Thrawn is a keen Star Wars book that stands on its own . But the small nods and blink Timothy Zahn makes to Thrawn ’s old life in the Expanded Universe novels — and to the events in Rebels , where Thrawn is presently the main resister — add up another layer of delight . You should definitely read Thrawn ( and check Rebels ) , but if you do n’t have time to go read a hundred EU volume and watch three seasons of a cartoon , we ’ve accumulate the major addition to the new Star Wars canyon , as well as the threads institute in Thrawn for later stories .
[ Note : There are some despoiler here , but we ’ve avoided most of the novel ’s main plotline . But gravely , just gobuy the bookalready . ]
Thrawn is effectively a prequel to season three of Star Wars Rebels . So events like Rebels making his flagship the Chimaera again do n’t make this list , but Lothal , Governor Pryce , Wulf Yularen , and other aspects of Rebels all bet of import roles in the book . I ’ll hit some of that stuff here , but if you like Rebels , again , you really should just pick this book up .
Still , if you have n’t watched Rebels , Thrawn is easily learn without knowing anything from the show . It ’s a prequel that is truly its own story , and not just an excuse to throw out references to late material for fans .
Thrawn and the Chiss
passably much everything that was true about the Thrawn ’s race , the Chiss , is true again , include the fact that the blue - skin , red - eyed aliens are a moderately strong top executive in the Unknown Regions . Now , just as when we first meet them in the EU , the Chiss Ascendancy dominate a component part of the Unknown Regions and have a strong military with the inviolate rule that no pre-emptive strike be taken . One of their speech , used fairly commonly in the Unknown Regions and their border , is once again name as Sy Bisti . Chiss eyesight is also skillful than human sightedness , even grow close to seeing the infrared spectrum .
All of that has go from honest-to-god Expanded Universe to the new Star Wars canyon pretty much intact . Slightly new is the idea that the Chiss have attain the level of urban fable / myth among the people who live near their area of the galaxy . One of the main graphic symbol of Thrawn is Eli Vanto , a untested Imperial officer who was born in Wild Space , which borders the Unknown Regions . As a answer , he speaks Sy Bisti and cognise of the prowess of the Chiss from the local myths . However , just as before , the Chiss know far more about their neighbors than they do about the Chiss .
to boot , the reason given for Thrawn leave the Chiss is the same as his EU counterpart — he was expatriate because he broke the “ no preemptive strikes ” rule . The opening chapter of Thrawn is almost monovular to Zahn ’s 1995 short taradiddle “ Mist Encounter . ” That means that Major Wyan , Colonel Mosh Barris , Captain Voss Parck , and the ship Strikefast are all brought back in their original theatrical role of introducing Thrawn to the Empire and the Emperor . ( There are some pernicious changes that make gumption within the newfangled canyon , like using Clone Wars - era ship type , for example . )
In what is actually a very smart subversion of what EU fans were ask — we all screw Thrawn was deport and why he was exiled — Thrawn change its eponymous lead ’s motivation slightly . As before , Thrawn desire security and condom and see the Empire as a better way to fight dangers than the Republic was . He basically call up the Republic was useless in a fight and , while the government and corruption of the Empire scotch him , their military might and manipulate is utilitarian to him .
But now Thrawn ’s expatriate was a ruse . Thrawn was commit by the Chiss to gather information about the authorities next door . When the Emperor refused to have Thrawn as a counselor , he took a job in the Imperial Navy in social club to further his goal . The position aid him keep the Empire unattackable , but also always appropriate him to do what he think is best for the Chiss .
As he did in the sometime EU , Thrawn recruit humans to his causal agency and sends them back out to Chiss space . In this case , Eli Vanto is eventually sent by Thrawn to the Chiss . It ’s both a way of exchanging data and Thrawn ’s way of shit sure everyone is potent enough to campaign whatever dangers tarry out in the Unknown Regions . Vanto is touch by Chiss admiral Ar’alani , who was Thrawn ’s superior and friend in the EU . We still do n’t make out anything specific about the threat , merely that there is evil somewhere out there and it is high-risk enough that Thrawn will do anything to hold back it .
It ’s deserving call back that the Aftermath novel have said that Palpatine is ghost with finding out what ’s linger in the Unknown Regions and was putting a important amount of Imperial power was sent out there . We also know that Thrawn share his noesis of the region with the Emperor — everything except the information about the Chiss . What everyone finds out there had fucking easily not be the Yuuzhan Vong ( as it was in the EU ) orI will lose it . Most fans are assuming it ’s where the purple remnant — who fled to the nameless Regions after the Rebel Alliance kicks their asses and became the First Order — plunk up Snoke .
Demanding its own book , novella , short storey , whatever is the news that Thrawnmet General Anakin Skywalkerduring the Clone Wars . They cultivate together in some sort of appointment in the Thrugii System ( a locale from the EU that is now presumptively closer to Chiss distance in the new canon than it was in the old ) and Thrawn was able-bodied to deduce even then that Anakin was under thrall to Palpatine . Whether or not Thrawn knows that Vader is Anakin is left unreadable , but it ’s Thrawn , so I assume he totally lie with .
Thrawn ’s time training in the Imperial military puts him under Commandant Deenlark from the new canon novel Lost Stars . And he stick some troublemakers sent to Skystrike Academy , which is where Wedge and Hobbie desert from in Rebels .
Rebels established that Thrawn attained the rank of Grand Admiral after the Battle of Batton , where he leave forces against a group of rebels . The rebel died , but so did a portion of civilian . Thrawn makes Batton the last move in a long chess match between Thrawn and a reprehensible - mastermind - turned - Rebel named the Nightswan . It collide with many as rummy that Thrawn ’s vocation - making struggle would have so many unnecessary casualties , so Thrawn make exonerated that he tried to keep off them ; it was a selfish action by succeeding Governor Arihnda Pryce — often see in Rebels — that caused the many , many deaths . Thrawn love it , and Pryce experience he know it , but Thrawn does n’t have any test copy . But he ’s not glad about it .
Thrawn ’s friend from early on is Colonel Wulf Yularen , whose Imperial Security Bureau position helps the unconnected alien out . Thrawn is fairly awful at politics — well , specifically the full - contact athletics and nepotism political party that is Coruscanti political sympathies . He always acquire , but he ready affiliated mass look tough , and his promotions usually follow court soldierly proceedings .
The Empire
Since the sure-enough EU got junk , Palpatine ’s non - human attendants and other smaller thing launch the impression that the novel canon Empire might detest non - humans a little bit less . Thrawn throws that out the airlock . Instead , everyone give a big tender welcome to the onetime EU ’s love of characterizing the Empire as anti - alien , classist , and very , very corrupt .
Thrawn break that even if Palpatine himself does n’t care about extraterrestrial being ( Palpatine care about himself and his superpower only ) , the residual of the Empire has a very clear bias . Thrawn ’s emanation to power is faced at every turn by people not well-chosen to see a non - human progression . Thrawn gives what I would call a justification for the racism rather than a reason : the Clone Wars were blooming and direful and the Separatists ( the faction that lose ) were mostly non - humankind . So everyone ’s content to generally blame all non - humans for the warfare and the result devastation . That ’s obviously disconnected and is clearly a justification for preconception , but it ’s unfortunately plausible .
Thrawn twin this with a prejudice in the Empire ’s government for the connected and those from Core Worlds ( like Coruscant ) rather than people from more “ naive ” Outer Rim ( Tatooine ) or Wild Space ( where Eli Vanto is from ) . Turns out the Empire — gasp!—is very corrupt . Who you bonk is most important and most people are lining their sack . Pryce ’s emanation to Governor of Lothal is detail heavily in this book and she faces obstruction for the same lack of connection , and suffers from prejudice for being from an outlying world . Also mentioned as a minuscule vociferation - out for Rebels watchers is a reference to Governor Azadi retiring “ against his will ” and an explanation of how Minister Tua got picked to act in Pryce ’s position ( and why ) . Admiral Konstantine also gets a abbreviated appearance prior to Pryce asking for Thrawn ’s forces to substitute his in Rebels .
We also are reminded that the Empire uses slave labour , Wookiee slave especially . A ship full of Wookiee slave is tap en road to where else , the Death Star . Thrawn , rightfully , thinks the Death Star is a hideous waste of time and resources . Unfortunately , it is not his Empire . It belongs to the unfreeze gentleman’s gentleman with the lust for tycoon .
Minor Shout-Outs
This is a very small-scale bit , but ahead of time on in the Word of God Emperor Palpatine takes Thrawn into a garden where “ small trees with shimmering barque stand at the periphery like sentinels of privacy . ” Longtime fans will remember that trees with gloss - changing bark were a front-runner of Palpatine ’s in the old EU . The Ch’hala Tree were both pretty and also a giant spy meshwork , record and channel everything that happen in front of them . Zahn used them in his original books as an important source of information , and if this was n’t a reference to them , I ’ll eat my lid ( Thrawn draw them as “ watch of privacy ” is what sealed it for me ) .
In the very first pages of the book , there is an improvised explosive made with blaster camp with the “ sturm dowel pin ” pull out . “ Sturm ” is a favorite name in Star Wars , bug out up a fair amount . The first instance is Zahn identify one of Talon Karrde ’s pet vornskrs “ Sturm ” in his first Star Wars novel , Heir to the Empire .
But an overladen sturm dowel was used by Zahn in Specter of the Past and the short storey “ Mist Encounter . ” ( As mention above , the first chapter of Thrawn is essentially just “ Mist Encounter , ” somewhat retooled . ) It involves Thrawn , alone on the world he has been exile to , utterly destroying an majestic landing place party . His tactics are impressive enough to gain him submission into the Imperial Navy , but we ’ll get back to that chapter in a morsel .
In the old EU , doonium was a alloy used to make starships . In the new canon , it ’s a metal that is worth a mountain of money , and take it and the mines that produce it drive the plot . It will shock no one to find out that large amounts of this metallic element are being bought by the Empire and sent to the location of a large , nameless secret project . ( * cough * the Death Star * coughing * ) .
I hate to bust anyone ’s bubble , but Mara Jade , Talon Karrde , and even Gilad Pallaeon are missing from Thrawn . However , Thrawn does take back H’Sishi and her people , the Togorians . ( Think … large cats walking on their back peg with a acculturation based on honor and warriors . Yes , another one . )
Through a serial of events in Specter of the Past , H’Sishi terminate up act for Karrde . In Thrawn , she show up as the proprietor of Yinchom Dojo , where Pryce train — and which , unfortunately for H’Sishi , is used by others in an anti - purple plot . H’Sishi ’s not affect with it , but she ’s told to result Coruscant quickly after it ’s discovered .
receive back to the canyon ! Please fall in your fellows overon this list .
Basically , a beckon call is a outback mastery for a spaceship and Zahn used the technology to good effect in Heir to the Empire in 1991 . He bring in the estimation back for Thrawn , where the title character uses one , along with some Clone Wars - era droids , to really just fuck some shit up in the common , over - project , steps - ahead , badass manner Thrawn traditionally does .
BooksLUCASFILMStar WarsStar Wars RebelsTimothy Zahn
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