Thrawn by Timothy Zahn - Book Review

Thrawn by Timothy Zahn- Book Review

Title: Thrawn

Author: Timothy Zahn

Publisher: Del Rey

Publish Date: April 11, 2017

Rating: 5/5

Summary: 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, Darth Vader; 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 and 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.

**This book review may contain spoilers**

I know very little about the story of Star Wars, not having watched any of the movies and shows nor having read any comics, and this book was my first contact with Star Wars canon or Legends material. Before this, all my knowledge of Star Wars came from Lego sets, meaning I knew lots of characters and terminology (Palpatine, Dooku, Kylo Ren, Anakin/Vader, Obi-wan, Qui-gon, Tattooine, Hoth, AT-ATs, etc) but nothing of the story or timeline. I was recommended this book by a Star Wars fan friend of mine who thought I'd like this book if I liked Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card since the main characters of both books are incredibly smart. He was right. I highly enjoyed this book all the way through, and although I didn't get most of the Star Wars references to other stories, I knew enough from the Lego sets to accurately predict the Empire's giant project at the end. Before reading the book I did receive a 50-minute-long crash-crash-crash-course on what happened in Star Wars before the events of Thrawn, but I mostly forgot this (and it was mostly irrelevant). 

Star Wars fans, please note that I am unable to inform you of any extensive Easter eggs or references in the book due to my ignorance of the franchise. I really should watch Star Wars. 

Thrawn details the rise of Imperial military genius Thrawn (Mitth'raw'nuruodo), from when he was rescued from 'exile' to when his aide Eli Vanto becomes a part of the Chiss Ascendancy, as well as follows how governor Arihnda Pryce came to power. During his time in the Imperial Navy, Thrawn rises quickly among the ranks and brings an impressive, unorthodox method of dealing with his enemies (smugglers, pirates, thieves, rebels, etc). His ingenious tactics and supreme military skill led me to instantly love the character, and he was really comparable to Ender Wiggin like my friend thought. The first time I told my friend "Thrawn is smart"(after successfully boarding the Imperial ship to escape exile), he told me I would be saying that every three pages. He was right-- metaphorically of course. In every one of Thrawn's encounters he saved lives and ended conflicts with brilliant tactical mind, and his ever-present aide Ensign (later Lieutenant Commander) Eli Vanto is the Watson to Thrawn's Sherlock. Vanto develops his tactical and deductive mind greatly during his years under Thrawn, eventually accepting a position within the Chiss Ascendancy. 

Thrawn's character greatly develops throughout the story, and he is officially my favorite Star Wars character due to his tactical intellect that reminds me of Ender Wiggin as well as Sherlock Holmes. He brilliantly uses the information and equipment he has at his disposal to make quick deductions and ingenious moves, and he is also adept at reading body language through thermal signals. However, more than his brilliance I want to highlight two of his features I've found interesting: his lack of understanding about politics, and his reasons for working for an empire he knows is evil. 

Since Thrawn is constantly in a logical, deductive state of mind like Ender Wiggin, he does not have much capacity for quickly grasping social norms/political situations. Eli Vanto assists Thrawn greatly in this department, explaining social consequences of Thrawn's logically flawless but politically bumpy actions. I find Thrawn's ignorance of sociopolitical concepts and consequences similar to Maniac Magee-- both are extremely great at their respective areas of expertise (tactics and athletics) but show extreme ignorance in understanding the subtle nuances of their respective societies. 

In addition to Thrawn's social ignorance, I was also intrigued by the reasons Thrawn serves the Empire. In his conversation with Nightswan, Thrawn reveals that he believes the Empire, although evil, is the better alternative than having no empire at all because the Empire keeps order within the galaxy. I found Thrawn's reasoning similar to the view expressed in Thomas Hobbes' book Leviathan, which also argues that an absolute monarchy is not the ideal government but realistically the best form of government, since otherwise society will descend into a 'war of all against all'. In Thrawn's view, although the Empire is corrupt, it is a necessary evil that keeps the galaxy out of anarchy. 

Another major notable character in the book is Arihnda Pryce, tangled up in the lying, false-charging. back-stabbing, deceitful politics of Coruscant. First getting tangled up in politics when her family mining corporation is forcefully taken away from her by deceit, she goes to the capital city-planet Coruscant, the center of the galaxy. Getting friends, establishing connections, then getting cut off from those in power and then betraying her friends, and then betraying her superiors to get more political power, Pryce was a highly highly dislikable Slytherin character obsessed with climbing the political ladder and nothing else. She makes awesome business pitches, though-- her interactions/operation proposals to Grand Moff Tarkin as well as Thrawn were exceptionally well done. 

All in all, this was a superb introduction to the actual Star Wars franchise and timeline for me, and obviously for Star Wars fans this will also be a great insight into learning more about Thrawn, Vanto, and Pryce.  

I would recommend this book for any Star Wars fan or anybody who likes extremely smart and logical main characters. I found it a really fun and engaging read, and the combination of Thrawn, Vanto, and Nightswan felt like Sherlock, Watson, and Moriarty with all their tactical ingenuities.

Rating: I would give this a 5/5 - a great story with an amazing lineup of characters, especially Thrawn and Pryce who undergo lots of character development. The story plot itself was exceptionally well done as well, with the conflict between Nightswan and Thrawn being expertly portrayed.