It’s no exaggeration to say that this novel, and its two sequels in what has come to be called the “Thrawn Trilogy” (after its villain), saved Star Wars from oblivion. And now, after thirty years, here I am again, at this oldest of old friends. Timothy Zahn continues to write for Star Wars, even bringing into canon many characters and concepts from his Expanded Universe work but here we have the one, the only, the original. As well, I’ve seen many new fans come along and discover Heir to the Empire for the first time–something that is especially gratifying here in the era of Disney’s Lucasfilm and its new canon. In the years since, I’ve seen many other fans recount similar stories. Already a huge fan, I remember my heart leaping into my throat at the discovery of this new–this new!–novel, Heir to the Empire. But I can still remember, late 1991 (or perhaps early 1992), visiting my local libary’s bookmobile, and coming upon a blue hardback book…with Star Wars across the top. My perspective, rather, has been that of a fan, and that’s how I’ll address it here. I have not taken the time to delve into just how Zahn’s first Star Wars novel came to be commissioned. For all practical purposes, Star Wars had run its course and we fans were watching it fade into the sunset. The only ongoing piece of Star Wars media was the tabletop roleplaying game. Toys still existed, but the river had become a stream, and then trickle. A few video games came out, but they were adaptations of the films, not original material. The most recent novels were 1983’s The Adventures of Lando Calrissian. The two animated series, Droids and Ewoks, had run in 1985. There had been a decent run of comics, but the last issues had released in 1988. The last movie, Return of the Jedi, released in 1983. Not dead dead, perhaps, but close enough. At long last! We’ve come to something truly exciting! (Well, for me, at least.)Ī long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away the year 1991, Star Wars was dead.
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