1991-93 novel trilogy
Thrawn
trilogy
|
- Heir to the Empire
(1991)
- Dark Force Rising
(1992)
- The Last Command
(1993)
|
Author
| Timothy Zahn
|
---|
Country
| United States
|
---|
Language
| English
|
---|
Genre
| Science fiction
|
---|
Publisher
| Bantam Spectra
|
---|
Published
| 1991?1993
|
---|
Media type
| |
---|
The
Thrawn
trilogy
, also known as the
Heir to the Empire
trilogy
, is a trilogy of novels set in the
Star Wars
universe, written by
Timothy Zahn
between 1991 and 1993. The first book marked the end of a notable drought of new
Star Wars
material over a four-year period, between the 10th anniversary of the original
1977 film's
release and the release of
Heir to the Empire
(1991).
[1]
Set approximately five years after the events depicted in
Return of the Jedi
,
[2]
the trilogy details the offensive campaigns of military genius
Grand Admiral Thrawn
as he attempts to bring down the recently-founded
New Republic
in a bid to restore the
Galactic Empire
to power. In addition to Thrawn, the trilogy introduces several new and notable characters, including
Mara Jade
and
Talon Karrde
.
The
Thrawn
trilogy sold a combined total of 15 million books,
[3]
with
Heir to the Empire
reaching #1 on the
New York Times
Best Seller list
.
[4]
The trilogy has been met with critical acclaim, and its success is credited to the creation of the
Star Wars
Expanded Universe
(EU), with the planet
Coruscant
from the trilogy later being adapted by
George Lucas
to his
prequel trilogy of
Star Wars
films
.
[5]
On the EU's 2014
reboot
, characters and concepts from the
Thrawn
trilogy were adapted to
canon media
, with Thrawn appearing in the animated
Disney XD
series
Star Wars Rebels
(2014) and, later, in the
Disney+
live-action series
Ahsoka
(2023), portrayed by
Lars Mikkelsen
.
Rukh
, an assassin and bodyguard for Thrawn, appears in
Rebels
as well as
Tales of the Empire
(2022), voiced by veteran
Lucasfilm
talent
Warwick Davis
?the original actor behind the
Ewok
character
Wicket W. Warrick
in films like
Return of the Jedi
(1983) and
Caravan of Courage
(1984), among others.
Gilad Pellaeon
, an Imperial officer, was seen in the
third season
of
The Mandalorian
(2023), portrayed by
Xander Berkeley
.
[6]
Zahn has also written two additional, alternate
Thrawn
trilogies in the new canon?
Thrawn
(2017?2019) and
Thrawn Ascendancy
(2020?2021); he has also consulted on
Ahsoka
.
Books
[
edit
]
Heir to the Empire
(1991)
[
edit
]
In
Heir to the Empire
(1991), master tactician Grand Admiral Thrawn plots to destroy the
New Republic
despite their numerical advantage over the remaining Imperial forces. He sets his sights on the
Wayland
storehouse of the late
Emperor Palpatine
, which contains a massive array of Spaarti cloning cylinders and a working cloaking shield. To this end, Thrawn and his subordinate Gilad Pellaeon, captain of the
Star Destroyer
Chimaera
, enlist the help of smuggler Talon Karrde and his second-in-command Mara Jade to obtain several salamander-like creatures called
ysalamiri
. Thrawn uses the ysalamiri, which possess the natural ability to disrupt
the Force
, to subdue the storehouse's guardian
Joruus C'baoth
, a twisted clone of a
Jedi Master
whom the Grand Admiral had killed years before. C'baoth offers his allegiance in exchange for two acolytes to bend to his will:
Darth Vader
's twin children,
Luke Skywalker
and
Princess Leia Organa
. Thrawn sends some of his
Noghri
killers to capture Luke and a pregnant Leia, but their attempts repeatedly fail. Leia defends herself from one attack and is surprised when the Noghri suddenly surrenders. Thrawn launches his first offensive, a series of hit-and-run attacks into New Republic territory, before stealing a complement of mole miners from
Lando Calrissian
's mining operations on
Nkllon
. In need of warships, and with his previous tactics having forced over 100 lightly crewed ships to be stationed at the
Sluis Van
shipyards as he planned, Thrawn invades. His
stormtroopers
use the stolen miners to board and hijack the ships; however, his efforts are thwarted, as Calrissian seizes control of the miners, remotely. Thrawn withdraws his forces; thanks to his plotting, his New Republic nemesis, the
Mon Calamari
Admiral Ackbar
, is subsequently arrested on accusations of
treason
.
[7]
[8]
[9]
Dark Force Rising
(1992)
[
edit
]
In
Dark Force Rising
(1992), it is revealed that before the
Clone Wars
, the
Old Republic
had constructed a fleet of highly automated
heavy cruisers
, known as the
Katana
fleet. A virus infected the crews of the entire fleet and drove them insane. The fleet was never seen again until Karrde discovered it (several years before the events of the first book). With access to Palpatine's private storehouse on the planet Wayland, Thrawn presses his advantage to marshal more forces for the battle against the New Republic. Mara Jade, in an attempt to exonerate the Empire's warrant for Karrde's arrest, goes to Thrawn and offers to reveal the location of the
Katana
fleet. Instead, he has her followed and Karrde is captured. Luke and Mara rescue Karrde from Thrawn's Star Destroyer as Thrawn attempts to capture another man who knows about the
Katana
fleet. Meanwhile, Leia learns that the Noghri serve the Empire because they revere her late father,
Darth Vader
, who they believe saved their planet
Honoghr
from ecological disaster. Leia convinces them that they have been deceived and effectively enslaved by the Empire, and they switch sides. With Ackbar temporarily neutralized as a tactical opponent, Thrawn leads an army of clones to claim the so-called "
Katana
fleet", outmaneuvering Luke, Lando, and
Han Solo
.
[7]
[10]
[11]
The Last Command
(1993)
[
edit
]
In
The Last Command
(1993), set about a month after the previous book, Thrawn uses the
Katana
fleet, crewed with clones, to mount a successful offensive against the New Republic. Seizing one planet after the other, Thrawn soon immobilizes the galactic capital world,
Coruscant
. He has placed multiple cloaked asteroids around the planet, and through a ruse, he has led the New Republic leadership to believe that Coruscant is surrounded with them. Learning of the deception, the Republic fleet attacks the Imperial shipyards at Bilbringi to capture a device that can find the cloaked
asteroids
, but Thrawn's forces intercept and surround them. Meanwhile, Luke and Leia lead a group to destroy the cloning facility on Wayland, killing C'baoth and destroying the
cloning
cylinders. Just as Thrawn and Pellaeon learn that the Noghri aided in the attack on Wayland, Thrawn's Noghri bodyguard,
Rukh
, kills the Grand Admiral?whose last words are, "But ... it was so artistically done." The tide of battle at Bilbringi turns, and with the hope of victory dashed by Thrawn's death, Pellaeon orders the Imperial forces to retreat.
[7]
[8]
Development
[
edit
]
The idea for a post-film trilogy was conceived by Lou Aronica, an editor at
Bantam Books
who proposed a series as "ambitious as the films were".
[12]
Lucas was initially skeptical of the proposal, but acquiesced;
Bantam Spectra
then brought Timothy Zahn on board to write the trilogy.
[12]
Zahn was given freedom to develop the direction the story should go in, with minimal pushback from
Lucasfilm
.
[5]
Before starting work on the books, Zahn was only given two rules: the series had to take place three to five years after
Return of the Jedi
, and no characters killed in the films could return.
[13]
Changes requested by Lucasfilm included changing an evil clone of
Obi-Wan Kenobi
to the new character of
Joruus C'baoth
and the renaming of Rukh's species from
Sith
to
Noghri
.
[5]
In order to provide him with existing
worldbuilding
material, Lucasfilm supplied Zahn with supplementary content from the
tabletop RPG
Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game
.
[5]
[13]
When conceiving of the antagonist for the series, Zahn desired a villain who was less brutal than Darth Vader or Emperor Palpatine.
[12]
Instead, Zahn sought inspiration from military commanders throughout history and envisaged an adversary who could outsmart the protagonists.
[12]
In creating the character of Thrawn, Timothy Zahn said:
I think it’s because he was so different from any other villain we’d seen in Star Wars to that time. Most Imperials seemed to follow the “hit it with a rock” school of thought regarding opposition. Thrawn, in contrast, used strategy and careful planning and usually managed to be two or three steps ahead of the New Republic.
Readers like their villains to be a challenge to the heroes because that forces the heroes to bring their best game to the field. The more clever the opponent, and the more difficult the fight, the more satisfying the victory.
[14]
The original, working title for
Heir to the Empire
was "Wild Card", which was rejected by Lucasfilm because they believed it was too similar to Bantam's
Wild Cards
series. The alternate name "The Emperor's Hand" was also rejected.
[13]
[15]
Warlord's Gambit
was also a potential title, but ultimately
Heir to the Empire
was chosen, which according to Zahn was suggested by Aronica.
[15]
[16]
Adaptations
[
edit
]
Denis Lawson
, who portrayed
Wedge Antilles
in the
original
Star Wars
trilogy
, narrates the abridged audiobook of
Heir to the Empire
, and
Anthony Daniels
, who portrayed
C-3PO
in every
Star Wars
film, narrates
Dark Force Rising
and
The Last Command
. Lucasfilm and
Varese Sarabande Records
producer Robert Townson discussed the creation of a score to promote the trilogy.
[a]
[17]
[18]
All three books were adapted as comic books by
Dark Horse Comics
between 1995 and 1998. The series was divided into six issues per book, written by
Mike Baron
, who says, "I didn't invent any language. All the language is Zahn's." The first volume was illustrated by French artists Olivier Vatine and Fred Blanchard, the second by
Terry Dodson
and
Kevin Nowlan
, and the third by
Edvin Biukovi?
and
Eric Shanower
.
[19]
The entire trilogy was collected in 2009 as a single
graphic novel
.
[19]
In 2011, a 20-year anniversary edition of the book was published, which included an introduction and annotations by Timothy Zahn, commentary by Lucasfilm and Del Rey books, and a new novella centered around the character of Thrawn.
[20]
For the trilogy's 20th anniversary, Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, & The Last Command would be granted brand new unabridged audiobook productions, narrated by Marc Thompson and featuring official Star Wars music and sound effects.
[21]
Each novel in the trilogy had its own
Star Wars
role-playing game
sourcebook created for it by
West End Games
. When the rules for the
Star Wars
RPG changed the three volumes were collected into one book for the entire
Thrawn
trilogy which also served as a second edition to the original three sourcebooks. According to Zahn, the writing of the trilogy was coordinated with preexisting West End Games materials (at the behest of Lucasfilm). Also, "They filled in a bunch of gaps I hadn't got around to filling in."
[22]
Reception
[
edit
]
Heir to the Empire
reached #1 on the
New York Times
Best Seller list
,
[4]
and the trilogy sold a combined total of 15 million copies.
[3]
The trilogy has been called "influential, much-loved, and ground breaking".
[23]
In August 2011, the series was voted into
NPR
's top 100 science-fiction and fantasy books (coming in at place 88), as voted on by over 60,000 participants.
[24]
Writing for
Tor.com
, Ryan Britt stated that the
Heir to the Empire
was closer to traditional science fiction rather than the epic space fantasy Star Wars was known for; he also compliments the character of Mara Jade for improving the perception of female characters in the franchise and not adhering to "
damsel in distress
" stereotypes.
[25]
Zahn's use of supplementary material from
Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game
has been credited for creating a sense of unity between different publications, allowing for a more believable shared universe.
[26]
Some reviews have been more critical, with prolific fansite author Jonathan Hicks saying that the Force is trivialised and that there were too many references to the original movies, in a 2000 review republished by starwars.com.
[20]
The trilogy allowed Lucasfilm to expand its non-film media into the mainstream, as opposed to the more niche comic book and role-playing game markets it was previously focusing on.
[26]
The success of the series prompted Lucasfilm to immediately commission more books to continue the
Star Wars
story.
[12]
Legacy
[
edit
]
The
Thrawn
trilogy is widely credited with revitalizing the
Star Wars
franchise,
[27]
[28]
[22]
although Zahn himself was skeptical of this.
[12]
In
The Secret History of Star Wars
, Michael Kaminski suggests that this renewed interest was a factor in
George Lucas
' decision to create the
Star Wars prequel trilogy
.
[22]
[29]
The trilogy's success has been cited as beginning the
Star Wars
Expanded Universe
.
[5]
Zahn would go on to write a pair of sequel books, in the
Hand of Thrawn
duology (
Specter of the Past
(1997) and
Vision of the Future
(1998)), expanding on the background of the Thrawn character.
[30]
He would later develop Thrawn's legacy further by writing
Survivor's Quest
(2004), and subsequently the prequel novel
Outbound Flight
(2006).
Although Lucas did not consider the Expanded Universe to be
canonical
,
[5]
he adopted the name
Coruscant
for the galactic capital in the prequel trilogy, which was created by Zahn in the
Heir to the Empire
.
[5]
[31]
While the
Thrawn
trilogy
was rendered noncanonical
following the Disney acquisition of the
Star Wars
franchise, the character of Thrawn was later re-canonized by Lucasfilm when he was introduced on
Star Wars Rebels
, voiced by
Lars Mikkelsen
,
[5]
[31]
in which
Rukh
would also appear, voiced by
Warwick Davis
.
[6]
Additionally, Zahn would soon after return to write an alternate trilogy surrounding the Thrawn character, in
Star Wars: Thrawn
(2017),
Thrawn: Alliances
(2018), and
Thrawn: Treason
(2019),
[31]
would later create a prequel trilogy about the character in the
Ascendency
trilogy
,
[32]
and consult on Thrawn's adaptation to live-action in the television series
Ahsoka
, Mikkelsen reprising his role as Thrawn from
Rebels
.
Gilad Pellaeon
would also make his live-action and
Star Wars
canon debut in the
third season
of
The Mandalorian
, portrayed by
Xander Berkeley
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"
Star Wars
in the UK: The Dark Times, 1987?1991"
.
StarWars.com
. April 15, 2013.
Archived
from the original on March 11, 2017
. Retrieved
May 30,
2022
.
- ^
Sansweet, Stephen J.
(1998).
Star Wars Encyclopedia
(1st ed.). New York: Ballantine. p. xvii.
ISBN
0-345-40227-8
.
OCLC
36960986
.
- ^
a
b
Myers, Lindsay Rae (20 February 2014).
"The Man Who Saved Star Wars: An Interview With Pensacon Guest Timothy Zahn"
.
WUWF 88.1
. WUWF.
Archived
from the original on 12 May 2015
. Retrieved
17 June
2017
.
- ^
a
b
"
The New York Times
Best Seller List"
(PDF)
.
Hawes.com
. June 30, 1991.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on August 11, 2017
. Retrieved
March 1,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
"
'Star Wars' writer reveals original vision for the sequels and his thoughts on 'The Last Jedi'
"
.
Yahoo!
. 30 July 2018.
Archived
from the original on 9 June 2019
. Retrieved
21 July
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Liptak, Andrew (2017-04-15).
"Another expanded universe character is coming to Star Wars Rebels, voiced by Warwick Davis"
.
The Verge
. Retrieved
2022-12-01
.
- ^
a
b
c
Hansen-Raj, Linda (August 2, 2016).
"Who Is Thrawn?"
.
StarWars.com
.
Archived
from the original on January 25, 2022
. Retrieved
March 17,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
"Grand Admiral Thrawn"
.
StarWars.com
. Archived from
the original
on June 4, 2011.
- ^
Britt, Ryan (February 28, 2013).
"How Timothy Zahn's
Heir to the Empire
Turned
Star Wars
into Science Fiction"
.
Tor.com
. Archived from
the original
on June 16, 2015
. Retrieved
August 26,
2015
.
- ^
"Fiction Book Review:
Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy: Dark Force Rising
"
.
Publishers Weekly
.
Archived
from the original on September 17, 2016
. Retrieved
July 21,
2016
.
- ^
Britt, Ryan (March 7, 2013).
"Not Rising Fast Enough: On Zahn's
Dark Force Rising
"
.
Tor.com
.
Archived
from the original on July 23, 2015
. Retrieved
August 26,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
"30 years ago, Timothy Zahn resurrected Star Wars"
.
Transfer Orbit
. 4 May 2021.
Archived
from the original on 24 July 2022
. Retrieved
24 July
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
"An interview with Timothy Zahn, author of Heir to the Empire"
.
Zoklet
. Archived from
the original
on 2010-05-21
. Retrieved
21 July
2022
.
- ^
"Timothy Zahn on Grand Admiral Thrawn: 'He's like an old friend who I understand completely'
"
.
The Verge
. 27 April 2017.
Archived
from the original on 24 July 2022
. Retrieved
24 July
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"An interview with Timothy Zahn, author of
Heir to the Empire
"
. Zoklet.net. 1991. Archived from
the original
on May 21, 2010
. Retrieved
March 1,
2017
.
- ^
Zahn, Timothy (2011). "Endnote 13".
Heir to the Empire: The 20th Anniversary Edition
.
Del Rey Books
.
ISBN
978-0345528292
.
- ^
Gonzales, Dave (December 22, 2016).
"The Greatest 'Star Wars' Spinoff Movie Was Everything but a Movie"
.
Thrillist
.
Archived
from the original on June 6, 2023
. Retrieved
March 24,
2019
.
- ^
Cotta Vaz, Mark
(April 25, 2009).
The Secrets of Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
. Star Wars. New York City:
Del Rey
. p. 256.
ISBN
978-0-345-40236-3
.
- ^
a
b
Baron, Mike (2015) [2009].
Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy
. New York:
Marvel Comics
. p. 5.
- ^
a
b
"Critical Opinion: Heir To The Empire Reviews"
.
starwars.com
.
Archived
from the original on 14 July 2014
. Retrieved
24 July
2022
.
- ^
"Heir to the Empire: Star Wars Legends Penguin Random House"
.
penguinrandomhouse.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2024-04-24
. Retrieved
2024-04-24
.
- ^
a
b
c
Kaminski, Michael (2008).
The Secret History of Star Wars
. New York City: Legacy Books Press. pp. 289?291.
ISBN
978-0978465230
.
- ^
"Critical Opinion:
Heir to the Empire
Reviews"
.
StarWars.com
. April 4, 2014.
Archived
from the original on July 14, 2014
. Retrieved
December 14,
2015
.
- ^
"Your Picks: Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books"
.
NPR
. August 11, 2011.
Archived
from the original on November 9, 2013
. Retrieved
August 12,
2011
.
- ^
"How Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire Turned Star Wars into Science Fiction"
.
tor.com
. 28 February 2013.
Archived
from the original on 16 June 2015
. Retrieved
24 July
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"How the Thrawn Trilogy Changed Star Wars Forever"
.
CBR
. 21 March 2021.
Archived
from the original on 24 July 2022
. Retrieved
24 July
2022
.
- ^
Bacon, Tom (January 23, 2017).
"
Thrawn
, The Next
Star Wars
Novel, Promises To Transform The Franchise"
.
Moviepilot
. Archived from
the original
on 2017-03-12
. Retrieved
March 4,
2017
.
- ^
"Timothy Zahn:
Outbound Flight
Arrival"
.
StarWars.com
. January 31, 2006. Archived from
the original
on February 4, 2006
. Retrieved
July 21,
2016
.
- ^
Breznican, Anthony (November 2, 2012).
"
Star Wars
sequel author Timothy Zahn weighs in on new movie plans"
.
Entertainment Weekly
.
Archived
from the original on May 16, 2013
. Retrieved
July 21,
2016
.
- ^
"Star Wars: The Hand of Thrawn Duology ? Legends Series"
.
Penguin Random House
.
Archived
from the original on 24 July 2022
. Retrieved
24 July
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
"The Thrawn legacy: From page to screen, the greatest addition to 'Star Wars' mythology"
.
The Daily Star
. 25 May 2021.
Archived
from the original on 21 July 2022
. Retrieved
21 July
2022
.
- ^
"Star Wars: The Ascendancy Trilogy Series"
.
Penguin Random House
.
Archived
from the original on 24 July 2022
. Retrieved
24 July
2022
.
Notes
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Star Wars
| |
---|
Dragonback
series
| |
---|
Icarus Saga
series
|
- The Icarus Hunt
(1999)
- The Icarus Plot
(2022)
- The Icarus Twin
(2023)
- The Icarus Job
(2024)
|
---|
Standalone
| |
---|
|
---|
Characters
| |
---|
Concepts
| |
---|
Related
| |
---|
|