Books: Star Wars: Thrawn: Alliances by Timothy Zahn (2018)

There have been only a few authors who’ve written in the Expanded Universe that is Star Wars that can be said truly understand what George Lucas created and expand upon it, giving us a more in-depth look into the franchise, give us very realistic characters and stories that don’t rely on so much magic, coincidence, and convenience.

When Timothy Zahn helped re-launch the dormant Star Wars universe back in 1991, his Thrawn trilogy was highly regarded. Of course, until then, Zahn was a highly successful science fiction writer, so while stepping in the space opera world of Luke, Han, Leia, the Empire and everything else was fairly easy for him, he was able to make his stories resonant. He was able to set himself above some the other tales that would spin out over the next twenty-five years.  

While the character was killed off in The Last Command, Zahn would continue over the next two decades to keep the character alive, writing a sequel to the Thrawn Trilogy (Specter of the Past, Vision of the Future) along tales that used his visage for nefarious uses (Survivor’s Quest, Outbound Flight). The character would also pop up a few times in other writers stories, as well

With his latest duology, Zahn has given us an even greater look into the Chiss Admiral and his actions with the Emperor and Darth Vader.

Thrawn: Alliances gives us, essentially, two tales set years apart, but are essentially two sides of one coin. The first part opens a time after Thrawn's appearance in season three of the TV series Rebels- prior to A New Hope. The second part set somewhere after season 5 of the TV series The Clone Wars -between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.  This allows Thrawn to team up with Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker.

“On Batuu, at the edges of the Unknown Regions, a threat to the Empire is taking root -its existence little more than a glimmer, its consequences as yet unknowable. But it is troubling enough to the Imperial leader to warrant investigation by his most powerful agents: ruthless enforcer Lord Darth Vader and brilliant strategist Grand Admiral Thrawn. Fierce rivals for the emperor's favor, and outspoken adversaries on Imperial affairs -including the Death Star project- the formidable pair seem unlikely partners for such a crucial mission. But the Emperor knows it's not the first time Vader and Thrawn have joined forces. And there's more behind his royal command than either man suspects. In what seems like a lifetime ago, General Anakin Skywalker of the Galactic Republic, and Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo, officer of the Chiss Ascendancy, crossed paths for the first time. One on a desperate personal quest, the other with motives unknown . . . and undisclosed. But facing a gauntlet of dangers on a far-flung world, they forged an uneasy alliance -neither remotely aware of what their futures held in store. Now, thrust together once more, they find themselves bound again for the planet where they once fought side by side. There they will be doubly challenged -by a test of their allegiance to the Empire . . . and an enemy that threatens even their combined might.”

These two books offer some more wonderfully insightful look into Thrawn and his purpose to both the Empire and his allegiance to the Chiss Ascendency. Thrawn has always been complex, a non-human who straddles the fence between the Empire’s iron-fisted rule and his own belief system, but here we get an deeper look into what he’s willing to do to help his own people. Also, we get a great look into Anakin Skywalker, who remains impatient and bratty that we all saw in Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith (not unlikable, but certainly childish). But like two sides of any coin, we get to see another side of Darth Vader that is rarely described in such wonder -his own internal conflict to keep his past identity that must be kept secret, but his effort to disassociate from that past identity.  This battle of wills with himself gives another window into the world of the character, and deepens the conflict Luke senses in Return of the Jedi. Vader has always been portrayed in a no-nonsense sort of way, which can make him one dimensional, but under the steady hand of Zahn we see that the character is more than the sum of his parts.

The pacing between the two timelines is well handled and never ends up being a distraction to the narrative. And while the Padmé sub-plot is interesting, it does plod along slowly –but that may have to do with her and Anakin being separated for so long. She remains a well constructed character and you see the DNA that Leia will build upon decades later, but it is just a plot device, predictable and somewhat pointless. Still, since Thrawn has now been folded into the new Disney Expanded Universe, even this device will be used in later books and TV series.