I absolutely LOVE Outbound Flight. It is definitely my favorite Star Wars book. It served as my introduction to Star Wars novels and to Thrawn. I have been a huge Thrawn fan ever since. I'm a sucker for villains haha
For me personally, when I read EU I was always am Old republic type of person. I loved those stories and how much variety was there, but for some reason Zahn has a way to keep pulling me back to more present times star wars.
I don’t know why but I never found myself enjoying the original Thrawn trilogy, and ended up stopping in the middle of Dark Force Rising. For me #1 is Thrawn Ascendancy. Absolute masterwork in my opinion.
I loved the hand of Thrawn duology! The first book was a little slow form me, but the second one is definitely some of Zahn’s best work. Also I hadn’t Eve thought of the fact that Zahn was really the first to try and tackle politics in Star Wars! Being a prequels kid, I’ve always viewed things through that lends. Great insight.
Amazing list. I read the oh Thrawn trilogy back in the day. I remember borrowing them from a friend at high school. I've only read 2 of the new trilogy books but I will read more eventually
Treason is much better than Alliances, and the Ascendency Trilogy is much more cohesive than the other Canon trilogy as a whole, but Thrawn is the single best book.
This is a very intriguing ranking. I am still fairly new to reading Star Wars novels as I mostly read Doctor who but I recently purchased the Thrawn trilogy and I am almost finished Thrawn and I have loved everything about it. I literally never want to put the book down when I’m reading it. Everything is so lovable about it. The characterisation, the development, the plot, the mystery, the politics and even the side characters. Now I will admit I don’t usually like side characters in novels as they sometimes tend to slow the plot of the story down and aren’t usually that interesting. However, with Thrawn it has been the complete opposite for me, there is not a single side character I don’t care about, my favourites probably being Ensin Eli Vanto and Arihnda Pryce. Each time we see arihnda I just want more of her. I’ll also admit I’ve only just realised that Arihnda is the same character as Governor Pryce that we see in Star Wars Rebels, so we not only see Thrawns origin but hers as well, which I find amazing. I haven’t read the other trilogy books of Thrawn yet but once I do I shall give you my own ranking of the novels. Thrawn I would rate a solid 8.5/10.
I agree with you most of the time. However, I would have put the "Thrawn Dualigy" in front of scourges, then Treason, then Allegiance and the rest just like you. Or perhaps "Outbound Flight" on no. 2. But everyone has a different taste and I really enjoyed your ranking and the video in generell. Thanks for sharing.
Hand of Thrawn I definitely rrrreally appreciated as well. Not perfect by any means, the Cardas story I didn't care for at all, the alien owls were just weird and the ending felt watered down from what could've been. But HOLY CRAP is it sooo much closer to the finale I would've dreamed of for the films too. It really gets into *ending* the war. At long bloody last! And Pellaeon's part in that is especially great. Just that opening chapter alone? *Everybody* should read at least that one chapter. As for the villain in Choices of One, indeed I agree. Do you happen to have access to the Anniversary edition of Heir though, by any chance? I do; and it contains a bonus novella by Zahn about that same character. Haven't read it yet myself though, as I wanted first to cover all the other Zahn novels it might tie in with. Getting close though. Only Legends of his I've got left on the list is Scoundrels... Also, putting Alliances at the bottom is again right on the money. REAL tough read that was...
I enjoy all of these books. #1-4 Are masterful. #10: Choices Of One #9: Outbound Flight #8: Survivors Quest #7: Allegiance #6: Vision Of The Future #5: Spector Of The Past #4: Scoundrels #3: The Last Command #2: Dark Force Rising #1: Heir To The Empire
I'm currently doing a huge deep dive into Thrawn's publishing history specifically, so this is a helpful video to check and make sure I've gotten everything. I'll probably be ranking them myself when I'm finished as well. I will say that with only one book left to read and a few to re-read just to be sure my opinion holds, I already disagree aplenty with a few of your placements relative to one another, but I do understand your points!
@@jonathankoan Truth be told I'm not sure I want to post it publicly as a project may yet come from it all. That said, I really do need to talk to more people who have read these books to make sure I have everything in order! You are one of the few people I have remotely found who has read all of the novels, perhaps we could chat!
@@MorkezMarihser that would be nice. I’ll be interested in hearing your thoughts when you’re done with your project. I really think Zahn has a unique place in Star Wars not just for Thrawn, but because of the wide amount of style he has, from classic sci-fi, mystery, military thriller, and action.
For general context, I always suggest in release order, so I’d say read the og Thrawn trilogy and then the Ascendency trilogy. There are certain revelations that work better that way.
I definitely think I have a more unpopular opinion when it comes to Outbound Flight. It's really the only placement here that I disagree with being where it is. Great list, can't wait to get to the Ascendancy books. (that's a really hard to spell word haha)
It is hard to spell that word ha ha. I feel you there. That is interesting, that you have outbound flight lower. Most of my Star Wars friends have it near the top. For a standalone book it’s really solid!
So far I've only read his two canon trilogies (though I own Heir to the Empire, Outbound Flight and Choices of One). So far I'd go: 1. Thrawn: Alliances - Loved it 2. Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good - So good 3. Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising - Decent but not super impactful 4: Thrawn - Okay but not nearly as great as the fandom says it is 5: Thrawn: Treason - Irredeemable dogshit Am halfway through Lesser Evil. I look forward to reading some of his other books, as from the six I've read so far it seems like he has no range and all he can write about is politics and the navy, with his specialty being writing intricate strategy in space battles. I hope I find that he can do more than just that (I will admit that I do, so far, really like how he writes his characters)
I’ve only read five Zahn books so far, but this was a fun ranking. I’m very excited to read Hand of Thrawn eventually… I’ve only heard great things about it. My ranking might look something like this so far: 1. Outbound Flight 2. The Last Command 3. Heir to the Empire 4. Dark Force Rising 5. Choices of One
Those are the five novels I’ve read too! This is my personal ranking: 1. Dark Force Rising 2. The Last Command 3. Choices of One 4. Heir to the Empire 5. Outbound Flight
This is pretty close to my ranking as well. I think I might swap Choices of One and Allegiance, and I'd probably swap The OG Trilogy and Hand of Thrawn (but those two are SO close, I'm not for sure of it).
@@jonathankoan Yeah, I agree. There's not really anything that I dislike about it. I love Pellaeon's arc, the use of Bel-Iblis and Karrde ... just so much good.
I’m currently reading these starting with thrawn , alliances, and treason and moving onto heir to the empire, dark force rising, and last command then specter of the past I have all these on order except for thrawn I’m reading that now and loving it
Jonathan, what do you suggest is definitive chronological order to read all of the Thrawn books in? I jumped the gun and read the original trilogy Heir to Empire and I do own the duology (Specter of the past and Vision of the Future) but haven't read those yet.
It kind of is up to you! I usually am a fan of release order(with the exception of Survivor's Quest, which I'd save for last). The Hand of Thrawn came out next, and then Outbound Flight. After that, I'd read the Canon Thrawn trilogy and then the Ascendency Trilogy. If you want to go chronological, that's fine, but I find that going by release order is much better because certain surprises hit at certain times because of when it happened in the fandom.
@@jonathankoan Reading Outbound Flight before Survivor's Quest might spoil a lot of the mystery though; making that last book feel even less important. I did it the other way around (release order) and it worked okay for me. Was also a nice way to loop back from Hand of Thrawn to prequel era and then Ascendancy. And I liked on SQ the little hints at the final state of the galaxy; *after* Hand Of.
@@pieterboelen2862 I just think Survivors Quest was largely unecessary. Outbound flight is just so entertaining, and I thought that Survivors Quest could have been a novella or changed to have a bigger impact.
@@jonathankoan Indeed "necessary" does not describe "Survivor's Quest". Might've been more worthwhile if the story had continued with those survivors to tell how they turned out, perhaps how they did/didn't change their mind; and how they fit in with a completely new status quo in the galaxy. Perhaps this was another part of Zahn setting things up for later, similar to Choices of One or, on the canon side, Eli Vanto and the Grysk at the end of Treason. All put together, those parts *suggest* all sorts of future stories to me. Stories that, as far as I know, have not yet been told...
Original Heir trilogy is a great place to start! Personally I then read the 2017-19 Thrawn trio, then Chaos Rising (it was the only one out then), the Duology, then Outbound Flight, Survivor’s Quest, and just finished the Ascendancy trilogy that started with Chaos Rising. Highly recommend the Marc Thompson audiobooks bc 1) they’re great, but 2) the name spellings are so wild in Zahn’s books I prefer to hear them pronounced by someone else. Personally I liked reading Outbound Flight before Survivors Quest. Even though you the mystery is known I enjoyed knowing what Luke & Mara don’t-and Outbound Flight is just a stronger book. Though not necessary, having read Outbound Flight adds a bit of depth to the Ascendancy trilogy too. It sounds like Allegiance would be good to read before Choices of One. Also recommend reading at least Thrawn:Alliances before Chaos Rising. I’d maybe recommend something like: OG Heir trilogy 2017-19 Thrawn books Outbound Flight (Survivor’s Quest optional-best after HoT duology) Ascendancy trilogy HoT duology (or read this now right after the OG trilogy- it’s a good story!) Then Allegiance then Choices of One whenever after HoT. Ascendancy trilogy is so good, and can indeed stand on its own. Really any way will be good, go by your own interests and who you want to read more about next :) hope you enjoy the journey!
Thank you for watching. I don’t have as many time stamps in my older videoes, but I am trying to add them in to my newer ones. You can tell mostly which book/series I’m talking about by what I’m holding in my hands at that moment though. That’s partially why I shot them the way I did.
The first book does have the same story as the comic, but the book has WAY more story in it. The comic is basically a bare bones version (and the comic came out afterwards). But I did enjoy it and wish we got more.
Great list Jonathan but personally I disagree with Thrawn Trilogy placement In my ranking it is in 6th or 7th place and I will explain why: First book? Absolutely fantastic, BUT in Dark Force Rising, specifically in chapters 9-10 when Leia arrives to Noghri homeworld and COINCIDENTALLY Thrawn is also there and COINCIDENTALLY she is spotted by imperial officers. That was not even "force works in mysterious ways" coincidence it was straight up contrivance to get set pieces to where they need to be which turned me off immediately because I saw it not as a cohesive story from that point on but as a playground for someone to write action for some pointless set pieces. I did finish Thrawn Trilogy but I just could not take the story serious and could not suspend my disbelief that much to overlook thick white threads with which Zahn barely tied story together so for me it went from 9/10 must read to 6/10 might read if bored
About a month ago I decided to star reading Star Wars books and got Thrawn: Treason, because it was one of three Star Wars books at my local book store. I read it in two days. A week later I took the train to get to the next city with a bigger book store and got the other two of that trillogy, reading both of them in another two days. The Acendency trillogy hasn't releaded in my country yet, so I had to order them, wait two weeks and then read all of them in three days. I always loved reading, but it's been a couple of years since I last read a book in a day. I still have to read the legends books, if I can somehow get them.
thank you. Due to your recommendation bought thrawn (the first new trilogy) and now I've bought outbound flight plus all 5 novels in the legend series (the trilogy and duology). My wife now hates you. Sorry :\ Haha no I am kidding. Thank you for this list
Zahn is definitely top tier Star Wars writer. There’s a reason his sales are so good and why they keep inviting him back. Hopefully he’ll get something not Thrawn related soon.
Well we aren’t sure if Thrawn will/has killed Ezra. I’m curious why you wish he hadn’t met Anakin . It’s the weakest book that Zahn has done for SW for me, but I still enjoyed it.
@@jonathankoan But Thrawn told Ezra that Vader Is Anakin, Ezra Is VERY Older and he was only 19 and are you sure the he wasn't Older that he must find out that Vader Is Anakin not a stupid ignored kid teen anymore? And are we sure that we never know Ezra's Story since Rebels? They will never put Ezra as a baby in Bad Batch! They will made a series about Ezra that he tried to hide from his Friends because he was tormented for nine years that Thrawn reveals him that Vader Is Anakin
