Book Review: 'Star Wars: Specter of the Past'
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| Cover art by Drew Struzan. (C) 1997 Bantam Spectra and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) |
Pros: Timothy Zahn's writing. Characterization.
Detailing.
Cons: May be too political for casual Star Wars
readers. Ends on a cliffhanger
One of the hardest things to accomplish in pop literature is
continiuing a popular movie or television series' storyline and striking a
balance between staying true to the sensibilities of the on-screen source and
telling original stories that don't seem like tired retreads.
If you are a regular reader of Star Trek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any of the Young Indiana Jones books by Rob McGregor or others, you know what I'm talking about. You often end up reading a veritable mix of superb novels amidst a hodge-podge of books which range from fantastic reads to tomes you wish you hadn't bought at all.
Star Wars fans aren't immune from this particular dilemma; even as Lucasfilm licenses a select group of writers to continue telling a more-or-less unified story set in that galaxy far, far away, there is a somewhat confounding lack of consistency as far as quality of writing is concerned in the post-Return of the Jedi literary universe.
Ever since the publication of The Last Command, Timothy Zahn's third book in the Thrawn Trilogy, the focus of the Expanded Universe has been two-fold. First, it tells how the New Republic is trying to rebuild the wartorn galaxy after decades of Imperial rule and the Galactic Civil War. Sometimes the stories focus on the efforts to beat back what's left of the Empire and/or criminal organizations such as Black Sun or the Hutt clans. Sometimes the focus is on Luke Skywalker, his family, and his efforts to rebuild the Jedi Order.
There are even a few jaunts backward into the Classic Trilogy's timeline in an effort to retain old fans and add retroactive continuity that links the novels and movies together.
The books may veer back and forth along the Star Wars timeline, but essentially they're heading into a transition from the New Republic-versus-Imperial holdouts to the darker, more menacing stories told in the New Jedi Order series, and beyond.
Timothy Zahn's fourth Star Wars novel, Specter of the Past, is the beginning of this literary transition, which in some ways was foreshadowed by events in Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command.
Specter of the Past is set 10 years after the Battle of Bilbringi, where Grand Admiral Thrawn was killed just as he seemed to be winning against the New Republic forces.
It is a dark time for the Galactic Empire. 19 years have passed since the destruction of the first Death Star and 16 since the deaths of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader at Endor. Internal squabbling between Imperial factions and wannabe warlords have helped the formner Rebel Alliance reclaim most of the war-weary galaxy, and now the once formidable Empire controls only a thousand sectors and can muster only a fraction of the Star Destroyers and Imperial stormtroopers which once held Palpatine's New Order together.
Supreme Commander Gillead Pellaeon, once Grand Admiral Thrawn's most trusted commander, is keenly aware that the Empire's military power is in no shape to continue the war against the New Republic. Knowing that there are many worlds which prefer to remain under Imperial rule now that Palpatine's New Order is not as suffocating, he plans to contact New Republic General Garm Bel Iblis and begin negotiations for a final peace treaty.
Of course, he has to present the plan to the last few Imperial Moffs on the secret Imperial throne world code-named Bastion. These men, led by the wizened Moff Disra, aren't very happy about making peace with the former Rebels, but after Pellaeon convinces most of them that further hostilities are hopeless, they seem swayed.
But are they? Some are, but Moff Disra and his aide, Major Gordin Tierce, are not so sure. They see the New Republic as divided by interspecies and intersystem rivalries as the Old Republic Palpatine overthrew decades earlier. A galaxy divided and in chaos, they believe, is ripe for Imperial reconquest.
Knowing that they need a strong leader for "loyalist" Imperials to rally around, they concoct a scheme that will seem to bring back Thrawn from the dead, then use a decades-old tragedy - the destruction of Camaas by an unknown attack force - to sow divisions and distrust among the constituent worlds and species of the New Republic.
Meanwhile, those internecine squabbles within the New Republic are giving Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, his sister Leia Organa Solo and all the familiar heroes from books and movies a hard time. The Jedi Academy has turned out a few Jedi Knights to help protect and serve the New Republic, but Luke is worried that his reliance on the Force may not be a good idea, plus he and the others are at a loss as to how to prevent the galaxy from heading into anarchy, especially after Leia gets her hands on what appears to be a copy of the Camaas Document on the Emperor's former warehouse world, Wayland.
My Take
If you are a regular reader of Star Trek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or any of the Young Indiana Jones books by Rob McGregor or others, you know what I'm talking about. You often end up reading a veritable mix of superb novels amidst a hodge-podge of books which range from fantastic reads to tomes you wish you hadn't bought at all.
Star Wars fans aren't immune from this particular dilemma; even as Lucasfilm licenses a select group of writers to continue telling a more-or-less unified story set in that galaxy far, far away, there is a somewhat confounding lack of consistency as far as quality of writing is concerned in the post-Return of the Jedi literary universe.
Ever since the publication of The Last Command, Timothy Zahn's third book in the Thrawn Trilogy, the focus of the Expanded Universe has been two-fold. First, it tells how the New Republic is trying to rebuild the wartorn galaxy after decades of Imperial rule and the Galactic Civil War. Sometimes the stories focus on the efforts to beat back what's left of the Empire and/or criminal organizations such as Black Sun or the Hutt clans. Sometimes the focus is on Luke Skywalker, his family, and his efforts to rebuild the Jedi Order.
There are even a few jaunts backward into the Classic Trilogy's timeline in an effort to retain old fans and add retroactive continuity that links the novels and movies together.
The books may veer back and forth along the Star Wars timeline, but essentially they're heading into a transition from the New Republic-versus-Imperial holdouts to the darker, more menacing stories told in the New Jedi Order series, and beyond.
Timothy Zahn's fourth Star Wars novel, Specter of the Past, is the beginning of this literary transition, which in some ways was foreshadowed by events in Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command.
Specter of the Past is set 10 years after the Battle of Bilbringi, where Grand Admiral Thrawn was killed just as he seemed to be winning against the New Republic forces.
It is a dark time for the Galactic Empire. 19 years have passed since the destruction of the first Death Star and 16 since the deaths of Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader at Endor. Internal squabbling between Imperial factions and wannabe warlords have helped the formner Rebel Alliance reclaim most of the war-weary galaxy, and now the once formidable Empire controls only a thousand sectors and can muster only a fraction of the Star Destroyers and Imperial stormtroopers which once held Palpatine's New Order together.
Supreme Commander Gillead Pellaeon, once Grand Admiral Thrawn's most trusted commander, is keenly aware that the Empire's military power is in no shape to continue the war against the New Republic. Knowing that there are many worlds which prefer to remain under Imperial rule now that Palpatine's New Order is not as suffocating, he plans to contact New Republic General Garm Bel Iblis and begin negotiations for a final peace treaty.
Of course, he has to present the plan to the last few Imperial Moffs on the secret Imperial throne world code-named Bastion. These men, led by the wizened Moff Disra, aren't very happy about making peace with the former Rebels, but after Pellaeon convinces most of them that further hostilities are hopeless, they seem swayed.
But are they? Some are, but Moff Disra and his aide, Major Gordin Tierce, are not so sure. They see the New Republic as divided by interspecies and intersystem rivalries as the Old Republic Palpatine overthrew decades earlier. A galaxy divided and in chaos, they believe, is ripe for Imperial reconquest.
Knowing that they need a strong leader for "loyalist" Imperials to rally around, they concoct a scheme that will seem to bring back Thrawn from the dead, then use a decades-old tragedy - the destruction of Camaas by an unknown attack force - to sow divisions and distrust among the constituent worlds and species of the New Republic.
Meanwhile, those internecine squabbles within the New Republic are giving Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, his sister Leia Organa Solo and all the familiar heroes from books and movies a hard time. The Jedi Academy has turned out a few Jedi Knights to help protect and serve the New Republic, but Luke is worried that his reliance on the Force may not be a good idea, plus he and the others are at a loss as to how to prevent the galaxy from heading into anarchy, especially after Leia gets her hands on what appears to be a copy of the Camaas Document on the Emperor's former warehouse world, Wayland.
My Take
As in all of Zahn's Star Wars novels, the plot of
this first volume in the Hand of Thrawn duology blends interesting
political situations and cloak-and-lightsaber intrigue with Star Wars-style
action-adventure.
As always, Zahn continues to prove why he is one of the best Star Wars novelists around. He has an unerring eye for detail and a wonderful ear for voices, all of which bring the various characters - particularly the gracefully maturing heroes from the Classic Trilogy - to life on the page.
As I've said in other reviews I've written about Zahn's Star Wars novels, this guy is one of the few who gets Luke Skywalker down right. Now in his late 30s, Luke is no longer the 19-year-old farmboy from Tatooine that some unkind reviewers now dub "Whiny Li'l Jedi". He is now more mature and less reckless. Indeed, his past experiences as Jedi Master have made him more cautious about using the Force. Underneath all that, though, Zahn still manages to let Luke's earnestness and compassion for others shine through, and this link to the "younger" Luke will be important in Vision of the Future.
Of course, in order to be in continuity with other authors' works, Zahn doesn't just stick to characters and situations from his other novels or George Lucas's movie series, but he also refers to the Dark Empire graphic novels and the Michael Stackpole/Aaron Alliston X-Wing series, just to name a few. As usual, he does so in such a way that it seems natural to a reader, even though one might need to check The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia or find out what other novels came before to understand some of the references.
There are, of course, appearances by such favorite characters as Mara Jade, Talon Karrde, Wedge Antilles, Corran Horn, and others, as well as introductions of new personnel who will play bigger roles in such novels as Outbound Flight and Survivor's Quest.
This being the first volume of a duology, Specter of the Past ends - as it must - with a set of cliffhanger situations that will be resolved - mostly - in Vision of the Future
As always, Zahn continues to prove why he is one of the best Star Wars novelists around. He has an unerring eye for detail and a wonderful ear for voices, all of which bring the various characters - particularly the gracefully maturing heroes from the Classic Trilogy - to life on the page.
As I've said in other reviews I've written about Zahn's Star Wars novels, this guy is one of the few who gets Luke Skywalker down right. Now in his late 30s, Luke is no longer the 19-year-old farmboy from Tatooine that some unkind reviewers now dub "Whiny Li'l Jedi". He is now more mature and less reckless. Indeed, his past experiences as Jedi Master have made him more cautious about using the Force. Underneath all that, though, Zahn still manages to let Luke's earnestness and compassion for others shine through, and this link to the "younger" Luke will be important in Vision of the Future.
Of course, in order to be in continuity with other authors' works, Zahn doesn't just stick to characters and situations from his other novels or George Lucas's movie series, but he also refers to the Dark Empire graphic novels and the Michael Stackpole/Aaron Alliston X-Wing series, just to name a few. As usual, he does so in such a way that it seems natural to a reader, even though one might need to check The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia or find out what other novels came before to understand some of the references.
There are, of course, appearances by such favorite characters as Mara Jade, Talon Karrde, Wedge Antilles, Corran Horn, and others, as well as introductions of new personnel who will play bigger roles in such novels as Outbound Flight and Survivor's Quest.
This being the first volume of a duology, Specter of the Past ends - as it must - with a set of cliffhanger situations that will be resolved - mostly - in Vision of the Future
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