I remember when I first crossed paths with the Chiss Grand Admiral Thrawn as I read Timothy Zahn's 'Heir to the Empire' trilogy back in the 1990's, he quickly skyrocketed to the upper echelons on my list of all-time-favorite Star Wars villains & hasn't moved from that area since then. Mitth'raw'naruodo's character possesses to him a certain tactical brilliance found only in the most elite of literature's antagonists; the Chiss' personality is so skillfully-conceived, it's a difficult endeavor indeed not to be impressed at Zahn's creative genius. 'Thrawn' is an ambitious undertaking by any stretch of the imagination, & for Zahn to commit to an entire trilogy which at long last tells the complete story of his flagship villain's ambitious climb through the ranks of the Imperial Navy, he must have known that his fans' hopes for it being great were going to be enormous. Not only does 'Thrawn' shatter any preconceived expectations I had for the novel being undisputedly-compelling Science-Fiction literature, it evolves them one step further by taking the narrative in a surprising direction in the development an entirely new main character in the advent of utterly-merciless antiheroine, the calculating Arihnda Pryce.
Timothy Zahn's narrative in 'Thrawn' is presented to us in a dual-perspective format, which in this novel's context proves an effective storytelling tool as the author implements it. The plotline of 'Thrawn' is sprawling & multi-faceted, it encompasses the entirety of Thrawn's military career in the Imperial Fleet & spans a number of years as he systematically dismantles his opponents & outmaneuvers his rivals (who in true Imperial fashion, all despise him with a loathing which burns ever hotter with every promotion he receives). Thrawn's character embodies different strategic elements characterized by various authors in our own history; the tactical efficiency of Sun-Tzu's 'The Art of War', or 'The-ends-justify-the-means' ruthlessness of Niccolò Machiavelli's 'The Prince'. Zahn is such a prolific author at this point in his career that I'm quite sure he is at least partially inspired by the historical, dramatic flair found in these & other classical writers' works.
One of the most compelling facets of Mithh'raw'naruodo's personality, particularly in an antihero, is the character's selflessness & his adherence to a self-imposed code of morality, which at times has a touch of sadness to it. When Thrawn's conduct regarding stolen Tibanna Gas cannisters is called into question by his prejudiced, racist superior officer Filia Rossi during his initial assignment aboard the 'Blood Crow', the Chiss lieutenant refuses to back down. And on his sophomore tour aboard Commander Cheno's 'Thunder Wasp', Thrawn valiantly defends his commander's actions, heaping praise & credit on his superior's shoulders to the hostile Admiral Gendling, just as the Chiss trivializes his own tactical brilliance. Thrawn sets aside his pride on numerous occasions in this novel. It's one of the many reasons I enjoyed reading it as much as I did.
And while Thrawn is occupied acquitting himself admirably in the Empire's military theatre, Arihnda Pryce, an aggressive human female hailing from a modestly-wealthy family based on mining planet Lothal, begins her own ambitious bid for power, but Pryce treads the clandestine avenue of Imperial politics, foregoing that of the enlisted soldier. Personally, I thought Arihnda's portion of the narrative to be equally as enthralling as Thrawn's, for various reasons. She's not a 'cookie-cutter' female archetype, & I absolutely adore when an author of Timothy Zahn's pedigree can successfully implement with skill, a compelling female lead character into his or her storyline with the mastery in which it's accomplished here. I don't feel women get the respect they deserve in real life, let alone in imaginary Science-Fiction novels. When I notice an author who excels in designing plotlines that successfully integrate female lead characters in prominent roles, I think it's simply wonderful. Pryce is no helpless 'damsel-in-distress', not by any means. Throughout her arc in the novel's storyline we see as slowly she manifests from a timid provincial political aide, merely working to survive & chisel out a living as an administrative assistant under Lothali Senator Domus Renking, to eventually matching wits with deadly, high-ranking bureaucrats like the vindictive Imperial Moff Ghadi of the Tangenine Sector. Arihnda eventually garners first the attention & then the respect of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, who also plays a fairly major role in the procession of the novel's plotline. It's difficult to compare Arihnda with another female character in literature, but to give readers a general idea, I'd classify her somewhere between a more-predatory Sansa Stark & a more-empathetic Queen Cersei Lannister. There's also a nod to James Luceno's 'Tarkin' with a minor implementation into the plotline of the remnants of the pirate queen Q'nah's criminal syndicate, a gang Tarkin snuffed out in brutal fashion in his earlier years while serving as an Eriaduan enforcer.
Thrawn's faithful aide-de-camp Eli Vanto was ingeniously devised as well. His career path as a mere shipping & inventory clerk takes an unexpected arc when he gets mixed up with the then-exiled Thrawn in possibly the most trivial way imaginable : Vanto's backwater provincial roots give him fluency in an obsolete trade language, 'Sy Bisti', a dialect which Thrawn initially is more comfortable speaking in as he works to improve his Basic. And both Vanto & Thrawn have their hands full as they match wits with the elusive 'Nightswan' as the syndicate boss plays a dangerous game of chess with not only Imperial supplies but with lives of the men under Thrawn's command.
Every scenario that Zahn packs into 'Thrawn's considerable page-count, well in excess of 450 pages paperback (on the prodigious end for a Star Wars novel), is extremely well-implemented. The tactical scenarios Zahn has created, all read as if crafted by a master of the writing trade. His writing always has been unique to me in that Zahn is comfortable integrating cool technology & intriguing, roughly scientific concepts into his stories yet he doesn't shove the technical nature of them down the reader's throat. He has achieved that unique 'sweet spot' for crafting compelling Science Fiction. His writing is very fast-paced, jumping from plotline to plotline with almost no downtime to speak of, which makes 'Thrawn' a fairly brisk read. I would think it might take a reader determined to get through this 470-page novel, somewhere in the neighborhood of just under a week. With book II of the newest 'Thrawn' trilogy, 'The Greater Good', out in a few months, for newcomers I'd recommend reading 'Chaos Rising' & Zahn's 'Heir to the Empire' trilogy as well as the 'Hand of Thrawn' duology, for some background on the character. If you're feeling adventurous, I'd even recommend Machiavelli's 'The Prince' for the leadership aspects & tactical nature of that treatise's subject matter because a very large portion of 'Thrawn' immerses itself in those specific concepts.
I very much hope you enjoyed reading through my review !
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| Based on unproduced episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, this new novel features Asajj Ventress, former Sith apprentice turned bounty hunter and one of the great antiheroes in the Star Wars galaxy. | Delve into the history of the sinister Count Dooku in the original script to the thrilling Star Wars audio production. | Discover Thrawn’s origins within the Chiss Ascendancy in the first book in an epic new Star Wars trilogy from bestselling author Timothy Zahn. | More than forty contributors lend their vision to this retelling of A New Hope. Each of the forty short stories reimagines a moment from the original film, but through the eyes of a supporting character. |
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Rating: 4.5 StarsGenre: Science Fiction/ FantasySeries: Star Wars: Thrawn Series 1"War is primarily a game of skill. It is a contest of mind matched against mind, tactics matched against tactics. But there is also an element of chance that is more suited to games of cards or dice. A wise tactician studies those games, as well, and learns from them."So…This was my very first Star Wars novel (I've read some graphic novels in the past- but this is my first actual novel) and it was spectacular. I was a little nervous going into this because even though I love Star Wars the thought of books made from movies just sounds scary. I am a neurotic OCD perfectionist who refuses to watch shows or movies until I read the book. And a book based on fan fiction… that sounded like a recipe for disaster.But in a state of desperation for something different I took the recommendation of one of my cousins and gave it a go.I read the first chapter and then…. nothing… FOR MONTHS!Seriously, I started this book in the beginning of November 2018 and didn't pick it up again till the beginning of January 2019. Only this time when picked it back up I used my long time cheat for finishing books I have trouble with… Audible. And Audible did not let me down- this ended up being hands down the BEST AUDIOBOOK I HAVE EVER READ!!! Most audiobooks have an extremely talented voice actor and if you are really lucky a cast of voice actors. This audiobook is complete with blaster fire, explosions, aliens, Star Wars music, and the best voice actor I have ever heard.It was like listening to a movie and I was completely immersed.This book takes place in between Episode 3 and 4 of the movies (for the die hard Star Wars fans- it takes place after the Clone Wars…), provides background information regarding characters brought up in the TV series and previous Zahn books, and all the main characters are supporters of the Empire (…welcome to the Dark Side). Even though going into this novel I had absolutely no idea who Thrawn, Arihnda Pryce, and Eli Vanto were I had no trouble understanding or enjoying the story.I found myself (quite horribly) wanting Arihnda and Thrawn (with the assistance of Vanto) to succeed in their various plots and loved seeing the perspective of Empire loyalists. Thrawn himself was an amazing main character as he is an evil genius with an IQ on par with Sherlock Holmes (or perhaps he is more of a Moriarty). The sections where he is analyzing character reactions and plotting devious battle strategies were extremely well written and were a very fun aspect to the novel overall. Arihnda's character was unique as she was primarily written as a damsel-in-distress/ victim type character in the beginning yet her actions and deeds mark her as a villain (which as a avid reader was a fun twist).This book convinced me to dive into more Star Wars novels and not just be a huge Star Wars fan… but to jump off the cliff and leave my mundane life behind and be a part of the dark side and join the Star Wars fandom.
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Cristian
Grand admiral Thrawn
Reviewed in Brazil on April 16, 2023
Cristian
Reviewed in Brazil on April 16, 2023
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