Registered: Jan 2020
Location: Chiss Defense Fleet
Me too.
I remember thrawn saying that there were numerous threats in the Unknown regions that posed a threat to the Empire. Hopefully we'll see more of that in this trilogy.
Just got done binging this novel. I'll definitely have to give it another read through, but my first impression is that it's probably just as good as(if not better than) the first Thrawn novel. Easily one of the best things we've gotten in new canon.
It is completely self-contained. There's no Jedi, no Republic, and no Sith in this story(which was a nice change of pace.) It focuses almost entirely on the Chiss families/hierarchy at a very deep level(almost similar to GoT in that respect), Thrawn and Ar'alani's rise within it's ranks, and some of the threats the Chiss have to face in the Unknown Regions -- and on that note, it massively world-builds the Unknown Regions as well. The story is super-dense and packed with a TON of new info, but it's still easy enough to read.
That said, this novel interweaves with the events of Alliances(when Thrawn first met Anakin), so it is set during TCW.
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"I am tired of Earth. These people.
I am tired of being caught in the tangle of their lives."
No Vong, thank god. Main antagonists are a species called the Nikarduns, who are led by a character called Yiv("The Benevolent") -- he's essentially puppeteering the Nikarduns, and seeks to overthrow the Chiss Ascendancy.
The Chiss Empire as a whole(along with its inner hierarchy) gets expanded on massively.
Yes, Thrawn starts off as a Captain, then gets promoted to Commander later on. The events of Alliances(where Thrawn first meets Anakin during TCW) take place about midway through this novel. Zahn wove it together seamlessly.
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"I am tired of Earth. These people.
I am tired of being caught in the tangle of their lives."
The Chiss cruiser "Whirlwind" and Vagaari pirates were briefly mentioned. Those are the only nods to Outbound Flight that I saw.
Also worth mentioning that at some point in the ancient past, the Chiss fought alongside the Republic in the "Sith Wars", but no further information was given about that.
__________________
"I am tired of Earth. These people.
I am tired of being caught in the tangle of their lives."