Reviews Books The JC Lit Reviews Special OUTBOUND FLIGHT (Spoilers)

I'm on page 125, it's not bad. So far i hate c'boath, but i really like kardas and thrawn.

 

I read a few chapters in the bookstore. Since it's a hardcover I'm waiting for my library system to get it to me. But I loved what I read.

 

9.5/10

Only bad part was it was a little slow at the start (what with the negotiations) and therefore the ends felt a little rushed so i took .5 off.

Cboath's allegedly "mad clone" in TTT, isnt much crazier than the original.
Thrawn gets force garroted again..

Kinman has me laughing out loud with his "im betraying Palpatine by working for Sidious moments"

Thrawn used nuclear weapons.. a first in Star Wars.

Pretty good.. I loved it..

Majorly pissed that the Average "Dark Lord" got bumped up and this superb work got bumped back. Its a crime that Del Rey doesnt utilize Zahn hardly ever.. easily the best overall writer.. others do some stuff better than Zahn but as a whole Zahn is the total package.

 

9.75

I absolutely loved this book! Zahn is at his best when writing for Thrawn, so it was good to see his prize character get the screentime that he needed in this book. tactical genius, and I really liked Car'das too.

what really blew me away were the tie-ins to the NJO series. The fact that palpatine would be fully aware of the Vong so early in the game blew my mind, but it makes sense given Vergere's disappearance. But this also gives very good rationale as to the extent of Palpatine's military buildup during the New Order. It wasn't just to pacify the unruley systems (like everyone originally thought, although it was a high priority) it was to stockpile against the coming invasion.

and the book had a "titanic" feel to it too. you knew they were crashing at the end, that thrawn would win. It was fun watching the carnage unfold, well written space battles.

human shields are F'in brutal. just curl up in a ball and wait for it.

 

I liked it, so i'll give it a 9. When time permits i'll write up my thoughts about the book.

counting 10 reviews 92.7/10 = 9.27

 

Near perfect. I really can't think of anything wrong with it, other than the fact that two out of all the new Jedi get named. Zahn really delivered.
9.9/10

 

Counting 11 reviews 102.6/11 = 9.33

 

In brief: Excellent- a masterpiece of EU fiction that sets the bar high for the upcoming LotF series.

I suppose if I was asked what the theme of this book was it'd be a about culture. I enjoy when a Star Wars novel goes further than just being a piece of EU. The culture clash between the Chiss and the smugglers/Separatists is very apparent but, at the end of the day, a semi-truce prevails. However, nothing shows this more than Thrass and Lorana on board the Outbound Flight as they are about to perish. A truly moving moment.

I haven't read SQ since it came out so I only grabbed the more obvious references but from what I can tell the books compliment each other quite nicely.

The characters in the novel certainly surprised me. C'baoth is hardly a "gary-stu" character as many claim that Zahn's are. His decent to insanity/the Dark Side is brilliantly portrayed by his gruff attitude at the beginning to his outright disgust at any non-Jedi towards the end.

Thrawn is yet another intriguing character that we already know a bit about but this novel sets him up for his future victories quite well. He's intelligent but not infallible. At one point his ships is almost destroyed and close to the end he several underestimates C'baoth and the Jedi Force chokes him.

The inclusion of Obi-Wan and Anakin was probably a decision made by Del Rey so the book appeals to more fans but Zahn integrates them effortlessly. They are spot on.

Our smuggler/hero is another well drawn out character who goes fomr meek at the beginning to a much more mature individual at the end.

However, there are a few problems. One is that the negotiations at the start of the book go on for a bout seventy pages too long. While it never bored me it certainly could have been cut down. My other main complaint is Thrawn knowing Car'das would go to the Vaagari and putting the droids on the ship. That was a step too far for me.

But these aren't in the way of making a good book. When I put down the novel I felt generally disapointed that it was over which is an excellent sign about the quality of the novel.

9.7

 

I thought the implication was that Thrawn deliberately had him do that . . . at least that's how it seemed to me at the time.

 

I thought the implication was that Thrawn deliberately had him do that . . . at least that's how it seemed to me at the time.

At one point I thought that, too, but Car'das's inner dialouge at the time made me think differently. I'll have to check again tonight.

 

10/10

Car'das seems to have been acting at the behest of his boss, but I think that Thrawn set it up so he could accomplish his escape. The craft he stole seemed a little convenient, it felt like it was staged a little bit. More review when I have time.

 

counting 13 reviews 122.3/13 = 9.41

 

9.8/10

Very, very good book. As mentioned, negotiations were a bit long, but not boring. Only fault so far. And I am almost positive that the Vagaari/Car'das thing was totally planned. Nothing in his dialogue refutes it, and Thrawn says it was planned near the end. Spot on, truly. I don't know why they don't use Zahn more, wow.

 

Sorry, I can't contribute to the review as I haven't bought it yet. I wanted to wait until it came out in paperback, but at that rate, I'll already know the spoilers before I read the book!

A book signing is in town today for Outbound Flight's release, at our local Powell's. I'm assuming it's Zahn. I'm kinda bummed because I'm not sure if I'll make it.

 

9/10

Zahn strikes again! Great book that pieces together the mysteries presented in SQ.

 

Just wrapped it up a little while ago and I must say that I absolutely loved it. With the exception of the book meandering its way through the first 1/4 of the story and the inclusion of Qennto the generic- wannabe- Han -smuggler-type I loved just about everything else in OF. I was a bit worried about OB1 and Anakin's inclusion on OF but I didnt think that it was forced at all once I actually read it. I also thought that the young Thrawn was great and C'boath was friggin certifiable. What I found most interesting, though, was the fact that even if Thrawn didnt destroy OF as Sidious wanted it still wouldnt have ever come close to completing its mission, what with the Vaagari - and possibly even the Vong - as potential adversaries in the Unknown Regions, not to mention all of the dissesnt that C'baoth stirred up. Tragically Outbound Flight was doomed from the very start, even without Sidious' machinations behind the scenes.

Anyway, a great book yet extremely sad and tragic, but one that all EU fans should read, whether you love Zahn or hate him.

9.5 / 10

 

10/10, definitely, although I could have lived without Anakin and Obi-Wan being in the story. It was great in itself and didn't need those characters forced into it -


says the notorious Chiss fangirl.

 

9/10 (I'm not into this whole decimals thing )

Agree with the others: C'baoth's negotiations at the beginning were good for setting up characters, but ran on a bit too long. The rest caught up nicely though. End is very short by itself though it fits as a duology with Survivor's Quest.

Good characters. Thrawn brilliant as ever, perhaps a bit much so, but think of how AC Doyle had Sherlock Holmes seemingly pulling things out of thin air...

 

9/10 Great book Zahns return to form after the weak SQ and its what a Starwars book should be unlike many authors who write Startrek. Well plotted/great charactherisation and fits well with his other Starwars works and does not inlcude legions of usless cameos from charachters who are not needed.
I also agree with Rohniss why oh why was this bumped back for the mediocrity that was Rise of Darth Vader.
I also agree that if Del-Rey were smart they would use him more instead of the usual ganag who hash out any old rubbish. Hey maybe next time Sue Rostoni or whomever is interviewed by the Force.net maybe they can ask them that.

 

10/10
but then I'm a Zahnatic anyway.
I liked how he effortlessly seemd to tie up all the confusing stuff that so spoilt the PT for me. Suddenly things seemed to make sense that I had just blinded out before. At least he seems to remember most of what he wrote before and tries to make OF match what happens later.

His characters are so very credible and likeable in a way. You get insights into them that make them credible like Kinman thinking about his betrayal (which is additionally funny for the reader)
I like C'baoth's characterization. He's exactely what I had expected him to be feroe his fall. And that the Council goes along with him shows how much on the way down they actually are.

The inclusion of Obi and Ani seemed a bit forced, their screentime could have been used better, but then I believe this was not Zahn's decision. (Quotes/proof anyone?)
I liked the way he got Thrawn into the OF problem and Kinman 'convince' him. Still Zahn stayed true to his character and had C'Baoth's pride destroy OF. Sad to think it could have ended differently. *doesn't like C'Baoth at all, no, no*

Overall a very enjoyable book -- hard to put down.
And I, too, wonder why they don't let him write more SW. He's an excellent author whose ideas keep amazing me, even those he can integrate into SW. What a waste.

 

I give it an 8.Had problems with some of the characters but on reflection I have changed my mind.No problems with Thrawn and others.Big problem with the characterization of Jorus.Makes him like the character in Zahn's Thrawn books.Missed Mara as well!Will reread book.

 

196.6/21= 9.36

 

Well, the newest edition of Zahnverse, Outbound Flight is an example of the archaic ideals of Zahn along with Del Rey's attitude to the constant reader.

For the first fourth of the novel, Outbound Flight suffered the Dark Lord effect. The effect is when a novel title promises one thing and delievers another. It isn't a few pages as some make it out to be. Outbound Flight does not appear till page 143 of a 453 hardback novel. $26 U.S. spent on a novel were a fourth of it could have been cut. It's even way more for non-americans. That is just Del Rey stealing your cash.

I notice something our fellow literarian, Excellence, has pointed out. The first chapter has an interesting hook in the form of Car'das' chaps getting caputured by the Mitth Factor. Afterwords, dull nothingness for several hundred pages. Quite simply, the novel is boring for the majority of it. Car'Das and Thrawn waxing over lingustics, Obi-Wan's and Anakin's pointless addition, C'Baoth's constant insanity, etc. Very little of note happens for the majority of the novel. You could almost skip pages without missing much.

Speaking for myself, how a novel is written is equally important as the plot in general. Maybe the fact that I'm reading Palahniuk's Stranger Than Fiction right now while having gone through Ennis' Preacher: Gone to Texas beforehand has skewed my view, but Zahn stays in his standard writing. While it is nowhere near the reference book boredom of Luceno, Zahn's writing isn't that far away. The two works I've mentioned earlier exhibit style that pops and sizzles while engaging the reader. Zahn may have been exciting fifthteen years ago with Heir to the Empire, the repitition of the same vanilla bashed over my head is quite annoying. No humor is present, an affront for being a novel in a francise that is known for having a bit of humor. When Zahn adds some voice and humor to quence the desert known as Zahnian prose, I'll come back. Until then, I'm not paying $26 for robotic writing.

Characterization is quite subpar. Obi-Wan's and Anakin's useless appearence is worsen by horrible characterization. This due to Zahn's zombie writing. Obi-Wan and Anakin are known for making jokes, regardless if they're cheesy or not. The token movie characters aren't even done right. Jinzler was nothing special. Her purpose was only to link his brother in Survivor's Quest. Qennto is another cookie cutter Corellian. Having a female character with a name very close to Mara, the Maris character, is showing Zahn's lack of creating something new.

Speaking of one of the main characters we've been looking to is the original C'Baoth. Apparently the clone madness of the clone didn't affect the clone's original persona. The chance of making Joruus a more tragic character by having the original being a somewhat interesting person is squandered by having the original act exactly like the clone. The archaic ideal Zahn has of C'Baoth making himself a jedi master and acting the way C'Baoth did is uncredibile. Would Yoda have allowed this nut to be elevated to knight and master? Logic and established prequal works disagree with Zahn. Zahn needs to learn he has to bend to fit in with the EU, not the other way around.

I loved how Doriana was portrayed as an idiot. His whole "Oh I'm so clever in deceving Palpatine by serving Sidious" proves that Doriana is just a nobody. Virtually no appearences out of Zahnverse novels support that. Seeing Doriana being knocked down a rung is great, but I don't really know why he was included except for Zahn's typical mining of his older novels.

Now to the Mitth Factor himself, the great smurf known as Thrawn. I myself saw not a lot of difference from his characterization in Thrawn Trilogy. Yes, he was a bit younger and naive, but that is minimum. Him and his fellow Imperial smurfs wannabes didn't excite at all. Thrawn's brother had no persona, leaving the reader to wonder about the relevance of Thrass being included. One thing I will give Thrawn is that his d

 

A candid review both informative and to the zahnpoint.

The cover looked a bit cheap, reminicient to the American Conquerors' trilogy's, I must say. Guess I just did.

 

10/10

Just loved it. anybody pick up the audio book? I was pretty darn close with those chiss names.