At last, the the cunning mind that made Mith'raw'nuruodo's military service in the Chiss Expansionary Fleet so remarkable--and eventually set him on the path of becoming Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn--is opened to us! Of course, Timothy Zahn is an author every bit as cunning as you would expect when dealing with such a character, and he knows very well that Thrawn should always be viewed from the outside in order to keep his allure. He is still every bit as complex and mysterious as in previous books, as we never see the story narrated through Thrawn's point of view. We get mere glimpses into how he thinks, and what he plans, as Jorj Car'das openly questions and guesses at Thrawn's motives, and Thrawn in his turn either confirms it or steers Jorj to the correct answer on his own.
It's a little difficult to reconcile this version of Thrawn, milder in manner than the coolly detached Imperial leader who once had a crewman executed on the bridge and destroyed an alien village because those aliens failed in a mission. The deadly Imperial warlord who could do that without flinching is definitely not the same man that we meet in this book. The version of Thrawn we see in Outbound Flight is a military leader who is preemptively striking against a culture that enslaves other races as they raid their way across the Unknown Regions, and Thrawn is every bit as intent on stopping them because they are threat to weaker races as he is to stopping them because they MIGHT be a threat to the Chiss. This attitude gets him in hot water, of course, and if you know this character's general history by now, 30+ years after the Star Wars EU introduced him to us, you know how things ultimately end up going for him. If you don't, well the novel includes a short story called "Mist Encounter" which was originally published in Star Wars Adventure Journal 7 by West End Games in August 1995. This was the short story which told us how Thrawn actually came into Imperial custody. And a new novel coming out later this month should tell us the rest of that story and let us see Thrawn's rise to ultimate power.
In case you can't tell, Thrawn is why I bought this book to begin with, and why I will read it again several times over. But he is hardly the only Zahn-created character we get to meet again. Jorj Car'das comes into Thrawn's life at this time, and most of the interaction with Thrawn is told through his eyes, and we see the birth of this very unlikely friendship. We also get to see the beginnings of Jedi Master Jorus C'baoth's descent into insanity, which actually explains a LOT about the version of C'baoth we got to know in "Heir to the Empire." Without giving away any spoilers, let me just say that the craziness we saw in C'baoth in HTTE was not entirely due to his circumstances in that book; this version of C'baoth was already teetering on the edge of Darkness. Like Thrawn, this mysterious creation of Zahn's is viewed through the eyes of others: his padawan, Lorana Jinzler; Obi-Wan Kenobi, who is, at this time, training a 12-year-old Anakin, and certain members of Outbound Flight's crew. You won't like C'baoth, and you are not supposed to.
Personally, however, I didn't like Lorana Jinzler, either. Her constant worry and second-guessing herself fits perfectly well with her lack of self-confidence, which has been more or less carefully crafted by her master, C'baoth. But after so many years of having at least one strong female lead in nearly every book, not having one this time was a real let-down. Lorana spends so much time wondering if she is doing "the right thing" and, deep down, knowing that C'baoth is teaching her things which are against the Jedi Code, yet whenever she is given the opportunity to voice those thoughts, she simply pushes them aside and takes C'baoth's side. Her wishy-washy attitude makes her completely ineffective as anything other than a narrator for C'baoth's actions, so if you are expecting to see Jedi action out of her, don't hold your breath. She is certainly not on a level with someone like Mara Jade. I do wish Zahn had given us a stronger female this time around, like he has in the past, and I know Lorana has her place in this story and she fits there. I just was not impressed with her, even at the end.
Obi-Wan tells most of the rest of the story, but unless you are a big fan of the Jedi and the inner workings of their Council, you might not care so much about what he is doing or how bratty Anakin is being. (Really, sometimes I think Obi-Wan could have saved the galaxy a whole lot of trouble by putting Anakin over his knee or in time out or something.) If I have one *real* disappointment about this book, it's that I don't see the point of having these characters in the story at all, let alone for so much of it. Their presence changes nothing in the outcome of the story, and in fact it seems like exposure to C'baoth may have adversely affected Anakin and given him ideas that he should not have at that age.
Over all, however, the book is a tightly written piece of engaging fiction. We see the start of Palpatine's manipulations into power, the dissent in Jedi ranks that will have repercussions in the next generation, and an expansion into parts of the galaxy that maybe the Empire should have left alone in order to save itself. It's absolutely on par with Zahn's previous forays into the Star Wars mythos, and just being able to read Thrawn as alive and well and displaying the military brilliance which will, later in his life, bring the New Republic to the brink of defeat is a treat. I admire THIS Thrawn better than the one who was trying to kidnap and/or kill my favorite SW heroes all through the HTTE and its sequels, but that is part of what keeps him from being some throwaway two-dimensional evil character. The appeal in HTTE was that the bad guys are not supposed to win, yet he almost did, and it was actually impossible to hate him for it. I would not want to meet him in battle, or a dark alley, but I knew he would have respect for my strategical ability if I had to. What makes him more appealing now, in his younger and slightly more reckless days, is seeing that he still has the same military brilliance, and he is willing to lay down his life to rescue a friend, and risk his career and social advancement to stand up for his beliefs.
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100% Fantastic & Intriguing
I have read many genres and many Star Wars books in my life. But THIS one has always been my favorite. Zahn is a genius and he has woven together a fascination-filled tragic piece about a doomed pioneering voyage to the Unknown Regions.I can't really explain how a book I hesitated to buy because its story and cover were devoid of Luke Skywalker became my favorite of all fiction books.Attempting to not spoil the story, I'll say little else. Except that I read Survivor's Quest prior to Outbound Flight and, though you can read either first, I was glad I went with that order.Thrawn's Chiss Ascendancy in Wild Space is beyond intriguing to read about and I love seeing where the future Grand Admiral first learned about the corrupt Republic, Jedi, and the Basic language.I listened to the Halo 2 soundtrack while reading this book and it was officially become my Outbound Flight soundtrack. ;) High Charity, Orbit of Glass, & Heavy Price Paid are the BEST and most fitting tracks for the climax.As with all Zahn's prior Star Wars books, there is no language or sensual content, for which I'm grateful. I'm currently reading it out loud to a younger sibling who seems to be enjoying it.Sorry for a vague review; I just don't want to spoil it!
Top reviews from other countries
Mr. Richard J. S. Blake
Out Bound Flight
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 4, 2020
