STAR WARS: CHOICES OF ONE
A novel by Timothy Zahn
Published in the UK by CENTURY PUBLISHING
Reviewed by Scott Weller
After a four year wait its finally nice to see another STAR WARS adventure penned from the reliable hand of “The Father” of Expanded Universe fiction, Timothy Zahn, and once more involving a potent mixture of George Lucas’s classic creations, set between EPISODE’s IV and V, mixing and sharing the arena of battle and drama with Zahn’s own popular characters. A time where Luke, Leia, Han and Chewbacca are a more innocent and adventurous posse still coming together as a core group of Rebellion heroes against the omnipresent dark forces of an Empire about to strike back…
In this time of growing resistance, the oppressors grip is tightening ever firmer, as The Emperor’s Hand- the scarlet Jedi powered mistress with the equally scarlet lightsaber- is back to once more execute the orders of her shriveled faced master- whilst also conveniently teaming up once more with the Imperial Stormtrooper deserters, The Hand of Judgment, who, given free rein by Jade after a previous encounter, continue their solitary but effective mission to write wrongs being done in their Emperor’s name by the greedy and the corrupt- on a mission to the Candoras sector, located within the mysterious Outer Regions and Wild Space areas, where they must unravel the truth about an Imperial Governor who may have turned traitor to the cause and joined the Rebellion.
Meanwhile, in their search for a new secret base of operations, the Rebel’s have sent Han and a covert Luke alongside Major Axlon to the same system to enter into an alliance with said planetary governor, who no longer wishes his worlds and peoples to be aligned with the Empire, and plans to give our heroes a valued shelter within their borders, plus the technology and weapons they need to continue their fight. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, though: there’s a snag with this new partnership: Governor Ferrouz’s system borders will soon see them come under invasion from the talented and highly dangerous alien warlord Nuso Esva, a new wide encompassing threat to the Empire, whose ambitions must be derailed and destroyed problem once and for all by the skilled Chiss alien tactician, and mostly despised servant of the Empire, Captain Thrawn (surely Timothy Zahn’s greatest character in the Expanded Universe), with the backing of at last half a dozen Star Destroyers! Soon, the Rebellion, alongside Jade and her team, are caught in a multitude of alien and Imperial crosshairs, whilst betrayals and higher power manipulations begin to make their unwanted mark. The clashing sounds of laser blasts and screeching TIE fighters will surely resound once more across the galaxy…
Set in the aforementioned regions of Wild Space and the Outer Regions areas of space that continue to fascinate fans, CHOICES OF ONE (the books title being part of a famous old Jedi saying) is a bigger, better, more ambitious and complete story than the previous Zahn opener/story set-up, ALLEGIANCE (of which this new tale is set three months after), as well as being a much more enjoyable read, too. The authors writing style is as pleasurable and engrossing as ever, as is the research and continuity of the book linked to the saga’s print and movie universes. Thrawn fans will enjoy the characters intriguing role in the story, LaRone and his loyal, battle hardened troops get their fair share of action moments and banter, whilst Jade, whom I’ve never been all too keen on, is much better when her original creator brings her to life on the printed page.
With some nice building on and referencing to the future events of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and Zahn’s own THRAWN Trilogy the story starts well with a strong sense of mystery in it’s first third, followed by the middle’s deceit and deception- the likes of which would keep Len Deighton transfixed, and where nothing and no one is who or what they appear to be- then leads to a very satisfying finale that kicks into pure STAR WARS action spectacle. This return to the Classic Trilogy is a refreshing and perfect reading antidote to so many largely unspectacular FATE OF THE JEDI books over the last two years or so…
And unlike a lot of the more recent EU books, our Lucas created heroes seem much better integrated into the adventure, especially Han and Leia, who actually get a decent part of the story and a fair share of the action, whilst also staying believably in character. Han gets some good moments here where he proves pretty loyal to the Rebels, though, in the story’s time frame, and despite all he and Chewbacca have done for them, they’re all still pretty wary of him and his ultimate loyalties. Mind you, despite the positive use of the smuggler turned Rebel hero, there are still the occasional moments that disappoint with the character on the printed page-probably not the authors fault, surely restrictions from LUCASFILM. I grimaced in the written moment where, instead of just killing two baddies flat out (y’know, like the character would have done in the movies from 1977-1996), the Lucas SPECIAL EDITON revised version of Han Solo, when cornered by two highly dangerous baddies, now shoots and detonate their guns instead so as to provide an escape diversion. Sheeshhh…I suppose the only people Han can kill now are faceless Imperials or faceless Stormtroopers!
There’s also further mild disappointment that the only one of our main heroes who has little to do in the tale is Luke, the star of the Classic Trilogy, who becomes relegated to the sidelines once again (like he was in ALLEGIANCE), as Zahn can’t really break the boundaries of his Jedi skills or character arc development until after THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. The author also has to keep inventing ways in which Skywalker and future wife Jade meet yet not meet, before HEIR TO THE EMPIRE and he just about gets away with it here as the story reaches crisis point in the drama.
Helping to spice things up, expect old favourites like Rieekan and Wedge to aid our heroes. And, on the Imperial side, there’s the welcome return of Commander Palleon (aboard the obligatory Imperial Star Destroyer which launches all of Zahn’s books, it’s opening title seeing the mighty warship transporting an unusual duo to an unusual and alien destination…).
And what about the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader, I hear you ask? Will he be making an appearance in the book? Well, you’ll just have to read it and find out! On a side note, outside of this new Trilogy, I’d love to see Tim Zahn do a really epic book for the Dark Lord and the Emperor beyond anything related to Thrawn and Jade, or perhaps even a partnership between Thrawn and Vader, which, I’m sure, would be a very intriguing relationship to capture fans imaginations and excitement...
As with his original THRAWN trilogy, which introduced Zahn’s intriguing alien assassins, the Noghri, CHOICES OF ONE also gives us further intriguing new races to the STAR WARS alien lexicon, like the reptilian Trukree, as well as a developing and highly promising new foe for both the Rebellion and Empire – the warrior and planet enslaver Nuso Esva-whose territories and forces will surely prove a continued and formidable presence, especially against Thrawn, in the next book.
Ending the book with not just a satisfactory and obligatory big bang finale, the author also gives us an exciting to be continued feel for book three, which promises to be even bigger in plot and ambition than I expected, and creating an intriguing new situation for the renegade Stormtroopers which should prove interesting and exciting…
AFICIONADO REVIEW: a return to form for Zahn, as he once again reminds us why he’s still the best of the Expanded Universe STAR WARS storytellers. 8.5 out of 10
