I recently finished the excellent Star Wars trilogy written by Timothy Zahn, containing Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command. Here’s my opinnion on the trilogy.

Characters: How can you fail with a cast partially made up of characters from the original trilogy of movies, and some brand new characters from the brilliant mind of Zahn? Many new characters were introduced, and even a few species were new in these books. From a brilliant tactitian to a group of smugglers, to a war ravished alien species, all the new characters are welcome additions to the franchise.

Dialog: Zahn’s dialog can be summed up in just two words: absolutely excellent. While reading, you can almost tell which character is talking just by the way he (or she) talks, and the way they think. Everything is in the realm of decency, and also fits into each character’s personality, as set up by the movies, and the book. All in all, Zahn’s dialog is very good.

Setting: As every other Star Wars book, the action takes place in an alternate galaxy years before our time. The book goes from the city-metropolis of Courscant to the dense jungles of Mykr, to the vast expanses of space where quite a bit of the action unravels. Each place is explained in detail, no matter if we’ve seen it on the big screen, or if it’s making its debut.

Story: Not to spoil the story, but the book follows the course of the New Republic as they try to hold their new government together, as an unidentified spy (named Delta Source) sends major battle plans and other intel to the Empire. On the other side of the battle is the last Grand Admiral, Thrawn, an excellent mind with a love for art. And caught in the middle is Talon Karrde, and his mercenary group. One of said members, Mara Jade, is a Jedi trained by the Emperor himself. The last and most interesting character is Jedi Master Joruus C’Baoth, a crazy Jedi trying to turn Luke and Mara to the Dark Side. Not to mention the multiple plot twists, and an excellent ending for the trilogy.

Conclusion: The only thing that even remotely detracts from the book is the fact that there are some discrepancies between Zahn’s tale and the more recent prequel trilogy. Then again, that’s Lucas’ fault, not Zahn’s. If you’re a Star Wars, and haven’t read this, go get it now, it’s definitely worth your time and money.