Rating: 
Summary: A Pleasant Return
Review: "Survivor's Quest" marks Zahn's return to familiar territory, that of the relationship between Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker. Zahn does a magnificient job of explaining innuendo that has been building since Outbound Flight was mentioned in "Heir to the Empire," and this effort does not disappoint. For those that have shied away from the Star Wars novels the past four years due to the New Jedi Order, this is a wonderful "welcome back" gift. There are no Vong, just 340 pages of Luke and Mara and a gallery of the usual rogues.While this is a traditional page turner from Zahn, "Survivor's Quest" is not exactly a brain-twister; assuming you know the formula, it will be quite simple to plot the strategy Zahn employs. The majority of the action occurs towards the latter half, with the beginning doing a significant amount of character and suspense building. Those expecting a novel with the cadre of familiar heroes will be disappointed; this is entirely a Skywalker affair. There is no Chewie, no Leia, no Jedi twins, no Ackbar. In short, this is the ultimate successor to the Thrawn Trilogy and Duology. The plot is straightforward: Outbound flight has been found in Chiss space and the Nine Families have decided to make a gift to the New Republic by allowing the Jedi to reclaim the old husk. The invitation comes from Voss Parck and General Fel and the so-called "Empire of the Hand," but is intercepted. And thus begins a chase for answers and hidden saboteurs. A lot happnens on different levels--another Zahn trademark--and it would do to read this in one sitting, possibly with a notebook. No one is who they seem to be, from the Chiss to Commander Fel to Bearsh to Jinzler, but all is revealed in due course by an author skilled in the craft of fiction. While one may know what to expect, the trip is half the fun. This is a most welcome return to grace by the master of Star Wars fiction, and it certainly serves as a welcome precursor to the NJO saga. Yet there are a few flaws; Pressor's casual comment that records of the battle that crippled Outbound Flight were destroyed and the unexplained corpses serve as warning signs, but these will undoubtedly feed into Zahn's upcoming Clone Wars-era novel detailing the exit of Outbound Flight. Similarly, I felt the casual mention of another Thrawn clone (mere supposition tossed out by Luke and Mara at the end) to be somewhat of a stretch, but it is eminently possible given the ever-changing face of the Star Wars literary universe. And the occasional references to droidekas, the Clone Wars, and the Trade Federation seem forced as well, but this does serve to bridge the two eras. "Survivor's Quest" is for the loyal fan, as it details the politics and internal structure of the Chiss and is centered around a casual reference to an extragalactic ship whose goal was to seek out life beyond the galaxy proper. And I'm certain we can expect a sequel to this as well, possibly tying up some of the NJO loose ends--after all, there's something a little too Vong-esque about the Vaagari. Pick this up. You will not be disappointed. Indeed, it is nothing short of a gift to those of us who appreciate a good story set in the galaxy far, far away.
Rating:
Summary: The Agatha Christie of Star Wars books...
Review: ... thats what I thought for the first 2/3 of it. An interesting new take - a mystery to be solved, a whodunnit. Once the whodunnit is revealed and the serious action kicks in, it does make for the normal exciting tale. However, I'm dissappointed in the finish. To many loose ends that didn't get resolved but should have. Needless to say... spoiler follows....... so why did that final robot have to be destroyed in such a destructive way to obliterate the artifact that was of such value? Was it necessary? What about the data on Outbound that the Skywalkers were so much after... why did they not try and get anything out of the ships systems at all? Just picked up a couple of artifacts and thats it... and speaking of artifacts... why no further work on the Chiss weapon found with the lightsabre? And why not speak to the original passengers and find out what did happen and why they are so against anything Jedi? What is the point of developing all such elements in a story if you discard them once the story focuses on the singleminded action thread after the enemy is revealed. Too many books end that way - with a great buildup but a too fast and too simple and incomplete finish. But for the originality of the plot, I can give it some points back. I recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Uneven
Review: 3.5 stars.
The first third of the book drags badly, it was a chore to read and reads as if it was a chore to write. We then get to the point and Zahn cranks the pace up to the frenetic level of the original movie.
We get to see a dysfunctial survivor civilization, which is interesting enough. However we find out next to nothing about them. They hate Jedis, and feel that Jedis betrayed them, why? Why are a Jedi and a Chiss on the bridge of a dreadnought, if they were working together against the Vagaari why do the survivors, and the Chiss, feel that Thrawn destroyed them. Is Zahn just setting us up for another book? That isn't quite proper.
The bright points are very well written action scenes where the Jedi go after the Vagaari and Luke gets to really shine. Also the electronics tech/Ambassador character was fairly well done and developed. In a nod to Heinlein's Double Star for a time he finds himself actually being a real ambassador despite being a fake.
Work your way through the first third of the book quickly and you'll probably enjoy this one once you reach the meat of the story.
Rating: 
Summary: Sci-fi + Intrigue = amazing!
Review: After waiting two months since its release, I finally had a chance to read this book. This is one of the most intriguing Star wars novels I've ever read. The suspicious troublemaker was not at all who I thought it was. originally, I though it might be Dean Jinzler (a very cool new character) or, later on in the book, Chak Fel (representative of what the Empire might have been had Palpatine not been in charge). Loved the fight scene with the droideka-an excellent display of Luke & Mara teamwork. The Vagaari have a lot of potential as future bad-guys for Denning's upcoming post-NJO trilogy. I found it interesting that some of their weapons, like the conduit worms, are living things like those of the Yuuzhan Vong. My one complaint: although it is billed as a stand-alone, SQ feels more like the first half of a duology (the other half being his upcoming Outbound flight Project novel). Keep up the good work, Tim!
Rating:
Summary: Another success for Tim Zahn
Review: As I stated in my subject header, "Survivor's Quest" is another success for Tim Zahn, giving him a total of six fantastic Star Wars books. Th story concerns only two major Star Wars characters, Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade, now enjoying married life. After a diplomatic request from a mysterious race, the two set off to aid an expedition to recover the Outbound Flight project, which was a mission launched during the time of the Old Republic. The importance of this is that the ship would contain a plethora of records from that period, particularly records concerning the Old Jedi Order that Luke knows so little about. I won't go into any more plot details, but suffice to say, it is a very intruiging and exciting story, with plenty of action, and it ties into the prequel series very well, with some nice touches (the Jedi starfighter, and the droideka) to relate it back to that era. That being said, I was disappointed by some parts of the book. While Luke and Mara are interesitng characters (always have been) many of the others are not. The other major character is a man called Jinzler, a man with a family connection to one of the Jedi who left with Outbound Flight. Jinzler came from nowhere (in terms of the overall series) and I didn't really find him all that interesting. I think that this story may have worked better if it involved one of the other major characters from Star Wars. I was also disappointed not to read anything more about Jorus C'Boath, who was one of the principal antagonists in the original Zahn trilogy. The outcome of the mission doesn't reveal anything startling to Luke about the old Jedi, but the door has been left open for him to learn about it later on. I suspect that, after EpIII comes out and all the major plot points are tied up, Zahn may write a follow story to this one, perhaps revealing a little more to Luke about the old Jedi. But that's all speculation. In my opinion, this is one of the best Star Wars books to come out in recent years, much better than that awful, bloodthirsty NJO series. I recommend this book to all Star Wars fans, whether casual or serious.
Rating:
Summary: Another success for Tim Zahn
Review: As I stated in my subject header, "Survivor's Quest" is another success for Tim Zahn, giving him a total of six fantastic Star Wars books. Th story concerns only two major Star Wars characters, Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade, now enjoying married life. After a diplomatic request from a mysterious race, the two set off to aid an expedition to recover the Outbound Flight project, which was a mission launched during the time of the Old Republic. The importance of this is that the ship would contain a plethora of records from that period, particularly records concerning the Old Jedi Order that Luke knows so little about. I won't go into any more plot details, but suffice to say, it is a very intruiging and exciting story, with plenty of action, and it ties into the prequel series very well, with some nice touches (the Jedi starfighter, and the droideka) to relate it back to that era. That being said, I was disappointed by some parts of the book. While Luke and Mara are interesitng characters (always have been) many of the others are not. The other major character is a man called Jinzler, a man with a family connection to one of the Jedi who left with Outbound Flight. Jinzler came from nowhere (in terms of the overall series) and I didn't really find him all that interesting. I think that this story may have worked better if it involved one of the other major characters from Star Wars. I was also disappointed not to read anything more about Jorus C'Boath, who was one of the principal antagonists in the original Zahn trilogy. The outcome of the mission doesn't reveal anything startling to Luke about the old Jedi, but the door has been left open for him to learn about it later on. I suspect that, after EpIII comes out and all the major plot points are tied up, Zahn may write a follow story to this one, perhaps revealing a little more to Luke about the old Jedi. But that's all speculation. In my opinion, this is one of the best Star Wars books to come out in recent years, much better than that awful, bloodthirsty NJO series. I recommend this book to all Star Wars fans, whether casual or serious.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful mysteries but unfulfilling revelations
Review: Definitely the 3rd or 4th best SW storyline I have read (#1 - Hand Of Thrawn, #2 - Original Thrawn Trilogy, #3 or 4 - this or Shadow Of The Empire, 5th - Darksaber (Yes, I liked Dark Saber). Zahn (that would make a cool SW character name) does a fantastic job of creating mystery after mystery which is what keeps me in suspense and makes me read more and more even when my eyes scream for sleep. But the revelations to those mysteries were ultimately unfulfilling. Skip to next paragraph to avoid this spoiler: The reason for the aliens who were interested in the Outbound Flight wreckage seemed very uninteresting; who cares about some droids? I wanted something really really cool. That was one of the biggest disappointments. Also, the Imperials' role in all of it was also disappointing; I was hoping for some real twists. And the Chiss themselves, I was hoping for something a little more behind the mystery of their behavior. I did love the fact that the usual cast of characters were not there. Frankly, I am bored by the books that feel the need to include the entire cast of characters from not only the movies but all of the books as well; it is just too much. better to include one or two of the regular cast and a whole slew of new folks. Sometimes the action Zahn is trying to convey does not translate well to the written word. Also, I wish he had set things up for even more books. I do not see that anything was set up for another tale; then again, Zahn is the genius writer, not me. I am sure he has something else up his sleeve. Ultimately it is a good read, a great SW book, I would definitely recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: ANOTHER winner from the BEST Star Wars author working today
Review: For those of us who are either casual or even serious Star Wars readers, the name Timothy Zahn usually means one thing in particular: a REALLY GOOD BOOK. Zahn's original Trilogy still remains the absolute BEST Star Wars novels in print, and I am happy to say that for the die-hard Admiral Thrawn fans out there, we finally get to see a glimpse into where he came from. The Chiss, as they are called contact the New Republic -- specifically Luke Skywalker -- to offer a gesture of good will by informing them they have located the remains of the original Outbound Flight where the original Jedi Master C'Baoth disappeared some 50 years before on a quest to map out the Unknown Regions of Space. Thrawn intercepted this flight under orders from Emperor Palpatine and utterly decimated all within -- or so we were told. From the very beginning, this story absolutely ROCKS. I would describe it as a finely tuned mystery that, like an onion, is peeled away slowly but surely as the chapters fly by at Lightspeed. Someone has intercepted the message meant for Luke and as they travel deep into Chiss space, they discover abruptly who it is who made that interception, and along the way Luke & his wife, Mara find more than they bargain for. Mysterious problems happen on the Chiss spaceship, seemingly to be nothing more than choreographed diversions for other more interesting crimes to take place. Along the way we meet another race of aliens who wish to pay tribute to the Jedi who fought to save them from enslavement by a mysterious unknown race of ruthless conquerers and very nearly slaughtered them all. When Outbound Flight is finally reached, Luke, Mara & the Chiss are rather surprised to find out that not only are the 6-Dreadnaughts in remarkable shape considering their crash-landing, but they also find the last thing they ever expected: survivors -- survivors who apparently wish to have nothing to do with Jedi. A chance to discover what really happened to Outbound Flight and what role the Chiss really had in their destruction is quite a mystery indeed -- a journey that is very much worth taking. For those of you who ONLY enjoy Star Wars tales that include all of the major CORE characters (Luke, Leia, Han, Lando, R2D2 & C3PO etc) you just may be slightly let down. For the rest of us who read ANYTHING written by Timothy Zahn, you will NOT be disappointed in the slightest. As this story unfolded I found myself absolutely wrapped in the mystery and I had a very difficult time putting it down to do mundane things like eat and sleep. I was also VERY thrilled to hear that Zahn is also planning an additional novel based upon the actual mission OF Outbound Flight scheduled for release sometime next year. Fans of Timothy Zahn Rejoice! This is just an additional adventure in that Galaxy Far, Far Away that truly lives up to the Grand Adventure that began with Episode IV back in 1977. Great Stuff!
Rating:
Summary: A good lead into a sequel
Review: For those of you who actually know what good writing is, this is the book for you. But if you're an arrogant, pompouse and impatient (not to mention ignorant) reader, then I guess you can start with the Harry Potter series, a fifth grade read. Timothy Zahn, or TZ as some say, must have thought that his readers could handle a plot more complicated then the Clifford the Big Red Dog.
So if you like to be intrigued, and if you enjoy suspense and mystery, then you'll love this book. P.S. To answer the questions of some reviewers, "TZ" is leading into a sequel. Its not difficult to catch
Rating:
Summary: Zahn's Greatest Book
Review: From start to end Zahn keeps you in mystery. Out of all the characters in the book the most innocent party in the book is actually the one enemy that could end the Chiss empire. Zahn knows Star Wars and he is the only person I will read when it comes to those books.
| 
