One of the most compelling villains to come out of the Star Wars: Legends series was Grand Admiral Thrawn. While the Imperial Emperor generally surrounded himself with humans, as seen in the films, Thrawn was an exception. This blue-skinned alien was ruthless in many ways that humans could not be, but there was always a cold calculation to what he did.

In Thrawn: Alliances, readers are shown how Thrawn’s presence affects Lord Darth Vader. The Emperor has sensed a disturbance in the Force. He sends Grand Admiral Thrawn and Darth Vader to investigate the planet Batuu, where he senses the disturbance. This is not the first time that Thrawn has worked with Darth Vader, although readers don’t know for certain that Thrawn is aware of who Vader was earlier in his life. There are hints that he does, but it’s never confirmed.

This story is intertwined with the story of Thrawn’s earlier alliance with the Jedi Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars as he travels to Batuu on a rescue mission for Padme. She traveled there to check on the report made by one of her close friends about weaponry and mining operations on the planet. Batuu is on the edge of the known regions, so it’s not a location that comes up often in the Republic’s patrols.

These two stories are both quite interesting and do relate to each other, although neither Thrawn nor Vader knows it at the time. Anakin Skywalker made choices years ago when he went to rescue Padme that are still resonating on the planet. As Vader, he is struggling to figure out his place in the hierarchy of the Emperor’s minions. There is some rivalry between Vader and the Chiss Admiral, but it seems to mostly be on Vader’s part. As in earlier books, Thrawn’s ability to see strategy like no one else allows him to bide his time as Vader works through various things, including his ability to allow Thrawn to lead at times.

Thrawn: Alliances is a good bridge between the Anakin Skywalker we saw in films and earlier books and who we know Vader as in the original trilogy. There are still many of Anakin’s personality traits in Vader, although he seems to hold a lot more inside. Most of the whiny dialogue is confined to his thoughts, but there is a sense of distrust and jealousy towards Thrawn. Vader’s dangerous reputation precedes him, though, and even Thrawn must be cautious in his approach. There are numerous times Thrawn asks Vader to trust him, and it takes every ounce of self-control for Vader not to force-choke him.

Zahn is one of the premier writers of Star Wars books, in my opinion, and he manages to do a lot of character building here with Vader. The abilities he has to wield the Force are truly frightening, which is why his underlings are so afraid of him. Thrawn, too, knows to be cautious with him, but at the same time, he’s assertive. He is in a precarious position at this point in the Empire’s history and must prove himself still worthy of the Emperor’s trust. To do that, he must convince Vader to allow him to lead when Vader also wonders about his loyalty.

This book also delves a bit into the background of Black Spire Outpost, which has shown up in Star Wars stories as well as the theme parks. There are several spots I recognize by the descriptions. It’s a decent tie-in for the Star Wars Universe.

The audiobook is narrated by Marc Thompson, who has narrated other books in the Star Wars universe. He does a good job with the male characters. Thrawn’s breathy voice is easy to identify in any universe. As Vader, he reminded me more of someone with a head cold than James Earl Jones, but it works okay. His voice for Padme didn’t work for me. It sounds too mousy, and I tried using my imagination to hear it in Natalie Portman’s voice. It’s not her dialogue that’s off. She comes across as strong as she did in the prequels. The way Thompson voices her just didn’t work for me.

I do think you have to be aware of the extended Star Wars universe to read Thrawn: Alliances. There’s a lot of background about Thrawn himself that you’ll miss if you try to pick this book up without knowing his history. I’d recommend picking up some of the Star Wars: Legends series books that he appears in, as well as Star Wars: Thrawn, the book that is the first in Zahn’s Thrawn series. I do hope we get a live-action version of the Thrawn stories at some point, but I’m not holding my breath. He does appear “live” in Ahsoka, and if he interests you there, these books are definitely worth checking out.