Every time I think that Timothy Zahn is done with the Star Wars Universe, he surprises me by coming back. Zahn was conspicuously absent from the New Jedi Order series (an 18 book epic that pitted the cast of the original trilogy against a race of bio-tech wielding aliens), and his Hand of Thrawn duology seemed to wrap up most major lingering questions raised by Zahn’s original Heir to the Empire trilogy that re-launched the Star Wars novels. With the rise of the New Jedi Order, and the sudden explosion of prequel novels that followed in the wake of Episode One, it seemed like Zahn was done with the Star Wars universe for good.But he came back; first with Survivor’s Quest, a novel that served to bridge the New Republic Era that Zahn had launched with the New Jedi Order era, and also expanded on the Outbound Flight that had been mentioned in Zahn’s previous works. The final remaining questions about that mission were answered in Outbound Flight, Zahn’s lone foray into prequel-era storytelling.Outbound Flight also brought something interesting about Zahn’s writing to the fore; Zahn has a very well-crafted personal vision of the Star Wars universe that neither relies on, nor requires the presence of, the main characters from the movies. In Outbound Flight, the inclusion of Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi seemed incredibly forced, and ultimately took away from the far more interesting main plot of the novel. While I ultimately still enjoyed the book, it wasn’t Zahn’s strongest offering to the Star Wars universe. IN addition, Zahn’s gritty, military action focused writing style seemed much better to suited to the dirt and grime of the Original Trilogy than to the CGI and spit polish of the prequels.In Allegiance, Zahn returns to the Rebellion Era with a story that takes place shortly after the battle of Yavin. Unlike Shadows of the Empire, which ostensibly served as a bridge story between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Allegiance is a self-contained story that seems more in the spirit of the old Marvel Star Wars comics. This is a story set in the Star Wars universe, with no particularly overarching consequences, unless there are references in here to parts of the Expanded Universe that I’m not aware of. Which is possible. At this point, I won’t read a Star Wars novel if it’s not written by Zahn.Not surprisingly, Allegiance features Luke, Han, Leia, and Chewbacca, along with a few cameos by the Emperor, Darth Vader, and even Mon Mothma. They split the screen time with Zahn’s personal creation, Mara Jade, who is still serving as the Emperor’s Hand, and a new group of characters that form the core of his story.The new arrivals are a team of five stormtroopers who, after one of them kills an Imperial Security Bureau officer, desert their post aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer Reprisal (commanded by Captain Ozzel, later famous for being choked to death by Vader). The stormtroopers steal an ISB freighter, and set out to find their place in the galaxy. Unwilling to put aside their oath to defend the Empire’s citizens, they end up defending the poor and downtrodden in an A-Team like fashion, and quickly become embroiled in a system-wide conspiracy involving pirates, swoop gangs, a system governor, and the Rebel Alliance.Naturally, Jade, Vader, Luke, Han, and Leia all get dragged into these events as well, and Zahn does an admirable job of balancing the various characters. Luke and Han end up seeming like their a little bit along for the ride, but Leia ends up in fairly central role as both character and plot point. I have the impression that Zahn could have written this novel without involving any of the movie characters at all, but I think he uses them much more skillfully than he used Anakin and Obi-Wan in Outbound Flight. Zahn also does a fantastic job of keeping various characters apart, thereby avoiding awkward questions like “why doesn’t Vader ever recognize C3-PO?”.The plot is self is good Zahn plot; military conspiracy mixed with fast-paced action. There is very little wasted movement, lots of twists and turns that keep the reader guessing, and rarely a dull moment. Zahn captures the cinematic feel of the Star Wars universe perfectly, and there are a number of scenes that feel like they were taken right off of a movie screen.The renegade stormtroopers are interesting, but I wish Zahn had spent a little more time fleshing them out. While they each have some distinguishing characteristics, they aren’t as strongly separated as they could be; I never lost track of who was who, but I would have liked a bit more granularity in the characters and their motivations.In the end, Allegiance is a good, fun, romp back through the Star Wars universe. Fans of Zahn will likely enjoy it, as will most Star Wars fans in general. It has the added bonus of being a stand-alone novel, so a reader can pick it up without worrying about being sucked into a trilogy or an eighteen book epic. If you want a fun, exciting trip back to a galaxy far, far, away, this a great place to get it.
Much has already been said so this review shall be intentionally brief.Zahn is one of the few writers who works in the Star Wars Uni who actually does not, purposefully, dehumanize, dumb down, and cast insanity upon the 'villains' of the story-the Imperials. One thing I will always remember with a smile of satisfaction concerning the Zahn novels is that the Imperials are mostly competent, capable opponents with even some sense of honor. Most other authors forget this level of realism. In this book Zahn focuses the story on a squad of Stormtroopers who commit a horrible atrocity upon innocent civilians at the behest of ISB- the Imperial Security Bureau. These men know full well that what they did was a sin of the highest order, and they realize that they did not join the Empire to slaughter innocents. So they leave Imperial service, they go renegade. It's important to mention this because Zahn picks up on something that most authors of the universe fail to grasp- people have damned good reasons for supporting the Empire. It ended the Clone Wars, which was a truly horrible time in the galaxy's history. It brought back a sense of peace, granted only through Imperial might, but it worked. The Pax Imperia, if you will, brought with it order, stability and a consequent era of prosperity for both humans and aliens. In other words, despite its excesses later on, the early stages of the Galactic Empire were a huge blessing to everyone. (Not to mention it made the galaxy strong and relatively secure against the coming Yuuzhan Vong invasion that Palpatine knew was coming...)So this squad of troopers realizes that their allegiance to their superiors is in conflict with their allegiance to the average citizens of the Empire. They decide to, upon their own hook, wage a private war of retribution against the corruption, tyranny and piratical forces that are eroding the Empire from within. They still are stormtroopers, but their heroes of the highest order. The other major part of the story centers upon a young, idealistic Mara Jade who is the Emperors Hand. As in Hand of Judgement. She is busy rooting out corruption herself, and when she runs into the renegade Stormtroopers, she uses them and protects them, though her own naive idealistic view of the Empire conflicts with their one which is far more eyes wide open. Mara's scenes are excellent, proving why she's one of the best female characters in speculative fiction (IMHO) and her interactions with the Emperor and Lord Vader (who hates her guts) are truly great.This book also sees some scenes with Han Solo, Luke, Chewie and Leia. So most of the gang is here and Zahn balances all of the story threads well though clearly the focus is upon the renegade Stormtroopers and Mara. Overall, I really liked this one. It's worth reading.
What do You think about Allegiance (2007)?
It was a nice book and better then Quest and Outbound Flight that he wrote. Still not better then the other 5 he wrote...which isn't bad. His books are still way better then 95% of the other Star War books out there.The good stuff was a nice spin on 5 stormtroopers that he introduces and gives a little bit of a background of his character Mara Jade, Emperor's Hand that he created. The only thing I didn't like about her was that it seemed like she was more advanced about being a Sith or having Jedi abilities at the age of 19 then it would have seemed like when he mentioned her at a later age with the other books. It seems like if you take this book written in 2007 about her when she is 19 and take a book he wrote earlier when she was like 30 something that she was more skilled at a younger age and had to be reintroduced and trained by Luke in later years. Maybe just me, but she had way more abilities then she should have. The other good stuff was having Han and Luke in the book, even though they were minor characters in it. Overall good book to read and pass the time. I finished it up in a week, reading a little at a time.
—Joseph
My brother loves Star Wars. My brother raves about Timothy Zahn as an author. And he geeks out over stormtroopers.Okay, I wasn't going into this book unbiased.Pleasantly, it didn't take away one shred of enjoyment that this book gave me. From the original plot to the likeable characters, both old and new, this became my second favorite Star Wars book well-deserving of five stars. Watching the Clone Wars TV series, the haunting question occured to every watcher: Did the clones we've come to know and respect and yes, unashamedly love, throughout the series betray the Jedi when it came to Order 66? But rarely do we apply this same thought to stormtroopers, the faceless, remarkably untalented when it comes to aiming soldiers of the Empire. Timothy Zahn, on the other hand, was thoughtful enough to not only apply the question, but brave enough to explore it. And talented enough to achieve it with a five-star success.Biased or unbiased, please read the book. Watch the movies. Love the characters.And may the Force be with you.
—Sam
Admittedly I'm a hard sell on Star Wars, I'm a loyal trekkie through and through. That being said, I did enjoy this book. I was recommended it because of his highly acclaimed Thrawn series (which I still to date have not read).Rather than bash the Star Wars series, I'll list this among the reasons I *like* the Star Wars series, it fits in with expanding a more adult and realistic view of the SW Universe, if you're a fan of the Knights of the Old Republic games, you know just how good SW can get, and this title fits in well with that grittier side.I must say that it's been more than a couple of years that I read this, but going through an old box of books to put up on a shelf I came across it and rather than just dump it into another box for storage, actually plopped it up onto the shelf.Highly recommended for Star Wars fans. Definitely recommended for people wanting to enter the expanded universe of Star Wars and haven't given it a chance yet!
—Dan Gilman
