Heir to the Empire is an incredible follow up to the original Star Wars trilogy. Regardless of what you think about the new Disney movies, this story is worth a read because it directly continues the story of Luke, Leia, Han, Chewbacca, and Lando, expanding both the world and cast of characters along the way.

While this story officially takes place five years after The Return of the Jedi, it almost feels like an immediate sequel to that movie. By jumping to this new point in time, Zahn skips by the establishment of the New Republic and gets to start innovating right away. I honestly did not feel like I missed anything with this time jump. Heir to the Empire is a fantastic the setup to this trilogy but its conclusion was a little lackluster in terms of plot and character.

For example, when the reason for Mara Jade's hatred of Luke was revealed to be the fact that she blames him for the Emperor's death, I was underwhelmed. The people who ultimately pushed her out of power in the Empire were the counselors of the Emperor, not Luke. Seeing a more nuanced view of her emotions could have been worthwhile.

Beyond the plot, the characters contained within Heir to the Empire are incredible. Seeing Luke, Han, and Leia together was such a joy. While some people have lamented the fact that this franchise has grown beyond its creator and original cast, Heir to the Empire gave me confidence that this continuation could be done well. Beyond our original characters, the new faces here felt both unique and like they belonged within the Star Wars universe. Admiral Thrawn, Talon Karde, Mara Jade, and Joruus C'baoth are all standouts. While suitable, Captain Pelleon did not appeal to me as much as the other characters he appeared with and Wedge Antilles failed to make any more of an impression than in the original movies.

Bolstering the characters is the incredible audiobook performance by Marc Thompson. In addition to doing voices that match those of the movies for every characters, the additional sound effects (for the most part) bolstered the story. From clips of the original soundtrack to R2D2 chirps to hyperspace jumps to Chewbacca growls, I loved how much like a natural evolution of the originals this audiobook felt like. 

Heir to the Empire is the sequel I wish we had gotten. If it had just been set 30 years post Return of the Jedi instead of five and featured a couple of other minor changes, I believe that this book would have become an incredible component of the film canon. Regardless, I'm glad I was able to read it.