I’ve had this book on my “to-read” for years. Before Disney came in and banished excellent Star Wars literature to non-canon hell, “the EU.”

When it comes to nerdy shit like Star Wars, I’m probably the worst nerd at this stuff. So don’t expect much from me if you’re a massive Star Wars fan.

Anyway, I’m not going to delve too much into what I think of the new Star Wars trilogy (they suck). If the new movies deadened my Star Wars love, the shows nearly killed it (specifically, the Book of Boba). Aching for some older Star Wars lore, I attempted another go at the Thrawn trilogy. My first go was in Sangin 2012, and if you know what Sangin is, you’d understand why I probably stopped reading this book.

If you’re looking for Star Wars post-Return of the Jedi, this is for you. Timothy Zahn does an excellent job of capturing the spirit and character of the OT. He nailed bringing Han Solo to life without going overboard and did a solid job with the other characters as well. Luke Skywalker felt wiser following ROTJ, but he had a ways to go in his own Jedi training. He wasn’t a perfect hero.

Even new characters like Thrawn are well constructed. Zahn isn’t leaning on well-known characters from a popular movie; he’s able to create and bring new characters to life. Thrawn was the strongest new character that Zahn created. He felt like a true tactical genius. Captain Pallaeon was a fun character to explore the Empire’s military functioning and how Thrawn reacted to events. Talon Karde was a great spin on a smuggler. Zahn could have just made another “scruffy Han-like” character, but Karde was unique and deep. The only new character that I didn’t love was Mara Jade. I get her purpose as a foil to Luke, but I was getting some weird fan-fic vibes from her. And googling her seems to have done the same for other… “sticky” Star Wars fans. (also, there may be a spoiler in looking her up, which, if true, makes my eyes roll)

And yes, there are some more important characters that I’m intentionally leaving out (spoilers!).

The world felt like Star Wars with some fantastic world-building on Zahn’s part. He introduced some politics, which is interesting because this was written before Star Wars Episode 1 came out. Maybe it’s because I’m getting old, but I found it enjoyable without it being dry. It was nowhere near as dry as the Phantom Menace head-banging council speeches. Thrawn’s interest in each culture was also a good way to add some new depth to the Star Wars universe.

What I didn’t like about the book was how Zahn writes action scenes. The space battles were fine. Everything else that had action I found difficult to follow. Too much describing and not enough of just saying what happened.

I also didn’t like the forced call-backs. A big forest? “Ah, yes, this reminds me of that time on Endor…” Waking up from a coma? “Oh, remember when you did that, Han?” I mean, maybe it makes sense considering that each movie would be a significant event in anyone’s life, but it gets over the top sometimes. Eye rolling.

Pretty solid all around. 4/5 and look forward to the next book in the series.