The Last Command is the third book in the Thrawn Trilogy

The Thrawn trilogy

The Thrawn trilogy, also known as the Heir to the Empire trilogy, is a series of best-selling novels written by Timothy Zahn. The novels are set in the Expanded Universe of the Star Wars galaxy approximately five years after the events depicted in the film Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the...

by Timothy Zahn

Timothy Zahn

Timothy Zahn is a writer of science fiction short stories and novels. His novella Cascade Point won the 1984 Hugo award. He is the author of nine Star Wars Expanded Universe novels, including seven novels featuring Grand Admiral Thrawn: the Thrawn Trilogy, the Hand of Thrawn duology, Outbound...

.

Plot

Grand Admiral Thrawn

Grand Admiral Thrawn

Grand Admiral Thrawn is a fictional character and major antagonist from the Star Wars galaxy. He first appeared in Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy, published between 1992 and 1994...

 launches his offensive against the New Republic

New Republic (Star Wars)

The New Republic is a government in the fictional Star Wars universe.When the Rebel Alliance re-established the Old Galactic Republic after the downfall of the Galactic Empire, it became known as the New Republic, just as the original Galactic Republic had become known as the Old Republic by that...

 with great success. As if his uncanny knack for anticipating opponents’ strategy wasn’t enough, his forces are quickly being bolstered by Dreadnaughts from the Katana Fleet crewed by cloned warriors. The New Republic fights back valiantly, but unless the production of clones is stopped, they may soon find themselves overwhelmed by a superior force.

Han, Chewbacca

Chewbacca

Chewbacca, also known as Chewie, is a character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Peter Mayhew. In the series' narrative chronology, he appears in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi...

 and Talon Karrde work to form an alliance of smugglers to assist with the New Republic defense. But realistically, the Republic's only hope is to send a small band of saboteurs to infiltrate the Emperor's cloning facility and destroy it once and for all. Mara Jade

Mara Jade

Mara Jade Skywalker is a fictional character in Star Wars Expanded Universe books, comic books, and computer games. She is also wife to Luke Skywalker, and mother to Ben Skywalker. In the different video games, she is voiced by Heidi Shannon and Kath Soucie.-Concept and development:Mara Jade was...

 may be able to assist with determining the location of the cloning facility. But can she defy the final command of the dying Emperor and resist killing Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...

?

Meanwhile, the insane Jedi master (actually a clone), Joruus C’baoth, is gathering his strength at the cloning facility. He continues to plot to capture Luke, Leia and her newly born twins and warp them to the Dark Side. His goal is no less than seizing control of the Empire and controlling the galaxy with an evil legion of dark Jedi.

Ultimately, Skywalker and Mara Jade defeat C'Baoth on the planet Wayland, and Thrawn's murder leads the Imperial forces to retreat or surrender at Bilbringi.

Reception

This three-book series is part of the Star Wars expanded universe and is published Bantam Books

Bantam Books

Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by Random House, the German media corporation subsidiary of Bertelsmann; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine...

 with a combined total of over 15 million copies sold overall.

Sourcebook

Like the other books in the series, West End Games

West End Games

West End Games was a company that made board, role-playing, and war games. It was founded by Daniel Scott Palter in 1974 in New York, but later moved to Honesdale, Pennsylvania...

 created for this novel a role-playing game

Role-playing game

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

sourcebook that expanded on Zahn's characters, locations, weapons, and other facts.