Dark Force Rising: There is one instance of H*** and one instance of D***. The Last Command: There is one instance of H***. (There are also several other scattered instances of H*** in the trilogy that are meant literally.)
Timothy Zahn’s classic Thrawn Trilogy begins five years after the movie Star Wars: The Return Of The Jedi. As chronicled elsewhere, during those five years the New Republic steadily fought against the crumbling remnants of the Empire (lead by increasingly fractured warlords and a now-secluded council of Moffs) until all twelve of the known Grand Admirals have been captured or killed, and seventy-five percent of the systems formerly under Imperial domination are free. To all appearances, the Empire is finally nearing its inevitable end.
However, as Heir To The Empire opens, you (and the New Republic) are about to meet the last, secret, alien Grand Admiral, Thrawn… and nothing will ever be the same. Thrawn’s fascinatingly multi-layered personality and tactical and strategic genius will revive the dying Empire, forcing the New Republic into its most difficult (post-Emperor) challenge yet. And along with outside enemies, the New Republic will also have to deal with enemies from within… while somehow trying to enlist the help of suspicious smugglers, freeing a planet and a people subjugated through Imperial deceit, and protecting Luke, Leia, and Leia’s coming twins from an unhinged clone of long-dead Jedi Master Jorus C’baoth.
The Thrawn Trilogy novels (along with the Hand Of Thrawn Duology sequels and the Outbound Flight prequel) are Star Wars classics, all-around great reads, and recommended.
Our collective rating for The Thrawn Trilogy
(for individual novel ratings see the sidebar above): 5 & 1/4 Stars. 