Reviews and Comments

I made it 60% of the way through this one and it wasn't bad, but I had no attachments to anyone or anything. I switched to another book and didn't care enough to go back.

This was a surprisingly good and compelling short story.

I can understand how, at a certain place in time, this book would be considered edgy or intriguing. I am simply too far removed from that place. It was tedious and stank heartily of British imperialism in all the places where it wasn't trying to.

Re read in preparation of the next two books in the series. It's still strong.

Now that all of the core Star Wars films have been released I can now say with confidence that both the prequels and sequels are nothing but poor fan fiction. Yes, George Lucas is a fan boy of his own legacy.

Instead, I'm reaffirming the truth, that Timothy Zahn wrote the canonical follow up to the Star Wars trilogy. Heir to the Empire is a brilliant start introducing both Mara Jade and Admiral Thrawn. The characters are all vibrant. They grow. They move the story without unnecessary tricks and twists. Moist importantly, they are true to their natures.

I'll be rereading the others soon to refresh in my mind the true conclusion to the Skywalker saga. I highly recommend you do the same.

This was likely the best book I read all year. What a surprising gem hidden in a YA Fantasy guise. There's so much more here, honestly. It's refreshing to find an author who can write with wit and pain and a deep understanding of theme. By all accounts this is a pristine example of character-driven fantasy, but it excels because it is so much more.

I would warn readers not to pick this up if you expect any action in the least. While there is a great wealth to be found, it is almost all internal. Honestly, this book deserves either 5 stars or 1 star depending on how you approach that aspect alone.