The Last Command (Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy, Vol. 3)

Zahn was one of the first authors to come up with his own Star Wars plot, back in 1991. He's so great that many Star Wars authors will give him a nod in their "Acknowledgements" section. He deserves it.

This trilogy is thrilling. If you don't know anything about Star Wars, this is a great place to get started - just watch the original 3 movies and you'll be all right. If you're a well-read Star Wars fan, you must read this book - Zahn created the characters of Grand Admiral Thrawn, Mara Jade, and Talon Karrde - possibly three of the most interesting characters in the Star Wars cast.

The plot is fascinating. Though it's been 5 years since the destruction of the second Death Star and the death of Darth Vader and the Emperor, the New Republic is suddenly put on the defensive when Thrawn gathers what's left of the Empire's resources to subtlety bring down the New Republic. While you have to root for the "good guys", you are forced to respect Thrawn because he is such a tactical genius.

Zahn also does wonderfully in preserving the essence of all the movie characters - Threepio is still a priss, Han is still an incurably sardonic rogue, Lando is still a diehard businessman with a soft spot, and Luke and Leia are still... Luke and Leia. The writing is very good for this genre, and the books are perfectly paced.

Zahn takes you all around the galaxy of Star Wars, showing you just how big it really is. You get to see Chewie's home world of Kashyyyk, meet a new alien race - the Noghri, and discover a lost fleet of two hundred Dreadnaughts. This trilogy reads quickly, is authentic, and has crazy twists. You won't know who to side with - the New Republic or the remnants of the Empire and its Dark Side weapon.

These characters are lifeless and make uncharacteristically dumb decisions to serve the story, the plot is absurd and unfocused, the writing is trite. Jorus Caboath "drew himself up to his full height," in nearly every scene. THAT is the defining characteristic for the first Jedi introduced to the Star Wars cannon after more than a decade of having only the movies to nourish our deep passion for this ficional universe and its inhabitants. This series fails in every way to capture or build upon the magic and heroism and fantasy and excitement that were introduced in Episodes 4-6. Aside from the failure to deliver an acceptable or enjoyable Star Wars story, this series is simply poorly written. Not once in ~1200 pages did I encounter the beauty, originality, or deep and moving reflection that fiction is so capable of producing for me.

"Your destiny is in your heands...in the end you're the one who makes the decisions"
The final entry in the esteemed Thrawn Trilogy!
The Katana fleet is Thrawn's and he has been using it quite liberally--along with a new breed of clones--to slow take back all the ground lost to the New Republic. The New Republic is scrambling desperately, but to no hope. The Republic's only chance of warding off the Empire is to destroy the unending supply of Imperial clones. And it will take the collaboration of long-time enemies to win.
NOTE: Spoilers from the previous two novels may appear.

I Liked:
Another tough section to write as I want to include everything from the previous two novels!
In this third book, Zahn steps up the threat of Thrawn by allowing him to capture the Katana fleet and be successful in his takeover of worlds. Too often, a villain is "dangerous" or "evil" because the author writes it. But the villain never does anything that really threatens the heroes and makes the reader wonder who will come out on top. This is certainly not so with The Last Command. I was a bit worried earlier on in the trilogy, when Thrawn's expertise was lauded and yet he seemed to fail at every venue. While this was notable in making Thrawn fallible, it was also possibly hurting his reputation and believability as a true villain. I shouldn't have worried. Zahn followed up with a nice little win for Thrawn, and now the stakes are truly high and our heroes do have something real to worry over.
I've talked endlessly about the characters, Luke, Leia, and Han, so I won't really add anything, other than they are, as always, fabulous. I also love how Zahn gets the credit for creating the Solo twins, who would make such an impression in the New Jedi Order and the Legacy of the Force series. But I also love the path that Mara's story is taking. In many ways, the Thrawn trilogy is her trilogy. She grows, from a nomadic smuggler, running from her past, to a Rebel embracing her future. Mara realizes the Empire is dead and will never return, that the Emperor may not have always told the truth, and perhaps she doesn't want to kill Luke after all. Her growth in this trilogy is truly amazing. And while she does tread the Mary Sue line, well, I can handle it.
I really like how Zahn brought in the clones and references to the Clone Wars. While much of our knowledge of the Clone Wars has changed with the prequels, I like seeing how his ideas still fit or can be worked into the "new" universe. It's also interesting to think about how the Force behaves around clones. I hope someone gets a chance to talk about that.
Also, I applaud Zahn for his nice, crisp conclusion. Not too long and preachy, hopeful, yet tinged with solemnity. The universe has been saved...but the New Republic still has a long way to go.

I Didn't Like:
I really have to be nit-picky yet again in order to come up with anything for this section.
While I like the clones, Zahn doesn't give them much of a personality (apparently, a plague of being bred in an ysalamiri environment) nor does he give much indication of what happens to them afterwards.
The concept of the ysalamiri even seems to have changed since Heir. In Heir, Luke never senses the dark void the ysalamiri create, allowing himself to be captured. Here, Luke and Mara can sense that Mount Tantiss is shrouded in darkness, meaning they wouldn't be able to use the Force.
Petty, but I was a little perturbed that the Solo-Skywalker clan can jail-break Mara and receive no repercussions. Just another thing that makes me wonder if the New Republic is going to be quickly corrupted.

Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
None.
Leia gives birth to her twins and breast-feeds them.
Several characters die. Luke, Han, Lando, Chewie, and Mara are sent to Wayland to destroy the cloning facility.

Overall:
Some things age well with time, others don't. I've read a few older Star Wars novels that just haven't quite stood the test of time. I can happily state that the Thrawn Trilogy isn't one of them.
As a review of both the last book and the series as a whole, the Thrawn Trilogy is in short brilliant. There is no doubt at all that this is Star Wars. Lightsaber battles, Jedis, Imperials, smugglers, new worlds, new aliens, new technologies, new characters, Han, Luke, Leia, the Force...all are here and are masterfully written. The minute you begin reading, you are enveloped in the world and are startled when you realize you are reading Star Wars and not watching the movies! I cannot give these novels enough praise. If you are a Star Wars fan, these need to be the first novels you read.

Brought to you by:
*C.S. Light*

Bought this for Husband he is working on it but is actually reading so, Im happy!

Greatest trilogy next to the original saga I've ever read. For that matter, this has to this day been the best story I've ever read and is what really got me into reading books. The story throughout all three books was so well written and had me so entranced I can't honestly pick a favorite. If Hollywood really needs some help making a decent movie again, I would love to see this story on screen.