Star Wars: Heir to the Empire (The Thrawn Trilogy)

The latest book I'm reading (actually listening to as I walk) is Heir to the Empire: Star Wars (The Thrawn Trilogy): Star Wars, Volume 1 by Timothy Zahn. I vaguely remember reading this long ago and with the recent buzz about the new Star Wars movie, I thought I would give it another try. It's rated #88 in NPR's list of the 100 best science fiction/fantasy books and here's a bit about it from the Wikipedia page ...

The Thrawn trilogy, also known as the Heir to the Empire trilogy, is a series of best-selling science fiction novels written by Timothy Zahn. The novels are set in the Expanded Universe (EU) of the Star Wars galaxy approximately five years after the events depicted in the film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. The series introduced many notable characters of the EU, such as Mara Jade, Talon Karrde, and Grand Admiral Thrawn, one of the more notable villains in the EU ....

The trilogy sold a combined total of 15 million copies. The Secret History of Star Wars by Michael Kaminski credits the Thrawn trilogy with rekindling public interest in the Star Wars franchise after it had faded following the release of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi in 1983. According to Kaminski, it is possible that this renewed interest was a factor in George Lucas' decision to create the prequel trilogy.

Here's a review at Tor - How Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire Turned Star Wars into Science Fiction