The Hand Of Thrawn

Continuing in my little venture into the Star Wars expanded universe, I recently reread the Hand of Thrawn duology by Timothy Zahn. I was in college when Specter of the Past and Vision of the Future were published and I remember how eagerly they were anticipated at the time, at least among those of us who frequented the Simon and Schuster Star Wars message board. Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy reenergized the expanded universe and a large number of books had been published since then, with the very mixed results that should be expected. While I’m sure that Zahn’s main motivation was that he had a story to tell, I’m also sure that he wanted to take back the story and give it a new direction.

The Hand of Thrawn takes place ten years after the events of The Last Command. With Leia on a leave of absence from her duties as Chief of State she and Han attempt to help to keep the New Republic from falling into Civil War in the aftermath of the revelation that some of the Bothans helped the Emperor to destroy the world of a beloved race. Luke begins to question his use of the Force and attempts to use it more responsibly while going to the aid of Mara, who has been stranded on a previously unknown world. Admiral Pellaen, Thrawn’s former protégé, attempts to make contact with General Bel Iblis to negotiate a peace treaty. Grand Moff Disra uses a con man named Flim and one of the Emperor’s former guards Major Tierce to fake the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn and take advantage of the problems within the New Republic.

The two books involve a large number of story lines that Zahn manages to intertwine and bring together for the conclusion. While there is an interesting and action packed through line, the best part about the books is the fascinating character study of Luke. So many of the other books in the expanded universe have Luke using his powers in ways that range from questionable to ludicrous (see The Courtship of Princess Leia) and it obviously bothers Zahn as much as it does me. In Vision of the Future Mara confronts Luke about his actions, suggesting that he has been skating perilously close to the Dark Side and endangering himself and his students at the Jedi Academy. Previously in the story Luke spent some time thinking about Obi wan and Yoda’s examples and the power each of them had access to and did not use. He and Mara discuss the possibility that his questionable use of the Force has interfered with his ability to listen to what it tells him.

After Luke’s reckless use of the Force, the most annoying thing about many of the expanded universe books is the author’s inability to convincingly write about Mara. Back when I first read The Last Command I was certain that the logical next step would be for Luke and Mara to fall in love, but many authors obviously did not agree with me. It was a relief to have Zahn return and put their relationship back on the right track. The only thing better than Mara pointing out that Luke has been dabbling in the dark side is Luke’s proposal. Zahn shows an impressive amount of restraint in allowing them to have their moment without having it become overly romanticized. It is pitch perfect and reminiscent of Han and Leia’s “I know” moment in The Empire Strikes Back.

While I have a very sentimental love of the Thrawn trilogy for making me aware of the expanded universe, I prefer the Hand of Thrawn duology. I love a good character study and the Luke and Mara story combined with finally having the Empire admit defeat make me very happy.