Audio: Heir to the Empire (Zahn)

Heir to the Empire
Timothy Zahn (1991)

[Audiobook]

(Not a review, just some notes to help me remember the things I've read. But written this way because it's the Internet, and some people will stumble across this page.)

I looked for a science fiction book to listen to and the Libby app suggested Heir to the Empire. Oddly enough, for all the Star Trek books that I've read, I've not read any Star Wars books, not even Splinter of the Mind's Eye, which I had a copy of way back when. (I read a couple of juveniles that I found at a school I subbed at, but that's not really the same thing.)

And then I had to listen to it in installments because after all this time Heir to the Empire is still in demand. It introduced characters, such as Thrawn, which were picked up by the Disney franchise, even if so much else of the Expanded Universe was tossed out. This stuff existed for so many years. Had Lucas down the movies, he might've adapted it, but Disney was in charge and I guess they didn't want to credit Zahn for anything. The idea that Leia was learning to use the Force back then and that she was having twins would've made for great movies.

It was an interesting plot, and the beginning of a trilogy. There's a character that isn't used as much as he should have, so I assumed he'll be in the next book, which I might listen to.

I had to get used to hearing the voice of Han Solo speaking, but that didn't take too long. What was a problem was the Wookiee named Ralrra who had a speech impediment that allowed him to speak English (or rather, Galactic standard). His voice, with the growls, was like nails on a chalkboard. It wouldn't have been a problem reading it -- but it might be for now because it'll spur the memories.

Anyway, this was fun to listen to, and I'm glad that I did.

If you stumbled across my page via the Internet, please check out my short book series, Burke Lore Briefs. A fantastical foursome of flash fiction and short stories.

Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice: The Dark Rival (Watson)

Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice: The Dark Rival , Jude Watson (1999)

Not really a review, just reminding myself about some of the details of what I read ...

In the final pages of the first book, there's an Epilogue that is really just a set-up for the next book. We find out that Qui Gon's first padawan, whom he lost, is still alive. He lost him to the dark side. (I don't know if this mentioned in the first movie or any other expanded universe stuff.) Qui Gon took the boy from his planet with his father's blessing, but for his last step as a padawan, Yoda sent the two back to that planet. Xanatos's father was preparing for war. Without spoiling too much for whomever reads this, Xanatos turns away from the Jedi and now embraces the dark side of the Force. And he has major issues with his former Master.

As such, it was Xanatos would arranged for Qui Gon to be sent to Bandomeer. Less clear is if he arranged for Obi Wan to go there as well, or if he just assummed that Qui Gon would have a new apprentice at this point. Xanatos is bent on revenge, even if he plays it cool, but his plans include taking that revenge out on Obi Wan, who he believes is Qui Gon's apprentice. (He is not yet.)

Bandomeer is a farming world, but it is also being mined by Offworld Corporation, run by Hutts, which employs Xanatos, who has his own plans for this, too.

A good follow-up to book one in that it continues the plot and characters (even the minor ones), even though it has a different writer. Also, it was a bit shorter. This one was also rated RL 4.

Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice: The Rising Force (Wolverton)

Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice: The Rising Force , Dave Wolverton (1999)

Not really a review, just reminding myself about some of the details of what I read ...

As soon as I saw the first two books in this series sitting on a shelf in the Teacher Room at the high school I'm currently assigned to, I knew I had to borrow them. The fact that the apprentice was Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the Jedi was Qui-Gon Jinn just made it better. The fact that Scholastic had labeled it RL 4 was less attractive, but it didn't deter me. Actually, that meant that I should be able to read both and return them before anyone notice they were gone. (Or if I was suddenly reassigned, I wouldn't have someone else's property!)

The first book in the series opens about a month before Kenobi's 14th birthday when he'll be asked to leave the Jedi Temple that he's known his whole life if he isn't selected to be a Jedi's padawan before then. He'll be "condemned" to a life as a farmer, a fate he hopes to avoid. His problem is that he is easy to anger, which isn't a good trait for a Jedi Knight.

His main rival at the temple sabotages his chances of meeting with -- and battling in front of -- Qui-Gon, who has been without a padawan for some time now since he lost his last one.

Despite his performance, and the reveal that he'd been set-up, Qui-Gon does not choose to train him, even over prodding from Yoda. Kenobi is to be sent off to a farming world now because there a ship ready to go, and it can't wait for his birthday. As the Force would have it, Qui-Gon is sent on a mission to the same planet and travels on the same ship. And that's where the trouble begins. There are two separate groups of miners on board, one of which is run by the Hutts. They aren't happy with Jedi being on board.

When the ship is attacked by pirates, Qui-Gon battles the boarding party while Obi-Wan steers the ship out of danger, but has to set it down on a planet with dragon-like creatures. (Oddly, these creatures sleep in the air and rest on mountain tops, but there's no other life on land. All other life seems to be water-based. This doesn't make much sense, but we're only getting a snapshot of the world.)

I enjoyed the book, and, geek confession, I still haven't seen Episode 1 in its entirety in one sitting, but this is still a fun read. In some ways, it's like Clone Wars (or a prequel to it), in that Obi Wan is dealing with Anakin's anger issues as well as his impatience, even as Anakin has his own padawan (who is actually better than the other two at this point).