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

Mixed feelings

I really liked this title, on the other hand, I listen a few months ago Aftermath Trilogy and notice that stories are somewhat related but not completely modifying some details regarding main characters life.
I was then aware that both stories are from similar timelines but represent different versions of the StarWars canon that reduced a little bit my excitement about it since they are not connected.
Wish I had listened earlier about this detail.

Story

Great production value. Enjoyed the added value of the background music and ambient noise. It made listening to the book bery enjoyable.

Heir to a Franchise

Set five years after the destruction of the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi, Heir to the Empire is the first book in a trilogy that strives to answer the question: what comes next, after the Rebellion has won? It's important to note that this book was originally published in 1991, which means it came well before the prequel trilogy of films, and even before the "Special Edition" remasters (if we're being charitable) of the original films. What this means is that author Timothy Zahn had a lot of freedom in constructing the world of these books, which includes not only the books' present, but also the history of how the Empire came to be. This is a must-read for any Star Wars fan, and a more-than-worthy successor to the original trilogy of films.

Story:

At the core of the narrative is the question of how a galactic community that had been upturned and terrorized by a totalitarian Empire can return to normalcy, and the challenges that even the most well-intentioned people can face when trying to build a government. To this end, we find that Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa-Solo (now married with twins on the way), and Han Solo have largely left their action-packed lives behind and now find themselves burdened with the much more nuanced, much less morally straightforward world of galactic politics. This peace, and this boredom, is not stable for long, however. The novel's main antagonist, Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn, hatches a devious and ingenious plan to reverse the fortunes of a scattered, disorganized Imperial remnant, and crush the fledgling New Republic for good.

Overall, the story is very well-written and well-constructed. Zahn strikes a good balance between the larger political story, the individual character moments, and the part-sci-fi/part-fantasy action sequences that make Star Wars really feel like Star Wars. The characters we know from the films all have what feel like reasonable progressions to their story arcs. Leia in particular really seems to come into her own in these books. The original characters truly shine, and you can tell that Zahn put a lot of thought into properly fitting them into the established Star Wars universe. Grand Admiral Thrawn is the focal point of the story, but Zahn introduces a number of engaging original characters into the mix, including the charismatic smugger chief, Talon Karrde, his enigmatic second-in-command, Mara Jade, and the mysterious and unstable Jedi Master Joruus C'Baoth.

If I had to complain about something, I'd say the book relies on references to the films perhaps a little too much. But perhaps in 1991 people needed a reminder about certain segments more than fans today would.

Narration:

Marc Thompson does a fantastic job reading this book. Every character has a distinct voice, with the characters from the films sounding reasonably like their real-world counterparts. You can tell that Thompson got to know the characters before settling on their voices, and his performance truly does bring them to life.

This 20th anniversary addition also added an incredible amount of music and sound-effect work. Little things like the background hum of a starship, the distant pangs of blaster bolts, or the roaring of a wookiee really help draw the listener into the world. I really enjoyed how voices spoken over a communication device had a mechanical filter applied, as they would in a movie. The musical inserts are, of course, a delight.

Overall:

I loved Heir to the Empire and its sequels as a child, and I wasn't necessarily expecting to still find them so engaging as an adult, but I was pleasantly surprised at nearly every turn. While these books may not be "canon" to the newest films, they tell an engaging and fun Star Wars story in their own right, and are more than deserving of a spot in any Star Wars fan's library.

BEST VOCAL PERFORMANCE

Absolutely enthralling. Don't pass this up! Thrawn is as terrifying if nor more so than Vader and you're missing out on an AMAZING slice of the universe if you pass this up.

Great book....but

this was a really great book I truly did enjoy it. After doing some research and talk with my friends, I found out that this book is no longer part of the Star Wars Canon. I feel that you should know this going in that is not part of the Canon but it is still a really good book but no longer valid.

Overall, great!

The story is amazing, the performance is fantastic. The Wookie voices bothered me a bit, but the rest of everything is just fantastic.

STAR WARS!!!

if you love scifi anything star wars is always a safe bet. this doesn't disappoint.

Still awesome

Even though it's not cannon anymore, it's still a ripping good story with great performance.

Amazing performance

This is a great audio book. The reader does amazing voices that incredibly imitate the movie actors' voices. Very entertaining!

this is star wars!

meet thrawn and be in awe, this is an excellent follow up story to the events after return of the Jedi