Title: Survivor's Quest Author: Timothy Zahn
Timothy Zahn wrote the best books in the Star Wars universe I ever read, a series of three novels which take place shortly after Return of the Jedi, so I was anxious to read this novel.
By the time Survivor's Quest begins, Luke Skywalker is a ("the"?) Jedi Master, and is married to Jedi Knight Mara Jade Skywalker. They are the central characters in this book; the other main characters from the films remain references, but the action is for these two Jedi. After an opening action sequence, Luke and Mara are invited to join an expedition to the ruins of Outbound Flight, a Jedi-led long range exploration and settlement venture that involved 50,000 people. Outbound Flight had been lost, however -- destroyed by Grand Admiral Thrawn, the central villain in Zahn's other trilogies.
A good portion of the middle of the book is spent setting up other characters, creating mystery around strange troubles the expedition encounters, and getting the starship to the ruins of Outbound Flight. Once at the 50-year-old disaster site, the action begins. And once it starts, it doesn't stop. Much like a good Star Wars or Indiana Jones movie, the remaining mysteries must be solved while on the run, dealing with danger around every corner.
The book is a fun read. It didn't impress me as much as Zahn's other works, but it was a page-turner, and it was quite satisfying to see two married Jedi deal with each other and use their interesting abilities. There were a couple of items Zahn didn't quite tie up to my satisfaction, but perhaps in the world of Star Wars fiction, the key is to leave some questions which require future books to answer.
Lee, thanks for the recommendation, and for loaning me the book! Exactly the kind of thing I wanted to read.
1 comment:
Glad you liked the book. I actually received the novel "Outbound Flight" (also by Timothy Zahn) for Christmas this year. I haven't read it yet, but let me know if you ever want to borrow it.
Post a Comment