The authorized continuation of the legendary Star Wars saga. it has been five years since the Rebel Alliance defeated the Emperor's dark forces and relegated the shattered Imperial Fleet to the far reaches of the galaxy. In the command of the last of the Emperor's warlords, the fleet is being readied for war. The objective: the fragile heart of the New Republic. Nineteen weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. \nIt's five years after the Rebel Alliance destroyed the Death Star, defeated Darth Vader and the Emperor, and drove the remnants of the old Imperial Starfleet to a distant corner of the galaxy. Princess Leia and Han Solo are married and expecting Jedi twins. And Luke Skywalker has become the first in a long-awaited line of Jedi Knights. \n But thousands of light-years away, the last of the Emperor's warlords, Grand Admiral Thrawn, has taken command of the shattered Imperial fleet, readied it for war, and pointed it at the fragile heart of the New Republic. For this dark warrior has made two vital discoveries that could destroy everything the courageous men and women of the Rebel Alliance fought so hard to build.\n