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Dark Force Rising: Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy
Unavailable
Dark Force Rising: Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy
Unavailable
Dark Force Rising: Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy
Audiobook (abridged)2 hours

Dark Force Rising: Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy

Written by Timothy Zahn

Narrated by Anthony Daniels

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

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 Solo 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.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateFeb 20, 2007
ISBN9780553754124
Unavailable
Dark Force Rising: Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy
Author

Timothy Zahn

Timothy Zahn is the New York Times–bestselling science fiction author of more than forty novels, as well as many novellas and short stories. Best known for his contributions to the expanded Star Wars universe of books, including the Thrawn trilogy, Zahn also wrote the Cobra series and the young adult Dragonback series—the first novel of which, Dragon and Thief, was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. Zahn currently resides in Oregon with his family.

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Reviews for Dark Force Rising

Rating: 3.9510521870997257 out of 5 stars
4/5

1,093 ratings28 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Pre09:Same review for all 3 in the trilogy. The only 'Sanctioned Fan-Fic' worth reading.Characters: Yes, they are all there. That's why it is good. The Jade chick makes a good compliment for Luke so he isn't snogging his sister. The bad guy is actually bad enough to make up for Vader's absence.Plot: It's very solid. Star Wars wasn't really about the plot.Style: Yea, it feels like the movies. A romp through space with fighting and bad odds. It's jolly good.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Some of the first books I'd read as a kid. I wonder if they would be so great if I read them now???
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Second or third time around and I still love this series to pieces. It is just as good as I remember it. The characters are interesting enough that you don't want the bad guy to lose so you can find out his plot (and more witty banter between the admiral and captain)
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The pace and storytelling style of Dark Force Rising makes Heir to the Empire feel more like a really long prologue that is needed for all of the exposition preceding this book. Each new character that was introduced from the first novel is further developed here and the overall plot moves forward a bit more. I found myself caring much more about the smaller side-stories than I did for the imminent threat of Thrawn and his fleet, which spend a lot of time simply flying through space and having conversations. Han and Leia both have very interesting stories that could definitely exist as standalone stories and sometimes feel disconnected from the larger scope. The crazy cloned jedi story arc also continues, with very little happening that is relevant to the plot at all until the very end.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I love this trilogy.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Much of what was introduced in Timothy Zahn's trilogy was easily adopted into the Star Wars expanded universe as a given. It'll be interesting to see how much of the forthcoming Star Wars movies, episodes 7 through 9, borrows from this material.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This second installment of the Thrawn Trilogy is just as good, if not better, than the first one. Timothy Zahn stays faithful to the original characters while also allowing them to grow in believable ways. Never once did I feel that the characters were acting out of sync the personalities that we know and love and Zahn's new additions to the pack are becoming even more developed and interesting.Admiral Thrawn is still one of the coolest villains. He's a genius and is able to give the Republic a run for their money. While Thrawn could have become a rather boring villain by constantly out-smarting everyone and never misjudging the opposing forces, Zahn is sure to show that Thrawn is not an unstoppable force. There are various times in the book where Thrawn makes mistakes that are sometimes rather detrimental to his original plans, forcing him to regroup and restrategize. Interestingly enough, I actually kind of admire the guy despite that fact that he is evil and works for the Empire. It's hard not be awed by this guy's forethought and long term planning. I wish I could plan things as far in advance as he does!Mara Jade is also one of those interesting characters where you aren't really sure where you stand with her. You really want to like her since she would be a huge asset to the Republic and you get really annoyed that she hates Luke with such a fiery passion but at the same time, you don't really blame for being angry. By the end, you just kind of hope that she gets over her anger and decides to side with the good guys.I think that Zahn does a good job of balancing the action with politics. Both are highly important for the story, but going too much in the political direction could be really boring and going overboard with the action can be tiring. Overall, I think there is a good mix of both which makes the book engaging on multiple levels all the way through.This book was really hard for me to put down. It was an exciting read that managed to develop highly interesting characters amidst all of the action taking place, which is a difficult thing to do. Very well-balanced and makes you want more by the end. And with that, on to the third one!
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Under Thrawn's command, the Empire gains power.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This, the second book of the Thrawn trilogy, is just as strong as the first, if not stronger. We get to see Thrawn make his move against the New Republic and the Skywalker family. In the first book, there were already a series of kidnap attempts, leading Leia to go into hiding on the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. Zahn's descriptions of alien worlds is one of my favorite things about these books. Finding out more about the Noghri and their fanatical devotion to the Empire was absolutely fascinating, especially once you learn exactly what happened and is currently happening behind the scenes on their homeworld of Honoghr. Of course, the big story of this volume is the Dark Force, a series of ships lost back during the Clone Wars that have now been located due to a few lucky accidents. Both Thrawn and the New Republic forces want control of these Dreadnoughts and the race is on.Thrawn continues to show his devastating tactical genius as he sets all the pieces in motion for his first major offensive against the New Republic in his bid to reclaim and rebuild the Empire, of course he might have trouble resting control from the mad Jedi C'baoth, now convinced that he and he alone can stand where Emperor Palpatine once did.This is such a fantastic follow-up, and surpasses the first just like "Empire" surpassed "A New Hope." This series continues to be the best Star Wars stories after the original trilogy.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    when I read volume 1 of this trilogy, I confess I was a little confused as to why everyone was so excited about this story. It was fun, sure, but it didn't overly impress me. This one did. The story here is exciting, interesting, and really has been anxious to read further. Thrawn is a really great villain, and while it may be quite impossible to live up to the legacy of Darth Vader, Thrawn comes pretty darn close.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Good Star Wars fiction, some of my favorites in the Star Wars novels. I enjoyed the action, the plot, and the way the books stay true to the feel of the movies. Much better than a lot of the Star Wars fiction.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Grand Admiral Thrawn has gathered the remaining piece of the Empire and began to set a plan to thwart the growing Republic. He knows of a powerful device on a remote planet he plans to obtain, which will help him. However, also on this planet is the clone of great Jedi who has long been dead. Leia tries to bring peace and agreement to the council. Han and his friend, Lando, look for evidence of treason within the council and stumble upon the legendary fleet of ships. Luke is called to meet the crazed clone Jedi and must prevail. Each person is facing perilous times as before so they can save the Republic.This book is action packed and even though not all students will enjoy this book, it has a good plot and will expand their imaginations.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    See my review for Book One of this series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Maintains the same pace and style as the first. I've no complaints this time about overpowered abilities, etc., but larger inconsistencies with the prequel trilogy have appeared (e.g. Leia's memories of her mother; Vader lost a natural hand as punishment by the Emperor). There's plenty of action and excitment going on with a convincing plot to back it up (despite a reliance on large coincidences, although the movies are no less at fault in this regard), but I've begun to realize this series is largely lacking for character development; I'm not sure how much I'd care about them based on this alone if I didn't already love the movies these books are based on. Guessing ahead, I suspect when I've completed this trilogy I'll feel that it was a fun ride but not especially memorable over the long-term.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Excellent series. These books are so well written that they should be a legal followup to the Star Wars Trilogy.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    See my review on Heir to the Empire, the first book in this series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Argh, I hate it when there is a change of readers mid series. I am sure the opportunity to use Anthony Daniels was difficult to resist. Daniels does a good job at reading and a perfect C3PO. But, he is. It as versatile with the other characters as the first reader and it is jarring to change voices after the first book.
    The story is good. This book is very short at only four hours. Will stay for final book I series.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It was read by C-3PO! Which was a good and bad thing. I liked the other narrator better. The story is fantastic! Timothy Zahn captures the culture of Star Wars in his books so well.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Not the complete book. It's just sections of the actual book.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Wir schreiben das Jahr 1993. Bei Goldmann erscheint der nächste Krieg der Sterne-Roman von Timothy Zahn: Die Dunkle Seite der Macht. Der Titel Die Dunkle Seite der Macht lässt vermuten, dass es in dem Roman um eben diese „Dunkle Seite der Macht“ geht. Allerdings ist der Titel eine Fehlübersetzung, da sich der Originaltitel Dark Force Rising auf die Flotte Dunkle Macht bezieht, um die es in dem Roman geht. Timothy Zahn führt die unglaubliche Geschichte um die Bemühungen der Neuen Republik die Angriffe des gewieften Großadmiral Thrawns zurückzuschlagen in Die Dunkle Seite der Macht – dem zweiten Band der Thrawn-Trilogie – fort. Die Handlung spielt fünf Jahre nach Die Rückkehr der Jedi-Ritter. Aus meiner Sicht stellt dieses Buch eine exzellente Fortsetzung von einer der spannendsten Erzählungen im Erweiterten (nicht kanonischen, aber legendären) Universum dar. Da die Trilogie ohnehin in den frühen 1990ern geschrieben wurde, wiedersprechen sich hier und dort einige Details mit Aspekten der Prequel-Trilogie und der späteren immensen Größe der Saga – aber die allgemeine Bedeutung der Story lässt sich nicht leugnen und die enthaltenen Geschehnisse passen erstaunlich gut zusammen. Nun erscheint eine weitere, besondere Auflage bei Blanvalet. Doch nun zuerst der Klappentext:"Die inoffizielle Fortsetzung der Star-Wars-Filme.Großadmiral Thrawn setzt seine Angriffe auf die Neue Republik fort, die gleichzeitig von innen durch einen imperialen Agenten zunehmend geschwächt wird. Während Han Solo und Lando Calrissian alles daransetzten, die Identität des Agenten zu ermitteln, versucht Prinzessin Leia, die mörderischen Noghri als Verbündete zu gewinnen. Auf ihrem Heimatplaneten Honoghr stößt sie auf ein schreckliches Geheimnis und ein Volk von Verdammten, das nur eine Chance hat, sich vom Imperium zu lösen – den eigenen Untergang."“Inoffiziell“ passt in diesem Kontext durch die Legends-Einführung besser denn je. Damals habe ich mir immer gerne vorgestellt, dass diese drei Romane die Fortsetzung der Krieg der Sterne-Filme darstellen. Gerade, da durch Thrawn ein interessanter Bösewicht geschaffen wurde. Im weiteren Text könnten einige kleine Spoiler auftauchen. Durch das Alter des Romanes und dem allgemeinen Bekanntheitsgrad denke ich jedoch nicht, dass diese weiter stören.Das Buch startet mit Thrawns Angriff auf die Operationsbasis des Schmugglers Talon Karrde auf dem Planeten Myrkr. Karrde kämpft derweil darum, seine profitable Neutralität zu wahren. Besonders erfrischend bei der Darstellung Karrdes ist, dass Timothy Zahn diesen Karrde nicht als Kopie des Schmugglers Han Solo darstellt, dessen Herz durch außenstehende Ereignisse zu einer inneren Gutmütigkeit geöffnet werden. Vielmehr wird Karrde als eine außenstehende Kraft dargestellt, die bereit ist mit der Neuen Republik zu kollaborieren, aber sich ihr nicht völlig anzuschließenDer primäre Fokus der Handlung des zweiten Bandes liegt, wie ein korrekt übersetzter Titel letztendlich verraten würde, auf der Katana-Flotte. Dies ist eine legendäre Gruppe von Dreadnoughts aus der Zeit der Klonkriege, die in den unergründeten Weiten des Alls liegt. Diese Flotte, die auch als Dunkle Macht bekannt ist, ist für die Neue Republik von genauso großer Bedeutung wie für Großadmiral Thrawn. Ein Großteil der Galaxis denkt jedoch, dass diese Flotte ein Mythos ist, aber die Ereignisse, die hier geschildert werden, bewiesen das Gegenteil – und beide Seiten spielen ihre teilweise intrigenreichen Züge, um diese Flotte zu erlangen.Die frühere Hand des Imperators und imperiale Attentäterin Mara Jade spielt auch eine Hauptrolle in dieser Geschichte. Ihr Antrieb, Luke Skywalker zu töten, besteht noch aus dem ersten Band, aber „leider“ findet sie nicht den richtigen Zeitpunkt dazu. Anstatt ihm die Schuld für das Zusammenbrechen ihres Lebens zu geben und trotz der Ratschläge des Imperators arbeitet sie sogar mit Luke zusammen, um Karrde und seine Crew vor dem Imperium zu retten. Zahn hat ihre Handlung hier auf unglaubliche Art und Weise mit der von Luke verwoben! Weiterhin gibt sie eine sehr interessante Perspektive als Ex-Dienerin des Imperators. Es gibt eine wirklich geniale Sequenz, in der sie auf Großadmiral Thrawn trifft und dort beginnt sie auch langsam zu erkennen, dass ihre Rolle als Hand des Imperators nicht ganz die war, die sie dachte.Luke lernt auf der anderen Seite mehr über die Macht und die Jedi durch ein Zusammentreffen mit dem verrückten Jedi-Klon Joruus C‘baoth auf dem Planeten Jomark. Luke wird in diesem Roman über sich selbst unsicher dargestellt – was in diesem Kontext auch zu verstehen ist. Schließlich liegt auf seinen Schultern die Zukunft der Jedi. Wäre Luke ein wenig selbstbewusster gewesen, hätte er wahrscheinlich nicht viel Zeit mit C‘baoth verbracht, aber ich mag es, wie verunsichert er alle möglichen Wege und Meinungen gegeneinander abwägt und seine eigene Vision eines neuen Jedi-Ordens schmiedet. Wirklich wichtig für die Darstellung Lukes ist auch eine kurze Szene, in der Luke einen Streit zwischen zwei Aliens in einer Bar schlichtet und dabei die Wertschätzung feststellt, die viele Personen noch für die Jedi haben.Die Dunkle Seite der Macht enthält außerdem einen interessanten Handlungsstrang um Leia: Diese verbündet sich mit den Noghri, derselben Spezies, die versucht hat, sie und ihre ungeborenen Zwillinge in Erben des Imperiums zu entführen. Leia reist dafür mit Chewbacca und C-3PO nach Honoghr, der verwüsteten Heimatwelt der Noghri. Die Noghri sind eine brillante Ergänzung zum Star Wars-Universum – eine echte Alienspezies, zu welcher Leia versucht eine Beziehung herzustellen und plötzlich dazu in der Lage ist, diese zu errichten.Doch lohnt sich eine neue Ausgabe des Buches? Ja! Denn wieder einmal zeigt sich, dass der deutsche Star Wars-Markt nicht gerade klein ist: Es handelt sich um eine überarbeitete Neuausgabe von Die Dunkle Seite der Macht. In welcher Hinsicht überarbeitet? Marc Winter hat sich hierfür Thomas Zieglers klassischer Übersetzung angenommen und in dieser zwei Jahrzehnte alte Problemstellen ausgemerzt und Blanvalet hat dem ganzen noch ein neues Format verpasst, sodass Cover-Gestaltung und Buchgröße der Jubiläumsausgabe von Erben des Imperiums entsprechen, allerdings ohne Bonusinhalte oder Randkommentar von Timothy Zahn. Dafür macht diese Ausgabe aber echt etwas im Regal her! Den Titel des Romans, der auf Englisch als Dark Force Rising (zu gut Deutsch etwa Aufstieg der Dunklen Macht) hat man leider nicht ausgebessert, aber nachdem durch die Hörspiele und die ohnehin andauernde Popularität dieser Trilogie der klassische deutsche Titel in aller Munde ist, sollte das wenig überraschen.Die Thrawn-Trilogie ist aus meiner Sicht das Sahnehäubchen des Erweiterten Universums – das Beste vom Besten! Daher kann ich euch Die Dunkle Seite der Macht nur empfehlen! Zahn verbindet in diesem Buch Action, Politik, Charakterentwicklung und intrigenreiche Handlungsstränge zu einer frischen und überaus gut lesbaren Geschichte. Aufgrund der Prequel-Trilogie haben sich jedoch einige Kontinuitätsfehler eingeschlichen, die dem versierten Star Wars-Literat verdutzen könnten: Beispielsweise wird durch eine Aussage geschildert, dass die Klonkriege bereits im Jahr 35 VSY stattfanden. Diese begannen jedoch erst 22 VSY. Darüber muss man jedoch hinwegschauen können, da weder Timothy Zahn noch George Lucas schon das Datum für den Beginn der Klonkriege kannten. Gerade, da der Roman nun nicht mehr kanonisch ist. Der am 17. November bei Blanvalet in neuem Gewand erscheinende Roman Die Dunkle Seite der Macht erhält aus den genannten Gründen deshalb die vollen fünf Sterne. Ich schätze, dass jeder, der diese Trilogie gelesen hat, mir bei dieser Anzahl zustimmt! Ich freue mich auch schon auf die neue Ausgabe von Das letzte Kommando im Februar.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I enjoy reading Zahns version of the Star Wars universe. This is second volume in the Heir to the Empire series. In this story the alliance becomes aware that they failed to get all of Grand Admirals. Thrawn turns out to be particularly effective and begins to accumulate a surprising number of victories. Simultaneously Thrawn’s pet Jedi Master is giving the Empire a major headache.
    Zahn has written another great story. He has provided the reader with a great mystery and thriller. This is good addition to this trilogy.

    I listened to the audio book version of this book. It was good. The voice actor managed to do several characters giving each one a unique tone, vocal rhythm, and dialect.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    It’s not the full book! It’s some crappy abridged audio version that doesn’t make sense!!!!

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Not as strong as part 1. It gets itself a little bit tied up in coincidence beyond those that can be explained away by Jedi following the force. The ending could have been a bit darker too, which would have added pressure for the start of book 3. All this is nitpicking though. This is THE Star Wars continuation.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I really just feel like I'm watching the movies that I missed as a kid when I listen to these on audio. They feel really "Star War-sy" in every way. My only complaint is that there seems to be a pattern of Thrawn ALWAYS totally anticipating what the Rebels are going to do next and then putting them in a bad situation which they then slip out of through some creative problem solving. But still great stuff.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Much like The Empire Strikes Back, this book draws upon its predecessor and takes the storytelling to new heights.  Also like The Empire Strikes Back, this story sends our heroes off on separate missions to come together again at the finale. Luke Skywalker seeks out Jedi Master Joruus C'baoth for training, not realizing he is mad. Leia Organa Solo travels with Chewbacca to the planet of the Noghri in hopes of using diplomacy to bring them to the side of the New Republic.  Han Solo and Lando Calrissian try to solve the mystery of a spy within the New Republic's inner echelons and a possible coup by an ambitious Bothan. And Mara Jade, who has sworn to kill Luke, now seeks him out for help.Grand Admiral Thrawn, who was a major point-of-view character in Heir to the Empire, plays a smaller role here, but his presence lurks behind all that is happening.  Marc Thompson does a great job reading the book and the production includes music and sound effects for full immersion in the Star Wars galaxy.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    While I enjoyed this book immensely, the fact that Borsk Fey'lya managed to continue to be a major player in the New Republic after the events of this book is surprising. At the very least you'd think the Bothans would have sent someone else to represent them on the New Republic Council after he managed to mess up this badly.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Dark Force Rising is ok, but just ok. The coincidence of everyone arriving at the same place/conclusion at the same time gets really annoying. And it makes everything else even more predictable than it already was. If this series is the high point of SW:EU, the rest must be utter dreck.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The second volume of Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy picks up the story immediately after the events at the end of the first volume, Heir to the Empire, with the New Republic reeling from the blows inflicted on it by the Empire’s last remaining Grand Admiral. With the ships of the Sluis Van shipyards heavily damaged from the Empire’s attempt to steal them and Admiral Ackbar stripped of his command in the face of accusations of corruption, Luke, Leia, and Han react to the growing threat facing them. As Han and Luke try to unravel the effort to frame Ackbar, Leia and Chewbacca travel to Endor to meet with one of her attempted kidnappers in the hope of shifting their allegiance. Meanwhile the smuggler Talon Karrde hopes to leverage his way out of the bounty Thrawn has placed on him by offering a valuable secret: the location of the legendary “Dark Force,” a fleet of derelict warships that could tip the balance in the war between the Empire and the New Republic.

    In following up his first volume Zahn takes his story of the post-Original Trilogy movies in two key directions. The first is the introduction of the Dark Force fleet, a MacGuffin that serves as a logical goal for the novel’s main characters given some of the goals and motivations the author introduces in the first book. Yet the race for the Dark Force fleet is just one part of a novel that explores further the elements Zahn introduced in Heir to the Empire. Story lines such as Joruus C’baoth’s ongoing efforts to corrupt Luke and Mara Jade’s quest to kill the Jedi Knight play out over the course of the book, providing development without resolution. It makes for an effective middle entry in the trilogy, with enough developments and resolutions to satisfy the reader while propelling them towards the final volume of the series.