We press on in the Hand of Thrawn duology. The cover: full of amazing hair for all our principals: Luke, Mara, and...Han? The dedication: from the author to his friends, but aren't we the real friends he made along the way??? The plot: we catch up with a variety of Imperial officers gazing pensively into space (and one scheming quite effectively to pry worlds away from the New Republic). Luke should have sprung for cave valet, as his X-wing is immediately jacked the moment he parks. The Force is surprisingly cool with grand larceny. Wedge and Corran are tapped by Bel Iblis for some planet side maneuvers that satisfy the letter of army law if not the spirit. Shada D'ukal befriends C-3P0 and then immediately unfriends some bikers. And we find out Talon Karrde did not take Corellian Lit in space college.

We reach the epic conclusion of this (possibly?) New York Times bestselling novel. Lando learns the downsides of the caped lifestyle. Shada's job interview goes slightly sideways. Talon Karrde offers to work for free (!?). Wedge and the Rogues simply cannot catch a break (or a cake). Our hosts wonder if finding the Camaas document can even fix what's broken in the New Republic. And friend of the pod Gilad Pellaeon starts a Thrawn cover band while he waits for Bel Iblis.

We shall return with book two, Vision of the Future!

Lando gets hustled: first at sabacc, and then by Flim and co. New Republic C-SPAN gets juicy as they debate whether or not Imperial warlords can come back from the dead. We get a crash course Alderaniaan design philosophy. Shada D'ukal phones customer service and asks TO SPEAK WITH A REPRESENTATIVE. And Talon Karrde sips some fine brandy while inviting you to get comfortable in your own conversation pit.

We rejoin Pellaeon, sippin' some brandy on his galactic frenemies tour. He starts to realize that Moff Disra is probably up to worse shenanigans than money laundering, but can't quite figure out what it could be. No time to linger for a second brandy, though: he's late for a meeting with Bel Iblis (...who has not yet accepted the cal invite).

Luke Skywalker trusted the Force and it rewarded him with some kick ass architecture. Unfortunately, the splendor of Bridge World and its philosophically-minded peaceful protesters weren't enough to convince him to stick around. Instead of popping into a tapcafe to speak with their local Enjolras, Luke decides to fly off and rescue Mara from that cave (and reluctantly agrees to take more than just his X-Wing).

Bel Iblis and Rogue Squadron skip dessert and engage in entrapment — never forget that ACAB. Even in space. And especially your favorite Corellians.

[Extremely Ron Howard Voice] "Now the story of a wealthy Empire who lost everything...and the one Captain who had no choice but to keep them all together..."

While your man Pellaeon can't sleep well, he sure can scheme. His investigations into Imperial corruption are going swimmingly and he's plotting an elaborate library heist. Meanwhile, Han and Leia get caught between a mob and a Bothan staircase. C3P0 is blasted to smithereens but apparently, "he'll be alright" (WTF?! Droids' rights!). Mara Jade is trapped in an ugly ass cave, going cuckoo bananas and yelling about Skywalkers to any bats who will listen. And Lando has unwittingly become a pawn in Disra's latest plot to blue the Imperial remnant.

The Bothan people continue their crime spree with a turn into massive financial fraud. Talon Karrde shows up with a gift and a threat. Mara just parked in the driveway but she has to turn around and go to the corner store for more intel. Luke might finally understand what the Force is all about. And Pellaeon continues his gofundme tour of the remnants of the Empire.

The Senate is in an uproar about how to dish out justice in the face of genocide — but at least they agree that their new interior decorator has impeccable taste. Han Solo casually commits Watergate-adjacent political crimes so that he can argue over payment plans for espionage with Talon Karrde. And Luke Skywalker goes on a bonkers undercover mission with the help of stage makeup and a rack of ribs — but without the help of the Force. As per yuzh, Mara Jade saves his farmboy butt.

The High Council of Imperial Bitches has their inaugural meeting. An extremely stable political alliance forms. A Smuggle Buddy begins to doubt her life choices. Pellaeon puts on his detective hat. Wedge tries to back out of buying a melon.

Once again, we find ourselves on the bridge of the Chimera with one Gilad Pellaeon, staring thoughtfully into space. Only this time, there's no more Thrawn and Pellaeon is having a bad case of the Mondays. 19 years after the Battle of Yavin, the galaxy is completely changed, with the Empire controlling scraps and the New Republic (theoretically, at least) large and in charge. While Pellaeon is pondering surrender, Han Solo is trying to do some diplomacy in order to ensure his wife gets an actual break from running the galaxy. Luke is having a mental breakdown while flying when he realizes that not everyone likes him -- even if they have read his wiki page!! And Leia has an unexpected meet up with Talon Karrde and the smuggle buddies, in which they come to the horrifying conclusion that Borsk Fey'lya might actually have a point.

This week, we chat with the delightful author of The Rise and Fall of the Galactic Empire. Dr. Kempshall walks us through what an Imperial archive might include (or not include), which EU character he could imagine ghostwriting for, and finally gives us an answer to the persistent question: "how often should Luke Skywalker be thrown in the brig for stealing an X-Wing?" (tl;dr just like...maybe don't recruit any space wizards to your military.)

We loved this book. So our only remaining question is this: what Chandrillan palms do we have to grease to get Chris assigned to write Artistically Done: The Life and Times of Grand Admiral Thrawn?