Thrawn is AMAZING - Star Wars Thrawn Book Review

The long awaited Trawn novel has been released
today! As usual, Im here to tell you whether or
not its worth your time. This video will be spoiler-free, but will
be discussing the book in more depth over the next couple weeks. I dont want to waste anyones time, so
is it worth reading? A resounding yes. Absolutely.

Positively. Its fantastic. I loved it. I could keep heaping praise on this book,
but you get the idea.

I dont think there was a single thing I
didnt like about this book. Its well-written. I loved the characters old and new. It feels connected with the current canon
and Legends without feeling like a rehash of whats come before.

Timothy Zahn hasnt missed a beat, and his
title character is back and better than ever! Thrawn was originally introduced as the villain
of Heir to the Empire back in 1991. He was intriguing to Star Wars fans because
he was so different from the villains we were used to. He wasnt overtly evil like Vader or the
Emperor, and he was incredibly competent. The success of this book is completely dependent
on that character.

And Zahn nailed it. I felt like I was instantly back reading the
Thrawn Trilogy or Outbound Flight. Hes so mysterious and charming, I think
I might have a man crush on him. I think he might be the best hes ever been
here, partly just because we get so much of him.

Its not like the Thrawn Trilogy where our
time is split between Luke, Leia, Han, and Thrawn. This is Thrawns book. So we get more insight into him. We get inner monologues that show some of
his deductions and interpretations of body language.

But beyond just getting more time with him,
he is more relatable. In his original stories, he was a borderline
superhero. The deductions he made were sometimes a little
too much. I think that had already been corrected by
the time of the novel Outbound Flight, but in Thrawn, the balance just seems right.

Hes incredibly smart, but when explained
his logic makes perfect sense without being too coincidental. On top of that, he is a character with flaws
and weaknesses. Speaking of striking the right balance, Thrawns
reintroduction to Star Wars made me realize some of the difficulties than arise when putting
a Legends character into the canon. As fans, we want to see other aspects of their
histories brought into the canon as well.

But at the same time, its dangerous for
authors to go too far in that direction, or else the entire story becomes a retread, which
is the main problem with The Force Awakens. There has to be a balance. Again, I think Zahn handled it well. There are familiar elements, but they are
sprinkled throughout.

There are enough to make us nerd out, but
not so many that its over the top. I will say that the first two chapters or
so are taken almost verbatim from the Legends short story Mist Encounter, but after that,
references are much more sporadic. I mentioned that Thrawn is more relatable
in this story. The truth can actually be said for the entire
Empire.

The entire book follows one of three Imperial
characters, mostly Thrawn and his aide Eli, and Ahrinda Pryce. I have said before that the new canon is doing
a very good job at showing the Imperial side of things with stories like Lost Stars or
Rebels episodes like Through Imperial Eyes. Thrawn is no different. Im normally a Rebel fanboy, but I was instantly
pulled into rooting for the Empire.

They keep discussing their enemies and Im
rooting for their swift destruction, and I. Didnt realize until like three quarters
of the way through that I was cheering for the fall of the rebels. Now, its not the Rebel Alliance, but still
its very easy to root against the classic quote unquote good guys of the franchise. So all you Empire Did Nothing Wrong people
should be very happy with this book.

Or, if youre like me and you normally side
with the Rebels, you will also get some satisfying answers about why someone of Thrawns character
would fight for the Empire. Something smaller that I really appreciated
was seeing the growth of the Empire. Now Im not sure exactly when the story
begins, but at that time the Empire still uses Venator-class star destroyers and V-wings. As Thrawn rises through the ranks, the Empire
likewise advances in its technology.

In other novels the Empire seemed to become
the Empire almost overnight. As in Sheev announces hes the Emperor,
and boom TIE fighters and Imperial star destroyers are everywhere. I much prefer seeing this more gradual approach. Before wrapping up, I want to talk about two
of Thrawns antagonists.

First is racism. Part of Thrawns Legend, pun intended, is
that he rises to become a Grand Admiral despite being a nonhuman in an alien-hating Empire. Anti-alien sentiments have been present in
the new canon, but I wouldnt say its been obvious. Until now.

The obstacles Thrawn has to overcome because
of a flawed society make him easy to root for. For that matter, his human aide also has to
overcome quite a bit, because he is from Wild Space. So there is a lot to learn about social hierarchy
in this book, and we get a real sense of how different life can be in different parts of
the galaxy. The second antagonist is an agent code named
Nightswan.

I dont want to say too much about him specifically,
but hes a very effective foil to Thrawn. The Grand Admiral has often been compared
to Sherlock Holmes with Captain Pellaeon, and now Eli Vanto as his Dr. Watson. Nightswan is Thrawns new Moriarty.

If youve seen the Benedict Cumberbatch
Sherlock, there are definite echoes of that, like the way Nightswan almost taunts Thrawn
or invites him to investigate things. Its very cool. If I havent made myself clear, Thrawn gets
an enthusiastic recommendation from me. Whether youre a long time Thrawn fan, or
Rebels was your first introduction to the character, or if this will be your very first
encounter with him, there is a lot to like here.

Ill admit I was a little disappointed with
Thrawn in Star Wars Rebels, but this book gave me the character I was hoping to see. The Thrawn we all know still exists, and I
have hope that he will continue to evolve in season four of the show. I can safely say Thrawn is in my top two favorite
canon books now. It might beat out Lost Stars as my favorite,
but I need to let it marinate a little longer before I make that decision.

If youre still on the fence about spending
your money, well hey maybe youd like to get the audiobook for free! The Thrawn audiobook is out now, and you can
get it for free by clicking on the link in the description or or going to www.Audibletrial.Com/starwarsexplained. If you sign up for a trial, youll get a
credit for one free book, and you can use it on Thrawn. Or a number of other Star Wars books. Or get any book you want! The point is you get a free book, and youll
be supporting the channel when you do! Thats it for today! If you havent already please like this
video, subscribe to the channel to see new Star Wars videos every single day, follow
me on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and consider checking out my Patreon page! As always, thanks for watching and may the
Force be with you!.