Y’all, Thrawn was the weird kid.

You have no idea how much I wish I had known this when I was the strange art history nerd wandering the halls of my high school wondering what the hell I was going to do with myself. I wish I knew that someday, my seemingly useless obsession would not only be applicable but also be useful in getting the right people to notice me.

I definitely would have gone for that masters in museum studies.

*ahem. Mom.*

Anyway.

I wasn’t exactly sure of the direction Timothy Zahn, Thrawn’s creator and long -time god, was going to take with the new Thrawn Ascendancy prequel trilogy. And let’s be honest, despite the success of Star Wars Rebels, The Clone Wars, and most of the Disney-era canon novels, we all get a little jumpy when the words Star Wars and prequel land in the same sentence.

Zahn had a bit of an advantage here, however, in that while fans have known of the Chiss and the Ascendancy for decades (Thrawn’s resurrection from the Legends timeline didn’t change much about him or what little information we did have about his people), we’ve never been inside it. And even though I’m sure there’s a massive chapter in the Lucasfilm story bible, we have no idea what’s in that, which means Zahn basically has free reign, at least as long as his characters remain within the Ascendancy’s borders.

As much as I’m trying to focus on non, cis, het, white, dude authors these days – and as much as the middle volume of the first new trilogy (Thrawn: Alliances) was a little iffy in terms of holding my interest – let’s be honest: If it’s Thrawn, I’m going to read it.

And this, right here – where he gets to work from the ground up, world-build within the GFFA, and develop characters even if there’s already an end goal in mind – is where Timothy Zahn does his best work.

When we see the Chiss in the context of the Empire, they’re other. Formal. They’re alien because we’re seeing them from the perspective of humans, even when a given Chiss is the POV character. In Chaos Rising, there is no Empire. There are no humans period but for a very brief, chance meeting with Anakin Skywalker (#ConfusedThrawn trying to process that surname is delightful), which means, for the first time, we’re getting a Chiss story from a Chiss point of view. (Yes, I remember the interludes in Thrawn but those were short, report-style observations… not an entire book.)

Thrawn may be odd, but he isn’t a complete loner. He has friends, and they chat (well, he has a bit of a tendency to lecture but…). By the time we see Ar’alani in Treason, she and Thrawn have known each other for years, and at least part of their interactions is a show for the Outsiders.

In Chaos Rising, they go out for drinks, they share jokes, and they even do each other favors. He is her thoroughly exasperating found little brother; she both loves and wants to strangle him. And watching that familiarity develop and settle is a joy.

Zahn also gives us the opportunity to see how Chiss society is organized and functions, how both the upper echelons and working classes live. Which also gives us an idea of how Thrawn may have staged his ejection from that same society when he was (I’m guessing) called upon to infiltrate the Empire. To be honest, it’s nothing like what I imagined, and I like Zahn’s version far more than the somewhat cold, emotionless, rigid head canon I had built.

The Chiss aren’t human, but backstabbing politicians are literally universal, so, hooray, space pirates! Also fascinating: glimpses at the daily life of the Chiss skywalkers. Though considered a precious commodity by the military and their crews, their caregivers are… less than sympathetic to the difficulties of their mission. I’m intrigued and excited to learn more about their upbringing and preparation.

As to the man himself, Thrawn was always going to seem strange among humans, but it seems he doesn’t really fit in among the Chiss either. Fans of the morally ambiguous blue general have suspected as much for some time, but now we have confirmation, so the question becomes Why?

Why, in a highly politicized society, does he make no effort to understand a system he is clearly aware exists? Why, in a culture of subtlety and rules, does he follow a moral compass rather than a legal one, despite being demoted multiple times, losing his ship, and endangering his family’s reputation? Does he enjoy making waves? Could he stop if he wanted to? Does he have an endgame? What is it?

Yes, I have a theory. No, I’m not going to tell you, because putting the puzzle together is so much fun and I don’t want to take that joy away from anyone. But hurry up because I need to scream about this with someone.

Thrawn Ascendency: Chaos Rising is a whole lot of fun, squad, and it’s been a while since we had a Star Wars book you could just fall into and enjoy. So enjoy this one and then come scream about the thing with me.

Eep, the thing!

I really need someone else to read this book.

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising by Timothy Zahn (Del Rey) is scheduled for publication on September 1, 2020. There will also be an audiobook narrated by the unmatched Marc Thompson!