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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
Again, have to complain about goodreads' rating system. This should properly be a 4.5, the .5 away from a perfect score not because of Timothy Zahn, but because of Lucas' atrocious prequels. All credit to Zahn for making it work so well, but from an enjoyment perspective, I didn't like being aware of the effed up continuity that the prequels brought about. If you're a fan of the Thrawn Trilogy, I think you'll appreciate this book quite a bit. Zahn's ability to bring seemingly disparate plots and characters together in a coherent and compelling way is something to see. Good slow burner.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
When I began reading this, I was fresh off the disappointment of seeing Rogue One, and had the odd experience of enjoying the prequel era, having it feel like real Star Wars. The beginning of the book has a chase scene of sorts starring Obi-Wan and Anakin, and I ate it up. The other plot of the book involved Thrawn in his younger years, as a commander of the Chiss fleet. Thrawn is one of my favorite characters ever, and getting to read him again was great. My least favorite character was Jorus C'Boath, he's just such a jerk, just like in the original Thrawn trilogy. I put this book down halfway through for almost a year, then recently picked it back up and finished it. It was a good story, mostly for Thrawn. I could tell the ending (with a ship crashlanding on an unknown planet) was alluding to something, prequelizing something so to speak, but I wasn't sure what. Apparently it's referencing "Survivor's Quest," a book by Zahn published a year or two before this one, involving Luke and Mara Jade finding that crashed ship and its survivors many years later. I might try to read that one sometime.... but since Thrawn would be dead in it I probably won't get to it.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A finely written standalone story, Outbound Flight is also a brilliant marriage of the Thrawn character and the prequel era. As usual, Zahn creates compelling characters who come to life just as convincingly as the pre-existing Star Wars characters, whom he conjures with ease. Palpatine having the same henchmen working as a double agent for himself under two different personas is the most Sidious move ever, and C'baoth's reprisal as a legitimate but overzealous Jedi is fun to see.
The story is laced with the same tragic undertones that permeate the entire prequel era. Throwing Thrawn into the mix simply sweetens the deal. For those looking to continue their Star Wars journey beyond the Lucas films, Zahn's writing offers a fresher, more compelling, more accurate return to the galaxy far, far away than anything Disney has ever produced.
The story is laced with the same tragic undertones that permeate the entire prequel era. Throwing Thrawn into the mix simply sweetens the deal. For those looking to continue their Star Wars journey beyond the Lucas films, Zahn's writing offers a fresher, more compelling, more accurate return to the galaxy far, far away than anything Disney has ever produced.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is the third time I've read Outbound Flight, so it goes without saying I really enjoy it. For anyone curious about reading this I'd strongly advise reading the other Thrawn books first. Although this takes place earlier chronologically (and certainly works as a stand-alone adventure) I feel that the reader will get more satisfaction in reading this last. My comments here will also assume you've read The Thrawn Trilogy, The Hand of Thrawn Duology and Survivor's Quest.
Okay, so now that's out of the way, here are my thoughts on the book.
When we first meet Grand Admiral Thrawn he's somewhat of a mystery. From an unknown alien race who are later identified as the Chiss, he's a tactical genius and poses a real threat to the New Republic, Outbound Flight looks at Mitth'raw'nuruodo's first contact with the Old Republic and what sort of person he was before the Empire.
Outbound Flight is actually a prequel to the New Republic era Survivor's Quest, so it's interesting to see Timothy Zahn's take on this era, including the interactions between a young Obi-Wan Kenobi and his fourteen year old Padawan Anakin Skywalker. I feel at times their part in this book could have been left out completely as it doesn't add a lot to the story, but it's worth it just to see the evolution of their father/son relationship and to see Obi-Wan's interaction with Jorus C'Baoth. At times Obi-Wan is the only voice of reason from the Jedi.
We finally get to see the real Jedi Master Jorus C'Baoth in action in this story and he's not that far removed from his insane clone in Heir To The Empire. It appears he'd always been fairly close to falling to the dark side. He's arrogant and pompous, impatient and barely listens to the Jedi Council. It raises the question, how did he rise so far in the ranks in the first place? Did Palpatine have something to do with it in the same way he forced Anakin's promotion to Jedi Master? Certainly having such an unstable element hurts the Jedi and it's curious that they never pull him into line. It says a lot about the Jedi Order's waning power that they allow such a selfish, dangerous man to have free reign of the galaxy. I assume they were somewhat relieved when C'Baoth proposed Outbound Flight, as it allowed them to send C'Baoth to an entirely new galaxy.
All that being said I loved C'Baoth. I've always openly disliked the Jedi of the prequels. They're arrogant and self centred, allowing such a corrupt Republic to continue on, all the while a Dark Lord of the Sith is right under their noses. That arrogance eventually leads to their downfall, it's the same arrogance that allows C'Baoth to run amok. He's the kind of Jedi who could only exist in the time period of the Prequels where the Jedi Order was alarmingly low on Jedi, and had allowed the Republic to become bloated and corrupt. In earlier times when the Order was larger and less complacent I feel that they would have clamped down on C'Baoth's behaviour and actually noticed just how close he comes to crossing to the dark side.
I loved seeing a Thrawn-centric story that protrays him in a sympathetic light, that shows him as a hero. A noble man struggling against the rules of his people, constantly on the verge of breaking the law to do what is right. By the end of the book I felt a real admiration for the character to the point where I can almost forgive his actions later on because I know what his motivation is, I know why he's so desperate to pull the Empire back into a single galactic power.
We also get to see Thrawn's dynamic within his own family. His brother Thrass comes across as likeable but is much more bound by the rules of the Chiss and he even admits he doesn't understand Thrawn and never has. It's interesting that it shows Thrawn is even somewhat of an outsider to his own people.
Another element that isn't seen much is the dynamic between Jedi and non-Force users. C'Baoth's Padawan is Lorana Jinzler is forced to face her past and learns about the family that she never knew. So often we see things from the Jedi point of view and completely forget about the families that lose their children, it's a part of the Prequel era universe I've always found troubling. It's a nice introduction to Lorana's character and helps when things escalate aboard Outbound Flight.
Without going into spoiler territory, this book gives the reader a better understanding of Thrawn, his motivation and his place in the Star Wars universe. At times it seems he's a little overpowered, but honestly it's no worse than characters like Sherlock Holmes whose brains work on an entirely different level to the rest of us.
Overall it's a really solid book and it's nice that Timothy Zahn had a chance to play in this era. He shows the Jedi from several points of view, dragging them down to our level, showing that they're not omnipotent gods they themselves often seem to believe they are. It's a nice foreshadowing to their eventual fate.
Okay, so now that's out of the way, here are my thoughts on the book.
When we first meet Grand Admiral Thrawn he's somewhat of a mystery. From an unknown alien race who are later identified as the Chiss, he's a tactical genius and poses a real threat to the New Republic, Outbound Flight looks at Mitth'raw'nuruodo's first contact with the Old Republic and what sort of person he was before the Empire.
Outbound Flight is actually a prequel to the New Republic era Survivor's Quest, so it's interesting to see Timothy Zahn's take on this era, including the interactions between a young Obi-Wan Kenobi and his fourteen year old Padawan Anakin Skywalker. I feel at times their part in this book could have been left out completely as it doesn't add a lot to the story, but it's worth it just to see the evolution of their father/son relationship and to see Obi-Wan's interaction with Jorus C'Baoth. At times Obi-Wan is the only voice of reason from the Jedi.
We finally get to see the real Jedi Master Jorus C'Baoth in action in this story and he's not that far removed from his insane clone in Heir To The Empire. It appears he'd always been fairly close to falling to the dark side. He's arrogant and pompous, impatient and barely listens to the Jedi Council. It raises the question, how did he rise so far in the ranks in the first place? Did Palpatine have something to do with it in the same way he forced Anakin's promotion to Jedi Master? Certainly having such an unstable element hurts the Jedi and it's curious that they never pull him into line. It says a lot about the Jedi Order's waning power that they allow such a selfish, dangerous man to have free reign of the galaxy. I assume they were somewhat relieved when C'Baoth proposed Outbound Flight, as it allowed them to send C'Baoth to an entirely new galaxy.
All that being said I loved C'Baoth. I've always openly disliked the Jedi of the prequels. They're arrogant and self centred, allowing such a corrupt Republic to continue on, all the while a Dark Lord of the Sith is right under their noses. That arrogance eventually leads to their downfall, it's the same arrogance that allows C'Baoth to run amok. He's the kind of Jedi who could only exist in the time period of the Prequels where the Jedi Order was alarmingly low on Jedi, and had allowed the Republic to become bloated and corrupt. In earlier times when the Order was larger and less complacent I feel that they would have clamped down on C'Baoth's behaviour and actually noticed just how close he comes to crossing to the dark side.
I loved seeing a Thrawn-centric story that protrays him in a sympathetic light, that shows him as a hero. A noble man struggling against the rules of his people, constantly on the verge of breaking the law to do what is right. By the end of the book I felt a real admiration for the character to the point where I can almost forgive his actions later on because I know what his motivation is, I know why he's so desperate to pull the Empire back into a single galactic power.
We also get to see Thrawn's dynamic within his own family. His brother Thrass comes across as likeable but is much more bound by the rules of the Chiss and he even admits he doesn't understand Thrawn and never has. It's interesting that it shows Thrawn is even somewhat of an outsider to his own people.
Another element that isn't seen much is the dynamic between Jedi and non-Force users. C'Baoth's Padawan is Lorana Jinzler is forced to face her past and learns about the family that she never knew. So often we see things from the Jedi point of view and completely forget about the families that lose their children, it's a part of the Prequel era universe I've always found troubling. It's a nice introduction to Lorana's character and helps when things escalate aboard Outbound Flight.
Without going into spoiler territory, this book gives the reader a better understanding of Thrawn, his motivation and his place in the Star Wars universe. At times it seems he's a little overpowered, but honestly it's no worse than characters like Sherlock Holmes whose brains work on an entirely different level to the rest of us.
Overall it's a really solid book and it's nice that Timothy Zahn had a chance to play in this era. He shows the Jedi from several points of view, dragging them down to our level, showing that they're not omnipotent gods they themselves often seem to believe they are. It's a nice foreshadowing to their eventual fate.
Being such a pivotal part of the backstory of a major player in the Heir to the Empire trilogy, methinks I expected too much of it. The eponymous flight didn't get started until more than half-way through the book. And even then, The Chiss subplot took us away from it for half of the, um, second half.
I was surprised, too, at my disappointment seeing Thrawn and The Chiss. While still a great character, I was hoping to see Mr. Zahn's skills plied elsewhere.
Since this is no longer canon, I could see Mr. Zahn pulled a Raymond Chandler and cannibalized this book for his new Thrawn trilogy. Jorj Car'das becomes Eli Vento and Thrawn and Ar'alani jockey for position.
It did introduce Thrass, Thrawn's brother, which was an Oh! moment for me.
Putting Anakin and Obi-wan, the Trade Federation and the battle droids in it felt too much like a forced attempt to remind people of the Prequels.
An entertaining, if ultimately underwhelming, read.
I was surprised, too, at my disappointment seeing Thrawn and The Chiss. While still a great character, I was hoping to see Mr. Zahn's skills plied elsewhere.
Since this is no longer canon, I could see Mr. Zahn pulled a Raymond Chandler and cannibalized this book for his new Thrawn trilogy. Jorj Car'das becomes Eli Vento and Thrawn and Ar'alani jockey for position.
It did introduce Thrass, Thrawn's brother, which was an Oh! moment for me.
Putting Anakin and Obi-wan, the Trade Federation and the battle droids in it felt too much like a forced attempt to remind people of the Prequels.
An entertaining, if ultimately underwhelming, read.
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
adventurous
informative
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Very much love Thrawn.