Star Wars: Heir to the Empire

(20th Anniversary Edition), The Thrawn Trilogy, Book 1

By: Timothy Zahn

Narrated by: Marc Thompson

Length: 13 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Here is a special edition 20th anniversary release of the number-one New York Times best-selling novel that reignited the entire Star Wars publishing phenomenon - unabridged for the first time. 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.

More in the Thrawn Trilogy we have. And listen to all of our Star Wars titles you can!

©1991 Timothy Zahn (P)2011 Random House Audio

Perfect

This book is one of the best Star Wars books that I have ever read and when it became available on audible I jumped at the chance to experience this riveting story again. The audio version of this book is excellent. Marc Thompson portrays every character very well in distinct voices. This rendition also contains music and sound effects. At first I found the sound effects very jarring and would take me out of the story. Fortunately I got used to these sound effects and instead of detracting from the story they reinforced the performance. After I listened to Heir to the Empire I was excited to continue listening. I looked up when Dark Force Rising would be released in anniversary edition, and discovered that it will only be released if Heir to the Empire preforms well enough. I hope that Marc Thompson narrates that version if it comes out or if it doesn't then he narrates the the complete trilogy anyway.

Star Wars: Heir To the Empire

This is my first Star Wars book and also the first time I had heard Marc Thompson narrate a book. I was impressed with this reading of the book. This book also has sound effects. The book kept me interested with good story line and lots of action. I could visualize the characters better because I had seen the movies. The book ended with a to be continued.

The story outstanding and the narration top-notch

Would you consider the audio edition of Star Wars: Heir to the Empire (20th Anniversary Edition), The Thrawn Trilogy, Book 1 to be better than the print version?

I have yet to be blown back by the quality of the Star Wars franchise unabridged audio books. They're professional and very immersive. Thrawn's voice is exactly how I imagined it in the book. Overall, yes, I found this better than the print just for the ambient environments, sound effect, and new emotions tied with the characters.

Who was your favorite character and why?

R2D2 of course, but I was pleasantly surprised by Talon Card and Thrawn.

Which character – as performed by Marc Thompson – was your favorite?

Talon Card. I spent the entire book debating with myself the mystery and appeal to his guests. The voice was perfect. However, I thought the Wookies took the most work. Well done.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I wouldn't put down my headphones if it wasn't for sleep and work.

Any additional comments?

I express the same bias as others about Han Solo. His voice rubbed off on me towards the end of the book. Leia's voice was my least favorite female character by far, but not enough to distract me.

larrys review

loved it could actually see it in my mind being played out. i loved it

Great Theatrical reading of beloved Star Wars book

Loved this from start to finish! Engaging but not overly theatrical. I do wish there was better sound balancing at certain points, like the Woolies, but other than that this was perfect.

A most welcome unabridged production

Twenty years ago, Zahn jump starting of the expanded, post ROTJ Star Wars with an epic trilogy that remains a standard by which all later Star Wars books were judged. Seeing this special edition unabridged recording inspired me to revisit this title to see how well it held up. For the most part, it has aged well. Zahn offering a compelling and swift moving narrative giving us a look at life in that galaxy far far away after the Rebellion's victory.
Most important of all, though, is the unabridged redition of the complete story. To many Star Wars novels suffer from their abridgement into audiobook form. This gives the full experience and I hope that we will get to have the other two books of this trilogy in unabridged form soon as well.

Worth your time

I don't care if this story isn't canon anymore, it's one of the greatest Star Wars works ever made.

Amazing.

Great story. Narrator did a great job with every voice. Very Easy to understand who’s talking. Love it. Now I got to get book 2.

Very well done!

Great performance. Really great voice. The music adds so much and again, the voices are really well done.

A great addition to the Star Wars lore!

Being the first book of Star wars that I've read, I didn't have high expectations, however I very much liked this book and I'm excited to continue the series. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has not read, or who has read any additional Star wars books.