A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

(C) 2014 LucasBooks and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) Cover art by Tom Jung In 1991, Bantam Books and Lucasfilm Ltd. reinvigorated interest in the  Star Wars  universe (well, galaxy) by gathering a diverse group of noted science fiction writers and starting an ongoing series of novels set in the time period which follows  Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi .  Timothy Zahn's  Heir to the Empire , the first volume of a three-book cycle, was almost an instant phenomenon when it was published in hardcover. With its depiction of the continuing battle between what is left of the Galactic Empire and the fledgling New Republic, this novel cleverly mixes the characters from the Classic Trilogy with a cast of newly created heroes and villains, some of whom will make appearances in other authors'  Star Wars  Expanded Universe works.  As  Heir to the Empire  begins, the New Republic has been engaged in a five-year long campaign to mop up the remnants of the once-mighty Empire. The once dr

In 1991, Bantam Spectra Books and Lucasfilm Limited joined forces to re-launch the dormant  Star Wars  franchise with the publication of Timothy Zahn's  Star Wars: Heir to the Empire , the first volume of a three-book cycle known as The Thrawn Trilogy . Eight years had passed since the theatrical run of  Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi,  and only a few Lando Calrissian novels, a moribund Marvel Comics series and a West End Games role-playing game were "keeping the flame" for fans who wondered when - or  if  -  Star Wars  creator George Lucas would complete the long-rumored  nine-part  saga made up of  three  Trilogies - the Classic, the Prequels and a Sequel Trilogy set decades after  Return of the Jedi. Heir to the Empire,  which is set five years after the climactic events of  Episode VI,  not only updated readers on how the lives of Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, C-3PO and R2-D2 have changed since the Battle of En