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

Wish This Had Been Disney’s Sequel

If only Disney had gone this way. So wonderful to be back with old friends on a familiar adventure. Disney, you really missed the boat. So bittersweet knowing this would have been awesome on the big screen. And to think of what the “sequels” actually were… Sigh. Read this if you love Star Wars. If you love sequels 7, 8, and 9… read it anyway and learn why older generation SW fans despise what has been done to something they grew up with and so dearly loved.

Fantastic

all around fantastic, would have been perfect but it needs a female voice to read the female parts

fantastic

its heir to the Empire. it still holds up to this day even if the legends timeline later is wonky

classic

The only thing I disliked is that Disney dropped the story. It is still the best SW novel out there.

great story, performance, ambientation

great narration, voices, effects, all of it was great, i can't wait to continue with the next book

First listen to star wars and loved it

Where does Star Wars: Heir to the Empire (20th Anniversary Edition) rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It is a well put together audio book. I hope they decide to do more I do not listen to abridged at all. I feel it takes to much away from the story. I hope they decide to do the rest of them

What other book might you compare Star Wars: Heir to the Empire (20th Anniversary Edition) to and why?

I never listen to sci-fi before so I can't compare it to anything else I have listened to because they are not in the same category. I will have to start looking at more sci-fi but hard to get away from the thrillers.

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

Luke or Solo

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Not sure where I would cry in this book but I did find myself laughing out loud with my wife giving me what the hell looks at me.

Great Book!

Narration was awesome as was the story, really enjoyed hearing the story of Thrawn and seriously hope JJ Abrams is lying about not having expanded universe characters in the upcoming sequel!

Thrawn is a better villain than Vader and I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes!

Only downside was I wish they'd get more people to do the voices... Amazing job for one guy to do it all but sometimes it got a little distracting. No impact to the overall enjoyment of the book though... Highly recommended!

An excellent Star Wars adventure.

What made the experience of listening to Star Wars: Heir to the Empire (20th Anniversary Edition), The Thrawn Trilogy, Book 1 the most enjoyable?

The characterization of Thrawn and the narrator made this a very enjoyable listen. Thrawn is a believable and interesting antagonist that fits well into the Star Wars universe. The narrator does an excellent job building and conveying the novels' moods.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Star Wars: Heir to the Empire (20th Anniversary Edition), The Thrawn Trilogy, Book 1?

A memorable moment in this novel revolves around the antagonist, Thrawn. Thrawn goes toe-to-toe with a dark jedi without fear. Thrawn does not feel his enemy because he understands and has already countered his enemies ability to attack. It made for a very enjoyable listen.

What about Marc Thompson’s performance did you like?

Mr. Thompson is fantastic with voices and conveying the mood of the scene. Each voice fit the character and was memorable. The mood of the scene helped the situation unfold organically.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

From the fringes of the galaxy comes the greatest tactical mind of the day.

Any additional comments?

It's easy to get lost in this novel with the great narration. Be careful starting this book because you'll definitely want to listen to the two subsequent novels afterwards.

Love it

Great story and love the different voices for the different characters, especially Han, Lando, and Luke.

Excellent book

The story is excellent. Zahn does a great job of imitating the character portrayals from the movies. Coupled with an engaging plot and well-designed new characters, this book is well worth the read/listen. Marc Thompson's narration is well done, with pretty good voice imitations and some well-timed sound effects. The sound effects (especially the chapter intros) are sometimes cheesy, however. Overall, I highly recommend this book and audiobook.