Specter of the Past

This article is about the novel.
You may be looking for the unabridged audiobook, the abridged audiobook or other "Spectres".

Specter of the Past is the first book in Star Wars: The Hand of Thrawn Duology by Timothy Zahn. It was first published by Bantam Spectra in November 1997. Narration for the abridged audio version was performed by Anthony Heald. Narration for the unabridged audio version was performed by Marc Thompson.

Publisher's summary

Hardcover

From Hugo Award-winning author Timothy Zahn, whose unprecedented bestselling trilogy continued the saga of George Lucas' blockbuster films and became a landmark in the history of science fiction publishing, comes Specter of the Past, the first in the epic two-volume series The Hand of Thrawn. Now Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Han Solo must battle to safeguard the fledgling New Republic from a dead Imperial warlord—and from itself.

Once the unquestioned master of countless solar systems, the Empire is tottering on the brink of total collapse. Once commanding an invincible armada of Star Destroyers, its fleet has been reduced to a skeleton force. Day by day, neutral systems are rushing to join the New Republic coalition. But with the end of the war in sight, the New Republic has fallen victim to its own success. An unwieldy alliance of races and traditions, the confederation now finds itself riven by age-old animosities.

Princess Leia struggles against all odds to hold the New Republic together. But she has powerful enemies. An ambitious Moff Disra leads a conspiracy to divide the uneasy coalition with an ingenious plot to blame the Bothans for a heinous crime that could lead to genocide and civil war. At the same time, Luke Skywalker, along with Lando Calrissian and Talon Karrde, pursues a mysterious group of pirate ships whose crews consist of clones. And then comes the most startling news of all: Grand Admiral Thrawn—believed to be dead for ten years—is reported alive. The most cunning and ruthless warlord in Imperial history has seemingly returned to lead the Empire to triumph.

As Han and Leia try to prevent the unraveling of the New Republic in the face of this fearful and inexplicable threat from the past, Luke sets out to track down the rogue pirate ships. To do so, he will team up with Mara Jade, with whom he will share his growing mastery of the Force and the ever-present threat of the dark side. All the while, lurking in the shadows is the enigmatic Major Tierce, a disciple of Emperor Palpatine, sharing his long-dead master's lust for power, schooled in the devious stratagems of Thrawn himself, and armed with his own dark plans for the New Republic and the Empire.

Paperback

The Empire stands at the brink of total collapse. But they have saved their most heinous plan for last. First a plot is hatched that could destroy the New Republic in a bloodbath of genocide and civil war. Then comes the shocking news that Grand Admiral Thrawn—the most cunning and ruthless warlord in history—has apparently returned from the dead to lead the Empire to a long-prophesized victory. Facing incredible odds, Han and Leia begin a desperate race against time to prevent the New Republic from unraveling in the face of two inexplicable threats—one from within and one from without. Meanwhile, Luke teams up with Mara Jade, using the Force to track down a mysterious pirate ship with a crew of clones. Yet, perhaps most dangerous of all, are those who lurk in the shadows, orchestrating a dark plan that will turn the New Republic and the Empire into their playthings.

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Legacy

"Sincere thanks must go to my family and especially my mother who may not have realised what me buying Star Wars: Specter of the Past in a bookshop in Florida in 1997 would lead to. Or perhaps she did. But she supported me all the way regardless."
―Chris Kempshall, in the acknowledgements section of The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire[5]

Chris Kempshall purchased a copy of Specter of the Past in 1997, which led to him eventually writing Star Wars books, beginning with[5] co-writing the 2017 canon reference book Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy.[6] He credited the influence of Zahn's novel in the acknowledgements section of his 2024 in-universe reference book Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire.[5]

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Notes and references

  1. ↑ PenguinRandomHouse-Logo Timothy Zahn on Random House's official website (original site is defunct)
  2. ↑ PenguinRandomHouse-Logo Star Wars: The Hand of Thrawn: Specter of the Past on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 PenguinRandomHouse-Logo Specter of the Past: Star Wars Legends (The Hand of Thrawn) on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link) (eBook)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 The Essential Reader's Companion
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Star Wars: The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire
  6. ↑ Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy
  7. ↑ Specter of the Past, Science Fiction Book Club edition

External links

The Hand of Thrawn Duology
Specter of the Past
(abridged · unabridged) 		Vision of the Future
(abridged · unabridged)