Intro
Political intrigue, rampaging warlords, and covert missions at the edge of the Unknown Regions are all in store in this look at the origins of one of the most famous Star Wars characters outside of the movies. Thrawn is just starting to make a name for himself as he helps protect the Chiss Ascendancy. Will he succeed in rallying the Chiss forces, or will the political intrigue be too much for him?
I received this book as a Christmas present, and I started reading it that day. Thrawn has long been one of my favorite characters, and I did not want to miss this look at his early days. Chaos Rising, like the other Thrawn books, was written by Timothy Zahn (author’s publisher page and Amazon profile with his other books). It was released on September 1, 2020, and it is 400 pages long. Interestingly, the hardcover comes with blue edging on the pages, something I have never seen done before, in homage to the blue skin of the title character.
Read on for a detailed breakdown, or click here to jump to the conclusion.
“Uncertainty can be the most difficult and frightening of mental states. If you’re always wondering which way to go, you might freeze up and not go anywhere. If you’re afraid you can’t do something, you might not even try.”
Plot
In Chaos Rising, the main plot revolves around a warlord who is slowly encroaching on new territories in the Unknown Regions. Due to complications from political intrigue, few (other than Thrawn himself) see the threat that is posed. The driving conflict comes from Thrawn trying to rally enough of the Chiss forces to himself while Chiss leaders are actively trying to prevent him due to fear of repercussions from surrounding species.
That main plot is supplemented by a look even deeper into Thrawn’s past. There, we get to see previous mistakes he had made. Unsurprisingly, those mistakes play directly into the plot line in the present-day portions of the book and give the Chiss leaders believable reasons for opposing Thrawn’s actions.
I found the plots to be intriguing. Both plots involve some political maneuvering and some mystery/investigation. The main area that felt like a miss was a side plot revolving around a “Skywalker” (Chiss navigator). Though the girl was pleasant enough, her caregiver seemed out of place. I could never really figure out what role she was meant to play for the larger plot.
Worldbuilding/Series Connection
Zahn introduces several new species into the Star Wars universe, though none stand out as particularly remarkable. The strength in his worldbuilding lies rather in the fleshing out of Chiss culture. The shifting allegiances between different families and individual members of the families is conveyed really well throughout the story without too many areas of “info dump”.
As for the larger series, this story sets up the remaining two books (in this planned trilogy) really well. It introduces a fair number of characters and sets the political framework for them to work within. It also teases future conflicts that will arise and need to be handled later in the trilogy.
I am not entirely sure how this fits with the new Disney canon for Star Wars works since I am far more familiar with the Legends canon. However, it appears to be setting up the extra-galactic threat (equivalent of the Yuuzhan Vong in the Legends) that Palpatine is supposed to be preparing to repel. From my understanding of the new canon, that threat is the main reason to push resources to the Unknown Regions which set the seeds for the First Order to arise after the fall of the Empire.
Characters
I really enjoyed Zahn’s treatment of his title character. Thrawn felt much more accessible than he ever has before. In some previous books, Thrawn has almost seemed inhuman (I know he is an alien and, therefore, “inhuman” by definition, but finding a better description is difficult). He is given a weakness weakness of being absolutely clueless about political machinations helped offset his Sherlockian ability to outthink everyone around him in the military sphere.
Several of the side characters were enjoyable, but none were more so than Ar’alani. Seeing Thrawn have a dedicated “friend” (of sorts) rather than a simple Watson-style character (like Pellaeon often was in the original Thrawn trilogy) was quite fun. Ar’alani can stand on her own next to Thrawn. I will be interested to see how she is developed in future books.
Prose
The prose is not bad, but it also is nothing outstanding or exceptional. I have never found Zahn’s writing to be especially beautiful or literary, but it is well-suited to the style books he write. Chaos Rising is a Star Wars book, and it reads like one. It is a face-paced style meant for a more general audience. Overall, the prose makes for an easy read without having large or distracting errors.
Conclusion
I enjoyed my time with Thrawn. I was a bit shocked by how well I liked it because I found the first three Thrawn books in the Disney canon to be a bit forgettable. With this one, I remember the book well even several weeks later—likely because of the greater ability to connect with Thrawn as a character.
You should read this if …
- You are a Star Wars fan willing to explore the universe outside of the normal characters
- You like Sherlock-style characters and crazy mental antics
- You are looking for a fun, easy read
