Thrawn: Treason (Star Wars: Thrawn #3) by Timothy Zahn

Thrawn: Treason by Timothy Zahn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“If I were to serve the Empire, you would command my allegiance.”

Such was the promise Grand Admiral Thrawn made to Emperor Palpatine at their first meeting. Since then, Thrawn has been one of the Empire’s most effective instruments, pursuing its enemies to the very edges of the known galaxy. But as keen a weapon as Thrawn has become, the Emperor dreams of something far more destructive.

Now, as Thrawn’s TIE defender program is halted in favour of Director Krennic’s secret Death Star project, he realises that the balance of power in the Empire is measured by more than just military acumen or tactical efficiency. Even the greatest intellect can hardly compete with the power to annihilate entire planets.

As Thrawn works to secure his place in the Imperial hierarchy, his former protégé Eli Vanto returns with a dire warning about Thrawn’s home world. Thrawn’s mastery of strategy must guide him through an impossible choice: duty to the Chiss Ascendancy, or fealty to the Empire he has sworn to serve. Even if the right choice means committing treason.

***** *** *******

Boy, this new canon of Star Wars stories, both in books and on the screen is really starting to heat up and I've been suitably impressed by most of the new Disney-era stuff. When I saw that there is yet another new canon series (Thrawn Ascendancy) out there, I thought it best to get caught up with this final book of the Thrawn series. 

In what is the final episode of this particular series, the story arc is presumably brought to a close, yet doors have definitely been opened to further exploration. It's a pretty good addition and a little bit better than the previous book Alliances in my opinion (see my review HERE). In all honesty, the plot line is nothing overly spectacular, but it lends itself well to what has been a fairly entertaining series.

We follow Thrawn with his crew and associates on a mission to discover the reason for stolen shipments of equipment and materials from the huge Imperial weapon Project Stardust (named by designer Galen Erso after his daughter Jyn Erso - see Rogue One), or the building of the Death Star. What ensues is an enjoyable mystery ranging across the galaxy, and an encounter with a mysterious alien threat in the form of the Grysks (what appear to possibly be the new canon version of the Yuuzhan Vong) who originate from far beyond Imperial territory. We also learn more about Thrawn's people the Chiss and their potential role in future events.

I'm aware that this is a rather brief review, but it should suffice to say that this is yet another typically well-written Zahn Star Wars story, with a good measure of intrigue and some really good action scenes, especially the space battles. Zahn again proves why he's long been one of the first choices to write Star Wars novels and it's great to see that the new "ideas" people want to keep him around.  It's undeniable that Zahn had a huge hand in creating what became the Star Wars Expanded Universe and the awesome evolving creature that became. I can only hope that the new canon of stories becomes as good or better than that. Based on what I've seen so far, I'm quietly confident that all will be just fine in the Star Wars universe.

4/5 for concept

4/5 for delivery

4/5 for entertainment

= 4 out of 5

Buy the ebook HERE (Amazon US)

Buy the paper book HERE (Book Depository)