Thrawn: Alliances (Star Wars)

I read the Kindle edition of Thrawn: Alliances.

As part of the new Disney canon for Star Wars, Thrawn: Alliances is the follow-up to Zahn's previous Star Wars: Thrawn novel.

Pairing Vader and Thrawn together, Emperor Palpatine sends the duo on a mission to investigate a disturbance in the Force in the Unknown Regions. Intertwined is another story in which Jedi General Anakin is on a personal mission in the same system to rescue Padme Amidala, in which he meets Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Acendency.

Once again, Zahn does a fantastic job of bringing out the feeling of his characters, and shows how brilliant Thrawn really is. I especially liked his internal dialog for Vader as he is reminded of their previous mission.

This is a must read for fans of Thrawn, and is recommended reading for all Star Wars fans. It would be helpful if you have previously read Thrawn or watched Star Wars: Rebels, just so you have some idea of who Thrawn is, and how special he is.

Recommended.

There are only a handful of people working on Star Wars projects in the post-Disney era that really know what they are doing. With Thrawn: Alliances,Timothy Zahn proves, once again, that he is one of those people who you can trust to create quality stories in the Star Wars universe.

This sequel to Thrawn follows the titular character in two eras: teaming up with Darth Vader in the Rebellion era (a story that, I think, takes place just before the final season of Rebels), and crossing paths with Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars (shortly after Ahsoka leaves the Jedi) as he searches for his missing wife. The interlocking stories reveal a deeper understanding of the Chiss' motivation for serving the Empire and how he protects his people at the same time.

If you've been watching Rebels, then I highly recommend reading this book for deeper insight into the character. You can almost hear the voice of Thrawn's voice-actor (who's name escapes me right now) with every word. It is a credit to the writers of the show that they emulated Zahn's speech patterns for Thrawn (or vice versa) so well.

If you are a fan of Clone Wars, I highly recommend this book just to see interaction between Anakin and Padme again!

And if you're a Star Wars fan I don't have to tell you that this is required reading because you already know that.

I love Zahn and Thrawn, but this book was a big disappointment. The plot was boring and very small in scope. And, the book switches back and forth in a very halting manner. Just not up to Zahn's normal quality.

This book works with both Animated series (The clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels), the previous novel and our curiosity to see these two heavy hitters working together. Is not like the EU, it it easy to read and follow, for the ones that started reading the del Rey Books after the Disney acquisition (that is not a bad thing, it is my casa)

Any book that involves Vader and good writing is a winner. This book jumped back and forth in time effectively, never confusing. And I was glad that there was never too much space between the different components of the storyline. So often, I find myself just wanting to skip ahead to a more interesting part. TZ navigates this well. Highly recommended.

This book was a quick read with characters that needed greater interactions together. It stacked the closer hands of the Emperor together for a battle of wits strung across a past and present timeline.

The only con i have is that the timelines tie together far too late. I liked how they tied but wish there was a better, longer overlap.

Recommended for anyone who is a fan of unique star wars characters who you wish has more fleshed out backgrounds. Hoping for Prince Xi'Zor next!

Great book, loved the dialogue between thrawn and vader. A must read for any vader or thrawn fan.
Lots of space action and jedi action for fans of either. Only complaint was padma parts of book not needed.

Very disappointed in Thrawn alliances. You just aren’t the same caliber author that wrote the original trilogy. With the epic tragedy that Disney has created with terrible movies, thrawn was the last chance for original cannon and EU aka Legends fans to still enjoy the Star Wars we grew up loving. This is half written as a screen play and with the two dimensions of Time being written about Vader and thrawn it’s chewing glass because you are basically retreading the same story twice and with the screen play style descriptions thrown in it makes for tough reading that does not flow. Heir to the empire was one of my fav trilogy’s of all time. Sadly Zahn has lot his touch and the entire Star Wars universe is the lesser for it. He was the only one I had hope would still provide quality entertainment with the train wreck Disney has created. If I could get a refund and my time back I would. I’m now done with Star Wars this was the last fail this fan could take of the universe I loved.

I enjoyed alliances. Not as much as the first Thrawn book but it was a pleasant read. Since Disney’s acquisition of Star Wars, the novels have been sort of lackluster. There have been some, like Ashoka, Lost Stars, Leia, & Bloodline, but most have been pretty basic. Some, the Aftermath trilogy, have been horrendous!

The biggest gripe with this, as well as Last Shot, is the jump from past to future. While easy to follow along, it is total nonsense in the grand scheme of either story. It lends nothing to the storyline & both stories end up making you feel something is lacking.

I gave three stars because I did enjoy a good portion of it. But it could have been much better.

Absolutely amazing book, one of my favorite authors. But when the cover is bent and crinkled it's a bit of a turn off. It was shipped in a paper folder. Not a box, but a paper folder. With no protection.
Absolutely no thought was put into this besides how can we get a product to our customer for the cheapest possible. This makes me wonder why I pay for prime shipping. It doesn't feel special.

Can we all just agree that Zahn should write all the "Star Wars" novels? Unlike myriad others, his writing style, plotting and and evocation of the SW universe is consistent and fascinating. With 'Alliances', he seals his place as the best of the best.

This sequel achieves a rare feat, it is better that the first book.

As someone who never read the legends version of Thrawn, but also someone how has loved him so far in Rebels and the first Thrawn canon novel, I have to say this chapter is by far my favorite.

Half of the book takes place in the present (sometime between seasons 3 and 4 of Rebels) and half takes place during the clone wars series. And I have to say, that half feels like an episode of The Clone Wars. Classic Anakin and Pademe.

5/5 stars, and my favorite non Claudia Grey Star Wars novel, so far.

Having read all previous Zahn Star Wars novels, this one is certainly at the bottom of the list. I kept wondering, "Did the same person write this novel?"

Writing Style: His writing in this novel is disjointed at best and nothing but a continual information dump at worst. I am not referring to the back and forth between the two time lines. That aspect was OK, though not necessary. His actual writing is terrible, with countless pages of telling instead of showing, as the golden rule of writing suggests.

Character Development: Thrawn and Vader are my favorite characters in the Universe. Zahn has reduced both to flat characterizations of themselves. As for Padme, he simply recreated the same annoying character from the Clone Wars and both she and her story line feel trite.

Overall Premise: The previous timeline in the novel (Thrawn, Anakin and Padme) should have been left out completely. A better novel would have resulted from concentration on telling the present time story line, with possible short references to previous events.

It feels as if the Lucasfilm Story Group insisted that Thrawn cram the Padme story line in to fit with some other upcoming project or timeline. That being said, Zahn could have at least given it his best effort.

I am a huge fan of all things Thrawn; however, this installment is an utter disappointment. Half the book centers around a weak Padme story. Even worse, the other half is Vader coming off as a spoiled and blind child. "Double vision" … really? I was looking forward to this piece by Timothy Zahn. I only finished it hoping for something of value in the end. If you don't read this book, you will not have missed anything of importance related to Thrawn.

Like many sequels, Alliances fails to live up to the quality of the original Thrawn novel. The main plot takes a while to get anywhere; there are few new interesting characters; the chacterization of Vader isn’t quite captured well (in my opinion).

However, I still enjoyed Thrawn’s amazing detective skills and another adventure that leaves even more questions than the first. I also think the connections between the Clone Wars era will please many fans.

Can't believe I am writing this review, as someone who has read or listening to everything Thrawn, I could barely get through this book. Many of the parts were way too drawn out with hyper description where you forgot what was even going on. Every thought and movement is described in detail to the point where you just want them to get on with it.

Thrawn and Vader are shells of there former selves with one of them looking like a genius and the other looking like a complete idiot. I even found the Padme parts more enjoyable as her scenes and the action in them seem to go at light speed compared to Thrawn and Vader.

I don't know if Zahn was rushed on this book, but I think it's been by far his worst book to date.

This book much like the first followed two story lines, however this time they both follow largely the same events at different time period. Unfortunately there isn't a formula for this kind of story telling and this time the author missed the mark. I understand the constraints of the storyline and the fact that there's is a much larger universe at play and the story must be a small piece of that. But the events of this book were still a fraction of what it could have been. I will continue to follow this author closes because the first thrawn novel was fantastic, amazing to see how different it is when his writing must fit in a perfect little box.

Still better than half of the star wars novels out there. But it felt a little formulaic, repetitive and somewhat catoonish (for Zahn). Thrawn is my favorite character and I loved the first novel. The intrigue was not as deep or layered as I hoped in this one. I hope there will be more.

Anyone who wishes to write a Star Wars story should read this. The first book in this series is terrific. This book is another level above it, if for no other reason than how Zahn creates fantastic parallels and call backs to original story points, and puts a new spin on them, or creates a new relationship for one to take part in that actually ties back to the original trilogy, and even the prequels.
Thrawn needs to be included in Episode IX. In this book he is linked to Anakin, Padme, R2 and Vader. He knew, and fought alongside them all. It would be so fitting for him to be included in the chapter of the story that ends the Skywalker saga.
Zahn's writing even has you rooting for the Empire. He tells the story so well, and so convincingly, that you actually get to see a side of the Empire and Vader that isn't evil.

Past and present blend into one story when Darth Vader and Grand Admiral Thrawn are sent to investigate a disturbance in the force in the same obscure system where Anakin Skywalker and Chiss Ascendancy officer Thrawn encountered each other years before. Zahn's storytelling is as entertaining as always. What stands out particularly in this installment is his treatment of Vader/Skywalker as the same person, yet not the same. Interesting and poignant.

Not as good as Heir To The Empire series yet Timothy Zahn is repurposing this favorite Star Wars villain for the new timeline quite well. The writing is quality prose like always from Zahn and the combat is thrilling. This is still Thrawn and I hope we will see this character in the movies as the main antagonist in the future.

small spoiler ahead

Would have given it five stars yet felt the Ghist are merely an also repurposed Vong which I do not right now have positive feelings for Disney moving ahead with. At the end of the day, this book is as good as Lost Stars and 100s of times better than Aftercrap by Wendig.

If this was anyone other than Zahn, the reviews would not be so kind. Flat characters. A boring, stupid Vader. Hardly anything of what made Thrawn so great in the last book or the Heir to the Empire series way back when.

Got this on audible but returned it halfway through because it was so terrible. The writing is uninspired and the book reads like a buddy adventure where Thrawn and Vader are palling around on the edges of the Unknown Regions. NOT something you would expect from, arguably, two of the most powerful/influential characters in the Star Wars mythos.

Skip this story and trust that your love of Grand Admiral Thrawn will be better off for it.

I can still remember seeing Heir to the empire sitting on the shelf in the local bookstore when I was a child. Even now nearly 25 years later the ORIGINAL Thrawn trilogy is in my top 3 of all books I have ever read and in my humble opinion should have been the next three movies. Period. The action was true to the spirit of Star Wars, the writing on point and exciting as were the wonderful characters he created and grew (Thrawn, Mara Jade, Talon Karrade etc) I have the same battered copies at home, worn out from continue re reads. Thank you Mr Zahn for those wonderful memories.

This book, and the previous "Thrawn" were very shallow in comparison. I felt bored reading both. The mouse house of course is mostly to blame but thats another essay. The books felt like wading through treacle to read. I gave up on this after about 150 pages of slog. As many others have noted both had meaningless plots and filler, Characters made boring and weak, repeated tropes (IE Thrawn's name pronunciation etc) and writing on the nose.

I really am upset to write this review with my regard for Mr. Zahn. He changed my life!! but I cannot support the new Disney regime any further. I have tried to read the other new cannon books (From Library, I add not buying) and find them without fail terrible, when compared to I.E Darth Plagueis or Heir to the Empire trilogy. I dont have sour grapes over the EU's demise (yes there were a few stinkers too) just sadness for the treatment of a legendary franchise and equally heroic author.

My advice is rent from library and make your own choice...

Another great one from Zahn. The paralleled storylines of anakin and vader with thrawn really are fun. I listened to this driving ro and from work and made an hour commute fly by. Such a great way to enjoy star wars.

An excellent read. Not quite as good as the first Thrawn novel, but there's really nothing negative about the book. My least favorite parts were honestly the ones with only Padme, since ive never really been drawn to her character. As a fan of the original EU, seeing Zahn keep Thrawn true to his original character is wonderful.

Thrawn is perhaps the most interesting character in all of Star Wars. His insights and thoughts are always intriguing. What better match up then everyone's favorite villia. Vader. We get a peek into his mind as well. It's just fantastic.

This was ultimately a disappointment.

My 5th Timothy Zahn book, this was the only one i didn't give four or five stars.
To put it simply it wasn't a good story.

The relationship between Darth Vader and Thrawn was a big let down.
"Your actions are treasonous" Darth Vader
"Trust me" Thrawn
This was said over and over.
Vader acted like a whiny child. " I'm telling the Emperor your allegiance doesn't lie with the Empire" Na na na
Thrawn was his typical Sherlock Chiss, Vader and Anikan were his Watson, always trying to figure out what Sherlock sees.

Thrawn/Anikan/Padme part of the story was underwhelming.
What's with Anikan's 'Double Vision'? Fill my eyes with that double vision. No disguise for the forces double vision.
It was too slow and the relationship between Anikan and Thrawn wasn't fully fleshed out.

Always nice to visit the Star Wars world but this trip wasn't as much fun as the previous ones.

I’ve enjoyed this Star Wars book as much as the others I’ve read. The only problem I had with it was both Anakin and Vader’s chacters were portrayed as less decisive as in other books and movies. The use of the phrase “double vision” was not necessary and annoying to me.

This is a brand new book that just came out I pre-ordered it and it came dirty very unhappy I’m starting a collection of Star Wars books and every book I have received an the store has come clean and perfect this book cover came dirty very upset this is a new book that just came out

Having read all previous Zahn Star Wars novels, this one is certainly at the bottom of the list. I kept wondering, "Did the same person write this novel?"

Writing Style: His writing in this novel is disjointed at best and nothing but a continual information dump at worst. I am not referring to the back and forth between the two time lines. That aspect was OK, though not necessary. His actual writing is terrible, with countless pages of telling instead of showing, as the golden rule of writing suggests.

Character Development: Thrawn and Vader are my favorite characters in the Universe. Zahn has reduced both to flat characterizations of themselves. As for Padme, he simply recreated the same annoying character from the Clone Wars and both she and her story line feel trite.

Overall Premise: The previous timeline in the novel (Thrawn, Anakin and Padme) should have been left out completely. A better novel would have resulted from concentration on telling the present time story line, with possible short references to previous events.

It feels as if the Lucasfilm Story Group insisted that Thrawn cram the Padme story line in to fit with some other upcoming project or timeline. That being said, Zahn could have at least given it his best effort.

I am a huge fan of all things Thrawn; however, this installment is an utter disappointment. Half the book centers around a weak Padme story. Even worse, the other half is Vader coming off as a spoiled and blind child. "Double vision" … really? I was looking forward to this piece by Timothy Zahn. I only finished it hoping for something of value in the end. If you don't read this book, you will not have missed anything of importance related to Thrawn.

Like many sequels, Alliances fails to live up to the quality of the original Thrawn novel. The main plot takes a while to get anywhere; there are few new interesting characters; the chacterization of Vader isn’t quite captured well (in my opinion).

However, I still enjoyed Thrawn’s amazing detective skills and another adventure that leaves even more questions than the first. I also think the connections between the Clone Wars era will please many fans.

Can't believe I am writing this review, as someone who has read or listening to everything Thrawn, I could barely get through this book. Many of the parts were way too drawn out with hyper description where you forgot what was even going on. Every thought and movement is described in detail to the point where you just want them to get on with it.

Thrawn and Vader are shells of there former selves with one of them looking like a genius and the other looking like a complete idiot. I even found the Padme parts more enjoyable as her scenes and the action in them seem to go at light speed compared to Thrawn and Vader.

I don't know if Zahn was rushed on this book, but I think it's been by far his worst book to date.

This book much like the first followed two story lines, however this time they both follow largely the same events at different time period. Unfortunately there isn't a formula for this kind of story telling and this time the author missed the mark. I understand the constraints of the storyline and the fact that there's is a much larger universe at play and the story must be a small piece of that. But the events of this book were still a fraction of what it could have been. I will continue to follow this author closes because the first thrawn novel was fantastic, amazing to see how different it is when his writing must fit in a perfect little box.

Still better than half of the star wars novels out there. But it felt a little formulaic, repetitive and somewhat catoonish (for Zahn). Thrawn is my favorite character and I loved the first novel. The intrigue was not as deep or layered as I hoped in this one. I hope there will be more.

Anyone who wishes to write a Star Wars story should read this. The first book in this series is terrific. This book is another level above it, if for no other reason than how Zahn creates fantastic parallels and call backs to original story points, and puts a new spin on them, or creates a new relationship for one to take part in that actually ties back to the original trilogy, and even the prequels.
Thrawn needs to be included in Episode IX. In this book he is linked to Anakin, Padme, R2 and Vader. He knew, and fought alongside them all. It would be so fitting for him to be included in the chapter of the story that ends the Skywalker saga.
Zahn's writing even has you rooting for the Empire. He tells the story so well, and so convincingly, that you actually get to see a side of the Empire and Vader that isn't evil.

Past and present blend into one story when Darth Vader and Grand Admiral Thrawn are sent to investigate a disturbance in the force in the same obscure system where Anakin Skywalker and Chiss Ascendancy officer Thrawn encountered each other years before. Zahn's storytelling is as entertaining as always. What stands out particularly in this installment is his treatment of Vader/Skywalker as the same person, yet not the same. Interesting and poignant.

Not as good as Heir To The Empire series yet Timothy Zahn is repurposing this favorite Star Wars villain for the new timeline quite well. The writing is quality prose like always from Zahn and the combat is thrilling. This is still Thrawn and I hope we will see this character in the movies as the main antagonist in the future.

small spoiler ahead

Would have given it five stars yet felt the Ghist are merely an also repurposed Vong which I do not right now have positive feelings for Disney moving ahead with. At the end of the day, this book is as good as Lost Stars and 100s of times better than Aftercrap by Wendig.

If this was anyone other than Zahn, the reviews would not be so kind. Flat characters. A boring, stupid Vader. Hardly anything of what made Thrawn so great in the last book or the Heir to the Empire series way back when.

Got this on audible but returned it halfway through because it was so terrible. The writing is uninspired and the book reads like a buddy adventure where Thrawn and Vader are palling around on the edges of the Unknown Regions. NOT something you would expect from, arguably, two of the most powerful/influential characters in the Star Wars mythos.

Skip this story and trust that your love of Grand Admiral Thrawn will be better off for it.

I can still remember seeing Heir to the empire sitting on the shelf in the local bookstore when I was a child. Even now nearly 25 years later the ORIGINAL Thrawn trilogy is in my top 3 of all books I have ever read and in my humble opinion should have been the next three movies. Period. The action was true to the spirit of Star Wars, the writing on point and exciting as were the wonderful characters he created and grew (Thrawn, Mara Jade, Talon Karrade etc) I have the same battered copies at home, worn out from continue re reads. Thank you Mr Zahn for those wonderful memories.

This book, and the previous "Thrawn" were very shallow in comparison. I felt bored reading both. The mouse house of course is mostly to blame but thats another essay. The books felt like wading through treacle to read. I gave up on this after about 150 pages of slog. As many others have noted both had meaningless plots and filler, Characters made boring and weak, repeated tropes (IE Thrawn's name pronunciation etc) and writing on the nose.

I really am upset to write this review with my regard for Mr. Zahn. He changed my life!! but I cannot support the new Disney regime any further. I have tried to read the other new cannon books (From Library, I add not buying) and find them without fail terrible, when compared to I.E Darth Plagueis or Heir to the Empire trilogy. I dont have sour grapes over the EU's demise (yes there were a few stinkers too) just sadness for the treatment of a legendary franchise and equally heroic author.

My advice is rent from library and make your own choice...

Another great one from Zahn. The paralleled storylines of anakin and vader with thrawn really are fun. I listened to this driving ro and from work and made an hour commute fly by. Such a great way to enjoy star wars.

An excellent read. Not quite as good as the first Thrawn novel, but there's really nothing negative about the book. My least favorite parts were honestly the ones with only Padme, since ive never really been drawn to her character. As a fan of the original EU, seeing Zahn keep Thrawn true to his original character is wonderful.

I had preordered this book and was excited to see it released as I loved the first one. However, it was a huge disappointment. I had to struggle to finish the book. From huge issues (portrayal of Vader) to minor ones (stop already with the stupid "double vision" crap), this was the only Star Wars Zahn novel that Ive read and didn't like.

The biggest problem with this book was that Zahn was unable to give Anakin and Vader the feel of their characters in the movies.

Combine that with a lackluster story and the book feels overpriced.

I am disappointed. Zahn previous Thrawn book has much better storyline. This book is not that interesting. It keeps going back in time. I read all Zahn’s Star War books. This is not one of the good ones.

Alliances mixes two plots into one, much in the way that Zahn connected Outbound Flight and Survivor's Quest, but into two novels, he does this in one. It has elements that bounce around and can be jarring at times but the plot and the execution are engaging once the characters are moved into their missions.

The good:
Excellent usage of Padme, Anakin and other Clone Wars Era components.
Vader's paranoia is exploited but balanced by the fact that he recalls trusting Thrawn when he was still Skywalker (but the trust is also a negative).
Science fiction. The book has a couple of newer ideas like hyperspace disruptors that don't fall into the same-old Star Wars tech like crystals.
Anakin's collateral damage. This is an excellent way to nudge him towards the dark side.

The bad:
Vader is way too forgiving towards Thrawn. While I don't like the whole Vader-cutting-down-everyone new canon we see (the original films saw him kill only 5 people two of which were Palpatine and Obi-Wan) this portrayal is way too lenient.
The subplot with the Imperial Officers, Ruhk and Vader's legion. It got in the way more than it was interesting or plot moving.
Anakin lets Thrawn tag along A LOT and Thrawn constantly makes Anakin look foolish. It would seem Vader would have bad memories of this and not good and trusting ones.

I'm onboard with more Thrawn, more Zahn and more Clone Wars novels. This was a very, very good book. It's not quite among the best but it is in the second group for me.

Very good read.

Timothy Zahn is untouchable when it comes to Star Wars lore. After the new movies came out. I was driven to read more of the old books. So thankful that Zahn is still cranking them out. The characters are so intertwined and the development of character and story are artfully done.

I loved the first Thrawn book, and while this may not be quite as well put together as that, it's still a great read that fleshes out not just Thrawn, but Darth Vader as well, while it explores their secret shared history. This story also introduces the area that's being built at the Disney Parks, Galaxy's Edge. They don't give too much of a description however, only that it's on the edge of known space and home to rough characters.

It's not my favorite Star Wars novel, but it may be yours, and I'd recommend it to any fan.

Timothy Zahn delivers once again. While the story was a bit hard to follow at first, I found it to be quite the experience. There is a lot of potential here and I cannot wait for the next Thrawn book!

To start, I’m an avid Star Wars fan and reader. I’ve read over 20 Star Wars books, both Legend and newer Canon and several from this author. While this book tales a good story of the interactions between Thrawn and Vader/Anakin, it felt a bit slow in pace. The action, while good at times, was laced between long spans of memories and character reflection.

I did enjoy double vision which is a description of how a force users sees a few seconds into the future to react to attacks. I also enjoyed Thrawn’s ability to lead and persuade the likes of Vader.

Overall, it’s a good story in the Star Wars genre yet it’s just not a great one. I found that at times I had difficulty picking this book up to continue reading and when I did, skimmed over sections that were slow. I don’t regret the purchase and it was a good read. Just don’t expect plentiful action like in other novels by this author.

I love thrawn. There should be a movie or 3 abouth him. The story is fine. It might not be the best sw ive read but that might be me not liking paralell timestorys that mutch. But it fell nice into rebels. And i wish we can see more of thrawn.

At first, I was excited for this book as I've been a longtime Zahn fan. Sadly, this book turned into the Anakin-Padme show and sent my favorite character to an afterthought. The Thrawn-Vader dynamic was great and I wished to see more of it. The first book in the series also had a lot of Thrawn insights where I felt I was reading a Star Wars version of the Art of War; which was unfortunately missing here.

It goes back and forth between a clone wars era story and a galactic civil war era story and I found it so hard to follow going back and forth. I also find Anakin Skywalker so annoying. I would give the Darth Vader part 5 stars.