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bgick's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
dmcke013's review against another edition
3.0
Back in the early 90s (round about '91 or so, so pre Special Editions), Timothy Zahn released a new Star Wars novel - Heir to the Empire - that would both become the first in a trilogy, and the first in the Star Wars expanded universe (EU) series as a whole.
The main antagonist of those stories was Grand Admiral Thrawn, a brilliant strategist who believed that a species art held the their weakness. Indeed, the novels were also the first to ever name the capitol of the Empire and the Old Republic ('Coruscant').
By the end of the trilogy, Thrawn was defeated and assassinated. Or was he?
This novel was first released in the mid 90's, round about the time of the Special Editions, and before the first of the Prequel trilogy. Set 10 years after the events of The Last Command, this also sees the return of certain characters from Zahn's previous entries in the Star Wars canon, but (I felt) was not quite as entertaining a read.
The main antagonist of those stories was Grand Admiral Thrawn, a brilliant strategist who believed that a species art held the their weakness. Indeed, the novels were also the first to ever name the capitol of the Empire and the Old Republic ('Coruscant').
By the end of the trilogy, Thrawn was defeated and assassinated. Or was he?
This novel was first released in the mid 90's, round about the time of the Special Editions, and before the first of the Prequel trilogy. Set 10 years after the events of The Last Command, this also sees the return of certain characters from Zahn's previous entries in the Star Wars canon, but (I felt) was not quite as entertaining a read.
pavement_fan's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Finished *Specter of the Past* for the first time! What an engaging book, almost non-stop action, with, unexpectedly, A LOT of politics! But I do not like that it ends with several cliffhangers. Admiral Pellaeon is my fav in this book! Love how he actually uses tricks learned from Thrawn! Excited to read *Vision of the Future*! (700 pages in length, scary🙈!)
akindofmagic's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
rylstrendell's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable, but not at the same level as the other Timothy Zahn books. Much slower in pacing.
lizziesmoon's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
vivamonty's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Not as good as the earlier Thrawn trilogy, didn’t care for the final third.
gapagrin's review against another edition
4.0
It's been ten years since the Thrawn Trilogy wrapped up. Han and Leia are on holiday on Wayland with their three kids, Jacen and Jaina, the twins born in The Last Command, and their younger brother Anakin, when a document is discovered that brings up old rivalries and threatens to bring the New Republic to its knees through internal conflict. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker teams up with his old rival, Mara Jade, to take on some pirates. If that weren't enough, some mysterious ship keeps buzzing by, broadcasting in some language no one knows, then Han Solo is accused of assassination.
On the Imperial side of things, now Admiral Pellaeon, the Watson to Grand Admiral Thrawn's Sherlock Holmes, wants to surrender to the New Republic before the Empire loses any more territory, but before he can approach them, Moff Disra and his allies hatch a plan to make it look like Thrawn's back. Things are not looking good for our heroes.
Luke's got a bit of a Force crisis going on - he's re-established the Jedi Order, but finds that the more he uses the Force, the less people trust him, even his brother-in-law Han Solo. By the time he teams up with Mara Jade, he's trying to use the Force less and less until he can figure things out. It's no good for the Grand Master Jedi to be less than confident in what he's doing, as it will affect the rest of the Jedi order. I assume Mara Jade, who is strong in the Force but hasn't really trained much to use it, will be able to help him out with this, even as he's teaching her the ways of the Force. If he doesn't, he's going to have a bit of a hard time training his niece and nephew, who are only a few years away from needing it. It just maybe might be a good idea to make sure you know what you're doing when it comes to training the grandchildren of Darth Vader so no one follows in his Sith-y footsteps.
I rather liked that even dead, Thrawn still presents such a threat to the New Republic. He's seriously my favourite Star Wars villain. A few datacards bearing the name Hand of Thrawn and some rumours are enough to send the entire galaxy into a panic. Thrawn was that dangerous. Even the beat-down Imperial Remnants could pose a massive threat if he were truly back. The fact that even ten years after his death, he can still strike such fear into the hearts of our heroes (and the readers!) is the mark of a fantastic villain.
It was also good to see that even Jedi Masters have things to learn, even if it's not really about the Force, but the same lessons that most people have to learn at some point - confidence issues, not blaming yourself unnecessarily, etc. He also has to learn that as with all great power, learning when NOT to use it is also very important. Luke sort of fell into the role of Jedi Master and having to lead the new Jedi Order because he was literally the only one available. But now it seems like he's on the verge of truly owning that role and rising to all of its challenges.
Naturally, there are many unanswered questions at the end of the book, so I'll have to read Vision of the Future to find out how it all ends. Specter of the Past is not really stand-alone, with its own full story arcs, like each of the books in the Thrawn Trilogy were. But I've always found Timothy Zahn's books to be amongst the best in the Star Wars EU and this one is no exception. I'm looking forward to the next one.
On the Imperial side of things, now Admiral Pellaeon, the Watson to Grand Admiral Thrawn's Sherlock Holmes, wants to surrender to the New Republic before the Empire loses any more territory, but before he can approach them, Moff Disra and his allies hatch a plan to make it look like Thrawn's back. Things are not looking good for our heroes.
Luke's got a bit of a Force crisis going on - he's re-established the Jedi Order, but finds that the more he uses the Force, the less people trust him, even his brother-in-law Han Solo. By the time he teams up with Mara Jade, he's trying to use the Force less and less until he can figure things out. It's no good for the Grand Master Jedi to be less than confident in what he's doing, as it will affect the rest of the Jedi order. I assume Mara Jade, who is strong in the Force but hasn't really trained much to use it, will be able to help him out with this, even as he's teaching her the ways of the Force. If he doesn't, he's going to have a bit of a hard time training his niece and nephew, who are only a few years away from needing it. It just maybe might be a good idea to make sure you know what you're doing when it comes to training the grandchildren of Darth Vader so no one follows in his Sith-y footsteps.
I rather liked that even dead, Thrawn still presents such a threat to the New Republic. He's seriously my favourite Star Wars villain. A few datacards bearing the name Hand of Thrawn and some rumours are enough to send the entire galaxy into a panic. Thrawn was that dangerous. Even the beat-down Imperial Remnants could pose a massive threat if he were truly back. The fact that even ten years after his death, he can still strike such fear into the hearts of our heroes (and the readers!) is the mark of a fantastic villain.
It was also good to see that even Jedi Masters have things to learn, even if it's not really about the Force, but the same lessons that most people have to learn at some point - confidence issues, not blaming yourself unnecessarily, etc. He also has to learn that as with all great power, learning when NOT to use it is also very important. Luke sort of fell into the role of Jedi Master and having to lead the new Jedi Order because he was literally the only one available. But now it seems like he's on the verge of truly owning that role and rising to all of its challenges.
Naturally, there are many unanswered questions at the end of the book, so I'll have to read Vision of the Future to find out how it all ends. Specter of the Past is not really stand-alone, with its own full story arcs, like each of the books in the Thrawn Trilogy were. But I've always found Timothy Zahn's books to be amongst the best in the Star Wars EU and this one is no exception. I'm looking forward to the next one.
starwarrior91's review against another edition
4.0
A surprisingly timely read in 2020. Part one of the sequel to the Thrawn Trilogy is a good, if somewhat lesser sequel to Zhan’s first Star Wars entries. I love how he sets up the end of the Galactic Civil War and that Pellaeon gets to play the role Thrawn himself played as the master strategist. As for the “return” of Thrawn... I recall enjoying to when it first read it 10+ years ago. We’ll see how I feel after finishing the last book.
dalicieux's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5