Vision of the Future: Star Wars Legends (The Hand of Thrawn)

Book II

De: Timothy Zahn

Narrado por: Anthony Heald

Hugo Award-winning author Timothy Zahn brings his epic two-volume series The Hand of Thrawn to an explosive conclusion with a discovery that rocks the New Republic to its foundations--and threatens to resurrect the Empire.

The Empire's master plan is under way. The New Republic is on the verge of civil war and the rumor that the legendary Admiral Thrawn has returned from the dead is rallying the Imperial forces. Now Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Princess Leia, and their allies face the challenge of their lives. They must infiltrate a hidden fortress filled with Imperial fanatics, rendezvous with a double-dealing Imperial commander, and journey into enemy territory to learn the identity of those responsible for an act of unthinkable genocide. But most important of all is the truth about Thrawn. In his hands--alive or dead--rests the fate of the New Republic.




© 1998 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM
All rights reserved. Used under authorization.© and (P)1998 Lucasfilm Ltd. and TM.

I did not know there were more than one narration

If I had not listened to Marc Thompson's version of book 1 and found it to be EXCELLENT. I would have never known what I would be missing. The Narration by Anthony Heald is good but does not come close to the quasi-dramatization of the Thompson's work and who would have thought there would be more than one narration. I would love to return this copy, but I have already purchased the Thompson copy and while I finished this one I can already see that the Thompson copy adds so much more. In the Heald copy the music is out of place and dominates the storyline from time to time without adding any real benefit to the story line.

If this was a stand alone book I'd give it 4 stars

What did you like best about Star Wars? What did you like least?

What I liked most? Its a Timothy Zahn book. Maybe not one of his strongest works but not bad.

What I absolutely hated about it was the voice actor. I don't want to be too negative of Mr Heald, but Marc Thompson has been doing Mr Zahn's stores for a while now. Frankly after back to back to back to back stories where Marc Thompson has nailed most of the characters brilliantly and where his depiction of Thrawn from a vocal standpoint sound exactly as I'd expect from the physical description given. After all that, Anthony Heald just didn't pull it off. Enough so that 15 minutes in I really wish Audible had a return policy. I actually put the ebook away for a few days and considered just pulling out the physical book and rereading it. I worked my way through the book but even some of the names were pronounced wrong. The level of jarring this book was compared to others. Not good. From here on out I will be listening to all samples. I made a mistake here.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Anthony Heald?

Marc Thompson, without hesitation. He has played these characters brilliantly in all previous books. I don't know why he wasn't picked up for book 2, but it was a gross mistake.

Any additional comments?

Of all the various books I've purchased on Audible, this is the first time I've ever regretted the purchase.

Not the same as book 1

How can you change the voices of all the characters in book 1? It's awful! Admiral Akbar, Shada , Han , Leia, C3PO, Card all different voices and bad voices! It's distracting from the story. Not sure if I can finish the whole book.

abridged version don't buy

its the abridged version don't buy. story was ok just short left wanting more no

Long overdue and finally got to it. Well worth it.

As a Star Wars fan, I thoroughly enjoyed the Hand of Thrawn series. The original Thrawn trilogy had been my introduction to the expanded universe, and I was eager to see how Timothy Zahn would continue the story. I was not disappointed.

The return of Grand Admiral Thrawn, one of the most captivating and enigmatic characters in the Star Wars universe, was a highlight of the series for me. Zahn's writing was engaging, and he did an excellent job of capturing the essence of the Star Wars universe, with its epic battles and intricate political landscape.

I particularly enjoyed the exploration of the political climate in the Star Wars galaxy. Zahn delved into the complex relationships between various factions and showed how the actions of a few could have far-reaching consequences. I found this aspect of the series to be both thought-provoking and entertaining.

Another aspect of the series that resonated with me was the return of familiar characters from the original trilogy. Seeing how their stories had developed over the years was satisfying and added depth to the series. I also appreciated the introduction of new characters that were well-developed and engaging in their own right.

While the pacing of the series could be slow at times, and some of the political maneuverings were a bit tedious, overall, I found the Hand of Thrawn series to be a satisfying follow-up to the original Thrawn trilogy. It provided closure to some of the storylines from the earlier books while introducing new threats and challenges for the characters to face.

In conclusion, the Hand of Thrawn series holds a special place in my heart as a continuation of the Star Wars story that I grew up with. It may not be perfect, but it is a well-crafted story with engaging characters that kept me invested from beginning to end.