Specter of the Past - Part 1

[colls]

Welcome to the midway checkpoint. This month's book is Specter of the Past (Star Wars: The Hand of Thrawn Duology #1) by Timothy Zahn

1. This duology is a follow-up to Zahn's original Thrawn trilogy. How do you think it compared?

2. Any characterizations that stand out for you so far?

COMING UP NEXT
May: Movie Madness (as in watching/discussing)

Book & theme suggestions can be left on on this post

Comments

[colls]

I confess that I haven't started re-reading this yet. It's next though! I hope to start in the next day or two.

Browsing synopses and reviews online, I'm concerned that we haven't read books 2 and 3 in this community before getting to this one (I read them so many years ago that I don't really remember much). I blame publishers for not calling it book #4 because it seems that's what it is.
/grump

[brokenmnemonic]

I finished this last night... can we put the next part on our to-read list please?

I ended up reading in a bit of a rush despite my determination to pace the book out, because of how timings worked out. I'm glad that I re-read the comic adaptations of the three previous novels somewhat recently as part of my comics read-through, because that left me familiar with a number of the newer characters.

This book feels like an ensemble book, and to go with that it doesn't feel as if we're getting a lot of deep characterisation of any of the familiar characters; I'm not sure how much I like that, but I am finding the characterisation of a number of the Imperial characters to be quite nicely done. All of them feel like they have plausible motivations, and I'm finding it interesting seeing the tensions between those who're tentatively willing to try and sue for peace, and those determined to continue the moustache-twirling villainy of the former Empire.

I think the way that the novel is also using historical events and previous conflicts/tensions to show how the New Republic could easily end up fragmenting feels very plausible too; I'm conscious that I don't recognise the world whose destruction appears to be a big historical point, but seeing how stretched the Republic forces are and how difficult it is trying to navigate through problems that can't be solved by shooting Imperials is quite satisfying.

I'm not sure if I'm meant to recognise some characters though, like Shada. She and the faction she's from sound interesting, and the destroyed world theme fits with Alderaan and the Cammas world, but I'm wondering if I missed something there.