Timothy Zahn released Thrawn last year and with Thrawn: Alliances coming out soon, we discuss what we’d like to see from the book.
With Star Wars going far beyond just movies now, there are always new things to keep up with. Last year, Timothy Zahn released Thrawn and he previously wrote a trilogy on the character that is no longer part of the current canon. Zahn knows how to dive deep into this character and I’m looking forward to Thrawn: Alliances, which releases this month.
Before diving in, I suggest reading through (or listening to) the excerpt that was released from the book. It gives us an encounter between Thrawn and Anakin, which gave me some ideas as to what I’d like to see happen in this book.
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The main aspect I’m hoping that Zahn covers in the book is how Thrawn and Anakin had an effect on one another. In the first book, we see Thrawn’s relationship with Eli Vanto and the impact that he had on his life. There’s no doubt in my mind that Anakin and Thrawn are two characters who could learn from one another, so to see that explored in the book would be great.
We know that the book will span a somewhat lengthy period of time since Anakin shows up prior to becoming Darth Vader and after. In another excerpt, we get a look at Thrawn interacting with Vader and Palpatine. So that begs the question: does Thrawn know Vader’s real identity?
That same excerpt also mentions Jedi Kanan Jarrus. For the Star Wars Rebels fans here, that brings up some interesting opportunities. Although, the excerpt also mentions him being dismissed. However, that opens up the door to see what Kanan was up to at some point in the book whether it’s before or after that moment.
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A lot of what I’m looking forward to deals with the relationship between Thrawn and Vader. They are similar and yet so different at the same time. These two characters have been interesting over the years and this book feels like a great chance to learn more about the intricacies behind them.
Between those two excerpts, Padmé and Kanan both are mentioned and it’ll be interesting to see what role they ultimately play in the story and if we see Thrawn interacting with either of them. I’m fully expecting more tactical decisions like we saw in the first book and Zahn is likely to continue to expand on how calculating Thrawn can be. Thrawn is a compelling character and you should definitely check the book out once it’s released.
Thrawn: Alliances is set to release on July 24, 2018. You can pre-order a copy via Amazon.