Star Wars: Heir to the Empire
by Timothy Zahn (Bantam Spectra, 1991)
audiobook read by Marc Thompson (Random House, 2011)
The novel that triggered a publishing avalanche. Zahn deserves credit for his treatment of old favourites, for developing a subdued, somewhat cynical military/political setting post- Return of the Jedi, and in the person of Thrawn for taking adversaries in a new direction.
Star Wars: Thrawn—Treason
by Timothy Zahn (Del Rey, 2019)
audiobook read by Marc Thompson (Cornerstone, 2019)
Zahn has a knack for crafting ingenious military/physics-based problems and solutions within the context of Star Wars lore. He also, unfortunately, favours extreme and one-dimensional characterisations. Assistant Director Ronan proves an especially petulant, whiny example, rendered borderline unlistenable in Thompson’s audiobook reading.
Ernie
by Timothy Zahn, Analog (September 1979), 155-166.
A young man from disadvantaged circumstances develops a near-minuscule superheroic talent, but can’t immediately think of any better use for it than to become a boxer. There is, of course, and so he finds the (self)respect he craves. A gentle short story.
Raison D’Etre
by Timothy Zahn, Analog (October, 1981), pp. 94-109.
SF short story envisaging an off-books government project where comatose, telepathic/telekinetic infants, kept like battery hens, have their powers harnessed to neutralise radioactive waste. While Zahn presents a challenging moral dilemma, the first-person segments (one subject’s burgeoning awareness) make for laborious reading.
Dark Thoughts at Noon
by Timothy Zahn (Analog, December 1982)
A diverting enough novelette, more workmanlike than mesmerising. Zahn has a knack for layering a speculative development onto regular society and then postulating pitfalls and repercussions. In this instance, though, the telepathic protagonist has little say in the outcome of his misadventure.
Triplet
by Timothy Zahn (Baen, 1987)
Zahn finds a fresh way to mix fantasy and SF but becomes too caught up in worldbuilding and posing scenario-specific problems for his characters to solve. The actual story is little more than advanced role-playing, the high-stakes threat just another intellectual exercise.
Protocol
by Timothy Zahn (Analog, September 2002) [Novelette]
A seemingly effortless piece of SF world-building. Colonists cut off on a frontier settlement must comport themselves by unfathomable alien rules… at pain of death. But what happens if the rituals stop working? Unsatisfyingly, the story poses but doesn’t answer this question.
Deadman Switch
by Timothy Zahn (Baen, 1988)
Zahn melds SF concept (navigation requires a recently deceased pilot; spaceships carry two death-row felons) to moral quandary (one ‘zombie’ pilot has been wrongly convicted). The novel goes through several phase shifts exploring the wider value of maintaining a small human focus.
Star Wars: Thrawn – Alliances
by Timothy Zahn (Century, 2018)
Zahn’s big picture storytelling doesn’t amount to much but Thrawn remains good value in the moment – a military virtuoso with Sherlockian powers of observation and deduction. Here the chronologically removed but intertwined narratives pair him with both Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader.
Cobra Traitor (Cobra Rebellion, Book 3)
by Timothy Zahn (Baen, 2018)
Zahn brings another Cobra trilogy to an end, various storylines dovetailing into a slow-dawning frown of ‘So what?’. Characters and scenarios that are made to feel compelling in the moment prove upon reflection to be the effervescent froth of a fizzy drink.