Heir to the Empire Heir to the Empire is the first entry in , written by Timothy Zahn , published by Bantam Spectra in June 1991 . It takes place in 9 ABY . " Heir to the Empire " was adapted into a comic in 1995 by Dark Horse Comics . The narration for the abridged audio book was provided by Denis Lawson ( the actor who portrayed Wedge Antilles ) and Marc Thompson for the unabridged 20th Anniversary Edition . " " was published on September 6 , 2011 and contained the new novella " Crisis of Faith " written by Timothy Zahn which features Grand Admiral Thrawn . It takes place in 9 ABY . Publisher ' s summary . Hardcover . Back cover . " It is a time of renewal , five years after the destruction of the Death Star and the defeat of Darth Vader and the Empire . " " But with the war seemingly won , strains are beginning to show in the Rebel Alliance . New challenges to galactic peace have arisen . And Luke Skywalker hears a voice from his past . A voice with a warning . " Beware the dark side … . Inside flap . " Here is the science fiction publishing event of the year : the exciting continuation of the legendary " Star Wars " saga . Picking up where the movie trilogy left off , " Heir to the Empire " reveals the tumultuous events that take place after the most popular series in motion - picture history — masterfully told by - winning author Timothy Zahn . " " In spring 1977 a film called " " was released — and a cultural phenomenon was born . Its epic story , about a young man named Luke Skywalker , whose destiny was to save the galaxy from conquest , caught the imaginations of millions and broke all box - office records . Today " Star Wars " and its sequels , " " and " " , are acknowledged as the most popular series in movie history , and rank among the top ten films of all time . " " The three " Star Wars " films form a spectacular saga of bold imaginations and high adventure . But the stories of its characters did not end there . Now for the first time , Lucasfilm Ltd . , producer of the " Star Wars " movies , has authorized the continuation of this beloved story . In an astounding three - book cycle , Timothy Zahn continues the tale of Luke Skywalker , Princess Leia , Han Solo , and the other characters made world famous by " Star Wars " , as he brilliantly expands upon George Lucas ' s stunning vision , " a long time ago in a galaxy far , far away . " " Heir to the Empire " begins five years after the end of " Return of the Jedi " : the Rebel Alliance has destroyed the Death Star , defeated Darth Vader and the Emperor , and driven the remnants of the old Imperial Starfleet back into barely a quarter of the territory that they once controlled . Leia and Han are married and have shouldered heavy burdens in the government of the new Republic . And Luke Skywalker is the first in a hoped - for new line of Jedi Knights . " " But thousands of light years away , where a few skirmishes are still taking place , the last of the Emperor ' s warlords has taken command of the remains of the Imperial fleet . He has made two vital discoveries that could destroy the fragile new Republic — built with such cost to the Rebel Alliance . The tale that emerges is a towering epic of action , invention , mystery , and spectacle on a galactic scale — in short , a story that is worthy of the name " Star Wars " . " Paperback . Timothy Zahn is one of Science Fiction ' s most popular voices , known for his ability to tell very human stories against a well - researched background of future science and technology . He won the Hugo Award for his novella Cascade Point and is the author of ten Science Fiction novels , including Cobra , The Blackcollar , and Deadman ' s Switch , and two collections of short fiction . In 1993 he completed Angelmass and was published the very same year , afterward worked on the third book in the Star Wars cycle . Timothy Zahn lives in Oregon . Back Cover . " It ' s five years after " " : the Rebel Alliance has destroyed the " Death Star " , defeated Darth Vader and the Emperor , and driven the remnants of the old Imperial Starfleet to a distant corner of the galaxy . Princess Leia and Han Solo are married and expecting Jedi twins . And Luke Skywalker has become the first in a long - awaited line of Jedi Knights . " " But thousands of light - years away , the last of the Emperor ' s warlords has taken command of the shattered Imperial fleet , readied it for war , and pointed it at the fragile heart of the new Republic . For this dark warrior has made two vital discoveries that could destroy everything the courageous men and women of the Rebel Alliance fought so hard to build . The explosive confrontation that results is a towering epic of action , invention , mystery , and spectacle on a galactic scale — in short , a story worthy of the name " Star Wars " . " Plot summary . Five years after " " , as the New Republic holds a fragile control of the galaxy , a new threat emerges . Having been posted so far away from action , Grand Admiral Thrawn , a cunning and intelligent Chiss commander , begins to gather his Imperial forces for a strategic attack on the New Republic . With the aid of Captain Gilad Pellaeon and Thrawn ' s personal bodyguard Rukh , they begin to set in motion an almost unbeatable plan . They enlist the aid of a mad clone of a dead Jedi Master and use the Emperor ' s hidden weapons vault on the planet Wayland , which the clone guards . The chain of events caused major unrest in the New Republic . Meanwhile , Luke Skywalker encounters Talon Karrde and his gang of smugglers . The smugglers capture him but do not turn him over to the Imperials ( who would be extremely happy to receive him ) . The smugglers take him in just as Han Solo and Lando Calrissian come to see Karrde on the New Republic ' s interest to hire smugglers as traders . Then , as if things could not be worse , Grand Admiral Thrawn comes to visit Karrde just as Luke escapes . One of Karrde ' s employees , Mara Jade , chases Luke deep into the forest , where both ships crashed . Mara attempts to kill Luke because she believes that he killed the Emperor five years earlier during the Battle of Endor , and Mara was the Emperor ' s Hand at the time . However , she finds out that she needs Luke if she is to survive . Then Thrawn himself decides to interfere with Karrde ' s rescue attempts and tries to catch Luke and Mara first . The result is a firefight between Imperial troops and Karrde ' s men . In the end , Karrde wins , but has to evacuate his base . Han and Lando head to the shipyards at Sluis Van after they discover , thanks to Karrde , that Thrawn has plans there . The insane Jedi clone from Wayland , Joruus C ' baoth , comes out of isolation thanks to Thrawn and learns about Princess Leia ' s unborn Jedi twin children . Thus , C ' baoth decides he will train them in the ways of the Force , unintentionally the dark side due to his insanity . Basically , Leia ' s unborn Jedi twins and Luke Skywalker will either join him or die . Luke and Leia are both pursued across the galaxy . Princess Leia is repeatedly hunted down by a species of aliens known as the Noghri . In order to keep her safe from more kidnap attempts and to give her a break from all the work in the New Republic , Han sends Leia and Chewbacca to the planet Kashyyyk , where the Wookiees can protect her . But Thrawn deduces the fact . Leia is again hunted down by the Noghri on Kashyyyk , but she has a plan . With Chewbacca ' s help , she manages to escape , and one of the Noghri is captured . The Noghri , Khabarakh , recognizes her scent as that of a child of the Dark Lord Darth Vader , as the Noghri had apparently been secret bodyguards of the Sith Lord . Determined to discover more about the Noghri ' s situation , Leia persuades him to bring her to his homeworld . Meanwhile , the New Republic believes there is a spy among them that is leaking information on the New Republic ' s actions and plans to the Imperials . It is only known as Delta Source . Just as Han and Lando reach the shipyards of Sluis Van , Thrawn launches his planned assault on the location . With a cloaking device , Thrawn is able to give an element of surprise as his mole miners ( stolen from Lando ) attempt to bore into the hulls of ships at Sluis Van , and steal them . But it just so happens that Rogue Squadron is at the scene . They fight off the TIE fighters while Han and Lando hatch a brilliant plan to stop the theft of ships . Thrawn is defeated in his first major offensive . The Imperials retreat and order is restored … for now . Development . Timothy Zahn ' s working title for the book was " Wild Card " . Bantam vetoed this because it was too similar to " " , another series published at the time by Bantam . Zahn ' s next favorite title was " The Emperor ' s Hand " , which Bantam also rejected . " Warlord ' s Gambit " was also a potential title , but ultimately " Heir to the Empire " was chosen , which was suggested by sci - fi author . In addition , some of Zahn ' s original story elements were vetoed by Lucasfilm . Most significantly , the insane clone C ' baoth was first intended to be a Dark Jedi clone of Obi - Wan Kenobi . After Zahn had already begun work on the novel , Lucas Licensing requested that he incorporate some of the material from West End Games ' " " into his work , as well as keep continuity with it . Many important elements such as the " Interdictor " - class Star Destroyer originated in those sourcebooks . Continuity . " Heir to the Empire " was the first " Star Wars " book to refer to the galactic capital as Coruscant . George Lucas would later use this name as the official galactic capital . This book introduced two major species : the Noghri and the Chiss . Both species frequently appeared in the New Jedi Order . All of Timothy Zahn ' s books set after " Return of the Jedi " begin the same way as the films of the original trilogy : with a Star Destroyer streaking across space . The 1996 Russian cover depicts events and characters from " Dark Empire " , such as the resurrected Palpatine , rather than characters from " Heir to the Empire " .