In 1991, before George Lucas had
released Episode I, II, and III in the Star Wars saga,
and before the flood of franchised books in the Expanded Universe that
followed, he offered contracts to a few, lesser-known writers to create
spin-off stories. A handful of books
appearing, they were well received.
Working from the success, Lucas then allowed Timothy Zahn to pen Episode VII, VIII, and IX—the events
following Return of the Jedi. Lucas’ instincts sound, Zahn produced a
trilogy of books that live up to expectation, and from some angles, exceed the
quality of the films.
Heir
to the Empire,
Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command, known as The Thrawn Trilogy (1991-1993), is a solid series
that utilizes book format to expand the Star
Wars universe after the fall of Darth Vadar, the Emperor, and the
Empire. Set five years following the
conclusion of Return of the Jedi,
Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, R2D2, C3PO and all the fan favorites remain the
focal characters. Though now in middle
age, they are characterized exactly as seen in the films. (Zahn should be commended for this.) General Thrawn is the new villain, a ruthless
but shrewd one, and fits into the natural evolution of the story if the Empire
is to have any hope of getting back into the picture after the Rebellion’s
victory. In fact a deeper character than
any evil presented on screen thus far, Thrawn’s role has a complexity and
ingenuity to it that makes reading his scenes interesting. Intelligence his weapon of choice, the
recently formed New
Republic finds itself in
a fight for its life if it is to survive its own birth pains, not to mention
Thrawn’s quest to bring the Empire back to power.
