Lit The Thrawn Trilogy - My Brutally Honest Review

I thought the final showdown with C'baoth was electric.

 

I'll miss C'baoth. Both of 'em.

 

The point of death by Noghri is that Thrawn underestimated the Noghri.

 

Like I said...didn't like the whole Noghri thing.

 

Oh the pun of it all.

 

I was underwhelmed by Thrawn's end myself, and Thrawn himself. I understand and appreciate the meaning of the ending, but it didn't do much for me.

 

There could have been a more....I dunno...fitting demise for the man who'd been the backbone of the Imperial forces trying to stike back. Instead...he gets knifed....quickly and quietly, that's just a lackluster ending for the book's main villian.

 

Yes, but the anti-climax is intentional.

And let's not forget that it, and much of TTT, intentionally mirrors the OT, if you think about it.

Palpatine was figuratively stabbed in the back by someone he overlooked. The trilogy reminds you of this through Mara, and I think the series is saying something when it also happens to Thrawn.

It's been a long time since I've read it, but the last time I did, I found it remarkable how often it mirrored the OT, and it was clear that it was intentional, and not just a flight of fancy on my part.

 

There is nothing lackluster about it at all. It is extremely fitting that Thrawn, the master of anticipating his enemies' moves, doesn't predict losing control of the Noghri, because he was unaware of the Skywalker/Vader connection and the potential influence on the Noghri.

 

Thrawn being hoisted by his own petard is definitely an intentional irony, which I quite like because this is a man who sees all the angles but he doesn't see his own treachery staring right at him. Or right behind him. True, it's a little .... convenient that Rukth chooses that particular moment and doesn't just shank Thrawn when he's on the can or something (that would have been anti-climatic) but it's more fitting that he goes out on the bridge of the Star Destroyer as he's commanding his fleet. And Thrawn even pays a compliment on the artistry of it!

 

Well for that matter, Pelliaon should have been sliced too, seeing how Rukth and he never got along.

 

Nah, Rukth had to make a break for it and decided to let Pellaeon witness the dying of his beloved Grand Admiral. Nasty fella, that Rukth.

 

I figure this thread is the best place to post this info --- I came across a fascinating nugget of info from a Brian Daley tribute article in Star Wars Insider Issue 55. Luceno is talking about the early projects that he and Daley did together (Robotech, The Black Hole Travel Agency, The Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers), and he says "More important, we'd been talking about Star Wars a lot, because frankly, we thought that we were going to write those early novels that restarted the universe..."

So I'm like "Hey hold on, that's interesting, but is he talking about anything more than idle fancying the two had?" So I continue reading, and the article says...

Did we know any of this? My mind is kinda blown.

 

If you check the trilogy then Thrawn isn't that much of a genius. He fails to realize that his opponents aren't as smart as he is and thus he miscalculates their moves. He greatly underestimates C'baoth and his machinations. Keep in mind that he didn't just lose at Bilbringi, he also lost Wayland and his clone factory. And C'baoth apparently had acquired the skills to make all the clones extensions to his will. Thrawn wouldn't have had the means to do much about it. The clones were the backbone of his troops.

And the Noghri, well, his whole attitude towards them is irrational and evil, basically. The man helped to perpetuate the lie Vader and Palpatine used to enslave the Noghri and he got what he deserved for that. A real genius would have realized that this was not only wrong but also a risky gamble. He must have known what would happen if the Noghri ever learned the truth.

 

In a way, Thrawn isn't entirely unlike Kirtan Loor. He has some impressive innate skills, and he knows it. Unfortunately, that makes him overconfident and sometimes unable to see things that "dumber" people like Pellaeon can see coming a mile away with nothing but basic common sense.

The fact that even after seeing how dangerously unpredictable C'baoth was, Thrawn was still planning to bring him back as a clone again and again, is probably the most egregious example of that overconfidence, especially once we get to the end of the book and realize that he couldn't even keep the first clone under control.

That's what's often missing in the fan appreciation for Thrawn (in universe and out of universe); yes, he's got lots of brains, but that doesn't mean he won't still make mistakes, even very basic ones and ultimately fatal ones. TTT makes that abundantly clear.

 

In that context, would you say that the experimental "Jedi/Sith clone hybrids" project from Riptide, which is supposed to have been set up by Thrawn, fits quite well with what's already been established?

 

Part of Thrawn's mystic was his ability to read his opponents, and just some of his clever plans in general. He was quite willing to use stolen "Rebel" warships, and generally was more pragmatic than most Imperial officers we've seen. Well, we don't have that much of a comparison, but not like Ozzel set a great standard.

He had some inkling of trouble, and he did predict some of the things that would go wrong at Bilbringi, it just went turned out worse than even he could have predicted. Between the smugglers giving the New Republic fleet a desperately needed opening to the Noghri, he had mentioned both as problems, just it all came together at the worse time.

I do wonder when Rukh intended to attack- that other Noghri had told Mara earlier that the Noghri would be patient and then get their revenge on the Empire- the report about Mt. Tantiss forced Rukh's hand, but the timing couldn't have been better. And whatever else, Thrawn still appreciated the artistry of it, literally to his dying breath. That dignified death is part of what made Thrawn so popular. Not like killing Pellaeon would have hurt the Empire much more, losing Thrawn at that critical moment, that really, really hurt.

The C'baoth thing was crazy, and a later book did show how badly those experiments turned out. Not sure if the narrative was leaning towards Thrawn or C'baoth as the bigger threat. For all his insanity, C'baoth orchestrated his own jailbreak quite easily, and all those growing clones with blank minds... well, I really wish we had gotten a The Last Command 20th Anniversary, but sadly don't think the Heir to the Empire 20th Anniversary Edition sold well enough. That and they probably had bigger projects in mind than just an annotated version of an old book. Though funny enough we did get new covers just recently due to the Rebels cartoon.

 

Thinking about that, one really wonders what the hell Thrawn intended to do with C'baoth after he had won. Yeah, there are hints that he intended to have him killed but that wouldn't have been that easy, especially since C'baoth learned and adapted just as well as Thrawn, perhaps even better. And C'baoth's concept of power was clearly directer and much more devastating than Thrawn's technocratic approach. C'baoth always wanted to control beings directly and enjoy his power over them. By helping C'baoth to hone his mind-controlling skills on the minds of Imperial soldiers and officers he effectively gave him the tools to become the most dangerous being in the galaxy.

And thinking about that, there seems to be no big difference between Jorus and Joruus C'baoth insofar as their character is concerned. In that sense the C'baoth clone wasn't all that mad. The clone just had difficulties understanding that he wasn't the original - but the original very much was the same pompous ass as Joruus.

 

Yeah, the running theme of TTT is that Thrawn's fatal flaw is his arrogance. He's so confident in his abilities, in his mental acuity, his planning, that he never really doubts that he's always in control of the situation. There's nothing he thinks he can't do. That's why he keeps all his plans to himself, because he doesn't need to worry about what would happen if he were brought down. Joruus C'baoth is a madman, unstable; how could he possibly outthink Thrawn? Thrawn will always be able to control him because C'baoth is insane, childlike, and Thrawn is a genius who has taken countermeasures against C'baoth's Force abilities and knows how to mollify him. It's impossible that C'baoth could be mentally acute enough, through his delusional fog, to think and plan coherently to get around Thrawn's countermeasures. Thrawn likewise doesn't have to worry about the Noghri. They revere him, they respect his power, they'd never be foolish enough to cross him. Besides, they're foolish, superstitious, obeisant primitives; how would they even manage to betray him without his noticing? Come on, it would be like a caveman outthinking Einstein! Look, he's got this all well in hand.

 

But he did leave Pellaeon with a parting throat-karate-chop.

 

I think the irony would have been more likely underestimating the New Republic....his little seeds of disinformation causing them to spiral out of control and thus giving him the advantage to strike. When really, he under estimates their intelligence and finally overcome their inner squabbles to focus back on his forces. That - for all the stories building up to it - is what the true demise of Thrawn was all about. Not the Noghri, not C'baoth, it was his attempt to stir discontent that backfired. He even overlooked the smugglers banning together to stop him. (Which I still have a hard time with....I mean...they're smugglers. Jabba's death should have sparked a huge struggle for power among them and made them even more ruthless and corupt. Not turn them into thoughtful business men and banning together for a common goal....more like stepping on each other to be the next kingpin.)

 

Well, they weren't every smuggler in the galaxy. They were specifically Karrde's friends, his particular brand of practical, quiet, professional, essentially trustworthy businessmen. Those were the smugglers who banded together. The Durga the Hutts of the galaxy were off being jerks on their own time.

 

Yeah, when they talk about Karrde being Jabba's successor they must mean in the information broker business and those part of the smuggling business that wasn't directly controlled by the Hutts. Lets say Jabba's private enterprise in addition to the normal Hutt family business. It certainly isn't a surprise that the Hutts are nowhere to be seen in Karrde's organization or the alliance he creates.

The men Han contacts and the people Karrde usually works with are rational people. They understand that they are much better off with the New Republic than with the Empire. That's essentially clear in the very beginning of HttE. The only thing preventing an alliance is personal animosity.

I'm not sure if Zahn really wanted to portray Thrawn as this arrogant. He introduces him as a man who listens to advice and has him proclaim that doesn't feel threatened if somebody else comes up with a good (or better) idea/suggestion. He retroactively certainly comes off as that. But not considering that Leia might decide to actually visit Honoghr considering her repeated clashes with the Noghri is pretty stupid especially in light of the fact what Thrawn usually figures out or deduces. I mean, he himself certainly would have tried to get to the bottom to this unknown threat, right?

In C'baoth's case his ignorance of the true power of the Force is a good enough explanation for his lack of judgment.

Actually, it seems as if Thrawn could still have won at Bilbringi. It would have been a close thing but he thought he could do it when he was killed. How long he would have survived thereafter is a different matter. If Rukh hadn't killed him C'baoth may have finished him. And if he had somehow outmaneuvered him Palpatine would have killed him upon his return to power.

There is a very good speculation in the Dark Empire Sourcebook asking the question how exactly Rukh learned the truth about the Empire's betrayal. A suggestion made there is that Palpatine's agents preparing his return to power passed the knowledge along. The idea that the Noghri could get such sensitive information on Thrawn's flagship without him learning about it is very far-fetched, after all.

Zahn certainly wouldn't like that idea all that much considering that he apparently really dislikes the idea of the Clone Emperor. But then the irony is obvious - later on he has Thrawn prepare for his own return via cloning. And he never even goes through with that idea. A Thrawn clone wouldn't have been Sidious in another body but rather another person, possibly with some of Thrawn's memories. That could have been interesting. But why should it be a good idea for Thrawn to clone himself but a bad thing if Palpatine does it?

In light of Thrawn's project to clone himself the idea is not surprising that he would have set up other clone projects as well. He clearly was obsessed with that kind of thing.

 

Why is nobody mentioning Delta Source?