Obviously Zahn's trilogy is closely related to the three Star Wars movies.

Lucasfilm commissioned Star Wars novels from several popular science fiction writers, apparently to build up interest in the mythos prior to the planned release of new Star Wars films near the end of the 1990s.

The Star Wars movies, in turn, took inspiration from a wide spectrum of sources. Among these were previous science fiction movies, including the German film Metropolis (the source of the droid Threepio's costume; 1926).

Lucas also drew on Asian mysticism, Joseph Campbell's theory of the hero's quest, and the venerable science fiction tradition of a civilization peopled by multiple species. The first movie's opening scenes, on the desert planet Tatooine, are reminiscent of Frank Herbert's Dune (1966).

Zahn's trilogy also shows a debt to other epics about interstellar empires.

Asimov's Foundation series is perhaps the most famous of these.