Specter of the Past

  I thought I would read this book while I was on my yearly trip to Sleepy Hollow New York to work at Horseman's Hollow. I must had read 40 pages before I gave up. I just wasn't into it and couldn't remember hardly a thing I read. I greatly realized that when I went back and reread it!

 It wasn't till I returned that I reread what I had tried to read in NY, I finally made it through the book.

 Specter of the Past is more or less a lead up to the good parts I'm sure are in Visions of the Future. My favorite part in this one was Luke's escape from the pirate's plant. Not a spoiler there... you know he escapes eventually... otherwise well, that would be the end right there.

  Now this is a spoiler if you somehow managed not to hear about it before reading this duology. I try to stay away from spoilers cause I like to get the full impact of a book as I read it but I learned about this one a long time ago, in these next two books Luke and Mara get together. Oh how I've been waiting to get to these and find out how that happens!

 Specter of the Past shows us a universe where the Empire has been pushed back to barely existing. We find Admiral Thrawn's partner Pellaeon now seeing the end of the war has no hope of the Empire turning the tables and making a triumphal turn around and win as things are now and he comes up with a plan to cause the least amount of damage to what they have remaining. Unknown to him someone else is also making plans to end this long drawn out war but with the Empire gaining all. And back on Coruscant what seems to be history is uncovered and causes a political problem no one knows where it will lead.... wait for part 2.


Talon Karrde (portrayed by Zahn, right)
 with Mara Jade
(portrayed by Shannon McRandle)

 Zhan (the author) is considered by many as the best Star Wars Expanded Universe writer by some. His stories are very detailed and intertwined (Thus the reason I say Specter is more of a prelude to Visions) and I found to be one of the few writers that actually surprised me with well planned build ups in the Thrawn Trilogy. While he is good I have to put Barbara Hambly and Matthew Stover in the same league. Each having their own special strengths in their writing. And possible Kathy Tyers the writer of The Truce at Bakura but I have only read one of her books.
Barbara Hambly was the writer of Children of the Jedi and Planet of Twilight
Matthew Stover was the writer of Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor and the novelization of Revenge of the Sith among others. 
 

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