Mara Jade Books

I picked up this book when it was first released in 1991. Back then, Star Wars fans were starving for ANYTHING new and this new book seemed like an answered prayer. I won't go into the plot of the story as other reviewers have done an awesome job in conveying it, and to be fair, it is an interesting plot. The delivery is something else altogether.

The characters we know: Luke, Leia, Han, the droids behave true to their nature. A cool snippet comes early in the novel where Luke is sipping a cup of hot chocolate which he says comes from "a planet called earth", silly maybe, but a cool connection to us from that galaxy far away. The new ones Admiral Thrawn, C'Boath, Mara Jade seem interesting, if flat. The problem is that Timothy Zahn is just not a good writer, at least not by this book.

Why?

Star Wars is as much a spiritual story (I'd argue more) as it is an action story but that aspect of the story is forgotten, what we get instead is a constant stream of tech-babble that tests patience. In fact, when I first picked up this book I had just learned English and put-off reading it since I felt I was missing out on a lot, as I couldn't understand half of what Zahn had written. Even as a kid, I always saw the Sci-Fi tech stuff as less important than the story, in this case it is almost the whole story. Zahn constantly re-characterizes the SW universe to fit his tale and cheapens deep moments from the movies to piggy-back on (grrrrr!).

Example? They abound...

1) The strongest, darkest and most beautifully symbolic scene in all SW movies, to me, was Luke's going into the cave in Dagobah. It took me years to fully understand all the nuance of that moment or why Yoda had called it "the failure at the cave" even when Luke had seemed to prevail. Zahn dispatches that moment with some tech object being left behind by a dark lord. So Luke wasn't just fighting himself, being driven by hate, confronting his shadow, integrating his shadow (which is why Yoda called it a failure), according to Zahn Luke was just attracted to some left behind do-wakie?! This is a downright insult!

2) The Force is understood to be another word for God or the basic energy of the Universe. It, Qui-Gon told us in the Phantom Menace, is the energy that moves everything from the midi-chlorians in our bodies to the galaxies in the universe. The Chi, the Prana, the Life Force. What I didn't know until Zhan told me in this book is that this all-pervasive energy is easily countered by a little furry animals called "ysalamiri", which are able to disable the force "within a short radius"!!! I was trying to give this book a chance until I read this. Apparently, the Force in the trees and forests they live in. This is just childish.

3) Thrawn, the Grand Admiral, discovers that the old Empire fleet had only been effective because Palpatine had used the Dark Side through meditation to "coordinate" their attacks. Besides from taking a lot credit away from the Army of the Empire, Palpatine wasn't meditating when Luke and Darth Vader fought in Return of the Jedi, and his fleet was kicking the Rebel's butt until Han and Leia blew up the shield generator on Endor. Thrawn uses C'Baoth to "meditate" his fleet into fighting better but is able to keep erratic C'Baoth under control because the "ysalamiri" keep him from killing him and taking over but not, mind you, from "coordinating" his fleet through his meditations... How people can read this nonsense and still give the book five stars is incomprehensible to me.

The final straw came midway through the book. At that point I realized there wasn't much hope for the rest of the book and no chance that I'd be reading anything else written by Zahn. After reading chapter #17 I realized that I could have skipped it and not miss a bit in the story! Where writers and editors scan entire books and and scripts for a line or two that does not add to the story, Timothy Zahn wrote a whole chapter that adds ZERO ZIPPO to his novel.

Heir to the Empire filled a void Star Wars fans felt since the last Lucas-approved Star Wars venture, the misguided Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure and Ewoks: Battle of Endor. These days, when Star Wars fans are flooded with high quality games, books and TV shows, it is hard to imagine there was a time when nothing SW related came out. But Heir to the Empire failed on almost every count; a book written by a Star Wars fan who wrote like a technocrat and omitted the powerful spiritual dimension of this new mythology.

The books in this trilogy are a fantastic read. The audio book of Heir to the Empire is the worst I have ever heard. The reader, Denis Lawson, is the most dry and inexpressive reader to ever have recorded his voice. Don't get the audio book for this. I gave it a 3 for Timothy Zahn's story. Listener beware!

The cornerstone of the modern Star Wars Expanded Universe, Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire was published in 1991 in an environment where Star Wars was considered a dusty relic of the 70s and 80s, except to some die-hard enthusiasts. At least, that was the perception going around. The reality was there was enough latent interest in the franchise to send this book soaring up the New York Times bestseller lists. I remember at the time believing there would never be any more Star Wars films and that this trilogy would act as a surrogate Episodes VII, VIII, and IX. Well, here we are eighteen years later and we've gotten three (soon to be four with the animated Clone Wars) more films, but still no sign of the infamous sequel trilogy. So, for the time being, perhaps the Thrawn Trilogy can be considered the closest thing we've got.

In light of that, the great news is this is one of the best books of the Expanded Universe and also one of its most cinematic. Zahn moved the timeline forward to five years after Return of the Jedi, and in doing so permitted the main characters to develop beyond what we saw in the films. Han and Leia are married with twin children on the way, and Luke is laying the groundwork for the future course of the Jedi. All the usual sidekicks are back and true to their film selves.

The key, though, is the new villain Zahn introduces, Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn is a character of chilling intelligence, methodically plotting and executing a return to power for the scattered remnants of the Empire. He is ably assisted by Captain Pellaeon and a well-trained Imperial force of warships and troopers. Thrawn's earliest appearance in the Expanded Universe chronologically was in the excellent novel Outbound Flight, set decades earlier. Heir to the Empire does not reveal much of the intervening decades in his life but readers of the other book will immediately recognize the portrayal and development of Thrawn here.

Another significant addition to the Star Wars galaxy in this book is Mara Jade, former Emperor's Hand and Force user turned smuggler. Mara is a strong character who tends to dominate any scene she's in, but she makes a great foil to Luke Skywalker. They are connected by surprising events from the past, casting a new light on the battle at the Pit of Carkoon in Return of the Jedi. Mara's adversarial relationship to Luke creates many opportunities for growth in both her and Luke and Zahn handles this well.

The best thing about Thrawn is he brings a true sense of danger that was lacking in the Empire's leaders since the Battle of Endor. Ysanne Isard was smart and malicious but lacked a sweeping vision. Warlord Zsinj was somewhat clever but also a bit silly and trite. The New Republic has faced many other opponents but not any with the potential for complete ruin that Thrawn brings. The addition of the rogue Jedi Joruus C'baoth to Thrawn's forces completes building the most credible threat the fledging government has faced in the Expanded Universe.

The storyline itself works well both as a largely standalone episode, not dissimilar to A New Hope, but also in planting the seeds for the two sequels. The storyline itself is well-crafted and marries perfectly with Zahn's strong characterizations. This book is essential reading for any fan wanting to enter the Star Wars Expanded Universe but also continues to be a rewarding read for fans saturated in the tales of that galaxy far, far away.

I did not expect that the star wars series could continue so interesting after The Return of the Jedi. The new characters that I saw for the first time in this movie are just as interesting as Han Solo and the others I was already familiar with. If you like Star Wars you'll have a lot of fun!

That is if you don't count Splinter of the Mind's Eye, or the Han trilogy, or Lando trilogy. This is a great series and could easily be credited with keeping the Star Wars series in the general populace's eye during the late eighties and early nineties. With no new films to date Star Wars was officially over in 1983 with Return of the Jedi, that is of course until this was published.

One thing that stands out as exceptionally well done is the sense of military tactics and space battles, which ironically was missing from even the Prequel Movies. Zahn's pacing is quick but precise and leaves readers with a good sense of tension that keeps them reading to see how it gets resolved. The natural progression of the characters from the end of the last film (Episode 6) is apparent and the dialog is well written. He really captured the feel of each of the characters and the sense of scope with his descriptions. The opening scene with Luke and Obi-Wan is touching and written with a good sense of the relationship between the characters. Having read this series twice I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Whether you care for Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy or not, you can't deny that it is the series by which all other Expanded Universe material is judged.

Rebel Stand, the second volume in Aaron Allston's Enemy Lines "duology" finds the author in a very familiar setting, namely alternating storylines featuring both starfighter battles and covert action teams. Both of which should come as no surprise to fans of Allston's previous work on the X-Wing: Wraith Squadron series.

In Rebel Stand we finally get a chance to see what has become of Coruscant since the Yuuzhan Vong's takeover of the planet. The former capitol of the New Republic is now a toxic, post-apocalyptic wasteland populated by traumatized survivors and cannibalistic tribes, both of whom are constantly hunted by Yuuzhan Vong Raiding parties. Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker lead a team of Jedi and Wraith Squadron operatives to the planet in order to start a resistance movement, only to find that a monstrous 9-foot tall dark Jedi is wreaking havoc on the populace. Meanwhile, Wedge Antilles prepares his grand attack against the Yuuzhan Vong forces arrayed against him at Borleas.

Both major plotlines in Rebel Stand are absolutely compelling. The Borleas story is great because it pits two master strategists - General Antilles and former Warmaster Czulkang Lah against each other in a grand confrontation. The Coruscant story is fascinating in that it shows just how quickly the galaxy's greatest metropolis can be brought to utter ruin. The "Lord Nyax" subplot was a fun twist as well, and one that serious Star Wars readers should be able to figure out. Allston does a terrific job closing out his "series within a series" and marking a turning point in the galactic struggle against the Yuuzhan Vong. As devastating as the Vong invasion has been, we now start to see a few glimmers of hope that our heroes might just survive the conflict after all. Though if previous New Jedi Order volumes are any indication, not everyone will make it out alive.

a new bad guy is on the loose-lord nyax.hes so bad he tries to get mara jade skywalker to hate,since hate leads to suffering,the last step to the dark side.luke goes to coruscant to find him.hes so bad ge tried to get luke to kill himself.the vong get out thier last jedi sniffing voxyns.and whatta ya know?they sniff lord nyax too.so i guess its high conbentrations of matachlorians they really smell.not that bothers him.i cant say all what he can do but he was conditioned from birth to be the most evil sith ever.nuff said?a high up person gets killed.they wont let me say who but at least hes a bad guy this time.sheeesh!the vong bring out an old favorite weopons employed by the hutts in the ever fearsome rancor!!!!!lord nyax is so bad he can cause whole communities to riot! of course im not telling all the real bad stuff.i cant say who,but someone commits suicide.also there will be a major turn in the war.wedge launches one of the biggest military assaults in history.a lot of cool stuff goes on.definately check it out.

Rebel Stand completes the two-part "Enemy Lines" duology by Aaron Allston, bringing his own distinctive touch to the New Jedi Order series. And what a story it is. Allston provides all the action and humour that he's known for from the X-Wing series of novels, yet doesn't drag the series too much away from the darkness for which it has been known. Walking that line very closely, Rebel Stand is everything a Star Wars fan could want, especially those turned off by the depressing tone of the previous books.

Luke Skywalker and his wife, Mara, lead a clandestine force back on Vong-occupied Coruscant. The force's main purpose is to set up some resistance cells among the populace, though the changes that the Vong are making on the planet indicate that mere survival may be all the remaining populace can hope for. Meanwhile, Luke and his fellow Jedi are there to investigate a massive presence that's full of Dark Side power. What they discover may make them, at least temporarily, ally with the Vong against this nightmare that comes from Leia's past. And getting off the planet may be the least of their concerns. Meanwhile, Han and Leia continue their journey from planet to planet to facilitate other cells on planets whose governments may be leaning too close to capitulating to the Vong. And General Wedge Antilles plan to buy his people time and perhaps get a major victory against the Vong comes to fruition, tricking the Vong at every turn. But will it be enough against the massive fleet that the Vong have sent to Borleias? And will Wedge survive to even see his victory, if it happens?

Before I say anything else, I have a bone to pick with the back cover copy-writer. The description talks about Han and Leia being "trapped on a small planet whose rulers are about to yield to Yuuzhan Vong pressure to give up the Jedi rebels." This does happen in the book. But it's just one relatively small (but effective) sequence in a bigger storyline for them. Rebel Stand shows them on a couple of missions, including getting involved with the politics of another world to prevent a Vong-friendly woman from being elected to head the planet's government. It's a bit misleading (but then, isn't that what cover copy is for?) That being said, the sequence the cover describes is very cool, reflecting back to the old swashbuckling days of the earlier movies. The droids (especially Artoo) are very effective, even as Threepio is constantly complaining that he's not cut out for rescue and deception. Heck, there's even a trash compactor involved!

Once again, Allston gets most of the characters perfectly. Jaina Solo is a lot more comfortable with herself, now that she's gotten over the depression and Dark Side flirtation that she has been dealing with. She's been afraid to form relationships with anybody because in this horrible war, it was very likely that the person she gets close to would just end up dying. In fact, given what has already happened with her brothers, she was ready to just die in the fighting, alone. Over the course of this series (though mainly in Rebel Dream), Jaina has grown a lot, even to the point of allowing somebody to get very close to her. I really like what Allston did with her.

I can't rave enough about Han and Leia as well (and I already have, and it's really nice to see these two characters in love and teasing each other again), so I'll move on to Luke. We already know that Allston can write terrific starfighter combat and action from the X-Wing and Wraith books. But what really impressed me is his handle on the Jedi action and character. Luke is much more "hands-on" in the Enemy Lines duology, not as much the quiet philosopher as he has been in the past. When they discover the truth behind what's happening on Coruscant, he, Mara, and Taheri jump into stopping it rather than fret about it. The action scenes as they fight this evil are quite good, showing us that Allston is good at more than just spaceships. But he also gets the reflective parts down pretty good, too. There's a bit too much of an infodump when one of the Wraiths explains what happened to create the monster, but it's mitigated by the fact that it's an infodump for the rest of the characters as well. All in all, the plot on Coruscant was just as well-done as the Borleias part.

The threat itself is quite intriguing, bringing back a relatively obscure character from one of Bantam's Star Wars novels in an interesting fashion. I did find the design a bit weird, though. Lightsabers coming out of his knees and elbows? I also liked how Allston used Taheri, especially what's happened to her in past books to come up with a unique solution to the problem.

The only annoyance I had with this book (and the previous one, though I didn't mention it) was Viqi Shesh, the ex-Senator who was in a league with the Vong. While I can't say her characterization was off in either book, I can say that she was actively annoying. Her preening and self-centeredness was especially irritating, making her pass from the "villain you love to hate" and graduating to "villain you hate." I found what happened to her very satisfying, however, and appropriate to the character and its independent nature.

The "Enemy Lines" story brings the entire series back to its roots a bit, with humour, adventure, starships juking and jinking, and great character moments. The action is furious, and extremely well-written. I loved every moment of it. Rebel Stand was even better than the first book, and I can't wait to read Allston's next Star Wars book.

David Roy

Out of all the New Jedi Order books so far, this one kept my attention the best throughout, for a variety of reasons.

First was the rapidly shifting plots and points of view - rotating through Jaina, Luke, Wedge and a variety of others, Allston takes careful time to flush out the storyline that each character finds themselves embroiled in. Of greatest interest to me was the Lord Nyax-Luke Skywalker story on Coruscant; for once an actual Jedi-on-Jedi contest, even if Nyax really couldn't be considered a Jedi, Allston's portrayal of him as a mute, hugely powerful and crazed individual was perfect. The display of power he puts on through the Force is also quite well described and explained.

As well, throughout the story I came to greatly appreciate the military tactics that Allston described in the defence of Borelias - the time and thought obviously put into each situation shows itself well.

More than anything though, I think Allston deserves credit for setting up the bridge between the two Solo books - Dark Journey and Traitor - a task not easily performed in that events throughout the Enemy Lines are related to what is happening in those books.

All in all a great read, and a fine progression in the New Jedi Order series.

4.5/5

The capital of the New Republic has fallen, the Vong are preparing a massive assault on Borleis and a mysterious force, a Force sensitive power, has been found on Vong-occupied Corescant. This is the 12th installment of a series that has taken us from the rim to the core, with New Republic defeats all along the way.

Here are the highlights: Luke is leading a team into the stronghold of the enemy; Wedge is trying to hold on to an impossible situation as assigned to him by a fleeing government; Han and Leia are trying to restore a rebellion-like series of cells and contacts.

While the writing is not as effective as some previous volumes in that the transitions seem choppy and disjointed at times, there is plenty of background information for those who have read the series all the way through to be able to follow what is going on.

Even with small victories, it seems that there is no hope for the remnants of the New Republic. In classic Star Wars terms, this is near the end of The Empire Strikes Back in that there is seemingly no hope for the galaxy but to be completely enveloped by this alien vermin.

The storyline itself is engaging, with heroes, battles, and politics, not to mention an intriging variance in the force, and more involvement with a completely alien Vong culture.

I wouldn't recommend reading this book in isolation. Read the rest of the series. Otherwise, you will have no clue what is going on in this volume.

The story was a 3 but the art work was a 5 so I split the difference and gave it a 4. Overall I enjoyed reading it.

Go read the novel instead. The art will be better if you imagine it instead. As usual darkhorse has a bad track record when it comes to artists. As soon as i opened it, i knew i was in trouble. Why cant they get someone like Jim Lee?

This was an excellent graphic novel by Timothy Zahn and Michael Stackpole. A great story about the Emperor's Hand, it begins right before the Second Death Star is destroyed and continues for weeks after it. Also, this TPB has about a five-page beginning that's not included in the comic version. By The Emperor's Hand shows more of the characters from other Star Wars novels, such as Ysanne Isard. It would have been nice, also, to see how and when Mara Jade meets up with Talon Karrde, but that's revealed in Star Wars: Tales from the Empire. Great art, dialogue, etc. A sequel would have been nice, but you can't have everything :)

Good stuff. It felt a little scattered, but getting so much story into a comic format can be difficult. The drawings were wonderful, and the characters portrayed really well. I would suggest it to anyone looking to figure out Mara's role in the Star Wars universe.

Highly suggested, just wish it had been longer.

Mara Jade: By the Emperor's Hand is one of those rare comics that has great art, smooth storyline, commendable dialogue and genuine depth. Co-authored by Stackpole and Zahn, two of Star Wars' more popular novelists known for quality output. The result here is another of their hits you expect when collaborative craniums work well.

The quality of art shines bright, considering the comic dates back to a period where quality and art are not what they are now. You can just tell efforts were made to add extra ice to this cream, the way the front credits were specially done. Characters and climates, scenery and locale, were all highly rendered and coloured well. This is definitely one of your more 3D-ish comics, and worth the purchase if just for that.

Dialogue is what you'd expect from usual Stackpole and Zahn efficiency: quick, creative and inventive. Mara's persona here, in her Imperial days, lends her a cool competence matched only by her slick lines. The support cast isn't left out, and while I haven't quite worked out who oversaw what issues, the authors are at their vintage best here.

What makes this comic stand out from the mediocre variety out there is its creativity and effort to give just a little more for readers. The sheer range of aliens is both amazing and appreciated, both the familiar denizens and all new ones just for a show here and there. Alien species ranged from the typical to exotic to comical. Mara's is never without a way of working, and the inventive methods of working past obstacles speak highly of the writers' imagination behind her.

The storyline itself is simple and enough: eliminate Black Nebula's crimelord, who fancies himself the heir of the recently toppled Black Sun criminal network. Having failed to kill Skywalker at Jabba's palace, this she does easily. Too easily; and when her Emperor master bites the dust, she resolves to finish the job.

Nice use of Isard and Pestage, and why Mara earns her wrath. Good to see a dark-skinned man, that Imperial tech. It's rather rare to get that in comics, when humans are predominantly fair skinned. Humour, of course, wasn't lacking. The bartender alien looked like that Dexter from AOTC, his voice easily imagined.

There were some faults to note, small but noticeable as they were. The facial likeness of Strok was given to other Imperial army officers, which can confuse readers at the end. The end page itself just sorted of finished . . . perhaps a bit too abruptly and not slow enough. Mara doesn't complete her mission till almost the last page.

Further more, she does an astonishing amount to self-thinking. Thought-bubbles were everywhere, which you will find common in books but sort of gave the bemused impression the lady sure speaks a lot to herself! Almost every panel had text in which, factored into the full 144 pages, slows down reading and makes for a long comic here.

While I had problems with Jabba "just" giving Mara a speeder to get away from him when she arouses his suspicions, overall, omitting this nifty slight of work is outright criminal, and with such high standards of excellence it's well worth your $$.