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Star Wars: The Hand of Thrawn Duology #1
Star Wars: Specter of the Past
Hugo Award-winning author Timothy Zahn makes his triumphant return to the Star Wars(r) universe in this first of an epic new two-volume series in which the New Republic must face its most dangerous enemy yet--a dead Imperial warlord.
The Empire stands at the brink of total collapse. But they have saved their most heinous plan for last. First a plot is hatched that could destroy the New Republic in a bloodbath of genocide and civil war. Then comes the shocking news that Grand Admiral Thrawn--the most cunning and ruthless warlord in history--has apparently returned from the dead to lead the Empire to a long-prophesied victory. Facing incredible odds, Han and Leia begin a desperate race against time to prevent the New Republic from unraveling in the face of two inexplicable threats--one from within and one from without. Meanwhile, Luke teams up with Mara Jade, using the Force to track down a mysterious pirate ship with a crew of clones. Yet, perhaps most dangerous of all, are those who lurk in the shadows, orchestrating a dark plan that will turn the New Republic and the Empire into their playthings.
The Empire stands at the brink of total collapse. But they have saved their most heinous plan for last. First a plot is hatched that could destroy the New Republic in a bloodbath of genocide and civil war. Then comes the shocking news that Grand Admiral Thrawn--the most cunning and ruthless warlord in history--has apparently returned from the dead to lead the Empire to a long-prophesied victory. Facing incredible odds, Han and Leia begin a desperate race against time to prevent the New Republic from unraveling in the face of two inexplicable threats--one from within and one from without. Meanwhile, Luke teams up with Mara Jade, using the Force to track down a mysterious pirate ship with a crew of clones. Yet, perhaps most dangerous of all, are those who lurk in the shadows, orchestrating a dark plan that will turn the New Republic and the Empire into their playthings.
386 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 1, 1997
780 people are currently reading
9097 people want to read
About the author
Timothy Zahn
486 books8,392 followersTimothy Zahn attended Michigan State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 1973. He then moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and achieved an M.S. degree in physics in 1975. While he was pursuing a doctorate in physics, his adviser became ill and died. Zahn never completed the doctorate. In 1975 he had begun writing science fiction as a hobby, and he became a professional writer. He and his wife Anna live in Bandon, Oregon. They have a son, Corwin Zahn.
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September 16, 2015
Thank God for Timothy Zahn.
I don’t say that lightly, either, or ironically, as in “Thank God for burritos” or “Thank God for Internet porn”. It’s not a simple throw-away praise to the heavens. It’s heartfelt. And this from someone who doesn’t necessarily believe in the heavens or God or all that stuff.
I really mean it. Thank God for Timothy Zahn.
Because I’m not going to lie: when I decided several weeks ago to read all of the Star Wars Expanded Universe novels (post-”Return of the Jedi”), I did not expect that it would become so, well, tasking.
Not that the journey hasn’t been somewhat enjoyable. It’s been fun reading different authors’ interpretations and perspectives of the universe created in 1977 by George Lucas. He invented a vast playing field for some of the best science fiction and fantasy writers to run around in, and the results have been extraordinary.
It has also taken an unforeseen toll on my mental state. I have, in some ways, become so immersed in the SWEU that I have begun having SWEU-inspired dreams. I walk around in SWEU-filled daymares, wishing that I could use the Force to make traffic move faster or a Jedi mind trick to convince my boss that I should go home three hours early. When dealing with annoying customers or co-workers, I wish that I could raise my hand and Force-strangle them with a memorable Darth Vader-like statement: “Your lack of faith disturbs me.” I have basically become intoxicated on “Star Wars”, and not in a good way.
I also realize, however, that there are millions of fans out there who can relate to this feeling, and many of them, I’m sure, see absolutely nothing wrong with it.
I feel like Morgan Spurlock did half-way through his one-month experiment to eat nothing but McDonald’s food in his movie “Supersize Me”. Like him, I am, at this point, fearing for my sanity and well-being, but I will carry on, knowing that there is an eventual light at the end of the tunnel. For me, it is simply 45 more books in the series. (Holy shit, did I read that right?..)
Honestly, the last couple books in the series, while entertaining, were a wide range of mediocre to decent. Very few stood out for me as “above average” or even “excellent”. Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s “The New Rebellion” came damn close, and Roger MacBride Allen’s “Corellian Trilogy” had its moments, but I was beginning to feel the stirrings of something I never thought I’d feel while reading a Star Wars book: boredom.
Which brings me to: Thank God for Timothy Zahn.
I just finished reading (“devouring” is more appropriate) the first book in his “Hand of Thrawn” duology, “Specter of the Past”. (A duology, in case you didn’t know, is a two-book series, the way a three-book series is a trilogy. I know you probably knew this, smartypants, but I didn’t when I first picked the book up, and I love discovering new words.)
This book carries on some of the narrative threads started in Zahn’s legendary “Thrawn” trilogy, published in 1991, an excellent series that had the distinction of jump-starting the entire Expanded Universe series.
In this book, the villainous Admiral Thrawn, thought to have died in the third book, “The Last Command”, is rumored to have arisen from the dead and has plans to reunite the Empire, which is a shambles.
Thrawn’s original second-in-command, Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, is a grizzled, old Imperial officer who has done his best to hold the remnants of the once-great Empire together. After a lifetime of war, however, Pellaeon has decided that the only solution to keeping the Empire alive in any form is through peace with the New Republic. There is almost unanimous---albeit reluctant---agreement among the other officers in his Imperial Fleet.
One voice of dissent, however, comes from Moff Disra, who wants to continue the fighting and destroy the New Republic. Of course, he also has the lofty goal of becoming the new Emperor, eventually. In the meantime, he comes up with a pretty elaborate and clever scheme, along with the help of one of Emperor Palpatine’s elite Royal Guard, Grodin Tierce, and a con man named Flim.
The scheme involves a plot to foment unrest and hatred between alien nations within the New Republic. Princess Leia Organa, the President of the NR, is overwhelmed with negotiations and settling disputes between the member nations of the NR. Things are getting worse. Pockets of violence have erupted, and there is the faint rumors of civil war.
With the help of smuggler Talon Karrde and former Imperial assassin Mara Jade, the original “Star Wars” crew---Luke, Leia, Han, Lando, Chewie, C3-PO, and R2-D2---set out (in opposite directions, of course) to make things right. Along the way, Zahn introduces many new characters.
To say that “Specter of the Past” is deftly-plotted, suspenseful, and fast-paced is, of course, a given with Zahn. It also helps that he writes with a butter-smooth prose style that fits perfectly with the genre and the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Zahn clearly knows “Star Wars”, and he also clearly knows the formulaic conventions of science fiction without his book seeming formulaic.
Hands down, “Specter of the Past” is the best SWEU novel I have read thus far. And so far, book two,”Vision of the Future” is equally wonderful.
I don’t say that lightly, either, or ironically, as in “Thank God for burritos” or “Thank God for Internet porn”. It’s not a simple throw-away praise to the heavens. It’s heartfelt. And this from someone who doesn’t necessarily believe in the heavens or God or all that stuff.
I really mean it. Thank God for Timothy Zahn.
Because I’m not going to lie: when I decided several weeks ago to read all of the Star Wars Expanded Universe novels (post-”Return of the Jedi”), I did not expect that it would become so, well, tasking.
Not that the journey hasn’t been somewhat enjoyable. It’s been fun reading different authors’ interpretations and perspectives of the universe created in 1977 by George Lucas. He invented a vast playing field for some of the best science fiction and fantasy writers to run around in, and the results have been extraordinary.
It has also taken an unforeseen toll on my mental state. I have, in some ways, become so immersed in the SWEU that I have begun having SWEU-inspired dreams. I walk around in SWEU-filled daymares, wishing that I could use the Force to make traffic move faster or a Jedi mind trick to convince my boss that I should go home three hours early. When dealing with annoying customers or co-workers, I wish that I could raise my hand and Force-strangle them with a memorable Darth Vader-like statement: “Your lack of faith disturbs me.” I have basically become intoxicated on “Star Wars”, and not in a good way.
I also realize, however, that there are millions of fans out there who can relate to this feeling, and many of them, I’m sure, see absolutely nothing wrong with it.
I feel like Morgan Spurlock did half-way through his one-month experiment to eat nothing but McDonald’s food in his movie “Supersize Me”. Like him, I am, at this point, fearing for my sanity and well-being, but I will carry on, knowing that there is an eventual light at the end of the tunnel. For me, it is simply 45 more books in the series. (Holy shit, did I read that right?..)
Honestly, the last couple books in the series, while entertaining, were a wide range of mediocre to decent. Very few stood out for me as “above average” or even “excellent”. Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s “The New Rebellion” came damn close, and Roger MacBride Allen’s “Corellian Trilogy” had its moments, but I was beginning to feel the stirrings of something I never thought I’d feel while reading a Star Wars book: boredom.
Which brings me to: Thank God for Timothy Zahn.
I just finished reading (“devouring” is more appropriate) the first book in his “Hand of Thrawn” duology, “Specter of the Past”. (A duology, in case you didn’t know, is a two-book series, the way a three-book series is a trilogy. I know you probably knew this, smartypants, but I didn’t when I first picked the book up, and I love discovering new words.)
This book carries on some of the narrative threads started in Zahn’s legendary “Thrawn” trilogy, published in 1991, an excellent series that had the distinction of jump-starting the entire Expanded Universe series.
In this book, the villainous Admiral Thrawn, thought to have died in the third book, “The Last Command”, is rumored to have arisen from the dead and has plans to reunite the Empire, which is a shambles.
Thrawn’s original second-in-command, Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, is a grizzled, old Imperial officer who has done his best to hold the remnants of the once-great Empire together. After a lifetime of war, however, Pellaeon has decided that the only solution to keeping the Empire alive in any form is through peace with the New Republic. There is almost unanimous---albeit reluctant---agreement among the other officers in his Imperial Fleet.
One voice of dissent, however, comes from Moff Disra, who wants to continue the fighting and destroy the New Republic. Of course, he also has the lofty goal of becoming the new Emperor, eventually. In the meantime, he comes up with a pretty elaborate and clever scheme, along with the help of one of Emperor Palpatine’s elite Royal Guard, Grodin Tierce, and a con man named Flim.
The scheme involves a plot to foment unrest and hatred between alien nations within the New Republic. Princess Leia Organa, the President of the NR, is overwhelmed with negotiations and settling disputes between the member nations of the NR. Things are getting worse. Pockets of violence have erupted, and there is the faint rumors of civil war.
With the help of smuggler Talon Karrde and former Imperial assassin Mara Jade, the original “Star Wars” crew---Luke, Leia, Han, Lando, Chewie, C3-PO, and R2-D2---set out (in opposite directions, of course) to make things right. Along the way, Zahn introduces many new characters.
To say that “Specter of the Past” is deftly-plotted, suspenseful, and fast-paced is, of course, a given with Zahn. It also helps that he writes with a butter-smooth prose style that fits perfectly with the genre and the Star Wars Expanded Universe. Zahn clearly knows “Star Wars”, and he also clearly knows the formulaic conventions of science fiction without his book seeming formulaic.
Hands down, “Specter of the Past” is the best SWEU novel I have read thus far. And so far, book two,”Vision of the Future” is equally wonderful.
May 6, 2024
A Quickie Review
Timothy Zahn may have been the one that kicked Star Wars literature into high gear with the original Thrawn trilogy, but his writing style has always left something to be desired, in my opinion. The story itself is as involving as the movies, and has a great cliffhanger ending; still, some folks may not find it worth trudging through Mr. Zahn's awkward prose to do it.
Score: 3.75/5
Timothy Zahn may have been the one that kicked Star Wars literature into high gear with the original Thrawn trilogy, but his writing style has always left something to be desired, in my opinion. The story itself is as involving as the movies, and has a great cliffhanger ending; still, some folks may not find it worth trudging through Mr. Zahn's awkward prose to do it.
Score: 3.75/5
September 6, 2020
Zahn's return to the Star Wars genre was every bit as satisfying as his first foray. On the other hand, Specter is less of a stand alone than his first three novels. This volume serves as a four hundred page introduction to the companion Vision of the Future.
Excellent cover art by Drew Struzan.
After second reading: Zahn is so much better than the norm for SW writers that he should either train the others or be the only person allowed to publish until the others come up to his level.
I've raised my rating a star in comparison to other SW books.
Excellent cover art by Drew Struzan.
After second reading: Zahn is so much better than the norm for SW writers that he should either train the others or be the only person allowed to publish until the others come up to his level.
I've raised my rating a star in comparison to other SW books.
July 11, 2010
"There are indeed some things that must never be forgotten"
Ten years have past since our daring trio has faced the masterful Thrawn. The New Republic is firmly established. Peace abounds...or maybe not? The Empire appears to want to negotiate peace, but a triumvirate within is working hard to continue the hostilities. And the New Republic may just destroy itself with the revelation of the Camaas Document, a document revealing the Bothans were involved in the destruction of Camaas many years before. Can Luke's new knowledge of the Force help him? Will Han and Leia be able to keep things from getting out of control? And what about this Hand of Thrawn?
To spice things up, I want to buck my typical book review format and go for something a little different. In this review, I'd like to give you the Three R's of Timothy Zahn's Star Wars: Refreshing, Reflective, and Erudite (in true Three R's fashion, one does not actually start with the letter "R").
Timothy Zahn's latest entry into Star Wars is REFRESHING. I've been reading/listening to the copious Bantam novels that come before this one chronologically in Star Wars EU and chronologically in publication date. And I can tell you this one is head and shoulders above its predecessors. Most of the previous Star Wars novels maul the characters, shoehorn non-Star Wars concepts, create cliched, over-the-top characters and events, or reuse the same concepts over and over and over again (Superweapons, anyone?). Zahn captures the essence of Star Wars from the characters (Luke, Han, and Leia finally returning to a semblance of the characters from the movies who have naturally grown over the 15 some odd years) to the galaxy (creating new worlds that feel in place in our Star Wars setting and revisiting old ones) to the plot (imitating the then-unseen prequels in a haunting parallel). And the sexual tension between Mara and Luke is so palpable...man, how did the two keep themselves off each other for so long?
Specter of the Past is a REFLECTIVE novel. It looks back on the events of the past, acknowledging other canon in ways that hadn't or couldn't have been done (for example, the Corellian Trilogy didn't acknowledge Callista or Akanah because it was published before Children of the Jedi and the Black Fleet Crisis). Zahn mentions the destruction of Coruscant from Kueller's bombings (The New Rebellion), Lando's stupid search for the Qella artifact (Black Fleet Crisis), and Callista (Children of the Jedi). Furthermore, Zahn also clarifies the inconsistencies of the previous novels. Luke often acted superior, while not really having much to back it up (if he is such a great Jedi, why can Exar Kun knock him on his back so quickly and yet Exar Kun is defeated with a bunch of Jedi circling him and going "Boo"?). He tended to use people and penetrate their minds pell mell, without any regard for their privacy (for instance, in The Crystal Star and the Black Fleet Crisis, he used the Force to penetrate people's minds and change his appearance and no one balked at his flagrant use of the Force). Here, Zahn whips Luke into shape, having Han and Mara (and even Callista, in a way) call Luke out on his decidedly un-Jedi behavior. He uses an Imperial to castigate Daala for acting out of rage with no plan and destroying all her force (Jedi Academy Trilogy). And he has not one but two people call out the stupid mission Lando went on in the Black Fleet Crisis. So Zahn not only gets to slam the books we've all wanted to, but he also gets to clean them up for us fans.
Lastly, Zahn's most recent book is ERUDITE. The Thrawn Trilogy really captured the feeling of the Star Wars original trilogy. It was smart, fun, and adventurous. The characters were good, the bad guys somewhat noble, and the action thrilling. Specter is much different. It is a much more mature novel, dealing more with causes, effects, rationality (okay, so I coulda used that "R" word too!), character growth, and the inner workings of a government. In fact, there really aren't that many action scenes in this novel at all, yet it is very interesting, exciting, and intense. This book truly is a political novel, taking time to think about what the New Republic is, how it is run, and how it isn't so clean cut "good" as every other book tended to paint it.
My complaints? Well, they are very few and far between. I would have liked Zahn to keep the triumvirate and the impostor Zahn plot secret, and yet, it works so well in the way he presented it. Shada Du'Kal comes perilously close to being yet another Mara (fortunately, there is enough that keeps her well away from that stereotype). Chewie is mostly used as a prop to keep the kids out of affairs. It's kinda sad to see him smashed away in a corner like that. And at one point, Lando disappears from the story for several pages, and I had to search for what had happened to him last time we saw him.
But overall, this is an impressive novel, one that more mature Star Wars fans will definitely enjoy. There is intrigue, there is reality (dang, yet another "R" word I could have used!), there is betrayal, there is love, there is thought, there is cohesion, there is just no reason why you shouldn't be reading this book instead of my review!
Ten years have past since our daring trio has faced the masterful Thrawn. The New Republic is firmly established. Peace abounds...or maybe not? The Empire appears to want to negotiate peace, but a triumvirate within is working hard to continue the hostilities. And the New Republic may just destroy itself with the revelation of the Camaas Document, a document revealing the Bothans were involved in the destruction of Camaas many years before. Can Luke's new knowledge of the Force help him? Will Han and Leia be able to keep things from getting out of control? And what about this Hand of Thrawn?
To spice things up, I want to buck my typical book review format and go for something a little different. In this review, I'd like to give you the Three R's of Timothy Zahn's Star Wars: Refreshing, Reflective, and Erudite (in true Three R's fashion, one does not actually start with the letter "R").
Timothy Zahn's latest entry into Star Wars is REFRESHING. I've been reading/listening to the copious Bantam novels that come before this one chronologically in Star Wars EU and chronologically in publication date. And I can tell you this one is head and shoulders above its predecessors. Most of the previous Star Wars novels maul the characters, shoehorn non-Star Wars concepts, create cliched, over-the-top characters and events, or reuse the same concepts over and over and over again (Superweapons, anyone?). Zahn captures the essence of Star Wars from the characters (Luke, Han, and Leia finally returning to a semblance of the characters from the movies who have naturally grown over the 15 some odd years) to the galaxy (creating new worlds that feel in place in our Star Wars setting and revisiting old ones) to the plot (imitating the then-unseen prequels in a haunting parallel). And the sexual tension between Mara and Luke is so palpable...man, how did the two keep themselves off each other for so long?
Specter of the Past is a REFLECTIVE novel. It looks back on the events of the past, acknowledging other canon in ways that hadn't or couldn't have been done (for example, the Corellian Trilogy didn't acknowledge Callista or Akanah because it was published before Children of the Jedi and the Black Fleet Crisis). Zahn mentions the destruction of Coruscant from Kueller's bombings (The New Rebellion), Lando's stupid search for the Qella artifact (Black Fleet Crisis), and Callista (Children of the Jedi). Furthermore, Zahn also clarifies the inconsistencies of the previous novels. Luke often acted superior, while not really having much to back it up (if he is such a great Jedi, why can Exar Kun knock him on his back so quickly and yet Exar Kun is defeated with a bunch of Jedi circling him and going "Boo"?). He tended to use people and penetrate their minds pell mell, without any regard for their privacy (for instance, in The Crystal Star and the Black Fleet Crisis, he used the Force to penetrate people's minds and change his appearance and no one balked at his flagrant use of the Force). Here, Zahn whips Luke into shape, having Han and Mara (and even Callista, in a way) call Luke out on his decidedly un-Jedi behavior. He uses an Imperial to castigate Daala for acting out of rage with no plan and destroying all her force (Jedi Academy Trilogy). And he has not one but two people call out the stupid mission Lando went on in the Black Fleet Crisis. So Zahn not only gets to slam the books we've all wanted to, but he also gets to clean them up for us fans.
Lastly, Zahn's most recent book is ERUDITE. The Thrawn Trilogy really captured the feeling of the Star Wars original trilogy. It was smart, fun, and adventurous. The characters were good, the bad guys somewhat noble, and the action thrilling. Specter is much different. It is a much more mature novel, dealing more with causes, effects, rationality (okay, so I coulda used that "R" word too!), character growth, and the inner workings of a government. In fact, there really aren't that many action scenes in this novel at all, yet it is very interesting, exciting, and intense. This book truly is a political novel, taking time to think about what the New Republic is, how it is run, and how it isn't so clean cut "good" as every other book tended to paint it.
My complaints? Well, they are very few and far between. I would have liked Zahn to keep the triumvirate and the impostor Zahn plot secret, and yet, it works so well in the way he presented it. Shada Du'Kal comes perilously close to being yet another Mara (fortunately, there is enough that keeps her well away from that stereotype). Chewie is mostly used as a prop to keep the kids out of affairs. It's kinda sad to see him smashed away in a corner like that. And at one point, Lando disappears from the story for several pages, and I had to search for what had happened to him last time we saw him.
But overall, this is an impressive novel, one that more mature Star Wars fans will definitely enjoy. There is intrigue, there is reality (dang, yet another "R" word I could have used!), there is betrayal, there is love, there is thought, there is cohesion, there is just no reason why you shouldn't be reading this book instead of my review!
February 7, 2017
This book is still much, much, much better than a lot of the Star Wars novels I've read, but it's not as good as I remember it being. Granted, my standards weren't suuuuuper high in 2004. I was young, and very, very distracted by the whole THING of being a freshman in college. Plus, all I realllllly cared about was Luke/Mara Jade and kissing and such, and that is definitely something that this series is focused on (although most of it occurs in the second book, not this one). This one is all Zahn fucking shit up in the galaxy, like PEW PEW Empire PEW PEW Rebellion, oh no Bothans genocide Fake Thrawn surrender and such and such CIVIL WARRRRR.
I may be drunk.
There are so many conflicting motivations going on in this book, and shit is complicated up in there. It's definitely not a satisfying book on its own. It doesn't have an arc, and nothing life-altering happens in the book at all. It's all set up, and it ends on several cliffhangers. You need to read both books of the duology to get a full story arc (and if I'm remembering correctly, which may very well not be the case, it turns out to be a doozy).
Anyways, I'm going to go drink more sangria and maybe watch some Star Trek: Voyager. Yup. I was watching Star Trek while writing about Star Wars. OH THE MADNESS.
[First read March 2004]
I may be drunk.
There are so many conflicting motivations going on in this book, and shit is complicated up in there. It's definitely not a satisfying book on its own. It doesn't have an arc, and nothing life-altering happens in the book at all. It's all set up, and it ends on several cliffhangers. You need to read both books of the duology to get a full story arc (and if I'm remembering correctly, which may very well not be the case, it turns out to be a doozy).
Anyways, I'm going to go drink more sangria and maybe watch some Star Trek: Voyager. Yup. I was watching Star Trek while writing about Star Wars. OH THE MADNESS.
[First read March 2004]
January 9, 2023
What I enjoy most about Timothy Zahn Star Wars books are the well-executed plots. They are the perfect mix of nostalgia, intrigue, and action. If you are wanting something a bit deeper or that covers a wide, fleshed-out world, this is not the plot you are looking for.
// The New Republic is in shambles and is hanging on by a thread after a revelation from the past. Luke, Leia, Han, and the rest of the crew must try and thwart the threat of an uprising while simultaneously facing off against a few old foes. //
So, apparently, I was supposed to read the Jedi Academy Trilogy, Dark Empire, the first four X-Wings, and I, Jedi before reading this, so call me confused. If someone gave me a power converter for every time I Googled something to fill in a blank in the story, I’d be able to sell them to Tosche Station for an excellent sum.
// “The one truism in all politics is that loud voices will be raised against any decision that is made.” //
The story was great from the get go. Even though the series name might have given me an insight into what the plot could be, I didn’t know "that" was going to happen. The "that" reveal was so incredibly ingenious and filled my mind with possibilities of where the story might go. But, and it hurts me to say, is also its downfall. I feel like "that" reveal was kinda squandered. I know this is a two-part series, and I will gladly eat crow if it turns out to be great by the end, but I had a bad feeling about this as the third act came into view.
───∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗─── We’re doomed!
Usually with Star Wars novels, the plot can get convoluted because of the sheer scale of the universe. I would say I am a moderate SW fan, but for the life of me, I was confused on more than one occasion. There are some slow parts, specifically between some members of the Empire, dealings with Lando, and the weird interactions between Mara and Luke (get a room, will ya! 😏). Remember in Jedi when Yoda’s eyes are drooping and he looks tired? Well, I felt just like him reading some of the character arcs in this book. It’s not so much they are boring; it’s just that they are so bland. The action makes up for most of it, but only just. It also takes its time getting to the meat and potatoes of the each arc, but I was here for less of the lightsaber slashy bits and more for the political intrigue. But even that was underwhelming. If the Empire is at its wits' end, I wouldn’t quite believe that allies would attack a base or freighter at random. You should check your contacts; it might just be a ruse.
───∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗─── I find your lack of using the force disturbing
So, uh, Luke says he does not want to use his force powers as much, even in a perilous position. I guess it helps write you out of a corner, but it was done so much better in the Thrawn trilogy. I know, I know, that’s nitpicky, but it just seems kind of strange coming out of his mouth. We are also given a few X-wing battles, but again, I felt my eyes glazing over with the sheer amount of nudge, nudge, wink, wink, and tactical tomfoolery.
It was still fun spending time with the legacy characters, and it definitely scratched that escapist sci-fi itch. I will get to the last book, just not anytime soon.
───∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗─── Extra 📝’s
●○ Not enough Chewie and Han for my liking.
●○ Listened to Audiobook – top notch sounds/effects.
●○ First half - 🤗
●○ Middle - 😐
●○ End - 🤔
───∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗─── Music queues for characters and settings.
There is only one that is suitable.
Star Wars: Main Title - by John Williams
───∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗─── 2 ★'s
// The New Republic is in shambles and is hanging on by a thread after a revelation from the past. Luke, Leia, Han, and the rest of the crew must try and thwart the threat of an uprising while simultaneously facing off against a few old foes. //
So, apparently, I was supposed to read the Jedi Academy Trilogy, Dark Empire, the first four X-Wings, and I, Jedi before reading this, so call me confused. If someone gave me a power converter for every time I Googled something to fill in a blank in the story, I’d be able to sell them to Tosche Station for an excellent sum.
// “The one truism in all politics is that loud voices will be raised against any decision that is made.” //
The story was great from the get go. Even though the series name might have given me an insight into what the plot could be, I didn’t know "that" was going to happen. The "that" reveal was so incredibly ingenious and filled my mind with possibilities of where the story might go. But, and it hurts me to say, is also its downfall. I feel like "that" reveal was kinda squandered. I know this is a two-part series, and I will gladly eat crow if it turns out to be great by the end, but I had a bad feeling about this as the third act came into view.
───∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗─── We’re doomed!
Usually with Star Wars novels, the plot can get convoluted because of the sheer scale of the universe. I would say I am a moderate SW fan, but for the life of me, I was confused on more than one occasion. There are some slow parts, specifically between some members of the Empire, dealings with Lando, and the weird interactions between Mara and Luke (get a room, will ya! 😏). Remember in Jedi when Yoda’s eyes are drooping and he looks tired? Well, I felt just like him reading some of the character arcs in this book. It’s not so much they are boring; it’s just that they are so bland. The action makes up for most of it, but only just. It also takes its time getting to the meat and potatoes of the each arc, but I was here for less of the lightsaber slashy bits and more for the political intrigue. But even that was underwhelming. If the Empire is at its wits' end, I wouldn’t quite believe that allies would attack a base or freighter at random. You should check your contacts; it might just be a ruse.
───∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗─── I find your lack of using the force disturbing
So, uh, Luke says he does not want to use his force powers as much, even in a perilous position. I guess it helps write you out of a corner, but it was done so much better in the Thrawn trilogy. I know, I know, that’s nitpicky, but it just seems kind of strange coming out of his mouth. We are also given a few X-wing battles, but again, I felt my eyes glazing over with the sheer amount of nudge, nudge, wink, wink, and tactical tomfoolery.
It was still fun spending time with the legacy characters, and it definitely scratched that escapist sci-fi itch. I will get to the last book, just not anytime soon.
───∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗─── Extra 📝’s
●○ Not enough Chewie and Han for my liking.
●○ Listened to Audiobook – top notch sounds/effects.
●○ First half - 🤗
●○ Middle - 😐
●○ End - 🤔
───∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗─── Music queues for characters and settings.
There is only one that is suitable.
Star Wars: Main Title - by John Williams
───∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗─── 2 ★'s
July 11, 2023
Such a good book. Definitely in my top SW novels. I always forget just how dense the plot was in this. So many characters and jumping back and forth between them as they try to figure out the hidden plot going on.
It's crazy how different the old EU is to the new canon books. It doesn't even feel like the same universe really.
Also, I forgot how many characters were bothered with Lukes force use in this book, where he actually cuts back on using it before it makes everyone uncomfortable.
Which is a cool parallel to when Anakin Solo has to learn that exact lesson during the NJO series, overusing the force isn't a good thing as a Jedi. Still, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't use it constantly myself.
It's crazy how different the old EU is to the new canon books. It doesn't even feel like the same universe really.
Also, I forgot how many characters were bothered with Lukes force use in this book, where he actually cuts back on using it before it makes everyone uncomfortable.
Which is a cool parallel to when Anakin Solo has to learn that exact lesson during the NJO series, overusing the force isn't a good thing as a Jedi. Still, I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't use it constantly myself.
September 4, 2020
Zahn was my favorite Star Wars writer, and this was an interesting return to his classic Thrawn run. Han and Leia deserved more of a break. Luke and Mara had it going on. Can we pretend that they're still out there keeping on and keeping on in an alternate dimension or something, and that they didn't just get erased like a Marvel reboot? Wow, it all seems like it was long ago and far away.
December 3, 2011
Specter of the Past doesn't get the extra nostalgia star that the Thrawn trilogy does because I didn't read it until college. It's still good stuff, though - certainly much better than the majority of the Extended Universe work. Timothy Zahn returns to Star Wars with his best (surviving) characters, Karrde, Mara Jade, and Admiral Pellaeon. Grand Admiral Thrawn is, alas, still dead - but a clever Moff and a former Imperial Guardsman have a con man prepared to impersonate him, and this impersonation comes when the New Republic is closer yet to complete dissolution than it's ever been.
The real genius of the Hand of Thrawn duology is that Zahn finally forces the EU writers to go in a different direction. Previously, the villain of nearly every EU work had been the Empire, which was still fighting back against the New Republic. But Zahn's Admiral Pellaeon realizes the futility of this exercise, and plans surrender. He's up against quite a bit of opposition within the Empire, though.
As with the Thrawn trilogy, characterization and plot are Zahn's strengths. He doesn't have nearly as many repeated verbal tics in this book as he did in the earlier trilogy, but he does overuse quotations from the movies and references to other events in the Extended Universe, which can get a little annoying. I think this book can probably stand on its own, but I really can't see the average person who doesn't know the movies and the EU enjoying the book much.
The real genius of the Hand of Thrawn duology is that Zahn finally forces the EU writers to go in a different direction. Previously, the villain of nearly every EU work had been the Empire, which was still fighting back against the New Republic. But Zahn's Admiral Pellaeon realizes the futility of this exercise, and plans surrender. He's up against quite a bit of opposition within the Empire, though.
As with the Thrawn trilogy, characterization and plot are Zahn's strengths. He doesn't have nearly as many repeated verbal tics in this book as he did in the earlier trilogy, but he does overuse quotations from the movies and references to other events in the Extended Universe, which can get a little annoying. I think this book can probably stand on its own, but I really can't see the average person who doesn't know the movies and the EU enjoying the book much.
May 25, 2017
Since finishing Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy, I couldn't wait to track down the follow-up Hand of Thrawn duology. Specter of the Past I believe does a good job serving the sequel role.
In this book, a decade has gone by since the defeat of Grand Admiral Thrawn, and the New Republic has been recovering since. But there's a new threat of political upheaval when evidence surfaces that entangles the Bothan people who may have been behind the destruction of a planet before the Clone Wars.
As outrage begins to boil up, the Imperial Remnant is planning to take advantage of the tension, putting forth a plot to throw the Republic into complete chaos, and it may involve*gasp* the return of the believed dead Grand Admiral Thrawn.
I have to admit, I wasn't as engrossed as I was with the story of the book compared to Heir to the Empire, I suppose I probably should read the second book in the duology before giving it an overview but anyway, the story works fine enough.
I definitely recommend it if you want to see where all the characters we love are post-Last Command, such as Luke, Leia, Han, Mara Jade, Talon Karrde and Lando and my personal favorite Imperial Admiral Gilead Pellaeon who's trying to keep the Empire together and out of the hands of the squabbling warlords.
Decent story, fun action, great characters, good Star Wars book.
In this book, a decade has gone by since the defeat of Grand Admiral Thrawn, and the New Republic has been recovering since. But there's a new threat of political upheaval when evidence surfaces that entangles the Bothan people who may have been behind the destruction of a planet before the Clone Wars.
As outrage begins to boil up, the Imperial Remnant is planning to take advantage of the tension, putting forth a plot to throw the Republic into complete chaos, and it may involve*gasp* the return of the believed dead Grand Admiral Thrawn.
I have to admit, I wasn't as engrossed as I was with the story of the book compared to Heir to the Empire, I suppose I probably should read the second book in the duology before giving it an overview but anyway, the story works fine enough.
I definitely recommend it if you want to see where all the characters we love are post-Last Command, such as Luke, Leia, Han, Mara Jade, Talon Karrde and Lando and my personal favorite Imperial Admiral Gilead Pellaeon who's trying to keep the Empire together and out of the hands of the squabbling warlords.
Decent story, fun action, great characters, good Star Wars book.
July 7, 2023
2.5
EU read along book 15. I'd call this one another miss sadly. I didn't adore the original Thrawn trilogy as much as a lot of other people seem too have so maybe its just that Zahn's writing doesn't work for me as well as it does for others.
I think this book comitts the cardinal sin for a Star Wars book...it's boring. I'm reading these things for fun, when I find myself having to push through becuase im bored, something is wrong.
The plot attempts a much more sophisticated and in depth narrative than most other Star Wars books but this becomes a lot to manage. The problem is that (much like I felt with the original trilogy) to line up all the pieces, Zahn strays into writing that feels very convinient and that's another thing that I really hate. For example,
EU read along book 15. I'd call this one another miss sadly. I didn't adore the original Thrawn trilogy as much as a lot of other people seem too have so maybe its just that Zahn's writing doesn't work for me as well as it does for others.
I think this book comitts the cardinal sin for a Star Wars book...it's boring. I'm reading these things for fun, when I find myself having to push through becuase im bored, something is wrong.
The plot attempts a much more sophisticated and in depth narrative than most other Star Wars books but this becomes a lot to manage. The problem is that (much like I felt with the original trilogy) to line up all the pieces, Zahn strays into writing that feels very convinient and that's another thing that I really hate. For example,
August 28, 2018
The first 3/4 of this book was extremely slow and boring, I'm not a fan of his writing style, but once I got into the last six or so chapters it got way more interesting!
March 5, 2025
Timothy Zahn's Star Wars books are just built different.
4.25/5 stars
4.25/5 stars
October 15, 2023
Honestly pretty good for what I consider to be mostly a setup book for Part two. It does a great job at establishing the current status of the New Republic, Empire remnants and other interested parties. I found the building story to be very interesting and I did not feel bored once. I skipped a lot of books between I, Jedi and this but don't really feel like I missed all that much. I might go back and read some of them one day, but currently my plan is getting moved on to the New Jedi Order series. I feel like the Zahn books are the most important ones to read in this current era.
Very much looking forward to Part two. It would probably be best to just start with that instantly after this so it feels more like just one long book, but I'm choosing not to.
I give this a strong 4
Very much looking forward to Part two. It would probably be best to just start with that instantly after this so it feels more like just one long book, but I'm choosing not to.
I give this a strong 4
March 26, 2021
So very well written and thought out. I can't think of any part of the book that I didn't enjoy. Always a fan of complicated politics in stories. I loved how much shadows (specters, if you will) of things that don't even exist anymore drove the people, disputes, and politics of this books, and how infuriatingly realistic that was.
And, as ever, Timothy Zahn does a marvelously awe-inspiring job at getting the characters accurate, and lovable at the same time.
9/10 Great book, can't wait to read the final chapter of this pentalogy.
And, as ever, Timothy Zahn does a marvelously awe-inspiring job at getting the characters accurate, and lovable at the same time.
9/10 Great book, can't wait to read the final chapter of this pentalogy.
February 7, 2017
I KNEW IT. Freakin' cliffhanger. This is one of those books that's obviously designed to not really be a complete story, and it really leads right into the next book, but for whatever reason the publisher decided it needed to be two books. I suspect, in this case, that it simply would have been too long. Ugh. But I hate cliffhangers.
That said, this book was still enjoyable. Not quite to the level of the Thrawn trilogy, but still fun. Marc Thompson is still the best narrator EVER. Probably at least one star of my enjoyment of this book came solely from his marvelous presentation. The rest came from two particular storylines. I love all of these characters, obviously, but I found myself getting a little bored with Leia and Hans parts. Probably because theirs are largely political and less adventurous. My favorites this time around are: Talon Karrde and Luke/Mara. This book leaves Mara in the precarious situation, and that's honestly the thing that makes me want to read the next one the most. I'm a little surprised at how much I'm enjoying General Pellaeon, too. He wasn't someone I cared about much before, one way or the other, but he's very interesting here.
I'm assuming that this book plays off continuity established by other books in the Star Wars universe in the ten years between the Thrawn Trilogy and this, because there are loads of references to things characters have done. I was able to mostly just ignore them and move on, but it did make me wish I could have read the interim stories. Granted, if I wanted to read all of the Star Wars Expanded Universe ("Legends" - whatever), I would read nothing else for the next five years.... Still. I need to find all the good Luke/Mara books. And is Talon Karrde in other books? Must find out. *mental note*
Taking a break before the next one, mostly because I know I won't have a lot of commute time to listen for a bit--and because the next one is 26 hours, compared to 14 for this one. Yikes.
That said, this book was still enjoyable. Not quite to the level of the Thrawn trilogy, but still fun. Marc Thompson is still the best narrator EVER. Probably at least one star of my enjoyment of this book came solely from his marvelous presentation. The rest came from two particular storylines. I love all of these characters, obviously, but I found myself getting a little bored with Leia and Hans parts. Probably because theirs are largely political and less adventurous. My favorites this time around are: Talon Karrde and Luke/Mara. This book leaves Mara in the precarious situation, and that's honestly the thing that makes me want to read the next one the most. I'm a little surprised at how much I'm enjoying General Pellaeon, too. He wasn't someone I cared about much before, one way or the other, but he's very interesting here.
I'm assuming that this book plays off continuity established by other books in the Star Wars universe in the ten years between the Thrawn Trilogy and this, because there are loads of references to things characters have done. I was able to mostly just ignore them and move on, but it did make me wish I could have read the interim stories. Granted, if I wanted to read all of the Star Wars Expanded Universe ("Legends" - whatever), I would read nothing else for the next five years.... Still. I need to find all the good Luke/Mara books. And is Talon Karrde in other books? Must find out. *mental note*
Taking a break before the next one, mostly because I know I won't have a lot of commute time to listen for a bit--and because the next one is 26 hours, compared to 14 for this one. Yikes.
December 7, 2023
I was working on finishing this book at a doctor appointment today, and I was embarrassed when the nurse asked what I was reading 🫣. Have I waded in too deep in the Star Wars fandom? 🤷🏻♀️ but I enjoyed this book. But the slow burn romance for Luke has now spanned across 4 books. Spare me and let it happen already.
#bookish #bookstagram #hookedonabook #readingrainbow #tbrtakedown #starwars #sciencefiction #fiction #fantasy #spaceopera #sciencefictionfantasy #adventure #space
#bookish #bookstagram #hookedonabook #readingrainbow #tbrtakedown #starwars #sciencefiction #fiction #fantasy #spaceopera #sciencefictionfantasy #adventure #space
January 15, 2024
I enjoyed the book for mainly getting to see the continuation of many character arches from the X-Wing Series, and the Thrawn Trilogy also by Timothy Zahn.
I didn't dislike the story, but it felt as though it was following a similar formulation as some of the other books I've read in this timeline. Which isn't to say that's bad, only that the book felt packed full of plot points that were similar to previous plot points in some of the other books. I hoped that maybe this title would have introduced some new aspects or characters and cultures that took an accompanying stage-light; although perhaps I'll get to see that in the sequel.
I didn't dislike the story, but it felt as though it was following a similar formulation as some of the other books I've read in this timeline. Which isn't to say that's bad, only that the book felt packed full of plot points that were similar to previous plot points in some of the other books. I hoped that maybe this title would have introduced some new aspects or characters and cultures that took an accompanying stage-light; although perhaps I'll get to see that in the sequel.
July 3, 2025
A brilliant return to form for my chronological read-through!
Zahn's got a brilliant imagination, as well as a firm grip on established lore and things he's mentioned in his own books.
The tension in this was really good, as well as all the conniving of characters on all sides of the conflict. Can't wait to read the next one!
Zahn's got a brilliant imagination, as well as a firm grip on established lore and things he's mentioned in his own books.
The tension in this was really good, as well as all the conniving of characters on all sides of the conflict. Can't wait to read the next one!
November 21, 2013
Audio book read by Marc Thompson
No one does Star Wars quite like Timothy Zahn. He knows how to play the characters just right and make good use of the different factions in the Star Wars universe to make for an interesting story. Zahn has added the most significant and lasting characters to the series after the movies themselves and is the author who really got people excited about Star Wars novels after his trilogy that starts with Heir to the Empire. Specter of the Past is a great book if you like Star Wars or science fiction, although there is some back history from Zahn's previous trilogy that makes me recommend starting there first. If you've already read that trilogy, you will definitely enjoy this.
Specter of the Past is part of a two-book series from Timothy Zahn that takes place just before the books from the New Jedi Order series which takes place about 20 years after the events of Return of the Jedi. The Empire has pretty much been all but defeated by The New Republic and is only left with a considerably smaller portion of the galaxy to call home. Some in Imperial command are considering proposing a truce with the New Republic while others still want to find a way to regain the power they lost. Those other factions use a secret document from the Emperor's cache on Wayland to polarize parts of the New Republic while promoting a new rallying point for the Empire.
This is back from the more "golden age" of Star Wars before the prequels changed things, so it feels more like it belongs with the original trilogy. Zahn manages to weave an impressive array of factions in this book: The New Republic, The Empire, pirates, smugglers, gamblers, etc. The story keeps up a good pace throughout and keeps things interesting.
My only very minor gripe for this book is actually because it comes from the "golden age" of Star Wars books. There was less coordination between books back then so Zahn is clearly writing with reference to his previous trilogy that happened 10 years before. Characters seemed to just randomly make references in their heads to things from that trilogy or think back to events from those books even though there are something like 10+ books that happen between that trilogy and this novel. I wouldn't comment on it except that animals and event from Wayland and things that happened with Grand Admiral Thrawn seem to come up a lot.
Audio book: As usual, Marc Thompson did a great job with the impersonations of our favorite characters and kept things lively and energetic throughout the book. He was easy to understand and I look forward to Thompson doing more Star Wars books. The usual music and sound effects commonly found in Star Wars audio books were also in there and were as good as I've heard them.
No one does Star Wars quite like Timothy Zahn. He knows how to play the characters just right and make good use of the different factions in the Star Wars universe to make for an interesting story. Zahn has added the most significant and lasting characters to the series after the movies themselves and is the author who really got people excited about Star Wars novels after his trilogy that starts with Heir to the Empire. Specter of the Past is a great book if you like Star Wars or science fiction, although there is some back history from Zahn's previous trilogy that makes me recommend starting there first. If you've already read that trilogy, you will definitely enjoy this.
Specter of the Past is part of a two-book series from Timothy Zahn that takes place just before the books from the New Jedi Order series which takes place about 20 years after the events of Return of the Jedi. The Empire has pretty much been all but defeated by The New Republic and is only left with a considerably smaller portion of the galaxy to call home. Some in Imperial command are considering proposing a truce with the New Republic while others still want to find a way to regain the power they lost. Those other factions use a secret document from the Emperor's cache on Wayland to polarize parts of the New Republic while promoting a new rallying point for the Empire.
This is back from the more "golden age" of Star Wars before the prequels changed things, so it feels more like it belongs with the original trilogy. Zahn manages to weave an impressive array of factions in this book: The New Republic, The Empire, pirates, smugglers, gamblers, etc. The story keeps up a good pace throughout and keeps things interesting.
My only very minor gripe for this book is actually because it comes from the "golden age" of Star Wars books. There was less coordination between books back then so Zahn is clearly writing with reference to his previous trilogy that happened 10 years before. Characters seemed to just randomly make references in their heads to things from that trilogy or think back to events from those books even though there are something like 10+ books that happen between that trilogy and this novel. I wouldn't comment on it except that animals and event from Wayland and things that happened with Grand Admiral Thrawn seem to come up a lot.
Audio book: As usual, Marc Thompson did a great job with the impersonations of our favorite characters and kept things lively and energetic throughout the book. He was easy to understand and I look forward to Thompson doing more Star Wars books. The usual music and sound effects commonly found in Star Wars audio books were also in there and were as good as I've heard them.
July 10, 2017
3,5 stars.
I liked the story, it's beautifully layered and wonderfully complex, and I always dig the politics--I'm always a sucker for fictional political discourses--but at the same time it really doesn't have quite the same kick as the Thrawn trilogy. I think it's because the big reveal--that the Thrawn involved in this story was a fake--was done way too soon for the readers. It's such a major plot point, and while it is fun to watch everyone else pretty much acted like chickens with their heads cut off when they discovered that Thrawn is still "alive" (that "they don't know, muahahaha" moment that every reader probably knows so well), I think that it'd be even more fun if we were kept in the dark too. I mean, obviously just my own two cents, but Zahn would absolutely destroy me if he made me believe that Thrawn was still alive, dangle that in front of my face, and while I clawed for it a la Tantalus with food, he then revealed that it had been an imposter all along and that there was a plot behind it.
This was a dense story to wade through, too, lots of details and descriptions and too much names and details and alien specieses to remember. To be honest, sometimes I glazed over because I don't remember most of them, either. This is kind of one of the reasons why I procrastinated reading this, even if it started out so well.
Concerning the new villains, I definitely loved Tierce, and I dig his rivalry and power struggle with Disra, and I love their exchanges, but I don't know, there's just nobody that can match Thrawn. I wish we'd find out more about Flim in the next book. I do, however, love Pellaeon's character development.
There was pretty much nothing to be said for the heroes except that I really love how Zahn writes and handles Luke, and despite all his shortcomings in writing Leia in the Thrawn trilogy, I think he finally got it, too. I love his Leia as well. And I enjoyed Wedge's chapters, surprisingly. Shada is a pretty sympathetic character, but I don't know, I don't really like her. I'm getting to like Mara, though, believe it or not.
Overall: too many convoluted complexities even if it lent a certain complexity to the story, and hell, I really, really missed Thrawn. I'd never ever forgive the New Republic for that.
I liked the story, it's beautifully layered and wonderfully complex, and I always dig the politics--I'm always a sucker for fictional political discourses--but at the same time it really doesn't have quite the same kick as the Thrawn trilogy. I think it's because the big reveal--that the Thrawn involved in this story was a fake--was done way too soon for the readers. It's such a major plot point, and while it is fun to watch everyone else pretty much acted like chickens with their heads cut off when they discovered that Thrawn is still "alive" (that "they don't know, muahahaha" moment that every reader probably knows so well), I think that it'd be even more fun if we were kept in the dark too. I mean, obviously just my own two cents, but Zahn would absolutely destroy me if he made me believe that Thrawn was still alive, dangle that in front of my face, and while I clawed for it a la Tantalus with food, he then revealed that it had been an imposter all along and that there was a plot behind it.
This was a dense story to wade through, too, lots of details and descriptions and too much names and details and alien specieses to remember. To be honest, sometimes I glazed over because I don't remember most of them, either. This is kind of one of the reasons why I procrastinated reading this, even if it started out so well.
Concerning the new villains, I definitely loved Tierce, and I dig his rivalry and power struggle with Disra, and I love their exchanges, but I don't know, there's just nobody that can match Thrawn. I wish we'd find out more about Flim in the next book. I do, however, love Pellaeon's character development.
There was pretty much nothing to be said for the heroes except that I really love how Zahn writes and handles Luke, and despite all his shortcomings in writing Leia in the Thrawn trilogy, I think he finally got it, too. I love his Leia as well. And I enjoyed Wedge's chapters, surprisingly. Shada is a pretty sympathetic character, but I don't know, I don't really like her. I'm getting to like Mara, though, believe it or not.
Overall: too many convoluted complexities even if it lent a certain complexity to the story, and hell, I really, really missed Thrawn. I'd never ever forgive the New Republic for that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 21, 2021
So - I'd not read this since it was first published in paperback sometime in the late nineties, so my previous rating was based on my memory of it being enjoyable, but not quite up to the standard of Zahn's initial Thrawn trilogy. That assessment is still valid, but I've read an awful lot more Star Wars literature since then and my sense of its relative quality based on the rest of the canon should be subject to some recalibration—this is top-tier Star Wars that deserves all five of the stars that I have awarded it.
Like my favourite of the prequels, The Phantom Menace, Specter of the Past is all about the politics. Not the hopelessly childlike understanding of politics seen in newer novels such as Queen's Shadow, but instead a web of intrigue and conspiracy populated by characters as colourful and varied as only the Galaxy Far, Far Away can present.
I'm in the middle of a read and re-read of a bunch of Zahn's Thrawn-based novels, and I moved on to this one shortly after finishing Outbound Flight. I think that, publication order-wise, this book contains the first reference to Jorj Car'das—so it is interesting to see him mentioned in such ominous tones by Talon Karrde so soon after reading about him as a young and naïve man in the previous story. Of course, in universe many many event-filled years have passed, and we are now in the good post-Endor timeline, where Luke and Mara are running around the Galaxy righting wrongs with the flourish of a lightsabre, Han and Leia are a sensible married couple with three children, and the New Republic is dealing with the problems of trying to keep the peace in a traumatised Galaxy whilst conniving powers are trying to carve out their own glories by fomenting strife between the disparate worlds of the freshly reborn polity.
All the characters behave like themselves, and both movie and Classic EU original characters have compelling parts to fulfil, and the entire package feels like the Star Wars I know and love, from the years spent playing TIE Fighter, X-Wing Alliance and Jedi Outcast.
I'm really looking forward to revisiting Vision of the Future soon.
Like my favourite of the prequels, The Phantom Menace, Specter of the Past is all about the politics. Not the hopelessly childlike understanding of politics seen in newer novels such as Queen's Shadow, but instead a web of intrigue and conspiracy populated by characters as colourful and varied as only the Galaxy Far, Far Away can present.
I'm in the middle of a read and re-read of a bunch of Zahn's Thrawn-based novels, and I moved on to this one shortly after finishing Outbound Flight. I think that, publication order-wise, this book contains the first reference to Jorj Car'das—so it is interesting to see him mentioned in such ominous tones by Talon Karrde so soon after reading about him as a young and naïve man in the previous story. Of course, in universe many many event-filled years have passed, and we are now in the good post-Endor timeline, where Luke and Mara are running around the Galaxy righting wrongs with the flourish of a lightsabre, Han and Leia are a sensible married couple with three children, and the New Republic is dealing with the problems of trying to keep the peace in a traumatised Galaxy whilst conniving powers are trying to carve out their own glories by fomenting strife between the disparate worlds of the freshly reborn polity.
All the characters behave like themselves, and both movie and Classic EU original characters have compelling parts to fulfil, and the entire package feels like the Star Wars I know and love, from the years spent playing TIE Fighter, X-Wing Alliance and Jedi Outcast.
I'm really looking forward to revisiting Vision of the Future soon.
December 29, 2021
I loved this book so much.
One thing I especially love about this series is that it actually portrays Luke struggling realistically with being one of the last Jedi. I love the sequel movie trilogy for what it is, but I do agree with most of the criticism and have never been able to buy that Luke would simply up and leave everything and everyone after one student goes astray. This Luke, the one who takes on more and more power to try to protect those he loves, is much more believable and likeable than the grumpy hermit of The Last Jedi.
And (now that they're past the hurdle of Mara being compelled to kill Luke)...I love their relationship so very much. (The part where Han and Karrde were scheming to get Luke and Mara to talk made me so happy.)
In typical Zahn style, this book is complex and brilliant, full of political intrigue and character struggles. The writing style isn’t one of my personal top favorites (my brother and I laugh about how the characters must have jaw/TMJ issues from how much they bite out words or clench their teeth). I was also disappointed that Han and Leia's three children are out of the picture for all but one chapter in this series.
But it’s still excellent. Highly recommended to Star Wars fans.
Content: A use of h**. Violence. A woman pretends to be a drunk about to commit suicide. Like almost every piece of Star Wars film or literature, the Force is also an enormous part of this story.
One thing I especially love about this series is that it actually portrays Luke struggling realistically with being one of the last Jedi. I love the sequel movie trilogy for what it is, but I do agree with most of the criticism and have never been able to buy that Luke would simply up and leave everything and everyone after one student goes astray. This Luke, the one who takes on more and more power to try to protect those he loves, is much more believable and likeable than the grumpy hermit of The Last Jedi.
And (now that they're past the hurdle of Mara being compelled to kill Luke)...I love their relationship so very much. (The part where Han and Karrde were scheming to get Luke and Mara to talk made me so happy.)
In typical Zahn style, this book is complex and brilliant, full of political intrigue and character struggles. The writing style isn’t one of my personal top favorites (my brother and I laugh about how the characters must have jaw/TMJ issues from how much they bite out words or clench their teeth). I was also disappointed that Han and Leia's three children are out of the picture for all but one chapter in this series.
But it’s still excellent. Highly recommended to Star Wars fans.
Content: A use of h**. Violence. A woman pretends to be a drunk about to commit suicide. Like almost every piece of Star Wars film or literature, the Force is also an enormous part of this story.
August 5, 2016
this was maybe not the best book to start with in terms of being new to reading star wars books. but, Timothy Zahn did a great job of introducing a ton of characters, all doing different things in different places, while explaining clearly who they were and where they were coming from, without the story getting bogged down (although someone who's already familiar with the characters might feel differently). there's political intrigue, action, children carefully shoved off-screen, curiouser and curiouser alien species, etc. a lot of ideas are repeated, because we are given sooo many different perspectives, and everyone has to comment on how divided the New Republic is, that the senate can't satisfy everyone, that the Empire is broke and defeated boo hoo, unless... THRAWN, etc. again, I think Zahn balances all of these different characters well. frankly, sometimes I can get all the way to the end of a book and be like, were the bad guys having that conversation? who are you? but I didn't feel that way about this at all, so I think the characters are fairly well drawn and defined. I want to read the three books that came before this and of course the conclusion to this story!
(one of my favorite things on the internet.)
(one of my favorite things on the internet.)
December 8, 2015
Много добро изпълнение от страна на г-н Зан. Може би щеше да е по-интересно ако точната природа на "Траун" и планът на Тирс и Дизра бе останал скрит от читателите по-дълго време. От друга страна тази всевиждаща гледна точка, дава уникален поглед върху вселената на Star Wars. За първи път (Поне за мен. Вероятно някой ще ме поправи.) виждам империята, не като безлико олицетворение на злото, водено от зъл гении, а като реална фракция, съставена от реални хора, които се борят за реални цели. От една страна е адмирал Палеон, а от друга са "Траун", Дизра и Тирс с техния диаболичен план за унищожението на Новата република.
Като споменахме новата република и тя не е идиличното обединение от планети, което се е очаквало да бъде. Показва се тъмната й страна на вражди, войни и дребнави конфликти.
Много добро възможно продължение на Сагата, според мен. Жалко, че вече не е част от Канона. Само може да се надяваме на 18-ти да видим един достатъчно добър заместник.
Като споменахме новата република и тя не е идиличното обединение от планети, което се е очаквало да бъде. Показва се тъмната й страна на вражди, войни и дребнави конфликти.
Много добро възможно продължение на Сагата, според мен. Жалко, че вече не е част от Канона. Само може да се надяваме на 18-ти да видим един достатъчно добър заместник.
October 9, 2022
In a fit of whimsy, I hereby announce I will give everyone five stars, but the reviews may not reflect it.
A solid addition to the extended Thrawn series. There's a lot going on with the Empire making a last-ditch attempt to take down the Republic. The story is good - it's hard to go wrong with Timothy Zahn - the new stuff generally segues well into the SW universe and the narration was great. If this was your first Star Wars novel, I'd recommend some other Zahn stuff first. If you're already a fan, then this will definitely whet your whistle.
A solid addition to the extended Thrawn series. There's a lot going on with the Empire making a last-ditch attempt to take down the Republic. The story is good - it's hard to go wrong with Timothy Zahn - the new stuff generally segues well into the SW universe and the narration was great. If this was your first Star Wars novel, I'd recommend some other Zahn stuff first. If you're already a fan, then this will definitely whet your whistle.
February 8, 2025
1.5 stars
For all of the interesting ideas and characters he brought to the Star Wars universe, I think the time has come to just be honest and admit that Zahn really ain’t that great of a writer. Yeah Thrawn is cool the first time, (though he gets progressively worse with each new appearance…especially in canon) and true, what Zahn did to change up the trajectory of post Return of the Jedi needs to be applauded, but it’s been 30 something years since then and, unlike others, I find Zahn’s approach and writing style to be some of the worst in the literary history of a galaxy far, far Away.
I know that’s sacrilegious to many, and I understand a lot of fans think Zahn is the end all, be all of Star Wars authors (well, him and the equally annoying Matthew Stover), but bear with me, because Specter of the Past is an example of everything wrong with Zahn.
Like the majority of Zahn’s work (aside from maybe Outbound Flight which had its own issues like relying on a huge Chiss subplot, which, surprise surprise is Thrawn related), Specter of the Past is boring. There is so much talking, talking, talking with little payout. We are subjected to page after endless page of discussion and inane conversation that goes nowhere, and only succeeds in adding more and more useless information to the plot, muddling it to confusing levels. I will say that the dialogue that happens is slightly more palatable than in the original Thrawn trilogy but Zahn still suffers with failing to make it exciting, as every character talks the same, using bad similes, and having to have annoying interjections nearly every possible instance, though thankfully he’s cut back on the word “sardonically” that he felt so inclined to liberally use in previous books.
Action is almost nonexistent as Zahn loves to tell and not show. There are a few moments sprinkled in here and there, like Luke escaping from space pirates and Han and Leia in the middle of a riot on Bothawui, yet they’re sandwiched between those long pages of pointless exposition. Further still, many of the action scenes are never completed because Zahn can’t conclude a scene to save his life. For example, that riot I mentioned is quickly wrapped up when Leia throws Han a lightsaber and it just ends. Eventually in another chapter we find out everyone is fine but we never really know how or why because Zahn never goes back to explain it. This happens constantly through this books 348 pages.
Characters are also an issue. Luke and Han and even Lando are ok, though Luke resembles more of the Luke of The Last Jedi refusing to use his force powers unless absolutely necessary. However, the massive cast of other bit players is confusing and frustrating. The Bothans are all the same, with their names that have apostrophes everywhere. The Noghri continue to be annoying. One character talks in brackets because I guess Zahn thought it would be a “creative” way to show her translated language. The vast amount of alien species requires an extensive knowledge of the galaxy’s biological makeup, and I’m pretty sure Zahn himself made up about 1/3 of those that appear here because I hardly recognized any of them (and I’ve read a ton of the EU so my knowledge of the universe is far deeper than surface level). You also have to have read like 10 other EU books to make many of the characters make sense. I know comic books do this too, so it’s nothing new, however you can usually read those as stand-alones with just a bit of previous background knowledge. Here though, good luck. If you haven’t read any of previous Thrawn novels, 4 X-Wing books, the Jedi Academy trilogy, and i>I, Jedi you’re SOL.
If we wanna talk about plot, Specter isn’t bad. I mean, there are some kind of cool ideas that Zahn does. One of those being flipping the script and having the remnants of the Empire fracturing into 2 different camps: those who seek peace with the new republic and those who refuse to capitulate. There’s also the subplot of using a past terrorist attack to foment violence and anger amidst the relative peace of the new galactic senate which adds some tension and drama. The issue here with all of this is how Zahn decides to make it all happen. In the most basic sense it’s corny and rather juvenile. Things happen just for the sake of them happening and the plan from the militaristic remnant of the Empire is cheesy as hell. At this point, 28 years since its publication, I doubt it’s a spoiler warning when I say that this plan involves a body double and a bunch of incredibly thin propaganda that’s about as transparent as a recently cleaned window. And obviously this all builds up to a cliffhanger ending that’s concluded in Vision of the Future the 2nd longest book in the entirety of the EU (and canon as well, I believe). I don’t know about you, but I don’t have any desire to try and read another book in this Duology that’s nearly double the length of its predecessor.
By no means is the EU a bastion of great writing…in fact there’s a lot of terrible excuses for Star Wars stories hurried amongst its 100+ novels, but saying Zahn is the absolute best of them is hyperbolic and ridiculous. While some say his work gets better with age, I would argue the exact opposite, and Specter of the Past is my evidence. I rest my case.
For all of the interesting ideas and characters he brought to the Star Wars universe, I think the time has come to just be honest and admit that Zahn really ain’t that great of a writer. Yeah Thrawn is cool the first time, (though he gets progressively worse with each new appearance…especially in canon) and true, what Zahn did to change up the trajectory of post Return of the Jedi needs to be applauded, but it’s been 30 something years since then and, unlike others, I find Zahn’s approach and writing style to be some of the worst in the literary history of a galaxy far, far Away.
I know that’s sacrilegious to many, and I understand a lot of fans think Zahn is the end all, be all of Star Wars authors (well, him and the equally annoying Matthew Stover), but bear with me, because Specter of the Past is an example of everything wrong with Zahn.
Like the majority of Zahn’s work (aside from maybe Outbound Flight which had its own issues like relying on a huge Chiss subplot, which, surprise surprise is Thrawn related), Specter of the Past is boring. There is so much talking, talking, talking with little payout. We are subjected to page after endless page of discussion and inane conversation that goes nowhere, and only succeeds in adding more and more useless information to the plot, muddling it to confusing levels. I will say that the dialogue that happens is slightly more palatable than in the original Thrawn trilogy but Zahn still suffers with failing to make it exciting, as every character talks the same, using bad similes, and having to have annoying interjections nearly every possible instance, though thankfully he’s cut back on the word “sardonically” that he felt so inclined to liberally use in previous books.
Action is almost nonexistent as Zahn loves to tell and not show. There are a few moments sprinkled in here and there, like Luke escaping from space pirates and Han and Leia in the middle of a riot on Bothawui, yet they’re sandwiched between those long pages of pointless exposition. Further still, many of the action scenes are never completed because Zahn can’t conclude a scene to save his life. For example, that riot I mentioned is quickly wrapped up when Leia throws Han a lightsaber and it just ends. Eventually in another chapter we find out everyone is fine but we never really know how or why because Zahn never goes back to explain it. This happens constantly through this books 348 pages.
Characters are also an issue. Luke and Han and even Lando are ok, though Luke resembles more of the Luke of The Last Jedi refusing to use his force powers unless absolutely necessary. However, the massive cast of other bit players is confusing and frustrating. The Bothans are all the same, with their names that have apostrophes everywhere. The Noghri continue to be annoying. One character talks in brackets because I guess Zahn thought it would be a “creative” way to show her translated language. The vast amount of alien species requires an extensive knowledge of the galaxy’s biological makeup, and I’m pretty sure Zahn himself made up about 1/3 of those that appear here because I hardly recognized any of them (and I’ve read a ton of the EU so my knowledge of the universe is far deeper than surface level). You also have to have read like 10 other EU books to make many of the characters make sense. I know comic books do this too, so it’s nothing new, however you can usually read those as stand-alones with just a bit of previous background knowledge. Here though, good luck. If you haven’t read any of previous Thrawn novels, 4 X-Wing books, the Jedi Academy trilogy, and i>I, Jedi you’re SOL.
If we wanna talk about plot, Specter isn’t bad. I mean, there are some kind of cool ideas that Zahn does. One of those being flipping the script and having the remnants of the Empire fracturing into 2 different camps: those who seek peace with the new republic and those who refuse to capitulate. There’s also the subplot of using a past terrorist attack to foment violence and anger amidst the relative peace of the new galactic senate which adds some tension and drama. The issue here with all of this is how Zahn decides to make it all happen. In the most basic sense it’s corny and rather juvenile. Things happen just for the sake of them happening and the plan from the militaristic remnant of the Empire is cheesy as hell. At this point, 28 years since its publication, I doubt it’s a spoiler warning when I say that this plan involves a body double and a bunch of incredibly thin propaganda that’s about as transparent as a recently cleaned window. And obviously this all builds up to a cliffhanger ending that’s concluded in Vision of the Future the 2nd longest book in the entirety of the EU (and canon as well, I believe). I don’t know about you, but I don’t have any desire to try and read another book in this Duology that’s nearly double the length of its predecessor.
By no means is the EU a bastion of great writing…in fact there’s a lot of terrible excuses for Star Wars stories hurried amongst its 100+ novels, but saying Zahn is the absolute best of them is hyperbolic and ridiculous. While some say his work gets better with age, I would argue the exact opposite, and Specter of the Past is my evidence. I rest my case.
September 28, 2020
For 2020, I decided to reread (in publication order) all the Bantam-era Star Wars books that were released between 1991 and 1999; that shakes out to 38 adult novels and 5 anthologies of short stories & novellas.
This week’s focus: the first book in the Hand of Thrawn duology, Specter of the Past by Timothy Zahn.
SOME HISTORY:
After Timothy Zahn finished The Last Command, he was insistent that Luke and Mara were merely friends. Fans thought otherwise, though, so Lucasfilm chose to nix any of Luke’s potential romances and bring Zahn back on board to ensure that Luke Skywalker would become engaged to Mara Jade at the conclusion of the Hand of Thrawn duology. Specter of the Past presumably did well sales-wise, but as with other Bantam releases, I couldn’t find any data that it made the top fifteen of the New York Times bestseller list for any week after its release.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
Some aspects of this book--Luke’s pirate hunt and the Imperial triumvirate’s scheming--were familiar to me. I was surprised, though, by how little of Leia and Han’s plotline I had remembered. The big bullet points were there, but the details were a surprise to me.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
The Empire stands at the brink of total collapse, until shocking news leaks out that Grand Admiral Thrawn has returned from the dead. Admiral Pellaeon takes the first steps towards a peace treaty between the New Republic and the Empire. Han and Leia begin a desperate race against time to prevent the New Republic from unraveling in the face of the Caamas Document Crisis. Meanwhile, Luke aims to track down a mysterious pirate ship with a crew of clones.
THE CHARACTERS:
My main problem with how Zahn approaches the main trio is that they spend the whole book reacting to events outside of their control. Leia and Han are dispatched to various conflicts, and while that feels realistic because of their roles--High Counselor and shipping liaison--it also leads to them feeling a bit less dynamic than usual. Leia happens to be in the right place at the right time when the corrupted Caamas Document is revealed, and seems to be forever chasing its aftereffects. Zahn also dispatches the Solo children and Chewbacca out of the story fairly early on (they go to Kashyyyk for safety reasons), but it feels like a cheap trick.
Luke is once again trying to figure out his role in the Force, so Zahn takes the opportunity to start retconning like mad. I don’t like Luke as a Superman figure, but I’m not sure that all his changes mesh with me. Luke seems to veer towards the opposite extreme here, declining to use the Force even in situations where I think it would be helpful.
We also have a reinterpretation of the failure of his relationship with Callista; Anderson implied it was because Callista couldn’t feel like his equal without the Force, and then Hambly retconned that into Callista being too vulnerable to the Dark Side and not wanting to drag Luke down with her. Zahn swoops in with another retcon: “And then there was Callista. A woman he’d loved...who had run away from him because his power had somehow intimidated and frightened her.” I never got the sense that Callista was scared of his power, but whatever.
And while I thought that The Last Command made it clear that Luke and Mara were now friends, subsequent books didn’t really follow up on this. So we now have Luke and Mara interacting in a very awkward manner. They’re in their mid-to-late thirties, you’d think that they’d be able to get along in an adult manner.
Lando has another business venture under way, and gets drawn reluctantly into the Caamas Document Crisis. Karrde is still trying to remain neutral, but once again finds himself drawn to the side of the New Republic. And Shada the former Mistryl guard is trying to determine where her loyalties now lie.
Fortunately, the Imperial characters in this book are far more intriguing than the main cast. Admiral Pellaeon is a noble character (like his namesake, Pelleas the Arthurian knight), and as Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet, he realizes that there’s no way for the Empire to win. They keep losing territory and ships, and a peace treaty with the New Republic is their best option of retaining what they still have. He faces considerable opposition (particularly/subtly from Disra), but his course is one that you can root for. I’m not keen on this complete rehabilitation of the Imperials--they’re space fascists!--yet I still like Pellaeon a lot.
And then we have our true bad guys, with the triumvirate of Moff Disra, Major Tierce, and Flim the con man. We know right off the bat that the reemergence of Thrawn is a con, and the triumvirate are our key players. Disra is the money man, Tierce is the strategic mind, and Flim is the face of their fraud. I love the power play between the trio here, with Disra initially in charge but Tierce increasingly taking over and expanding the scope of their deception.
ISSUES:
Here we have yet another victim of first book syndrome. Specter of the Past is mostly set up, which makes sense. However, the end especially falls prey to a lot of blatant manoeuvring as Zahn tries to move his characters into the proper places. Luke is off to rescue Mara, since Karrde asks him and he had an ominous vision about her. (Han and Leia are understandably upset, since this takes him out of commission during a very fraught time.) Han and Leia are off to Pakrik Major for a conference, which places them near one of Thrawn’s sleeper cells on Pakrik Minor. Karrde and Shada take off in search of Jorj Car’das, Karrde’s former boss, who miiiight have an intact copy of the Caamas Document. It’s needed development, but it’s just so clunky and obvious.
Then I started to question the basic premise of the book. Would the New Republic really fall apart over something like the Caamas Document Crisis? Zahn talks about how the NR has gotten too big and they’re trying to delegate more authority to the sector and system and local level, but it feels like everyone uses the Document Crisis as an excuse to immediately resume old conflicts, and I’m not sure that I believe that the NR government could be so completely flabbergasted by that.
It seemed like Zahn wanted to save a lot of the major battles for book 2, so we ended up with some needless action scenes. For example, what was the goal of Luke’s failed undercover surveillance of the Cavrilhu Pirates base? Surely he could have guessed that they have scanning equipment? And with their base exploded and the pirates fled, he’s essentially back to stage one on his investigation.
I was also surprised that with Luke investigating clones, no one seriously considered whether returned Thrawn was actually a clone. They talk about it briefly, then rule it out, saying “he must have recovered off somewhere.” Seriously?? A clone feels more logical than “it was only a flesh wound that took him 10 years to get over.”
On the whole, though, the Hand of Thrawn duology feels like a swan song to the Bantam era. The license would revert from Bantam back to Del Rey in 1999, so this duology both wraps up some loose ends--the war between the Empire and the Rebellion--as well as foreshadowing the developments to come.
IN CONCLUSION:
Specter of the Past features some great Imperials: both good guys (Admiral Pellaeon) and bad (the triumvirate of Disra, Tierce, and Flim). Unfortunately our main trio spend the whole book just reacting to things around them, and there is some blatantly clunky setup and maneuvering of characters.
Next up: the fourth Tales collection, Tales from the Empire edited by Peter Schweighofer.
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/Ss3WiaPNESM
KJA interview from 2008 (see questions 17-20 for the progression of Luke’s love life): https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Wook...
This week’s focus: the first book in the Hand of Thrawn duology, Specter of the Past by Timothy Zahn.
SOME HISTORY:
After Timothy Zahn finished The Last Command, he was insistent that Luke and Mara were merely friends. Fans thought otherwise, though, so Lucasfilm chose to nix any of Luke’s potential romances and bring Zahn back on board to ensure that Luke Skywalker would become engaged to Mara Jade at the conclusion of the Hand of Thrawn duology. Specter of the Past presumably did well sales-wise, but as with other Bantam releases, I couldn’t find any data that it made the top fifteen of the New York Times bestseller list for any week after its release.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
Some aspects of this book--Luke’s pirate hunt and the Imperial triumvirate’s scheming--were familiar to me. I was surprised, though, by how little of Leia and Han’s plotline I had remembered. The big bullet points were there, but the details were a surprise to me.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
The Empire stands at the brink of total collapse, until shocking news leaks out that Grand Admiral Thrawn has returned from the dead. Admiral Pellaeon takes the first steps towards a peace treaty between the New Republic and the Empire. Han and Leia begin a desperate race against time to prevent the New Republic from unraveling in the face of the Caamas Document Crisis. Meanwhile, Luke aims to track down a mysterious pirate ship with a crew of clones.
THE CHARACTERS:
My main problem with how Zahn approaches the main trio is that they spend the whole book reacting to events outside of their control. Leia and Han are dispatched to various conflicts, and while that feels realistic because of their roles--High Counselor and shipping liaison--it also leads to them feeling a bit less dynamic than usual. Leia happens to be in the right place at the right time when the corrupted Caamas Document is revealed, and seems to be forever chasing its aftereffects. Zahn also dispatches the Solo children and Chewbacca out of the story fairly early on (they go to Kashyyyk for safety reasons), but it feels like a cheap trick.
Luke is once again trying to figure out his role in the Force, so Zahn takes the opportunity to start retconning like mad. I don’t like Luke as a Superman figure, but I’m not sure that all his changes mesh with me. Luke seems to veer towards the opposite extreme here, declining to use the Force even in situations where I think it would be helpful.
We also have a reinterpretation of the failure of his relationship with Callista; Anderson implied it was because Callista couldn’t feel like his equal without the Force, and then Hambly retconned that into Callista being too vulnerable to the Dark Side and not wanting to drag Luke down with her. Zahn swoops in with another retcon: “And then there was Callista. A woman he’d loved...who had run away from him because his power had somehow intimidated and frightened her.” I never got the sense that Callista was scared of his power, but whatever.
And while I thought that The Last Command made it clear that Luke and Mara were now friends, subsequent books didn’t really follow up on this. So we now have Luke and Mara interacting in a very awkward manner. They’re in their mid-to-late thirties, you’d think that they’d be able to get along in an adult manner.
Lando has another business venture under way, and gets drawn reluctantly into the Caamas Document Crisis. Karrde is still trying to remain neutral, but once again finds himself drawn to the side of the New Republic. And Shada the former Mistryl guard is trying to determine where her loyalties now lie.
Fortunately, the Imperial characters in this book are far more intriguing than the main cast. Admiral Pellaeon is a noble character (like his namesake, Pelleas the Arthurian knight), and as Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet, he realizes that there’s no way for the Empire to win. They keep losing territory and ships, and a peace treaty with the New Republic is their best option of retaining what they still have. He faces considerable opposition (particularly/subtly from Disra), but his course is one that you can root for. I’m not keen on this complete rehabilitation of the Imperials--they’re space fascists!--yet I still like Pellaeon a lot.
And then we have our true bad guys, with the triumvirate of Moff Disra, Major Tierce, and Flim the con man. We know right off the bat that the reemergence of Thrawn is a con, and the triumvirate are our key players. Disra is the money man, Tierce is the strategic mind, and Flim is the face of their fraud. I love the power play between the trio here, with Disra initially in charge but Tierce increasingly taking over and expanding the scope of their deception.
ISSUES:
Here we have yet another victim of first book syndrome. Specter of the Past is mostly set up, which makes sense. However, the end especially falls prey to a lot of blatant manoeuvring as Zahn tries to move his characters into the proper places. Luke is off to rescue Mara, since Karrde asks him and he had an ominous vision about her. (Han and Leia are understandably upset, since this takes him out of commission during a very fraught time.) Han and Leia are off to Pakrik Major for a conference, which places them near one of Thrawn’s sleeper cells on Pakrik Minor. Karrde and Shada take off in search of Jorj Car’das, Karrde’s former boss, who miiiight have an intact copy of the Caamas Document. It’s needed development, but it’s just so clunky and obvious.
Then I started to question the basic premise of the book. Would the New Republic really fall apart over something like the Caamas Document Crisis? Zahn talks about how the NR has gotten too big and they’re trying to delegate more authority to the sector and system and local level, but it feels like everyone uses the Document Crisis as an excuse to immediately resume old conflicts, and I’m not sure that I believe that the NR government could be so completely flabbergasted by that.
It seemed like Zahn wanted to save a lot of the major battles for book 2, so we ended up with some needless action scenes. For example, what was the goal of Luke’s failed undercover surveillance of the Cavrilhu Pirates base? Surely he could have guessed that they have scanning equipment? And with their base exploded and the pirates fled, he’s essentially back to stage one on his investigation.
I was also surprised that with Luke investigating clones, no one seriously considered whether returned Thrawn was actually a clone. They talk about it briefly, then rule it out, saying “he must have recovered off somewhere.” Seriously?? A clone feels more logical than “it was only a flesh wound that took him 10 years to get over.”
On the whole, though, the Hand of Thrawn duology feels like a swan song to the Bantam era. The license would revert from Bantam back to Del Rey in 1999, so this duology both wraps up some loose ends--the war between the Empire and the Rebellion--as well as foreshadowing the developments to come.
IN CONCLUSION:
Specter of the Past features some great Imperials: both good guys (Admiral Pellaeon) and bad (the triumvirate of Disra, Tierce, and Flim). Unfortunately our main trio spend the whole book just reacting to things around them, and there is some blatantly clunky setup and maneuvering of characters.
Next up: the fourth Tales collection, Tales from the Empire edited by Peter Schweighofer.
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/Ss3WiaPNESM
KJA interview from 2008 (see questions 17-20 for the progression of Luke’s love life): https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Wook...
August 31, 2021
Five years after he wrote The Last Command Timothy Zahn came back to Star Wars to write a sequel series to the Thrawn trilogy, and... well, let's just say that the Star Wars Expanded Universe (hereafter referred to as the EU) had really taken off during that time. The result is that not only is this book set 10 years after Last Command to fit in all the events of other EU novels that couldn't be ignored, but unless you're a die-hard fan of all things Star Wars, you're going to need to be making frequent trips to wookiepedia to look up all the references the book makes to EU events and characters. This was definitely the case for me, as although I'd say I've got better Star Wars knowledge than your average joe, the Thrawn books are the only novelizations I've read (and most of the rest of my EU (or "Legends" if you want to bow before the whims of the House of Mouse), knowledge comes from video games, Eckhardt's Ladder on youtube, and occasional rabbit trails through wookiepedia). I'm making this a point because unlike the Thrawn trilogy, which you could go into straight from watching the movies and not have any problems, this is a more challenging read as the EU was VERY expansive and well-developed and full of political factions, secondary characters, and historical developments that Zahn fully embraces in this book, meaning that you're likely going to be confused if like me you're just looking to dabble in Star Wars novelizations rather than go all in.
Having got that out of the way, the book starts with the remnants of the Empire on their last legs. Thrawn's brief glorious moment of triumph has faded as various Imperial warlords have frittered away the vast resources of the Empire and it's territory and military capabilities have faded to basically nothing. As such, Admiral Pellaeon has decided the time has come to make peace with the New Republic. Not all of his people feel the same, and one in particular, Moff Disra, has an ace up his sleeve that he believes can turn the galaxy upside down. With the right leverage in the right place, a single name could throw the New Republic into a civil war that could tear it apart and leave the galaxy open for the Empire's restoration, and that name is Thrawn and the leverage is a badly decayed datacard concerning the destruction of the world of Caamas on Palpatine's orders, revealing that it was a team of Bothans who shut down the world's shield and enabled the destruction. Without a complete version of the document with the names of the guilty, the galaxy's fury is levelled at the Bothans as a species, and lines are drawn between those who want them all to pay and those who wish to see only the guilty pay, but as the crisis grows, fueled by incidents engineered by Imperial agents, it becomes an excuse for all the petty grievances that divide the many species of the New Republic. So it is that our heroes must rush to find a complete version of the Caamas Document before it's too late. Then there's the rumors... the rumors that Thrawn has somehow returned from the dead.
Oddly, given the themes of reparations, corporate vs. individual guilt, and resurrected generational grievances, this book felt surprisingly appropriate for recent events in the United States, but that's not really relevant. I enjoyed Specter of the Past, Zahn is a good writer and he has his finger on the pulse of Star Wars, but as I noted earlier, it's built on a LOT of world-building that most readers just won't have any context for, even if they're Star Wars fans. I will say that the villains get lucky... A LOT, and that this book doesn't stand on its own all that well because it's basically an introduction setting up plot lines and character conflicts for the sequel which has all the meat of the story. There's a lot of running around here and the characters talking to try and figure out what they ought to do, and I sort of wonder if the two books were initially just one big book (and it would be pretty big at around 900 pages) but Zahn split it up because no one reads 900 page Star Wars books. That doesn't make this book bad by any means, but when you get to the end, there's a definite, "wait, that's really the end of the book?" moment because it feels more like a normal chapter break than the end of a story. Anyway, it's an interesting and largely fun beginning of a good Star Wars story, but that's all it is, just the beginning.
Having got that out of the way, the book starts with the remnants of the Empire on their last legs. Thrawn's brief glorious moment of triumph has faded as various Imperial warlords have frittered away the vast resources of the Empire and it's territory and military capabilities have faded to basically nothing. As such, Admiral Pellaeon has decided the time has come to make peace with the New Republic. Not all of his people feel the same, and one in particular, Moff Disra, has an ace up his sleeve that he believes can turn the galaxy upside down. With the right leverage in the right place, a single name could throw the New Republic into a civil war that could tear it apart and leave the galaxy open for the Empire's restoration, and that name is Thrawn and the leverage is a badly decayed datacard concerning the destruction of the world of Caamas on Palpatine's orders, revealing that it was a team of Bothans who shut down the world's shield and enabled the destruction. Without a complete version of the document with the names of the guilty, the galaxy's fury is levelled at the Bothans as a species, and lines are drawn between those who want them all to pay and those who wish to see only the guilty pay, but as the crisis grows, fueled by incidents engineered by Imperial agents, it becomes an excuse for all the petty grievances that divide the many species of the New Republic. So it is that our heroes must rush to find a complete version of the Caamas Document before it's too late. Then there's the rumors... the rumors that Thrawn has somehow returned from the dead.
Oddly, given the themes of reparations, corporate vs. individual guilt, and resurrected generational grievances, this book felt surprisingly appropriate for recent events in the United States, but that's not really relevant. I enjoyed Specter of the Past, Zahn is a good writer and he has his finger on the pulse of Star Wars, but as I noted earlier, it's built on a LOT of world-building that most readers just won't have any context for, even if they're Star Wars fans. I will say that the villains get lucky... A LOT, and that this book doesn't stand on its own all that well because it's basically an introduction setting up plot lines and character conflicts for the sequel which has all the meat of the story. There's a lot of running around here and the characters talking to try and figure out what they ought to do, and I sort of wonder if the two books were initially just one big book (and it would be pretty big at around 900 pages) but Zahn split it up because no one reads 900 page Star Wars books. That doesn't make this book bad by any means, but when you get to the end, there's a definite, "wait, that's really the end of the book?" moment because it feels more like a normal chapter break than the end of a story. Anyway, it's an interesting and largely fun beginning of a good Star Wars story, but that's all it is, just the beginning.
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