Heir to the Empire was the first Star Wars novel published in the 1990's, and looking at it now, I have to say it was a good book and a nice way to get back in touch with characters that had been last seen in Return of the Jedi. If I would've been asked for my opinion a few years back, however, I would've written a completely different review of this book.
I originally read the book when it first came out. At the time, I thought it was all right, but wasn't impressed with it enough to seek out the rest of the trilogy. Keep in mind that I was a freshman in high school at the time and, although I liked Star Wars, it wasn't that big a thing with me. I have to admit, though, that there were only a couple of things that really annoyed me back then. Those things were Lando being featured rather prominently (I really hated Lando at the time) and the time spent on Kashyyyk. I've never really been a big fan of Chewbacca either, and it seemed they spent far too much time with the Wookiees.
Now, almost ten years later, I have come to appreciate this book for what it is. Sure, they do spend time at Kashyyyk, which is a big bonus for anybody who's ever wondered about the Wookiees, and now it doesn't seem as long as it did then. Plus, although I still don't like Lando, I've come to have a slightly different perspective on him and can deal with him when he's written halfway decent, as he was in this book.
So, on to my present day perceptions. The movie characters were written true to character, which is a lot more than can be said with many other Star Wars books. Luke is now completely on his own and questioning whether he will be an effective teacher for Leia and her children. He is afraid of making the same mistakes that Obi-Wan made with his father. I thought this helped add depth to Luke's character, and helps the reader identify with him. That, and his constantly being thrust into situations where the Force cannot help him, also show that he's human and not a superhero.
I also liked the glimpse into the married life of Han and Leia. Seeing Han in the role of husband and father-to-be, and taking that role seriously, again shows us how much he has changed since we first met him in A New Hope. Despite being "respectable," we also see that he hasn't lost the traits that made us love him to begin with.
Another thing that was nice to see was the status of both the Empire and the Rebel Alliance, aka the New Republic. The addition of lesser known movie characters, such as Ackbar, Mon Mothma, and Wedge, also helped show the progression of time. Not only do people like Luke, Han, and Leia have a life after the war, but these "minor" characters also assume positions and are still around. This shows that somebody put a little thinking into the book and help us feel that this government/universe is legit.
The biggest gripe I had with the movie characters usage was Zahn's penchant for constantly quoting the movie. Yes, they were well done, and some of the situations were parallels to stuff from the movies, but there were just a little too many for my taste.
And now, on to the new characters. Zahn comes up with many: Thrawn, Pellaeon, C'baoth, Mara, Karrde, and Fey'lya, to name some of the higher profile ones. Each character is distinct and unique, filling roles that the movie characters do not.
The most fascinating character out of these is, in my opinion, Grand Admiral Thrawn. Although Zahn seems to be a little too concerned with raving about how much of a genius this guy is and how he is totally different from Vader and the Emperor, Thrawn is able to rise above this. He impresses me in that he actually tries to figure out the root cause of a problem instead of just offing the commander. His deductive abilities also show that he is able to think, and think well (like deducing who switched onto which ship when Leia went to Kashyyyk). I also was surprised in how he handled his defeat at Sluis Van. Instead of becoming angry and ordering the Rebels demolished, he is able to put his loss into perspective of his overall plan and write it off.
A slight aside on Thrawn and artwork. I have seen comments from people on discussion forums and other places that express disbelief that he could figure out an entire species based on their artwork. I believe there are people here on Earth who can tell quite a bit about an artist through his/her art, or even about a certain time period through the kinds of art that were being made during that time. Is it so hard to believe that a person with a super-high IQ, like Thrawn has consistently exhibited, could deduce this about an entire species, granting that he has a cross-section of all the kinds of art a planet has produced? Keep in mind that a lot of Star Wars planets seem to have only one type of climate (Tatooine, Hoth, Endor, Coruscant), making this task somewhat easier at times.
The other character who has really lodged in people's minds as belonging in Star Wars is, of course, Mara Jade. This character is written in such a way that interest in her builds as the book continues. Upon first meeting her, we are told that she hates Luke, but nobody knows why. As the book progresses, we learn other interesting things about her, like her knowledge of Imperial procedures and even that she knows of this mysterious Grand Admiral. Finally, towards the end, we hear why she hates Luke. But lots of questions still remain, making the reader want to find out more about her. What does it mean to be the Emperor's Hand, exactly? Assuming she doesn't kill Luke, what happens? Is she going to fall in love with him? Those were a few of the questions I had, at least.
The thing I really liked about her is that she was totally able to take care of herself, but yet she was not a Leia clone. She could defend herself using a variety of weapons, was completely at home out in the wild with little in the way of supplies, and had managed to work her way up the hierarchy of Karrde's organization in such a short amount of time without having to sleep her way there. That and I thought that, if she could get over hating Luke, she might make a pretty good romantic interest. Obviously nobody ever quoted the saying, "There's a thin line between love and hate," to Mara.
C'baoth is one of those "take him and leave him" characters. He is vital to the plot, and you can't wait for him and Luke to meet, but otherwise he becomes annoying at times. One thing that irritated me is that Thrawn actually felt he had to cater to this loony. At times it was interesting to watch the two dig at each other, but other times it really wore. But, I guess if Zahn can't use a Dark Obi-Wan like he wanted to, C'baoth will do.
And then, we have the introduction of who will become one of the most beloved politicians of the New Republic, everyone's favorite Bothan, Borsk Fey'lya. Borsk is actually pretty low-key here. We mainly see him at Council meetings making barbs at Ackbar, trying to make him look weak and incompetent. We also are given to know that quite a few members in the military have fallen for this and want Borsk to lead them. What I don't understand is why they would want this. The reader is given no knowledge that Borsk would be able to assume the Commander in Chief position. S/he is left to assume that Borsk has shown those capabilities in the past. But those who have read other books with Borsk know this to be false. So, even if Ackbar is not Commander in Chief, why would that post go to Borsk? He may be competent enough to be a politician (going strictly by this book), but a military commander as well? I don't think so.
Overall, I think this did serve as a good introductory book for the Star Wars Expanded Universe. The movie characters were kept in character, but yet were shown to have grown and changed somewhat in the five years between this book and Return of the Jedi. The new characters were interesting and intriguing enough to bring a person back for the next book, and the plot and setting is established well enough to make a person feel at home in the EU. However, if this book is read by a person with only some interest in Star Wars to begin with, it could be hit or miss on whether or not they like it, but this is still definitely the book to give someone who is reading a Star Wars book for the first time.
Reviewed June 23, 2000 by Kelly M. Grosskreutz.
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