“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 favor of Director Krennic’s secret Death Star project, he realizes 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 homeworld. 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.

I have a feeling this is going to be less a review of Thrawn: Treason, and more a good bit of rambling about Star Wars novels. Just…fair warning, that’s all.

I’ll get this out there right away: I didn’t enjoy this book. Just like I didn’t enjoy the first two books in the new Thrawn trilogy. And to be honest, I was somewhat lukewarm on the original/Expanded Universe Thrawn trilogy (blasphemy, I know!). I think what it boils down to is, for whatever reason, I just really don’t connect with Timothy Zahn’s writing.

All things considered, I’m relatively new to reading Star Wars novels. The first one I read (Death Troopers) was in 2014. I got obsessed with collecting & reading Star Wars books right after that, but it also turned out to be a sort of interesting time to start that journey. Because it wasn’t long after I started reading Star Wars novels that they announced a bit of reset on the Star Wars canon, an that all the previous Star Wars novels would now be considered “Legends,” and no longer officially canon.

And that was news that did not go over well with a very large & vocal group of Star Wars readers. It didn’t bother me at all, and ultimately it helped me feel a bit more organized when it came to reading Star Wars novels. While I didn’t/haven’t abandoned the Legends books (there’s still plenty I plan to read), I decided to primarily read just the new books (adult & YA…I haven’t bothered with much of the MG stuff).

So, when the first book in this new Thrawn trilogy was announced, I was really excited. I hoped it would resonate with me a lot more than the EU trilogy, and that it would be the start of “my” Thrawn trilogy, if that makes sense. And…the book bored the fucking life out of me. But you shake it off, you move on, you hope the second book is better. And Thrawn: Alliances was definitely better. The addition of Anakin & Padmé really helped, but even still…I was a long way from loving it.

And so here we are, Thrawn: Treason. I went into it with the same enthusiasm I do all Star Wars books, even though the first two didn’t do much for me.

This book sort of butts up against Rogue One in some cool ways, and if there was one saving grace for me here, it was the addition of Orson Krennic. Zahn does a great job capturing the sort of manic bravado that Ben Mendelsohn brought to the role, so the scenes with Krennic were for sure my favorite. And there’s also a bit of a side adventure with Eli Vanto and some death troopers…admittedly, it was pretty nerdy & cool to get to see a couple of those guys up close.

I just think the overall vibe of all three books in this trilogy is…very dull. My lasting impression of these books will be of Imperial officers bickering with each other, while Thrawn does his calm & calculated thing, and then everyone is astonished by his genius. It just gets entirely too predictable…Thrawn comes up with some seemingly-bananas plan, gets resistance from Imperial officers around him, then executes the plan, which works, and then everyone is like “Geez, that Thrawn guy sure is smart”

I enjoyed what the Thrawn character brought to the Rebels episodes he was in, but I guess in book form, he’s just not a character I care about. Obviously, Zahn has had tons of success & is incredibly well regarded in the Star Wars community. And people truly love Thrawn. But there’s just something about that character & all the books he’s in that just don’t click with me as a Star Wars fan.

Of course, your mileage may vary…and may the Force be with you!