Thrawn: Alliances

I wonder if this would be a better book if it simply ditched the first third of the story. Darth Vader and Thrawn doing a buddy-cop routine in a bar doesn't exactly hit the same notes as The Last Command.

Still, the book picks up from there. Thrawn is less annoying when he's really unaware of how hard he can push Vader. Meanwhile, Vader is most intriguing when he's actually struggling with the identity of “The Jedi.”

You get the sense that Zahn has the essence of a great story and dynamic between the two (three?) principle characters in the book. However it just seems like a lot of the plot that moves us from one scene to another is largely interchangeable. That's okay, but given the chance to fill holes in canon, I'd hoped Zahn would address Cortosis-like details more frequently and deeply.

4.5, Why???? There was something missing in this one, little bit more action, whenever Thrawn is thrown in, expect the story to be analytical, and that is one of the reason Darth Vader and Thrawn side by side is chemical, our Dark Lord who only needs to gesture if he feels slighted, angry, in other words intolerant and volatile, together with a shrewd tactician, analytical. Volatile plus calm, I would love to be under them both at the same time, except on days Lord Vader feels picky.......

The point of view between Thrawn/Anakin and Thrawn/Lord Vader, here we see the differences between Anakin and Vader, the inherent volatileness, being always angry but always trying to control it, and the other anger controlling your actions, I guess the only good thing becoming a Sith Apprentice is no more conscience to answer to, either you do or you do not(Master Yoda must be rolling around laughing).

Thrawn on the other hand, calm, controlled, always figuring things out before he acts. Even with Lord Vader at his side, he is not afraid to countermand any action he deems unsuccessful, I wonder if Emperor Palpatine is in command, would he even countermand a direct order from Palpatine himself.........

Grand Moff Tarkin, Darth Vader, and now Grand Admiral Thrawn, The Emperor has surrounded himself with the finest personages albeit with their own shortcomings, no wonder the Empire had no competition, no Jedi to foil the Sith, no tactician as shrewd as Thrawn, and no commanding officer as brilliant and cold as Tarkin.

Alliances was a study of different points of view of two powerful figures, then and now. Anakin is gone, Thrawn, if we are following the New Jedi Order universe(not the Disney universe) will always remain as one of the bright spot, the upcoming Chiss Ascendancy series would be a barometer for Thrawn's direction......

This was a big step down from the first book in the series. Although it was fun to see Thrawn and Darth Vader team up, their story arc was less than riveting. For me, knowing the fates of established characters (Vader, not Thrawn) drains the story of any real stakes. Similarly, the Thrawn/Anakin/Padme story that parallels the present day narrative did not land for me and I felt myself rushing through it just so I could get back to Thrawn/Vader, which I also quickly lost interest in. So then I was rushing through both timelines just so I could finish the book and move on to the sequel, which has better reviews and features the welcome return of Eli Vanto, who I sorely missed here.