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Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command
3/5. Now here's a blast from the past. Trilogy from the early nineties set five years after Return of the Jedi that I read many, many times as a pre-teen. A strategically gifted commander has taken over military operations for the imperial remnant, Leia and Han are expecting twins, and various personal and military crises converge. (Apparently we are calling the extended universe "Legends" now? Hokay).
Objectively these books are well-plotted adventures, but otherwise workmanlike. There's a stab at theme here having to do with the exercise of control over others – Luke experimenting with clouding the minds of others in a moment of combat and immediately regretting it, the references to the mental control the emperor exerted over his military, and of course Mara walking around with a compulsion buried in her mind. But the books don't know what to do with any of this other than some pat stuff about free choice which, if you ask me, is not ground any Star Wars author really wants to be on considering this universe's, uh, checkered view of agency (droid slaves, anyone?).
But. But it turns out I remembered entire passages from these books verbatim, and also you will pry Mara Jade from my cold dead hands, new canon.
3/5. Now here's a blast from the past. Trilogy from the early nineties set five years after Return of the Jedi that I read many, many times as a pre-teen. A strategically gifted commander has taken over military operations for the imperial remnant, Leia and Han are expecting twins, and various personal and military crises converge. (Apparently we are calling the extended universe "Legends" now? Hokay).
Objectively these books are well-plotted adventures, but otherwise workmanlike. There's a stab at theme here having to do with the exercise of control over others – Luke experimenting with clouding the minds of others in a moment of combat and immediately regretting it, the references to the mental control the emperor exerted over his military, and of course Mara walking around with a compulsion buried in her mind. But the books don't know what to do with any of this other than some pat stuff about free choice which, if you ask me, is not ground any Star Wars author really wants to be on considering this universe's, uh, checkered view of agency (droid slaves, anyone?).
But. But it turns out I remembered entire passages from these books verbatim, and also you will pry Mara Jade from my cold dead hands, new canon.
