No one writes Star Wars quite like Timothy Zahn. I love his writing style, in general, and he's one of my all-time favorite authors. So to say that I went into Thrawn with some seriously high expectations is a bit of an understatement. All that said, this book comes with some reservations for long-time fans of Thrawn, a villain that helped launch an entire fleet of novels in the Star Wars universe. After all, this book reboots Thrawn's origins to be in line with the new canon of the Star Wars universe.

Thrawn starts off not with the Grand Admiral himself but rather a young Imperial named Eli Vanto. Eli is from a backwater planet in the galaxy, and initially serves as a translator for Thrawn as he learns to speak basic. The two quickly become inseparable, which doesn't initially do Eli's career any favors, but eventually, Thrawn's quick rise though the Imperial navy launches Vanto's career, too. In many ways, Vanto is one of the most interesting characters in the novel, because he undergoes some of the most drastic development. You could almost describe him as "Thrawn-lite." Given how the book ends, you can't help but want to see what will eventually follow for Vanto.

An added surprise for anyone who's become a fan of the animated television series, Rebels, is that this book also provides origins for Governor Pryce, a key player in that series who also brought in Thrawn to the animated series. Her origins are very interesting, humanizing her at first, but then they take a startling turn that is all in keeping with her character in the TV series.

In all, the book is brilliant. Anyone who's been a fan of Timothy Zahn's Thrawn isn't likely to walk away disappointed. Bringing in Zahn to do the reboot of Thrawn was a smart move, because it shows how seriously the publisher takes this character and their desire to make fans happy.