Set five years after the original trilogy, Timothy Zahn’s series of books known as The Thrawn Trilogy were my first steps into the ocean that is the Expanded Universe (EU) of Star Wars and they captured my imagination like nothing else Star Wars has since the first time I saw Return of the Jedi.
Comprising three books, Heir to the Empire, Dark Forces Rising, and The Last Command, Zahn’s complex storylines and characterizations of characters new and old truly stand the test of time. They are widely considered to be the best jumping off point for the EU as it sets up many important players and plot points such as Mara Jade, Grand Admiral Thrawn, and the foundation for The New Jedi Order.
When I discovered these books, I was in my freshman year of high school and my only exposure to Star Wars had been the worn out VHS copies of the original trilogy I must have seen 100 times and The Phantom Menace which had just been released a few years back. Seeing the story and characters I cared about continued after the supposed happily ever after ending of Return of the Jedi was a billion times more interesting to me than podracing or Jar Jar Binks. Little did I know that it would be these books, which released a decade after Return of the Jedi and still landed a #1 spot on the New York Times bestsellers list, that renewed interest in Star Wars. According to Kaminski, author of The Secret History of Star Wars, The Thrawn Trilogy was a factor in George Lucas’ decision to create the prequel trilogy. Why he decided to ignore all of the interesting stuff from the books people loved, know I do not.
All your favorite characters are back in this series. Luke is now a full Jedi and dealing with mopping up the remnants of the Empire and trying to set up a new base to train and repopulate the universe with Jedi. Han and Leia are married and expecting twins. Leia is also dealing with her Jedi training on top of being preggo. Han has gone legitimate, but still uses his smuggling connections to try to forge new deals to help the growing Republic. Even the ghost of Obi Wan appears at the beginning of the first novel to tell Luke he is going away forever (sadness!).
The new characters and plotlines add to the world and create memorable characters that stand on their own next to the giants of the original series (Vader, Boba Fett, and Ackbar). The big baddie opposing the Rebellion, he refuses to call it the Republic, is one of the most unique and engaging villains in all of Star Wars. Grand Admiral Thrawn takes charge to regroup and lead the shattered Imperial Fleet in a remote corner of the galaxy to strike back at the fragile New Republic. A blue-skinned, red-eyed alien in the notoriously discriminatory Imperial Brigade, he achieved his rank of Grand Admiral, the only non-human to ever do so, by using his cunning and brilliant strategic mind. He has a few unique traits that set him apart from other big baddies like Darth Maul or Vader. Instead of force choking dissention and encouraging a culture of fear, Thrawn encourages creativity in and ideas from his crew. He also has the rare gift of uncovering a plan of attack and the strategy used by various cultures by studying their art, leading to several stunning victories against the Republic using cloaking technology, political subterfuge, and ysalamiri, sloth-like creatures which can negate the effects of the force in an area around them. It is his master plan which plays itself out over the course of the three books that keeps you turning the pages.
One of the most interesting things in the books is the use of clones. Other than off handedly mentioning The Clone Wars, this is the first Star Wars material that expanded on the idea of clones that Lucas would use so heavy-handedly in the prequel trilogy. A major plot point (very minor spoilers) involves finding a lost fleet of Dreadnoughts (early Star Destroyers) built by the Old Republic which Thrawn uses to beef up his diminished numbers. The Dreadnoughts use clones and automated processes to reduce the number of troops required from 14,000 to just 2,000.
Another great character is Joruus C’baoth, a clone of a former Jedi found in an abandoned cloning facility that Thrawn begins to use. Unfortunately, he is a couple crystals short of a full lightsaber, and it seems the cloning process affects force-sensitive individuals very differently than regular soldiers. His mastery of the force and attempts to lure Luke to the Dark Side make him an appealing villain.
Scenes like Luke getting stranded in deep space in a broken X-Wing and having to use his force powers and Apollo 13-style-know-how to get out of it and the battle of the Sluis Van shipyards are great set pieces and the descriptiveness of Zahn’s writing combined with his imagination produces a more effective and cinematic scene than anything George Lucas’ infinite CGI budget could ever hope to achieve. Also, holy cow do things get real in the end of this series. No spoilers, but there is a surprise twist at the end involving minor plot points set up in the original trilogy that will leave fans minds’ blown.
If you are a Star Wars fan looking for more of what you love from the original trilogy, don’t be a pile of Bantha poodoo and hop on down to Tosche Station to pick up a power converter and a copy of these books. The paperback trilogy will run you less than $10 each, or a special 20th anniversary edition of the first book was released in 2011 and contains commentary by Zahn as well as a foreword by the author on how he landed the venture; it’s well worth the extra few bucks. The force is strong with this one.
The post Still Better than the Prequels- The Thrawn Trilogy appeared first on .