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A review by yubnub23
Lesser Evil by Timothy Zahn
5.0
4.5/5 stars
Lesser Evil is the final installment of the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy written by Timothy Zahn and I can give a massive sigh of relief that this series ended on such a great note.
While the first book, Chaos Rising, was great, I felt that the narrative was often disjointed with the focus shifting between characters and settings a bit too much for my preference. The sequel, Greater Good, fixed much of those issues and chose instead to stay with characters a bit longer and advancing the story a bit more patiently which I think made that book ultimately my favorite of the series.
This concluding chapter has similar issues as the first book but does a much better job balancing all the storylines that are present and weaves together characters in a far more satisfying way. I noticed in particular that I had a lot of issues keeping track of the various characters (and there a bunch in this book!) in the first 200 pages but once the intersection of their stories with the larger plot became more evident just before the midpoint the web that Zahn was spinning began to make more sense and it was far easier to follow everything that was happening. In fact, that is one of the most impressive things in this book, and the whole trilogy for that matter. Zahn does a tremendous job of providing clear characterizations making known motivations for characters and what makes them tick and then throws them in with a bunch of other characters that you thought were totally disparate from one another.
It’s impressive how good the pacing is with all that Zahn is trying to cover in this book but it all seems to flow very nicely with a wonderful flashbacks providing an illuminating explanation for Thrass, a character we have heard mentioned many times, and his intimate connection with some of our characters. However, the ending of those flashbacks is a bit abrupt and I wonder if there’s not another story that explains what led to Thrass’s demise (not a spoiler, his name has always been mentioned alongside notice of his death).
All of this leads to a final battle which is equal parts satisfying as it is exciting even if it’s a bit predictable at times. Zahn really knows how to write fun and dynamic space battles and he sure does deliver here, although I still prefer a more restrained “battle of the minds” sort of space battle but that’s really personal preference. What Zahn also knows how to write is political intrigue which takes up much of the first half of this book as the Chiss Ascendancy is reeling from the events at the end of Greater Good. It’s so well plotted and is ultimately my favorite aspect of this series along with the intricate world that Zahn has built for this corner of the unknown Star Wars galaxy.
Which brings me to my final point: I want more! The Chiss Ascendancy is so fascinating and I love the concept of a galaxy beyond Star Was but still containing similar elements that ties that universe together such as hyperdrives and the force. Disney seems to have a good relationship with Timothy Zahn so I hope that more books are coming down the line. Until then I guess I’ll read Outbound Flight or something to get my Chiss Ascendancy fix!
Lesser Evil is the final installment of the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy written by Timothy Zahn and I can give a massive sigh of relief that this series ended on such a great note.
While the first book, Chaos Rising, was great, I felt that the narrative was often disjointed with the focus shifting between characters and settings a bit too much for my preference. The sequel, Greater Good, fixed much of those issues and chose instead to stay with characters a bit longer and advancing the story a bit more patiently which I think made that book ultimately my favorite of the series.
This concluding chapter has similar issues as the first book but does a much better job balancing all the storylines that are present and weaves together characters in a far more satisfying way. I noticed in particular that I had a lot of issues keeping track of the various characters (and there a bunch in this book!) in the first 200 pages but once the intersection of their stories with the larger plot became more evident just before the midpoint the web that Zahn was spinning began to make more sense and it was far easier to follow everything that was happening. In fact, that is one of the most impressive things in this book, and the whole trilogy for that matter. Zahn does a tremendous job of providing clear characterizations making known motivations for characters and what makes them tick and then throws them in with a bunch of other characters that you thought were totally disparate from one another.
It’s impressive how good the pacing is with all that Zahn is trying to cover in this book but it all seems to flow very nicely with a wonderful flashbacks providing an illuminating explanation for Thrass, a character we have heard mentioned many times, and his intimate connection with some of our characters. However, the ending of those flashbacks is a bit abrupt and I wonder if there’s not another story that explains what led to Thrass’s demise (not a spoiler, his name has always been mentioned alongside notice of his death).
All of this leads to a final battle which is equal parts satisfying as it is exciting even if it’s a bit predictable at times. Zahn really knows how to write fun and dynamic space battles and he sure does deliver here, although I still prefer a more restrained “battle of the minds” sort of space battle but that’s really personal preference. What Zahn also knows how to write is political intrigue which takes up much of the first half of this book as the Chiss Ascendancy is reeling from the events at the end of Greater Good. It’s so well plotted and is ultimately my favorite aspect of this series along with the intricate world that Zahn has built for this corner of the unknown Star Wars galaxy.
Which brings me to my final point: I want more! The Chiss Ascendancy is so fascinating and I love the concept of a galaxy beyond Star Was but still containing similar elements that ties that universe together such as hyperdrives and the force. Disney seems to have a good relationship with Timothy Zahn so I hope that more books are coming down the line. Until then I guess I’ll read Outbound Flight or something to get my Chiss Ascendancy fix!