- Writers Cannot Do Math:
- As noted above under Canon Discontinuity, Zahn creates a serious plot hole when it's revealed that Vader came to the Noghri and enslaved them to the Empire forty-four years before the time of the story. Given the age of Leia and Luke, this would require Anakin Skywalker to have been Darth Vader for over a decade and a half before they'd even been born- conceivably possible if he'd been writing under the assumption that Anakin fell to the dark side a long time before the crippling injuries that turned him into a cyborg and the twins were conceived during this period, but it's more likely just a serious error that didn't occur to him. It can't be rectified by just shifting the numbers either, as the entire plot point revolves around the fact that the Noghri have been kept in servitude for multiple generations.
I'm not sure what trope this should be listed under, but the issue is not Zahn's ability to count. Zahn wrote the Clone Wars as happening forty years before the movies because that was the timeline he was given to work with by Lucas Licensing; it's not his fault Lucas later changed his mind.
The bit about Darth Vader already being Darth Vader before Luke and Leia were born is a non-issue, because it's established that the event in question happened before he started wearing the Vader suit. Lucas Licensing made Zahn take out the bit about the event being the inspiration for Vader's mask design, but there are other indications still in there (most conspicuously, the Noghri know Leia and Luke are related to Vader by the smell of their skin, which means they must have known Vader before all his skin was permanently covered up). That still leaves the question of them knowing him as "Darth Vader" instead of "Anakin Skywalker", but having dealt with everything else it's fairly easy to handwave that he was Anakin when he first met them and he came back later and told them, "from now on you should call me Darth Vader".
The Messiah is no longer a trope. Please readd under an actual trope.
- The Messiah: Not as overt as other invocations of the trope, but Leia's natural gift for diplomacy helps her rally the Noghri to the New Republic's side (after revealing the nature of the Empire's treachery unto them); she is also able to get Mara Jade (who wants to kill Luke) to open up emotionally to her.
- Then there's Luke, who's sitting there quietly, minding his own business at a bar when suddenly an argument breaks out. Just as it's about to segue into violence... everyone stops and looks at him to solve it.
The Canon Discontinuity entry is a mess. It's natter. Would it be terrible for me to shift it to 'YMMV' and simply place a note on the main page to the effect of "Several small instances: see the YMMV page for details"?
The Keenest Of Them All
•Added Alliterative Appeal: You know Zahn cracked a nice little smile when he realized this.
To make this a worthwhile entry it should mention what specifically it is talking about.
Watch out where you step, or we'll be afoot.
Contrived coincidence could have as a spoiler mention that at the same time Han, Leia and Luke are visiting Lando, The Empire attacks his mining operation.