Fresh from his unique victory against the cunning Nakardum race, led by the evil Yin the Benevolent, Senior Captain Thrawn of the Chiss Ascendancy now faces a new set of problems that will test his mettle like never before: two powerful members of the Chiss council once more working together determinedly to usurp the the talented officer's building status of power and ability; further building treachery from several command rank officers in the Expansionary Defense Fleet (motivated by the need to re-establish their family lineage within the Ascendancy), and the urgent need to unravel the mystery objectives being perpetrated against his people by a subtly dangerous new enemy, soon proving themselves as master puppeteers building their forces and plans linked to another mysterious race blessed with powerful abilities similar to those described in 'the Force'. Now more than ever, with darkness and chaos escalating, it looks like the deck of life and war cards have been heavily stacked against our distinctive but resilient tactician...
Building on the previous acclaimed book launching his new trilogy, Timothy Zahn's Thrawn: Ascendancy: Greater Good has deceits, trials and tribulations, power games and heavy duty space conflicts galore. However, unlike book one, its middle section, mostly featuring the unusual alien threat subtly manipulating the Chiss Ascendancy's power-thirsting families from the inside out, sadly felt a bit of a chore to read for this particular reviewer, despite its clear importance in setting up events coming with the series conclusion later in the year. Additionally, Thrawn is more on the sidelines this time out than I would have liked him to be - again, a necessary storytelling move by the author as he guides his dramatic personae into their needed positions on the dramatic chess board). Thankfully, a strong conclusion makes Greater Good ultimately worthwhile as a reading enterprise. From its explosive revelations, I've no doubt that Zahn will go on to deliver another accomplished and unexpectedly surprising finale for the Expanded Universe's most popular character...
AFICIONADO RATING: 'Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts'.... as the old saying goes.7.5 out of 10
Previous AFICIONADO coverage of Greater Good:
https://starwarsaficionado.blogspot.com/2021/04/out-now-thrawn-ascendancy-greater-good.html
Get the Century published UK hardback here:
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