Thrawn: Alliances is an interesting read which sometimes builds an alliance between the past and pre

Thrawn returns to partner once more with Vader, with glimpses to his past with Anakin

Timothy Zahn’s follow up to Thrawn, which introduced the Chiss to the Canon, delves into his strained relationship with Vader, while also examining his past with Anakin Skywalker. Once more, Thrawn is written with the expert prowess he deserves, with Vader being portrayed as powerful and suspicious of the Chiss. Despite this, Zahn’s Clone War era passages lack the character depth which they deserve.

The story revolves around the difficult partnership of the Sith Lord and Chiss. The Emperor has sensed something that is Force-sensitive on the border of the Unknown Regions, and has sent Thrawn and Vader to figure out what it is. Vader is wary of Thrawn’s connection to the Unknown Regions and questions the Chiss’ loyalty, which occasionally leads to confrontation, especially when he is not clued into Thrawn’s plotting and planning.

Thrawn is written in the way you’d expect: he’s tactical, cunning, and constantly calm - even in the face of Vader. The Sith Lord, on the other hand, doesn’t quite have the great moments we’ve come to expect from him, but he certainly shows off his power occasionally. It’s intriguing to sometimes see Vader out of his element, due to the unknown enemy, which presents a weakness in what is typically an over-powered antagonist. There are some flashbacks to his previous life, but sadly these are few and far between.

The plot revolves around Batuu, a planet in the Unknown Regions, but not only during The Empire’s reign. The novel also looks at how Anakin and Thrawn first met, when Skywalker searched for Padmé, who went to search for he lost friend. This was perhaps one of the most intriguing parts of the novel, before release, with little being written about the Clone War era in recent times. But sadly, these moments don’t really live up to the hype. Both characters’ adventures are pretty one-dimensional and lack the excitement and intrigue that the other sections of the novel have.

Overall, Zahn shows his great talent for writing Thrawn as a tactical genius. But apart from this, Thrawn Alliances lacks the excitement and depth of some other Canon reads. There’s some interesting reveals, like the fact Thrawn obviously knows who Vader was, and that there’s Force-sensitives in the Unknown Regions too. But there’s just not enough in the story to make it a classic. A fun read, but not much else.