I just finished the book (on Amazon Audible) and was surprised that there was not already a thread discussing it. I thought it was good, but not great, and certainly not as good as Thrawn or any of the original Heir to the Empire books. The plot was kind of boring and predictable, especially the droid armor improvement meant to counter lightsabers and returning blaster bolts (didn't see the Clone Armor being used for Order 66 coming though). The quintessential Thrawn "tactician moments" were great as usually, but they seem to be fewer and farther between than the previous book or HttE. The novel also suffered from the same problem that the previous book suffered from, in that half of the book was not about Thrawn. Just like I didn't particularly care about the rise of Arihnda Pryce in the previous book, the chapters with Senator Amidala just dragged on. The book also suffered from one of the few problems that Solo had, in that there were no moments of tension for the main characters because we know that they all survive their respective encounters. My last criticism is with Vader. He came across as kind of a Neanderthal, usually not having an original thought (this wasn't helped either by the voice actor making Anakin sounding like an idiot). Whenever Thrawn wanted him to trust him or try something unique, Vader just kept reminding him of his failure at Atollon, which got really repetitious after a while. Anyways, I would recommend everyone read it because it is about Thrawn and adds a little to Star Wars lore, but I was disappointed with it as it is not as good as Zahn's previous works. You should especially read this if you are excited about the seventh season of the Clone Wars, as this seemed to be a setup for that just as Thrawn was a prequel to Rebels . Anyways, would love to hear what everyone else thinks.

Vader in a Defender.

That is all.

Agreed. This book has less Thrawn moments and jumped unpredictably in the audio. In a book you will pick up on the trend but with the audio version having it chapters split along audio chapters...

Still it was a fun read though the first was far better

On 7/29/2018 at 1:56 PM, Drasnighta said:

Vader in a Defender.

That is all.

Will pay for Vader ability on a Defender. 23pts would be fair, yes?

I was really hoping this book would pull Thrawn out of the nonsense they threw him into at the conclusion of Rebels . Severely dissapointed. As you guys said, the book had pretty much...zero tension. There was nothing that made me think "man I really want this to keep going" besides Zahn's excellent writing in general.

I will say i found the Vader/ Thrawn interactions to be delightful, and the mirror with the Anakin/ Thrawn story was appreciable, but they didn't get any big mysteries for the reader to wonder after. I remain surprised that Thrawn never got choked, he was reeeaal close a few times.

Personally i didn't hate the Pryce sections of Thrawn, they gave depth to a character that was introduced but not well-fleshed out beyond "nasty Imperial Governess" and i always enjoy a good delve into a character.

Padme on the other hand we know already. Three movies and 5.5 seasons worth of cartoon, her character is a known entity, and her superspy activities really grated.

I enjoyed Alliances but prefer the previous Thrawn book. Alliances feel rushed and missed some opportunities and Vader shouldn't have been a point of view. Vader in the Defender was good, as was what he does with his spare armour. Hopefully it will pay off with future releases.