Grand Admiral Thrawn is a Star Wars character who first appeared in Timothy Zahn’s book Dark Force Rising. This book is part of a series written about what happened after Return of the Jedi, before the release of the movie The Last Jedi. Once that movie was released, it negated the universe that Zahn and others had created. Those books have since been termed Star Wars Legends. In many ways, this series of books is much better than what is now canon.

In Thrawn, readers learn about the background of the Grand Admiral and how he came to be a part of the Empire. The Emperor once prided himself on surrounding himself with humans in positions of power. Thrawn was an exception to that. There are no appearances by the usual rebellious characters, as Zahn focuses strictly on the Empire and how Thrawn became so powerful within it.

Thrawn was exiled by his own people, the Chiss, for his heartless actions in a drive to victory at all costs. Found alone on a planet by Imperial soldiers, he is partnered with Ensign Eli Vanto, who is the only one among them who can understand him. Thrawn is shrewd and cunning, convincing the soldiers to take him with them. Once within the boundaries of the Empire, he convinces the Emperor to allow him to attend the Empire’s military academy. It’s not so much for what he can learn there, but more to learn about how the Empire functions as well as the language. Thrawn keeps a diary, and each chapter begins with excerpts from it showing his ambition as well as the understanding he gains as time goes on.

Vanto becomes not just Thrawn’s translator, but also his apprentice in military tactics. Thrawn is teaching Vanto, who never wanted a career that put him on the front lines. His goal was to be a quartermaster until he met Thrawn. Also in the mix is Arihnda Pryce. The daughter of a wealthy merchant, her family lost everything once the Empire took over. She is determined to get back what was once lost and helps Thrawn navigate the politics of the Empire amid his meteoric rise.

This book is well-written and gives great detail into how Thrawn came to be a part of the Empire and rose so high in it. After events in the movie Revenge of the Sith, the Empire became very human-centric and xenophobic about other races. I always felt that Thrawn must have been something exceptional to rise so high in the Empire, and the fear which greeted his appearances was warranted. At the military academy, he is subjected to bullying. Even then, he argues against harsh penalties for those who tormented him, even though they are nowhere close to being able to think strategically like Thrawn. Thrawn isn’t a madman. He attempts to minimize collateral damage while executing highly skilled tactical maneuvers against his opponents in battle. It is because he is not a madman that he rises as he does through the ranks. Both Eli Vanto and Arihnda Pryce gain from being associated with him.

The writing is so detailed that it really made me feel immersed in the universe ruled by the Empire. These are the details that the movies don’t tell, which depict a lot of what life was like under the Emperor. Arihnda and her family suffer the loss of all they’ve worked for and are punished for not being happy about it.

The audiobook is narrated by Marc Thompson, who does a great job. He is a superb narrator who manages to craft very different characters with just his voice. I could tell which main characters were in the scene, while at the same time, it didn’t feel like one person reading a story. He really immersed me in what was happening, and I loved listening to him.

I like how Grand Admiral Thrawn is developed in Thrawn. It’s much better than what was done by some of the animated series that used this character. It just served to make me sad all over again that the wonderful Legends series was tossed aside and not used as a basis for the most recent trilogy.