A review by katmiranda
Thrawn by Timothy Zahn

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.