Rating: 
Summary: one of the best sci-fi novels ever
Review: This has to be the best star wars book out there. Zahn captures the action, ezcitment, and mystery of the movies. 1) Sophisticated language makes a good book. It adds that intellignet feeling to it. 2) The intent, from my perspective, in not saying what happened to the other Grand Admirals was to allow other authors the chance to elaborate on that. Personally, I like my novels with that kind mystery in them 3) I'm 13 years old, 11 when I read the book, and I understood what "cocking and eyebrow" meant. I read that terminallagy all the time. If you adults can't see the obvious, it's not Zahn's fault 4) At the Battle of Endor, the EXECUTER was destroyed. Zahn explains quite clearly how a good deal of the Empire's best and brightest were on it. He said it was the fast track to premotion, and remember, Vader was the Emperor's right hand man. He could have gotten anyone he wanted on his own personal Star Destroyer. 5) In the novels preceding Heir to the Empire, the Empire suffered defeat after defeat at the Alliance's hands. It is perfectly pluasible that the Empire didn't have alot of ships. Heir to the Empire was an excellent book. Zahn receives applause from not only me, but the thousands of others who enjoyed his novels. I would suggest reading the other two novels in this trilogy, and reading the Hand of Thrawn books.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good
Review: The Book Is slow to get off but once it did I couldnt put it down. It gets A bit confusing at times but I managed. one night I stayed up till 3 am reading it. Heir to the Empire and the rest of the seiries are very much worth the money I paid!
Rating:
Summary: Only rivaled by Lucas himself
Review: First volume of what is probably the best Star Wars triology ever. Every other Star Wars author will have to use this one as a reference. Oeuvre incontournable qui eclipse toutes celles qui lui sont posterieures.
Rating:
Summary: Read the Book
Review: Let me begin by saying that most fans, perhaps not the loudest fans, but most fans of good Star Wars and good Sci-Fi will love this book. This being said, let me also say that in reading this book you should not expect any logic, for recognize that it is in fact Star Wars, and thus the physics make no sense. (Yes, I realize that this is not a good explanation, but it is true.) This book, more so than any Star Wars book save maybe the X-Wing books, continues in the style of the movies, with a diversity of characters from smugglers to Imperial captains, and epic battles against the Empire. Thrawn truly captures the spirit of Star Wars better than any other.
Rating:
Summary: Deeply involed and seriously thought out
Review: I am proud to have read such a wonderful book. Zahn's words captured the life of all the star wars characters. I really enjoyed the much sought after background of Chewbacca. As for the audio-book, I was disappointed for the limited number of voices. I believe that a woman should be doing a woman's character and a man should be doing a man's character. Thank you for using your gift of writting in star wars. You are an inspiration for all star wars fans.
Rating:
Summary: Decent follow up to the classic movies.
Review: Frankly, Mr. Zahn did not have an enviable task ahead of him when he was to write the followup trilogy to Star Wars. I opened this book tentatively, fearing the worst. After all, with Luke as the New Jedi, Leia and Han itemized together, Chewbacca still as hairy as ever, and the Emperor and Darth dusty particles in space, what could any writer possibly do to continue the line? Happily, though, I found Heir to the Empire nowhere near the disaster that normal logic would foretell. The characters of old SW films were believably drawn, although curiously timeless (I mean, come on...it's five years after Endor, and the only change is that Leia's pregnancy!), and Zahn's new people were either suitably grey in the background, or very colorfully developed indeed. The plot seems very much Lucasian fare; shootouts, rescue missions, daring raids, and harrowing escapes. However, I became increasingly aware of an inexplicable flaw in the otherwise strong storytelling; that concerned the big baddie, Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn is touted as a genius who can divine enemies' innermost psyches with nothing but examples of their artwork. That's okay; Zahn makes this seem convincing enough so that our disbelief is suspended. Thrawn is presented as an enigmatic leader who is feared but more importantly respected by his people. This too is okay; Zahn shows enough strategy and tactics to convince us that his character really deserves this. Many seemingly-impossible victories are pulled out of thin air, and Thrawn continues to win and win and win a little more. Fine. We can accept that...how could we otherwise, with such skill expended in making him believable? By the time the book is over, Zahn even implies Thrawn's superiority over great villains like Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine (wonderful name, don't you agree?) - and we can readily believe this, because Zahn has given us the goods and not been found wanting. So, the big question and flaw of the story: why does Thrawn lose? Zahn falls prey to the same trap that ensnares many writers of all genres; he has presented a full-bodied, fleshed-out character, made the reader love to hate him, shown this man to be utterly brilliant and utterly amazing and God-like...then kills him off. No replay, no reset. Game over. Dead. The 'God' syndrome, I think it's called, where the enemy is really powerful, but for an unsatisfactory reason is defeated. Without a doubt, Zahn is one of the best space-fantasy writers I have read, and his style is engrossing and engaging, but I could not help but feel that at the end of the tale, I was somehow cheated by the unconvincing and accelerated death of his Thrawn character. The only reason I can think of for writing such an unappetising ending to an otherwise excellent trilogy, is that Zahn was pressured into it for reasons of PR. Certainly, the way is paved for a "Return of Thrawn" episode, as Thrawn dropped many hints of cloning facilities, etc. (qv Specter of the Past and Vision of the Future) but I thought it would have been better to just keep the guy and conclude the trilogy otherwise. Also slightly problematic is the question of repetition: Thrawn is a purely tactical guy, so he needs a force-user to help him. Working together, Thrawn and the crazed Jedi Master named Joruus can just about equal Vader's total effectiveness (tactics + force). One cannot help but feel that Zahn is fighting a losing battle here regarding his villains; Lucas just made his ones too darn good. Apart from those two (not immediately obvious) points, the books are all a great ride through Lucas' galaxy once again. If you liked the movies at all and don't mind reading good sci-fi, then these are the books for you. Certainly they are better than any later Star Wars efforts I have read (ah - K J Anderson - hem!).
Rating:
Summary: Come on!
Review: Maybe I'm the only one who remembers this, but Star Wars was never about logic. It was about fun. If you want logic, look to Star Trek, or something by Isaac Asimov. Complaints about Timothy Zahn's reasoning that the Empire's strength in officers would go down after Endor significantly, or that attacking five planets would make a dent in the Republic, are so thoroughly unwelcome here. It shocks me how many people determining the fate of the Star Wars universe are completely oblivious to what made the films so wonderful in the first place. Only a handful of authors have captured that same feeling, and Timothy Zahn is the best of those. For the rest of you, have fun with The Crystal Star, or Planet of Twilight, or one of the other books by authors who completely forgot the meaning of Star Wars. Otherwise, May the Force be with you.
Rating:
Summary: Three thumbs up!
Review: Definately one of Zahn's masterpieces, this book brings back the excitement the world felt when experiencing Lucas' trilogy for the first time...
Rating: 
Summary: Would be 0 starts, except it is Star Wars, after all
Review: This was a BAD book. I love Star Wars, and wanted to hear more about the characters. But, I'm certainly not going to waste my time on any more books by Timothy Zahn. BORING, unbelievable story. I skipped through the entire last half, just looking for anything mildly interesting. I can't believe how many good reviews this book got. This was my first try at a non-Lucas SW book (I've been afraid they might be awful). I'll try one more author, but I'm not all that optimistic . By the way, did anyone remember that there was tons of humor in the Star Wars trilogy? Where did it go? I saw a couple possible attempts, but they were flat and forced. I don't think Mr. Zahn is someone I would enjoy knowning.
Rating:
Summary: Heir To The Empire-It drags but then takes off!
Review: I started to read this book an I found it a tad bit interesting. I kept reading and about half way through I said enough! This book is too slow! Then a year later I picked up the book again. I went about 3 chapters back from where I had left off to recollect what was happening. After I remembered I just couldn't put the book down! With over 200 pages left to go I finished it that day! Belive me, you'll say THIS IS TOO SLOW but keep going! It'll pick up its pace!
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