* CompleteMonster: [[BoomerangBigot Hethrir]], part of a near-human race called the Firrereo, was once Palpatine's Procurator of Justice and the head of the Empire's justice system. To prove himself to the Empire, Hethrir had thousands of his people abducted and placed in suspended animation with the intention of awakening them far later where [[AGodAmI they'd worship him as a God]]. Millions of others were left on Firrereo, where Hethrir had the planet [[GenocideFromTheInside infected by a virus]] that [[CruelAndUnusualDeath agonizingly killed every living thing]] on it, an action which Palpatine happily approved. When Hethrir's wife escaped with their child, Hethrir hunted her down and placed her in a torture device where she remained in pain for five years, and took their son as a lowly servant. Hethrir took to enslaving children to build a new empire, selling those who weren't Force-sensitive or non-human into slavery, while also forming a cult dedicated to the alien being known as Waru. Hethrir promised Waru, who simply wanted a way to his home dimension, the lives of sapients, with intentions of [[WouldHurtAChild sacrificing Force-sensitive children]] in return for great power.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Lusa for some fans, being brought back for the ''Literature/YoungJediKnights'' series [[spoiler: and then unceremoniously and unspectacularly [[KickTheDog killed]] -- ''[[ShootTheShaggyDog offscreen!]]'']] -- in the ''Literature/NewJediOrder'' series.
* FanonDiscontinuity: Fans would much rather deny this work exists.
* MemeticMutation: While the book isn't well-liked by Star Wars fans, the creature Waru was considered so bizarre that he reached a memetic status rivalled only by [[ComicBook/{{Republic}} Master K'Kruhk's]] "Freakin' Sweet Hat" and the [[MemeticBadass badassery]] that is [[VideoGame/DarkForcesSaga Kyle Katarn]].
* SpiritualAdaptation: Basically a Star Trek episode set in the Star Wars universe.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Fandom never really forgave the book for leaving potentially fascinating EldritchAbomination Waru a giant BigLippedAlligatorMoment while focusing too much on CardCarryingVillain Hethrir.
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