Star Wars: Allegiance1 is a novel by Timothy Zahn. It is set in George Lucas' Star Wars universe, and is part of the officially approved canon of the Star Wars Expanded Universe (EU). The author of several previous Star Wars books, including the well-regarded Thrawn Trilogy, Zahn has clear claim as a major SW author, perhaps second only to the plaid one himself.
The story
Allegiance takes place between Episode IV, A New Hope, and Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back. It features supporting roles by film characters Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. The hardcover's flyleaf would have you think that they are main characters, but don't believe it. Minor roles are present for Chewbacca, Darth Vader, and the Cos himself, Emperor Palpatine. Curiously, R2-D2 and C-3PO are not in the book, and in fact no droids at all appear in the novel.
The main characters are Zahn's own creations. Prominently featured is EU fan favourite Mara Jade, aka the Emperor's Hand, who was introduced in Zahn's novel Heir to the Empire. This novel adds new back story to Jade, whose previous appearances have largely been set after Episode VI, Return of the Jedi.
Also featured, depicted on the front cover of the hardcover edition, are a five-man team of Imperial Stormtroopers who become separated from their Star Destroyer base and command structure. The novel follows the paths of the Stormtrooper squad and of Mara Jade as they independently investigate piracy on the spaceways and possible treason against the Empire. Intermixed is a secondary story arc involving the Rebel heroes, who end up ensnared in the primary plot, though for continuity reasons Mara Jade and the Rebels never meet.
Fan service
The novel includes several nods to fans and other EU elements, including the 501st legion and a short cameo by Stacey of AtomFilm's Pink Five, who (of course) flirts with Han. Minor characters such as Captain Ozzel (infamous for being 'as clumsy as he is stupid') appear, foreshadowing their roles in TESB.
My review of the novel
I have not read all of Zahn's Star Wars books. I did read the first Thrawn books in the early nineties. My memory of them has faded, but I recall being vaguely dissatisfied with them, though fan reception places me in the minority. On a whim I recently read the Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Woodring Stover. I thought this book fleshed out the film, and so I picked up Allegiance from the local library.
Zahn's novel has the Star Wars feel: spaceships bustle about, Wookiees roar at people, blasters fire and lightsabers hiss. The mysterious omission of droids slightly diluted the Star Wars feel for me — if any explanation was given for this, I missed it. Yet the plot moves along well enough, and the intricacies of the villains' motivations and the web of treason and piracy keep the novel from being too linear.
Once again I was vaguely dissatisfied. Obviously the author must take pains to avoid disrupting the large body of existing EU canon, and as such the film characters cannot grow or change. Zahn does give us a glimpse of the early Leia/Han relationship from Han's point-of-view, but does nothing of note with Luke, Leia, or Chewie. Vader exists solely as a foil for Mara, and Cos barely gets a few lines.
The stormtrooper squad who the book's cover would make you think are central characters seem poorly developed. Each trooper has a separate name and specialty (pilot, sniper, scout) but they blur together with little distinction in personality. The squad are not clones, but human recruits. (Zahn tells us that the exclusive use of cloned troopers has been abandoned by the novel's time.) As such they ought to have been more distinct. Even the hint that one of them may have a separate agenda never develops into anything satisfying. The troopers experience some doubt about the Empire they have served, but undergo little growth or change in the book. Mostly they seem to exist only to move the plot along, and to support Mara Jade's story arc.
This leaves Mara as the star. She seems serviceable enough in the role, though her competence, control, and force powers are too well developed for a this early part of her career. Her use of her Force-powered perceptions seemed inconsistent. At some points she is sensitive to subtle details, yet in another instance she fails to detect the presence of an ally because his face is covered by a wet towel.
This may simply reflect undue haste in the novel's completion. Other seeming inconsistencies appear in the story. Most notably the stormtroopers dispatch a minor villain by putting a blaster bolt through his face. The body falls to the floor, yet only a few paragraphs later the troopers participate in a discussion in which the same character is said to be imprisoned, and speculate on his possible return to power2.
In short, I felt that the novel was rushed, that the characters did not grow or change, and that the plot was hampered by the restrictions of continuity. I kept hoping for a payoff that never arrived, and I'll be unlikely to pick up another EU novel in the future.
The power of first impressions
I was put off by the novel's opening sentence, which begins:
The Imperial Star Destroyer Reprisal slipped silently through the blackness of space, preparing itself for action....
Space is silent and black? Well, duh. Not to mention
banal, and not really Star Wars in feel.
And of course a Star Destroyer is neither sentient nor automated, and as such can hardly ready itself. Maybe we can fix the first part:
The Imperial Star Destroyer Reprisal howled through space, mysteriously lit from one side, despite not being within reach of a solar system....
More true to the films, although admittedly awkward. I think that Zahn could have dropped that whole phrase, given that after six films, fans will certainly know how to envision it. Let's try:
The crew of the Imperial Star Destroyer Reprisal readied her for action....
Better, yes? At least not as jarring. Much more fun might be:
The Imperial Star Destroyer Dustbin clattered noisily through the mauveness of hyperspace. Her experimental computer control system prepared itself for action....
but that, as they say, is another story.
- Del Rey, January 2007, ISBN-13: 978-0345477385
- Page 100 of the hardcover novel.