Dark Force Rising Dark Force Rising is the second entry in , written by Timothy Zahn , published by Bantam Spectra in June 1992 . It takes place in 9 ABY . " Dark Force Rising " was adapted into a comic in 1997 . Narration for the audio versions was performed by Anthony Daniels . Two unabridged versions for the blind were read by Chuck Benson and Larry A . McKeever . Publisher ' s summary . Hardcover . " The number - one bestselling " Heir to the Empire " was the publishing event of the year , the first novel to continue the adventures of Luke Skywalker , Princess Leia , and Han Solo , beyond the events of the most popular trilogy in movie history . Now comes " Dark Force Rising " , the second volume of a three - book cycle authorized by Lucasfilm Ltd . and written by Hugo Award - winning author Timothy Zahn . " " Five years after the events of " " , the fragile Republic that was born with the defeat of Darth Vader , the Emperor , and the infamous Death Star stands threatened from within and without . The dying Empire ' s most cunning and ruthless warlord — Grand Admiral Thrawn — has taken command of the remnants of the Imperial fleet and launched a massive campaign aimed at the Republic ' s destruction . With the aid of unimaginable weapons long hidden away by the Emperor on a backwater planet , Thrawn plans to turn the tide of the battle , overwhelm the New Republic , and impose his iron rule throughout the galaxy . " " Meanwhile , dissension and personal ambition threaten to tear the Republic apart . As Princess Leia — pregnant with Jedi twins — risks her life to bring a proud and lethal alien race into alliance with the Republic , Han and Lando Calrissian race against time to find proof of treason inside the highest Republic Council — only to discover instead a ghostly fleet of warships that could bring doom to their friends and victory to their enemies . " " But most dangerous of all is a new Dark Jedi , risen from the ashes of a shrouded past , consumed by bitterness … and thoroughly , utterly insane . Now he schemes to use his awesome mastery of the Force to summon young Skywalker , allay his misgivings , cunningly enthrall him , and ultimately corrupt him to the Dark Side . " " A tale of brilliant spectacle , startling revelations , and tumultuous action , " Dark Force Rising " moves with the speed of light across a dazzling epic landscape of galactic proportions , from world to world , from adventure to adventure , as Good and Evil clash across the vastness of space " a long time ago , in a galaxy far , far away . … " " Paperback . " The dying Empire ' s most cunning and ruthless warlord — Grand Admiral Thrawn — has taken command of the remnants of the Imperial fleet and launched a massive campaign aimed at the New Republic ' s destruction . Meanwhile , Han and Lando Calrissian race against time to find proof of treason inside the highest Republic Council — only to discover instead a ghostly fleet of warships that could bring doom to their friends and victory to their enemies . " " Yet most dangerous of all is a new Dark Jedi , risen from the ashes of a shrouded past , consumed by bitterness … and scheming to corrupt Luke Skywalker to the Dark Side . " Plot summary . Because of the events that led up to the Battle of Sluis Van in the previous novel , lead smuggler Talon Karrde has left his base on Myrkr and is now fleeing from Grand Admiral Thrawn ' s Imperial forces . Meanwhile , Luke Skywalker meets the insane Joruus C ' baoth and agrees to be taught by him on the planet Jomark to further his knowledge of the Force . However , when Thrawn captures Karrde , Mara Jade finds that she once again needs help from Luke , the man she so hates under the belief that he killed her beloved master , Emperor Palpatine , during the Battle of Endor five years earlier . So Mara travels to Jomark , and she and Luke defeat C ' boath just as he tries to kill them for taking Luke away from the training , which Luke and Mara both know is psychologically compromised due to C ' boath ' s insanity . The two of them infiltrate Thrawn ' s Empire and save Karrde . In the continuing search for Delta Source , the New Republic source believed to be spying for Thrawn , Han Solo and Lando Calrissian try to find evidence at the planet New Cov , with Luke helping before he left for Jomark . At New Cov , it is believed that one of Senator Borsk Fey ' lya ' s advisers is a traitor to the New Republic for Thrawn , and is thus a primary suspect for Delta Source . But before Han , Lando , and Luke can find any real evidence concerning Fey ' lya ' s adviser , they find out that Thrawn ' s forces have arrived on the planet . They manage to escape , and Han and Lando are saved by a third party , which takes them to an unknown location where they meet the legendary General Garm Bel Iblis , one of the initial members of the Alliance to Restore the Republic . Bel Iblis declines to help the New Republic defeat Thrawn because of personal problems with Chief of State Mon Mothma . Elsewhere , Leia Organa Solo keeps the promise she made with the Noghri known as Khabarakh back on the planet Kashyyyk in the previous novel and arrives on Khabarakh ' s devastated home planet of Honoghr . Leia manages to get the entire Noghri race to side with the New Republic against Thrawn by exposing the fact that it was the Empire that devastated Honoghr , not the Alliance to Restore the Republic . The novel climaxes when the New Republic finds out from Talon Karrde that an old superior of his , Captain Hoffner , exposed the secret of the legendary " Katana " fleet to Thrawn . This fleet of 200 Dreadnaughts would tip the balance of power decisively in Thrawn ' s favor over the New Republic . During the battle for the Katana fleet , the New Republic manages to destroy some of the cruisers , but Thrawn wins most of them . Continuity . The book states that the Clone Wars were 44 years prior , which would put the Battle of Honoghr at 35 BBY , well before the Clone Wars . The proper time would be 29 years before , but this was not established until the prequel trilogy was developed several years later . In the book , Mara Jade mentions Darth Vader losing his right hand at the hands of Palpatine after his failure at the Battle of Yavin . Ten years later , the prequel trilogy would establish that he originally lost his hand in a duel with Count Dooku in 22 BBY . Vader ' s right hand was severed at least two other times : on Mimban , to Luke Skywalker ' s lightsaber , in " Splinter of the Mind ' s Eye " ; and during the Battle of Endor in . Both of these would have been after the incident Mara reported , and she may not have known of any of the other incidents when explaining the loss of Vader ' s hand to Luke . In " Splinter of the Mind ' s Eye " , Luke notes that Vader ' s arm did not bleed as much as he expected , implying that the arm may have been a prosthetic already , especially bearing in mind that the idea of lightsabers cauterizing wounds had not yet been established in " Star Wars " lore when " Splinter " was written .