Chaos Rising ♥ Timothy Zahn ♥ Star Wars : Thrawn Ascendancy #1

September 2020 ♥ Del Rey Books

Chaos Rising Review

Chaos Rising is the first book in Timothy Zahn’s Star Wars : The Ascendancy Trilogy. It is my understanding that this trilogy is “Official Star Wars Canon,” with Chaos Rising fitting in after the events of The Revenge of the Sith and before A New Hope. The exception here is the “Memory Chapters,” which are flashbacks of Thrawn growing up.

The Star Wars Universe can be a bit [a lot] overwhelming; there are literally hundreds of books and tv episodes fitting in and around what I consider the OG Timeline [ Episodes 1-6 with the addition of 7-9 ]. Before Disney acquired Star Wars’ rights, the book universe was basically a free-for-all. The extended universe was HUGE & it still is huge, even after Disney kicked most of the older books to the curb.

Chaos Rising is Thrawn’s origin story.

Kivu’raw’nuru aka Mitth’raw’nuru aka Thrawn

We meet Thrawn as a young man, a recruit to become merit adoptive to the Mitth family.

Zahn tells Thrawn’s story using Memory Chapters. They are flashbacks of interactions between Thrawn and other officials in the Chiss Ascendancy and various past missions. The memory chapters fill in the blanks about Thrawn and the Ascendancy. We witness through these chapters Thrawn making his way up the ranks from Cadet to Senior Captain.

Thrawn is amazing at his job, confident and calculated. The man is a genius. There’s no way around it; he knows how to Captain a ship. Zahn had me flipping pages at warp speed, anxious to see if Thrawn would make it out of his current predicament.

Thrawn is a fan of art.

I found Zahn’s depiction of Thrawn similar to Sherlock Holmes, whether intentional or not. They both have the same knack for observation and coming to calculated, more often than not, correct conclusions. There was a scene in an art gallery, and I imagined Thrawn as Benedict Cumberbatch in the BBC’s Sherlock. Right down to connect the dot overlays Moffat & Gattis used.

Past missions come to a head as they connect to the current threat to the Ascendancy. Enter General Yiv The Benelovant, who has been scooping up and conquering planets and alien races around the Chaos. Yiv is closing in on the Chiss Ascendancy & Thrawn is hot on his trail.

I really enjoyed Zahn’s writing. There was a good mix of action, dialogue and character development. I felt connected to Thrawn. He is brilliant, and he shares his knowledge with others. Thrawn is an amazing teacher, coaxing his friends into being curious and thoughtful. Pushing and encouraging them to be the best they can be.

And uncertainty can be the most frightening of mental states.

Art mirrors the soul, from which tactics arise.

“All beings possess imagination to varying degrees,” Thrawn said. “It can be encouraged and nurtured, or can sometimes shine out in moments of stress. But curiosity is a choice. Some wish to have it. Others don’t…”

And that night, for the first time she could remember, she had a dream about flying that wasn’t a nightmare.

…and with each day that passed Thalias felt her soul die a little more.

“Whatever he sees in you, it was all he needed. He trusts you.”

The Ascendancy will die, shredded like grain, ground down like stone, burned like withered grass.

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