in-charge, and the Empire is still trying to keep their momentum and take over the galaxies within reach despite their losses. The New Republic has stood up from the ashes of the war before it, to be the face of democracy in a time of little direction. And at the forefront of Zahn's novel, Grand Admiral Thrawn has assumed his position and taken on a full-frontal assault to track down the Skywalker twins and soon-to-be Solo twins.
Zahn gives you a full-view of the worlds that were otherwise un-visited through just the films. Most SW fans, however, know that in order to get to know the full breadth of SW lore, we have to rely on more than just the films. My only "complaint" about this novel, is that the descriptions for these worlds were a little lacking in places. There were some settings that I could picture on my own - whether or not it was his vision or not - while some worlds I wouldn't have completely understood their makeup without having already known about them from previous stories or games. But even then, you're building a story based on an already-existing world. Which isn't easy, because how can you ever do it in a way that's new or helpful to an audience that will pick up the book? Overall, the book completely captures the attitudes, mannerisms, manners and speech patterns of our well-known characters while illuminating spaces of lesser-known characters. At the end of the day, that's the main reason to love and enjoy this series from its start. It feels familiar and true.
Also, the unexpected twists and turns that Zahn takes you down with Thrawn's enigmatic military strategies is so enticing. And, at least for this novel, most of the perspective of these commands come from those in his fleet reacting to situations, rather than Thrawn himself. This distance only builds more mystery and tension in learning more about who Thrawn is as a strategist, leader and person.