*All posts in the Star Wars Canon series contain minor spoilers
19 weeks until Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
“All strive for victory. But not all understand what it truly is. To a soldier or pilot on the line, victory is surviving the current battle. To a politician, victory is an advantage one can bring to a bargaining table. To a warrior, victory is driving an enemy from the field of battle, or bringing him to surrender. Sometimes the victory is greater than the warrior could ever hope for. Sometimes it is more than he is able to bear.” –Star Wars: Thrawn.
Star Wars: Thrawn is about the military rise of Thrawn from an exiled Chiss to a grand admiral in the Imperial navy.
Written by: Timothy Zahn (author of Thrawn: Alliances and Thrawn: Treason)
Published: April 11, 2017
When does Thrawn take place?
Between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.
Or more specifically between the years 11 BBY to 2 BBY.
Synopsis:
Before he becomes Grand Admiral Thrawn, Mitth’raw’nuruodo is recused from exile by Imperial Soldiers. He is soon placed on an accelerated path through the ranks of the Imperial navy as a result of Emperor Palpatine’s interest in him. Aided by his translator Eli Vanto, Thrawn soon dominates any battle or obstacle he faces.
Along the way, Thrawn’s path often crosses with Arihnda Pryce, a senator’s aide with a brutal grudge against her boss. She has a talent for getting exactly what she wants and Pryce rises in her own career quickly to become the governor of her home planet of Lothal.
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The character of Thrawn actually comes from the non-canon Star Wars expanded universe. He was such a popular character in these now-Legends books, that he was brought back into the canon storyline with the release of the book Thrawn and in the last two seasons of the show Rebels.
This book spans almost a decade of Thrawn’s military career during which he often is trying desperately to defeat his nemesis Nightswan. Thrawn’s tactical advances are more of a battle of wits and strategy than military force which made for a different and interesting story. The story is written in third person, but there are many snippets of exactly what Thrawn is observing and reasoning woven throughout so readers get a sense of how his intellect works.
There are two storylines in Thrawn and the other focuses on Arihnda Pryce. I thought Timothy Zahn did an incredible job with her story arc as she begins the story quietly seeking justice for the loss of her family’s mining company and ends up becoming the ruthless governor of Lothal. She is devious and almost as strategic as Thrawn in getting her way. Her story is set up perfectly for her role in Rebels and I almost enjoyed this storyline more.
I would recommend Thrawn to anyone who was a fan of the character in the E.U. and of the show Rebels. Even though Thrawn doesn’t appear until the third season, there is quite a bit about Lothal in this book which is such an important planet in the show.
Next week: Thrawn: Alliances
Complete list of Star Wars Canon novels
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