Reviews

This is the best of the "Thrawn Trilogy". Thrawn's climb up the imperial ranks was perfectly paced. Though there weren't many of his signature 200IQ battle plans, his intelligence is still clear. This is especially clear when filtered through the eyes of Eli Vanto. Seeing the contrast between how Eli and Pyrce view Thrawn worked well for this novel.

This is more of a stand-alone novel than it is a prequel to Rebels. Because of this, I would recommend this to any Star Wars fans, but I don't think it works well as an introduction to this universe.

cove61's review against another edition

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fast-paced

4.0

katmiranda's review

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

I read this as part of my challenge to consume all Star Wars media in almost chronological order. So, for this one, I read it in between Star Wars Rebels Seasons 2 & 3. Although I am a huge Star Wars fan, I hadn't read the Legends or the original run of Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy, so I decided to read the newer more canon ones by him. I didn't know what to expect, but I loved that it was a good mix of Star Wars politicking, adventure and mystery. I knew that Ahrinda Pryce, a character I knew from Rebels, was going to be here, and I thoroughly enjoyed her own story in her rise to power, and how she often ends up bumping paths with Thrawn. Eli Vantho was a really interesting and new character to me, and I liked that even though he served as a somewhat audience surrogate in order to understand Thrawn better, he was a fully developed character in itself. I found his journey throughout the book interesting, and interestingly enough, as the chapters went on, I began to understand the potential that Thrawn saw in him. Thrawn is such an interesting character, and this book really allowed me to understand him better, with regards to his own origins, the way he thinks, and how he rose the ranks due to his own unique skills which are quite unlike the normal Imperial Admiral. I also really loved how he sees patterns in ways that most don't and uses it (alongside a lot of patience) to uncover big plot points in the history of Star Wars such as Project Stardust aka the Death Star, and the group of insurgents he was going after.
As a bonus, when I saw Thrawn again in Season 3 and Governer Pryce talked to him about a particular battle, there was a little thrill in knowing that I had JUST READ about that battle right before I watched the season.

natnatboom's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

austex_93's review

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5.0

Written quite well with a detailed look into several characters of the empire. Watching "Star Wars: Rebels" along with reading this also helped my understanding of the timeline. I'm super excited to continue the Thrawn series! His character is such a badass!

vminton706's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

3.75

Although not my absolute favorite Star Wars book I can already tell I’m in for the long haul with this series. I didn’t realize how lawful neutral rather than evil Thrawn is which sometimes is even more terrifying the narrator for this one was also amazing all the characters where so easy to tell apart (which is saying singing since there’s a galaxy full of characters) and this books for sure makes me feel “if you don’t think audio book reading is reading pronounce this name cuz I sure can hahaha) anyway highly recommend and I’m chomping at the bit to read the ascendancy series next!

holono8's review

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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