Canon Novel Review: Thrawn Ascendancy – Chaos Rising

– Slight Spoiler Review –

Timothy Zahn is back telling Thrawn stories, this time taking us deep into Wild Space to explore Thrawn’s earlier days with the Chiss Ascendancy, opening up what we know about the elusive peoples and the part of the Chaos they’ve carved out for themselves. Chaos Rising is the first book of the Thrawn Ascendancy Trilogy, and while it offers a small glimpse at a strange new world and part of the galaxy, it’s far too similar to the previous three books, from Thrawn’s perfection to the familiar pattern of naval battles, it’s hard to tell the difference between Chaos and the rest of the galaxy.

By taking us out into the unknown of Wild Space, or as the Chiss and the rest of the locals call it, the Chaos, Timothy Zahn has a real opportunity to explore unknowns and offer new and intriguing strangeness the galaxy may have yet to see. Things certainly look daunting and strange when starting Chaos Rising, as the included Dramatis Persona and explanation of the hierarchy of the Chiss society looks like a lot, but thankfully most characters are called by their “Core” names, like Thrawn or Ar’alani, and the many family names aren’t terribly hard to follow since the book only focuses on a few critical ones to the story. After a few chapters into the book, the Chiss don’t feel too alien either, with many characters sounding and acting much the Empire, from the family squabbles similar to Moffs fighting for rank, how the Chiss view others as “aliens” like human-centric Empire views everyone else, to how no one seems to be smarter or as smart as Thrawn. While this makes the book more accessible and less daunting, it also means what could’ve been something new, alien, and interesting blends in with everything that has come before, making it hard to remember we’re out in the Chaos instead of somewhere in the Empire; this might make the book more enjoyable for some, which is understandable, but I felt it was to its overall detriment and a miss on Zahn’s part. It’s not until the final fourth of the book we truly get to see some of the strange, weird, and awe-inspiring parts of the Chiss and their society, and none of the scenes include Thrawn himself, but if the other two books in the trilogy can focus more on that aspect, they’d offer a little more variety to this trilogy, as it often feels much like what we already read from the previous Thrawn trilogy; Thrawn identifies a problem no one else can, he slowly gets enough people to believe him, and he explains his crazy plan that works afterwards…a combination that happens multiple times within each book.

Speaking of Thrawn, considering this trilogy is to focus on his early days, one would imagine the Thrawn here would be a bit of a rookie, not quite the military genius yet, and still working his way up and having to prove himself from his shear intuitive abilities alone. Unfortunately, Zahn misses this opportunity, relegating any of his formative years in Memory chapters starring other characters, and offers us in the present set story with…Thrawn, exactly like we’ve seen him in books prior (that are set after this, mind you): Already a military genius, already higher up in the military, and while he’s proving himself due to his shear intuitive abilities, he has a benevolent benefactor looking out for him that allows him to fail upwards. Even when Thrawn fails here, it always has less to do with any direct action of his own but rather his one flaw, an inability to grasp politics. It turns out help he renders to one race in the Chaos is being used to eradicate another, and even Ar’alani, one of the very few even near Thrawn’s level with deductive abilities, didn’t see them playing the Chiss’ help, making it feel even less his fault. We’ve known about his political shortcoming since the last trilogy, though within the Ascendancy he at least has allies helping with that aspect, unlike when he’s out with the Empire later, so keeping him with one single flaw is disappointing, especially now he has a team to help him deal with it. What hindered my enjoyment of the last two books in his first trilogy was how Thrawn rarely, if ever, failed, as seeing him learn from failure could lead to great new characterizations for the character, or even having him struggle could make me more empathic, but he’s only failed outright in Star Wars Rebels, and what comes next from that moment, and the repercussion for both the character and the greater Chiss Ascendancy, hold tons of potential. Nothing to that level quite happens in Chaos Rising. Instead, despite any stumbles within, Thrawn manages to fail upwards, like he has in nearly all the recent canon books to date, and it’s all thanks to a system that prioritizes military might and sees young female navigators through a coddling, childish lens. His ability to fail upwards wouldn’t be such a glaring and monotonous choice if the character wasn’t put on a pedestal both in and out of universe, as the book basically adds Thrawn to the chosen one trope (more on that later), while factoring in this is written by a white male author (for a blue character) brings the constant upwards fails to an eye-rolling level. One of the few new tidbits regarding Thrawn is his adoption by the Mitth family, changing his name from Vurawn to Thrawn, and while this feels like it’s supposed to mean something, and maybe later in the trilogy it could, here it comes off as a Wookieepedia morsel more than anything else. Sure, there are also a few scenes where he’s going to art galleries with friends or being ‘normal’ to some extent, which was different and interesting to some extent, but more compelling would be scenes showing us how Thrawn learned to find so many interesting and revealing patterns in art or what his life was like with his ‘first’ family, how they nurtured his instincts and sharp mind, then getting fully formed Thrawn again. The book also tries to present Thrawn as a good person, to some extent, because the Chiss have a strict rule against preemptive strikes, which he constantly circumvents to help those in need they would typically let fend for themselves; knowing he later joins the Empire, a fascist regime, and is happy for their potential help with the growing threat to the Ascendancy, thus he was the main villain to our beloved Space Family in Rebels, this attempt to make him a “good guy” doesn’t feel authentic to the character nor sits well. If he has some alternative, secretive goal, as non-Chiss tradition actions seem to suggest, what it is and how it pans out might change my mind.

As mentioned earlier, the truly alien aspect of the Chiss and their society manifests in the stories of other characters. With Che’ri, a young sky-walker, the term Chiss have for the young women born with the Force who use it to navigate hyperspace instead of going jump-by-jump, we see how they coddle the kids and believe they are nothing but teenagers who just need a bath to ‘cool off,’ despite putting them into often intense situations and somehow run out their Force-ability by age 13-14 due to their work. I didn’t quite feel comfortable with how this aspect was portrayed at times, often for laughs, as their need to be calmed or to have a nice little snack felt like it had less to do with their age and more with them being girls, and felt odd coming from a rigid society that’s supposed to respect and hold them up as their most valuable assets. Che’ri’s trajectory through the book thankfully differs and avoids this, as she is picked by Thrawn to help on missions and gains new abilities and skills, thus being seen more for who she is and wants and less than her sole ability. And then there’s Thalias, Che’ri’s caregiver and a former sky-walker, whose life becomes intertwined to Thrawn’s. Her journey was my favorite part of the book, though unlike Arihnda Pryce in 2018’s Thrawn, Thalias doesn’t quite have the other half of the book devoted to her, but her parts still thrill and surprise in truly unique ways. Adopted by the Mitth as well after asking to join them, the Chiss family rules allow any of their adoptees to become part of the bloodline by taking Trials and working their way up, and Thalias ends up taking the Mitth Trials towards the end of the book. Getting a glimpse behind the veil of the Chiss homeworld, Csilla, the awe of the Mitth’s home, and the very unique, difficult, and engaging Trials are what finally make Chaos Rising feel like it’s set somewhere outside the normal galaxy we know; I wish this happened far earlier than the final fourth of the book. I enjoyed both of these characters the most, but the only part that rankled me with their appearances here was how they only gain any confidence and self-worth because Thrawn believes in them, making the two more main female characters seemingly dependent on a male character rather than making their own way. Che’ri gains lots of self-confidence under Thrawn’s tutelage, eager to be something more than a little girl navigating big ships, and Thalias believes in herself to complete the Trials and does so mainly all on her own, but they still tie their feelings of confidence to Thrawn instead of how clearly skilled and capable they are on their own.

The plot of the novel involves the threat of an unknown enemy closing around the Chiss Ascendancy and Thrawn’s attempts to defeat this threat, even if the Ruling Families are too confident no one would ever consider attacking them. The enemy’s leader, General Yiv the Benevolent, is an intriguing, charismatic character, and he felt mostly like a good match for Thrawn, though the ending seems to hint there might be a Moriarty-like character waiting in the wings to match him instead. To me, it felt like Yiv had some similarities to the Yuuzhan Vong, with symbiotes living on him, and his tactics were definitely a smart way, to some extent, to come at the Chiss. Within the Ascendancy, forces conspire against and for Thrawn, as he’s basically seen as a Chosen One…chosen to either destroy them or save them, depending on whose side you’re on. Thrawn as a Chosen One highlighted something that hovered at the edge of my mind while reading Chaos Rising and has been set up from how Thrawn keeps sending back male characters who work for the Empire to help the Chiss: how come there isn’t a single other Chiss at his level? Considering the Chiss are supposed to be these boogeymen of the Chaos, with a near impenetrable homeworld (or heartworld, as they call it out here), patrolling and policing their borders, it seems silly their entire society hinges on Thrawn’s actions, but maybe that’s on them for putting so much importance on one person and this is supposed to be part of their potential downfall; regardless, the chosen one aspect wasn’t a very compelling addition. Ar’alani continues to be the most competent of the non-Thrawn Chiss, and I really enjoyed her sections, especially those in the Memory chapters between her and Thrawn, as we get to see a different side to her that helps us emphasize and related to her more; she’s been one of my favorites throughout the previous Thrawn trilogy and that looks to continue her. Her journey towards her current position is also engaging, much like Thalias and Che’ri, allowing us to see what military commitment looks like in a family-orientated society.

By the end of Treason, I felt like we needed to dig into the Chiss and their way of life to care more about their plight with the enigmatic Grysk, and Chaos Rising only just scratches the surface. We see Chiss society through the lens of their ruling elite and members of the military, so it’s mainly people out to improve their station, not the Chiss as a whole, bringing many comparisons to squabbling Moffs and Senators in the rest of the galaxy, hence why most of the book doesn’t quite feel different despite its setting. As mentioned before, it’s Thalias’ journey which offers a brief glimpse into some of the unique ways the Chiss live, but a little more history about the Chiss, maybe how their people view the rest of the Chaos/galaxy at large, or even some non-military/political characters could help make me want to care about the plight of the Chiss, but for now it just feels like the framework to give Thrawn more story rather than build up a new society worth exploring. I’m really hoping the rest of the Thrawn Ascendancy Trilogy can dig into the Chiss at large, and if you read the spoiler part below it seems these books very well could be heading in that direction.

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Here are a few other things:

• If you’re curious when this book is set, the events in Thrawn: Alliances’ past, where Padme’s investigation on Batuu leads to a team-up between Thrawn and Anakin Skywalker, overlaps with Chaos Rising, as we get to see the initial meeting between Thrawn and Anakin from his POV this time, not Anakin’s. The way Che’ri laughs at Anakin’s inability to pronounce Thrawn’s Chiss name, and their shared surprise over his last name considering she’s a ‘sky-walker,’ were fun additions to this moment.
• Qilori didn’t get a section above, but he might be my favorite character from the novel. Qilori is a Navigator, basically a group of Force-sensitives who do exactly what the Chiss sky-walkers do, use the Force to pilot through hyperspace; they just don’t lose their power at a young age like the Chiss do. It’s interesting to think there’s a bunch of Force-sensitives out there in the Chaos, directing ships, and no real connection or care about the struggles between the Jedi and the Sith. It’s also a good reminder balance in the Force doesn’t ever mean numbers of Force users, since there are so many out there who aren’t on either side of a timeless battle. Regardless, I liked Qilori since he hovered in a gray era to some extent, both helping Yiv, assisting Thrawn, and trying to safe his own skin no matter who ended up winning. I look forward to see how he navigates (get it?!) the upcoming books.
• First edition hardcovers got some special treatment, with lots of blue to both signify the Memory chapters and of course the Chiss-heavy focus. I’d love to see this with more books going forward, especially The High Republic, with maybe gold on the pages since it’s supposed to be the golden age of the Jedi.
• Tom, an editor at Del Rey, put together a Spotify playlist for editing the novel, which the description says: “Mostly just good jams to edit to with a few Easter Eggs along the way. Enjoy.” For my musical tastes, there were only a few good jams and I don’t know if I totally got all the Easter Eggs.
• Speaking of the first edition blue-tinted copies, head over to our Instagram for a giveaway opportunity to grab one of the special copies! US only. One entry per person. Raffle ends September 6, 11:59pm CST. UPDATE: A winner has been picked. Thanks to all that entered. Keep an eye on our social media for future giveaways!

Chaos Rising kicks off the Thrawn Ascendancy Trilogy to middling results, as it provides glimpses of something unique and grand, but for now it doesn’t stand out from what’s come before with Thrawn.

+ Che’ri and Thalias’ stories

+ The Trials and a glimpse at Chiss society

– Thrawn barely stumbles, again

– Feels too familiar to the rest of the galaxy and previous books

– Chosen One status and the entire Chiss Ascendancy lives or dies because of Thrawn, really?

Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.

DISCLOSURE: I received a copy of this book from the publisher at no charge in order to provide a review. However, this did not affect the overall review content. All opinions are my own.

THRAWN ASCENDANCY TRILOGY REVIEWS:
Greater Good (Book 2) | Lesser Evil (Book 3)

ALSO BY TIMOTHY ZAHN:
Thrawn (novel) | Thrawn – Alliances (novel) | Thrawn – Treason (novel)

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