A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

Cover art by Two Dots. (C) 2018 Del Rey Books and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL)  On July 24, Penguin Random House’s science fiction imprint Del Rey Books published Star Wars: Thrawn: Alliances, the second canonical novel by Timothy Zahn that features the Hugo Award-winning author’s most famous character, Grand Admiral Thrawn. Set between Seasons Three and Four of Star Wars Rebels, Thrawn: Alliances is a sequel to 2017’s Star Wars: Thrawn, Zahn’s origins-of story that is partially based on details from the original Expanded Universe/Legends version of how an exiled Chiss military genius joined Emperor Palpatine’s New Order but was tweaked to consider the character’s canonical introduction as a Grand Admiral before the Battle of Yavin. As the book’s title and cover art by the Paris-based studio Two Dots suggest, Thrawn: Alliances is a story that is many a Star Wars reader’s dream-come-true: the joining of forces between Emperor Palpatine’s most powerful servants, Grand Admiral ...

Cover art by Two Dots. Cover Design by Scott Biel. (C) 2018 Del Rey Books and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Star Wars book fans, rejoice. Timothy Zahn is back with a new canonical novel set "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away," a novel that features Emperor Palpatine's most feared servants: Lord Darth Vader and Grand Admiral Thrawn. On Tuesday, July 24, Random House's science fiction/fantasy imprint Del Rey Books published the U.S. edition of Star Wars: Thrawn: Alliances, the sequel to Zahn's New York Times bestselling novel from last year, Star Wars: Thrawn, which reintroduced a long-time fan favorite character from the former Expanded Universe and placed him in the "official" timeline to coincide with Thrawn's appearance as the main antagonist in Season Three of the  Star Wars Rebels animated series .  “I have sensed a disturbance in the Force.” Ominous words under any circumstances, but all the more so when uttered by Emperor Palpatine. ...

Cover art by Two Dots. (C) 2017 Del Rey Books and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) On April 11, 2017, Del Rey Books, an imprint of Random House, published Timothy Zahn's canonical novel, Star Wars: Thrawn, the long-awaited origin story of one of the greatest villains ever created for the space-fantasy franchise set "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." Grand Admiral Thrawn was originally conceived by Zahn in the early Nineties when Lucasfilm and Bantam Spectra hired the Hugo Award-winning author to reboot the moribund Star Wars Expanded Universe. Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. the final chapter of George Lucas's storied trilogy, was only followed by a handful of Lando Calrissian novels set before Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope and a lackluster Marvel Comics line that ended publication in 1986. And with the long-rumored Prequel Trilogy apparently on permanent hold, it looked as though the franchise itself was in danger of dying. The publication...

Cover art by Mathieu Laffray. (C) 2009 Dark Horse Comics and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) On December 16, 2009,  Dark Horse Comics published Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, a 420-page hardcover collection of the comics adaptations of the 1991-1993 three-book cycle of novels by Timothy Zahn. Written by Mike Baron and featuring the art of three different artistic teams, The Thrawn Trilogy collects issues 1-6 of Heir to the Empire, issues 1-6 of Dark Force Rising, and issues 1-6 of The Last Command in one volume for the first time. In 1991, after a five-year "dry spell" in which no new Star Wars fiction saw print, Bantam Spectra published Timothy Zahn's novel Heir to the Empire, which raised interest in that galaxy far, far away to a level that had not been seen since the release of the "last" of the films, Return of the Jedi . Later that same year, Dark Horse Comics obtained the Star Wars comic-book license, and a merging of interests seemed inevitable. ...

Cover art by Drew Struzan. (C) 1998 Bantam Spectra and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Pros:  Timothy Zahn's usual  reader-friendly style. Good characterizations.  Cons:  Ending is okay but not impressive It is a time of peril for the New Republic. Although 19 years have passed since Luke Skywalker left Tatooine and destroyed the Empire's first Death Star at Yavin, and even though the Galactic Empire now holds only a handful of star systems, political infighting, interspecies squabbles and other problems beset the former Rebel Alliance which has ostensibly defeated it. Nevertheless, the Imperial Supreme Commander, Admiral Gilead Pellaeon has convinced Imperial Remnant's Council of Moffs that if the vestiges of the once mighty Empire want to survive intact, it is time to negotiate an end to the war with the New Republic. Reluctantly, the Moffs agree and give Pellaeon the authority to send a peace feeler to Corellian Senator Garm Bel Iblis to see under what cond...

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 ...

Cover art by Tom Jung. (C) 1993 Bantam Spectra and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) In 1991, eight years after the release of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Lucasfilm's licensing division authorized various projects to revive interest in George Lucas' characters and situations in advance of both the 20th Anniversary of the Star Wars Trilogy and to create fan anticipation for the still-in-planning prequel trilogy. Among the many ideas that were given the green light was a publishing concept known as Star Wars: The Expanded Universe, which entailed hiring some of the best science fiction and fantasy writers to create new "further adventures" featuring Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Artoo Detoo (R2-D2) and See Threepio (C-3PO) and set in the time period immediately after Return of the Jedi. Although there were many authors involved and not all the stories would be in the same format (Dark Horse Comics, for instance, would publish the Dark ...