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. 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. So, for the time being, perhaps the Thrawn Trilogy can be considered the closest thing we’ve got.

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. 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. The reality was there was enough latent interest in the franchise to send this book soaring up the New York Times bestseller lists. At least, that was the perception going around. Take a look at their reviews and let me know ho you like this new feature.īuy this Star Wars Book in paper or electronic copyĥ/5 Rancors- 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. I was glad to find Rancors Love to Read and ecstatic when we hashed out an informal agreement for me to republish their reviews.

While I certainly appreciate the Star Wars universe, science fiction books aren’t really up my alley at this point in my life. I have been in touch with Andrew for a few weeks about this new feature which I think will enhance Man of la Book by giving it another dimension (pun intended). Today I’m starting a new feature called “Thoughts from the Rancor Pit” in which Andrew and David from the fabulous blog “ Rancors Love to Read” will review books taking place in the Star Wars universe.

Timothy zahn heir to the empire