Book Information
Star Wars: Thrawn by Timothy Zahn
Publisher: Random House
Publication Date: April 6, 2017
Genre: Fantasy | Science Fiction | Series
Purchase: Amazon
Author Information
Timothy Zahn was born in Chicago, Illinois. He earned a Bachelors Degree from Michigan State University and a Masters Degree from the University of Illinois. Timothy started writing in 1975 as a hobby and became a professional writer after that. Timothy currently lives with his wife and son in Oregon.
Author bio condensed from Goodreads
Star Wars: Thrawn Synopsis
One of the most cunning and ruthless warriors in the history of the Galactic Empire, Grand Admiral Thrawn is also one of the most captivating characters in the Star Wars universe, from his introduction in bestselling author Timothy Zahn’s classic Heir to the Empire through his continuing adventures in Dark Force Rising, The Last Command, and beyond. But Thrawn’s origins and the story of his rise in the Imperial Ranks have remained mysterious. Now, in Star Wars: Thrawn, Timothy Zahn chronicles the fateful events that launched the blue-skinned, red-eyed master of military strategy and lethal warfare into the highest realms of power – and infamy.
After Thrawn is rescued from exile by Imperial soldiers, his deadly ingenuity and keen tactile abilities swiftly capture the attention of Emperor Palpatine. And just as quickly, Thrawn proves to be as indispensable to the Empire as he is ambitious; as devoted as its most loyal servant, Darth Vader; and a brilliant warrior never to be underestimated. On missions to rout smugglers, snare spies, and defeat pirates, he triumphs time and again – even as his renegade methods infuriate superiors while inspiring ever greater admiration from the Empire. As one promotion follows another in his rapid ascension to greater power, he schools his trusted aid, Ensign Eli Vanto, in the arts of combat and leadership, and the secrets of claiming victory. But even though Thrawn dominates the battlefield, he has much to learn in the arena of politics, where ruthless administrator Arihnda Pryce holds the power to be a potent ally or a brutal enemy.
All these lessons will be put to the ultimate test when Thrawn rises to admiral and must pit all the knowledge, instincts, and battle forces at his command against an insurgent uprising that threatens not only innocent lives but also the Empire’s grip on the galaxy – and his own carefully laid plans for future ascendancy.
Star Wars: Thrawn Review
When Disney bought Star Wars from George Lucas and announced that they were making all of the books and some of the games “Legacy” and would pull parts of them into the “new canon”, I was worried. Some of my favorite characters were in the Legacy books and had never made into the movies before Disney took over. I was afraid both Mara Jade and Thrawn would not make it into the new canon. Then a new Thrawn series was announced…
The saving grace was that Timothy Zahn, the creator of Thrawn, was going to be authoring the new Thrawn series and that it would tie into the character as it would be shown in the Star Wars: Rebels series. I was intrigued how this would turn out. Timothy is a great author, Thrawn is a great character, and now there was actual direction to the lore.
I was not disappointed. Timothy did a great job of bring a lot of Thrawn that he had built up in his previous series, over into the new canon. However, he also changed some things that previously may not have made sense. In addition, the creation of this new series allowed for the creation of new characters, like Eli Vanto. Thrawn tells the story of Thrawn being partnered with Eli to help him navigate the unknown aspects of this part of the galaxy. As the synopsis mentions, Thrawn winds up moving up the ladder quite fast, however, what the synopsis does not mention is that while Eli is with Thrawn during his entire career, he does not benefit from the same promotions. You find out early that these promotions are actually being done was punishment, both to Eli and to Thrawn, with the hope that Thrawn will make a mistake and they will be able to kick him out of the military. Throughout the book you see not only Thrawn’s brilliant military brain and his teaching of Eli, done in such a way that Eli does not even realize that it is happening, but also Thrawn’s total ineptitude when it comes to politics.
Honestly, I was disappointed when the book ended and I could not wait to pick up the second book in the series. Check back soon for my review of that! In the meantime, I highly suggest if you like science fiction, fantasy, and/or Star Wars that you give this book a read!
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Not so much a SW fan but did love The Mandolarian. It was really good 😀
I actually have the ColourPop The Child Palette review coming up soon.