Name: Thrawn
Rating: 4.037878787878788 (66 reviews)
ISBN: 9781780894843

Timothy Zahn

In this definitive novel, readers will follow Thrawnâe(tm)s rise to powerâe"uncovering the events that created one of the most iconic villains in Star Wars history.

Thrawn

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Discover Thrawn’s origins within the Chiss Ascendancy in the first book in an epic new Star Wars trilogy from bestselling author Timothy Zahn. Beyond the edge of the galaxy lies the Unknown Regions: chaotic, uncharted, and near impassable, with hidden secrets and dangers in equal measure. And nestled within its swirling chaos is the Ascendancy, home to the enigmatic Chiss and the Nine Ruling Families that lead them. The peace of the Ascendancy, a beacon of calm and stability, is shattered after a daring attack on the Chiss capital that leaves no trace of the enemy. Baffled, the Ascendancy dispatches one of its brightest young military officers to root out the unseen assailants. A recruit born of no title, but adopted into the powerful family of the Mitth and given the name Thrawn. With the might of the Expansionary Fleet at his back, and the aid of his comrade Admiral Ar’alani, answers begin to fall into place. But as Thrawn’s first command probes deeper into the vast stretch of space his people call the Chaos, he realizes that the mission he has been given is not what it seems. And the threat to the Ascendancy is only just beginning.

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy (Book I: Chaos Rising)

I read the first half of this book as a visual format and in the latter half, I read it as an audiobook. I thought that the audiobook production and narration was really well-done, and I was really immersed by the story even more. I enjoyed this book. 

Mirror

Ryan LaFerney

Thrawn (#1) 2 1/2 (rounded up to three here - it was ok and yes, I like elements of it) stars

Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire, all-though now considered non-canon (Legends), for many fans, is a stone cold classic. It introduced perhaps one of the most interesting villains in all of the Star Wars universe: Thrawn. And while, Zahn’s original trilogy might not have aged well, it holds a dear place in my heart as it was one of the first EU books I read. Now, branded as Legends, it has been reduced to what I consider an entertaining “what-if” scenario. 

Hands-down Thrawn is one of the best villains to come out of the Star Wars universe. He’s a military Sherlock. A mastermind of military and combat prowess who excels at defeating his enemies without the use of the Force. He gives Tarkin a run for his money. A few years back Disney wisely reintroduced Thrawn in Rebels and Timothy Zahn was hired to reprise his role as author to a new novel about him. Thrawn #1 is the result. 

The novel starts off strong. Like many origin tales, Thrawn begins with our Chiss protagonist alone and exiled on a planet at the edge of known space.. A good chunk of the novel is also told through the eyes of Eli Vanto, a lowly Imperial cadet who is taken along on an investigation of this jungle world because of his knowledge of these backwater systems. When the crew encounters Thrawn, they are immediately impressed by his survival skills and knowledge of military strategy, traits that are said to be valued by the Chiss Ascendancy. Obviously, these skills are also highly sought-after in the Empire, leading the Imperials to bring Thrawn to Coruscant so that Emperor Palpatine can decide his fate. Despite being an alien, Thrawn manages to impress the Emperor with his eloquence and persuasiveness, and immediately gets assigned to a military academy to hone his skills and knowledge of the Imperial Navy. Eli Vanto is sent along with him, in order to be translator and guide to all things related to the Empire’s culture and society.

Meanwhile, on a mining planet called Lothal, we get another origin story for another Rebels character: Arihnda Pryce, a young company heiress,who is planning to take revenge on the Empire by infiltrating the very system she despises. It’s an alright storyline but honestly, I could care less about Pryce. She distracts from the engaging aspects of the novel which not surprisingly centers on Thrawn( as this a very character-focused novel). When Pryce is introduced, and our attention is off of Thrawn, the novel loses its momentum and becomes a bit pedestrian. If your a fan of Rebels, you’ll like it. If not, you’ll be a bit bored.

What I enjoyed about this novel is how it detailed just how Thrawn became so successful even in the face of the Empire’s xenophobia. And I enjoyed how Zahn managed to put us into Thrawn’s head. For the most part, this book is fairly dry - Zahn is a rather stark and to the point writer. But he excels when he gives us glimpses into Thrawn’s masterful mind and military action. When we are with Vanto and Pryce, the story falters a bit, simply because Zahn isn’t the most engaging writer and because Thrawn is such an incredible character in comparison to everyone else.
Thrawn isn’t among the best novels I’ve read from the new canon, that would go to anything published by Claudia Gray. However, Thrawn is such a fascinating character that I’m willing to dismiss some of the narrative and technical flaws of this book.

Audiobook Comments: Marc Thompson, the narrator, is great at male voices, and his voice for Thrawn and Palpatine was AMAZING but I really did not care for how he handled some of the female voices. Men attempting female voices just really doesn’t work.
 
Verdict: Worth reading if you’re a fan of Star Wars Rebels or the EU (Legends) stories or military sci-fi. This wasn't a bad entry in the Star Wars canon but it wasn't mind blowing either. It was just ok. It was entertaining enough but also a bit of a slog in places.

Todd Luallen

I'm a huge fan of Thrawn and I'm glad that he's still included in the SW canon. And the audio book read by Marc Thompson is tremendously well done...with one exception -- one of the alien character voice treatments is so annoying (distortion and high pitched) that it is almost unbearable to listen to. Fortunately it's only one interaction in the book and is probably less that 2 minutes of total talk time. But Kevin Thompson (producer) should have known better imo.

It was a bit disorienting going back and forth between things that happened in the past and things that were happening in the present, but this is my fault for not listening carefully to the titles of the chapters (which read "memories" for things in the past, and read "chapter X" for present). There are a decent number of alien names to remember, which means you have to work a bit more to follow the story. And a bit too much political narrative for my taste. For these reasons I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. I always enjoy Timothy Zahn, and I love stories about Thrawn. His tactics are always a thrill to read. And Marc Thompson is an incredible reader - he always makes the Star Wars characters come alive.

Eva Bailey

This was excellent, so well written and Thrawn is one of the best characters in the star wars universe.

B. K.

2.5 stars. The original Thrawn trilogy books were childhood favorites of mine, so this is disappointing, but I was honestly pretty bored. Every Arihnda chapter felt like a chore. Thrawn is still a great character but the writing and story were underwhelming.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER In this definitive novel, readers will follow Thrawn’s rise to power—uncovering the events that created one of the most iconic villains in Star Wars history. One of the most cunning and ruthless warriors in the history of the Galactic Empire, Grand Admiral Thrawn is also one of the most captivating characters in the Star Wars universe, from his introduction in bestselling author Timothy Zahn’s classic Heir to the Empire, through his continuing adventures in Dark Force Rising, The Last Command, and beyond. But Thrawn’s origins and the story of his rise in the Imperial ranks have remained mysterious. Now, in Star Wars: Thrawn, Timothy Zahn chronicles the fateful events that launched the blue-skinned, red-eyed master of military strategy and lethal warfare into the highest realms of power—and infamy. After Thrawn is rescued from exile by Imperial soldiers, his deadly ingenuity and keen tactical abilities swiftly capture the attention of Emperor Palpatine. And just as quickly, Thrawn proves to be as indispensable to the Empire as he is ambitious; as devoted as its most loyal servant, Anakin Skywalker; and a brilliant warrior never to be underestimated. On missions to rout smugglers, snare spies, and defeat pirates, he triumphs time and again—even as his renegade methods infuriate superiors while inspiring ever greater admiration from the Empire. As one promotion follows another in his rapid ascension to greater power, he schools his trusted aide, ensign Eli Vanto, in the arts of combat, leadership, and the secrets of claiming victory. But even though Thrawn dominates the battlefield, he has much to learn in the arena of politics where ruthless administrator Arihnda Pryce holds the power to be a potent ally or a brutal enemy. All these lessons will be put to the ultimate test when Thrawn rises to admiral—and must pit all the knowledge, instincts, and battle forces at his command against an insurgent uprising that threatens not only innocent lives but also the Empire’s grip on the galaxy—and his own carefully laid plans for future ascendency.

Star Wars: Thrawn

Riley

I've been meaning to revisit this one; I thoroughly enjoy Thrawn, but particularly as balanced by Eli, so I can't find the motivation to read Ascendancy, Alliances, or Treason.

Sans

More a 4.5, but close enough that I'll give it that last full star. 

Oh man. Man oh man oh man. This was seriously good. Zahn is one of the best Star Wars writers out there and, while I'll be forever salty over Disney relegating 170+ Star Wars novels written before the merger to AU fanfic, I'm thrilled they brought Zahn on board and let us keep Thrawn in current canon. In fact, I think I might love Thrawn more than Obi-Wan at this point and anyone who knows how much I love my ginger sass master knows that's huge.

Still, this wasn't perfect: there were parts that weren't terribly clear to me, parts that dragged a bit, parts that I feel could and should have been explored further, some loose ends that could have been tied up better, others that maybe should have been left untied for now. Characters that I despise so much that they're on par with Palpatine in the Very Evil, Please Get Rid Of Them Now category. 

But honestly? None of that brought my enjoyment down. And, for once, the audiobook was pretty damn awesome. Cheers to Marc Thompson and his seemingly endless grab bag of voices. It would have been nice if his female characters didn't all sound like impatient and frigid harpies or Gen X valley girls, but we can't have everything, right?

Sadly, book 2 will have to wait a bit because my library hold for Catalyst just came through.

EDIT: ok, yes, I have technically read this three (now four) times but that is because I've been listening to the audiobook during commutes and on planes. But also because I just really love it.

Less about Thrawn himself and more about the Chiss in general and the Unknown Regions/Chaos, but still a really good read.

Anna Pinto

If this were a book about any other character, I might've been bothered with the Mary Sueness of the main character... but this is Thrawn, and he can be as awesome as he wants. An enjoyable read, made even more enjoyable by the fact that I watched Rebels Season 3 at the same time.

Les Reynolds

I love Timothy Zahn's earlier Star Wars books, and this didn't disappoint either. Thrawn is a great character, very creative, innovative, and intelligent. Also, the addition of his aide was interesting, evoking the Sherlock/Watson dynamic. Great book for fans of Zahn's Heir to the Empire trilogy.

I’m a sucker for Thrawn (the Sherlock Holmes of the Star Wars universe), but this underwhelmed.

Thrawn

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