Book Review: 'Star Wars: Thrawn: Alliances'

Cover art by Two Dots. (C) 2018 Del Rey Books and Lucasfilm Ltd. (LFL) 

On July 24, Penguin Random House’s science fiction imprint Del Rey Books published Star Wars: Thrawn: Alliances, the second canonical novel by Timothy Zahn that features the Hugo Award-winning author’s most famous character, Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Set between Seasons Three and Four of Star Wars Rebels, Thrawn: Alliances is a sequel to 2017’s Star Wars: Thrawn, Zahn’s origins-of story that is partially based on details from the original Expanded Universe/Legends version of how an exiled Chiss military genius joined Emperor Palpatine’s New Order but was tweaked to consider the character’s canonical introduction as a Grand Admiral before the Battle of Yavin.

As the book’s title and cover art by the Paris-based studio Two Dots suggest, Thrawn: Alliances is a story that is many a Star Wars reader’s dream-come-true: the joining of forces between Emperor Palpatine’s most powerful servants, Grand Admiral Thrawn and Darth Vader.

“I have sensed a disturbance in the Force.”

Ominous words under any circumstances, but all the more so when uttered by Emperor Palpatine. 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.  - Dust jacket blurb, Thrawn: Alliances

As hinted in the dust jacket summary, Zahn’s novel tells a story that is set in two distinct eras of the galaxy. It begins in the “Now” of the early days of the Rebellion against the Empire after the events of Thrawn and Season Three of Rebels, and – in flashbacks – cuts every so often to the Clone Wars era at a time when Commander Mitth’raw’nuruodo first met up with a young Jedi Knight named Anakin Skywalker.

In the “Now” sequences, Emperor Palpatine orders the unlikely pair of “allies” to investigate a strange disturbance in the Force near the remote world of Batuu, which lies at the very edge of the Galactic Empire’s borders. The Emperor has sensed a potential danger to his vast domain, and he needs more information to deal with any threat to the Empire’s existence after he crushes the “insignificant rebellion” against the New Order he ushered in a decade and half before.

“I have sensed a disturbance in the Force.”

Emperor Palpatine paused, stretching out his thoughts to the two men standing before his throne, awaiting their reactions.

No. Not men. Of course not men. Men were insignificant, pitiable creatures, fit only to be ruled, or intimidated, or sent to die in battle. These were far more than mere men.

A Chiss Grand Admiral, a strategic and tactical genius. A Sith Lord, ruthless and powerful in the Force.

They were watching him, Palpatine knew, each trying in his own way to glean some understanding as to why they’d been summoned. Grand Admiral Thrawn was observing his Emperor’s voice, face, and body stance. Lord Vader, in contrast, was stretching out with the Force toward his master.

Palpatine could feel all that. But he could also feel the tension between these, his two most useful servants.

The tension wasn’t simply because each wished to be the one standing alone at his master’s side at the center of Imperial power. That was certainly part of it.

But there was more. Much more. Thrawn had recently suffered a serious defeat, permitting a small group of rebels he’d successfully trapped on the planet Atollon to slip through his fingers. That failure had earned Vader’s contempt.

Thrawn, in his turn, strongly opposed the Death Star project favored by Vader, Grand Moff Tarkin, and Palpatine himself, pushing instead for his own prized TIE Defender project on Lothal. So far Thrawn’s opposition had not reached the level of open resistance, but the Emperor knew it was only a matter of time. Vader knew that, as well.

But Palpatine hadn’t brought them here to offer an opportunity for reconciliation. Certainly not to mediate personally in their conflict. There were other, far deeper considerations.

Although Thrawn and Vader are rivals for Palpatine’s favor, they are also his obedient servants. Thus, they board the Grand Admiral’s flagship, the Star Destroyer Chimaera, and embark on their assignment. Along the way, both of the Empire’s most feared warriors look back at the fateful encounter of then-Commander Mitth’raw’nuruodo and a Jedi Knight – Anakin Skywalker – on Batuu.

My Take

Initially, Timothy Zahn wanted to write a prequel to Thrawn devoted solely to the story he teased in the 2017 novel's third chapter; Thrawn’s encounter with a young Jedi named Anakin Skywalker. But the Lucasfilm Story Group wanted a Thrawn-Vader story in which the two characters join forces. Zahn compromised and decided to meld both ideas into Star Wars: Thrawn: Alliances.

On the whole, Star Wars: Thrawn: Alliances is an entertaining and coherent story that gives fans a better glimpse of one of the most popular characters created for the space fantasy franchise set “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” Since Zahn introduced Thrawn in his best-selling Heir to the Empire trilogy in 1991, the alien Grand Admiral with the deductive talents of Sherlock Holmes and an appreciation for art has been the focus of comic book stories, other authors’ novels and stories, and even made into an action figure by Hasbro.

Ever since the “Thrawn Trilogy” made such an impression on Star Wars fans who were hungry for new stories and new characters in the post-Return of the Jedi period when no one thought any new movies would be forthcoming, the blue-skinned, red-eyed warlord of the Empire was one of the Expanded Universe characters voted “Most Likely to Be Depicted in Canon.” Lucasfilm’s Director of Animation, Dave Filoni, knew this and lobbied hard for such an inclusion after the company was sold to Disney by founder and ex-CEO George Lucas.

Filoni is a fan of the EU/Legends books, especially of Zahn’s work,  so when he saw that Star Wars Rebels needed an Imperial supervillain that wasn’t either Vader or Grand Moff Tarkin, he got approval from his bosses at Lucasfilm and added Thrawn as an antagonist to the Phoenix rebel cell in Season Three of Rebels.

Naturally, Timothy Zahn was asked to act as a creative consultant for Thrawn’s on-screen depiction on the animated series, and many of the character’s traits from the non-canonical Thrawn Trilogy were successfully ported over to Star Wars Rebels.

And because Lucasfilm is mindful of Zahn’s popularity among fans, it’s not surprising that the Story Group asked him to write novels that shed more light into Thrawn’s backstory. Some of the details of the character's past are all-new to the canon, while others are tweaks of what readers already knew from Legends.

To be sure, the novel’s interweaving of Thrawn’s two collaborations with Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader makes for an interesting reading experience. Here we see Thrawn’s Holmesian approach to solving mysteries and reading his opponents’ intentions through body language and other non-verbal cues being contrasted to Vader’s use of the Force and direct, head-on tactics to deal with all kinds of situations.

Interestingly, Zahn gives readers a tantalizing glimpse of Vader’s fractured psyche, especially in the “Now” chapters where the two Imperials are on their mission for Emperor Palpatine and Vader has to recall his past. Per the novel, the Dark Lord of the Sith refers to his younger self as “the Jedi” in the third person, as if Anakin Skywalker were a separate person and not Vader’s original persona.

As is the case with any Timothy Zahn novel, Star Wars: Thrawn: Alliances is well-written, entertaining, and bridges the gap between Seasons Three and Four of Star Wars Rebels while giving readers a rare glimpse into the inner lives of the Emperor’s most feared warlords.  

A question that new readers will probably ask is, “Does Thrawn know that Vader is really Anakin Skywalker?”

I’m not saying; reviews should never reveal everything in a book or movie, after all. If you want to know, you’ll have to read Star Wars: Thrawn: Alliances.