Timothy Zahn interviews with The Portalist
Timothy Zahn has a recent interview with The Portalist, advertising for his newly released book Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising [Amazon affiliate link].
I read this interview in a hermeneutic of continuity with the series of Facebook posts Zahn made reminiscing on his journey through the world of Star Wars book publishing. As one of the longest running, most prolific, and most popular Star Wars authors, I was a little surprised to read that Zahn was constantly thinking that he was done writing Star Wars books, only to get pulled back in when they needed something.
I also enjoyed Zahn’s perspective on what kind of science fiction he writes:
I never like putting labels on these things, mainly because it doesn’t seem very productive. As long as the universe is internally consistent, people and groups behave like they would in the real world, and the story and characters are captivating, I don’t need to pigeonhole it.
That said, I do like to put real-world science into my books when and where it works with the story. (I sometimes refer to these things as “Guest appearances by physics!”), so I’m comfortable straddling all those categorization lines anyway.
Zahn is more interested in writing a fun and interesting story than in what label his books get, which maps pretty well to my own interests in fiction. Zahn has written thrillers, mysteries, Star Wars, StarCraft, juveniles, and Campbelline sci-fi. What brings it all together is his ability to craft a good story, and I’m grateful for that.
Carolyn Cox at The Portalist asked Zahn what his favorite book he has written is, and Zahn picked The Icarus Hunt [Amazon affiliate link]. I read that book three years ago, after I decided to go through Zahn’s entire catalogue, and I agree, it is one of his best. I also realized I didn’t review it, so I think I would like to. The book is written as a bit of a whodunit, so I’m curious what I’ll think of it now that I know what is going to happen.
I’ve only reviewed about half of the Timothy Zahn books I’ve read, but if you are curious about his work, check out my reviews below:
Books by Timothy Zahn
Ghostriders in the Sky book review
New Thrawn series:
Thrawn
Thrawn: Alliances
Thrawn: Treason
Quadrail series:
Night Train to Rigel: Quadrail book 1 review
The Third Lynx: Quadrail book 2 review
Odd Girl Out: Quadrail book 3 review
The Domino Pattern: Quadrail book 4 review
Judgement at Proteus: Quadrail book 5 review
Original Thrawn Trilogy:
Heir to the Empire
Dark Force Rising
The Last Command
Blackcollar series:
The Blackcollar: Blackcollar series book 1 review
The Backlash Mission: Blackcollar series book 2 review
Dragonback series:
Dragon and Thief
Dragon and Soldier
Dragon and Slave
Dragon and Herdsman
Dragon and Judge
Dragon and Liberator
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