While I do have my gripes with how Thrawn has been portrayed more heroically in canon literature than in his Legendary as well as on-screen (Rebels) depictions, the Ascendancy setting has been instantly compelling in Chaos Rising, and even more fascinatinly elaborated in Greater Good, and Lesser Evil really benefits from this to deliver a stunningly well-executed conclusion to the trilogy. In the context of the Chiss Ascendancy, Thrawn is finally not beholden to the good-evil equation of the Empire-Rebellion conflict, and is easier to root for than in the previous Thrawn trilogy of novels (Thrawn/Alliances/Treason). The secondary characters, like Ar'alani, the sky-walkers and Thrawn's subordinates, also really shine in this book. I would not mind spending more time in the Ascendancy in the future, -perhaps- even without Thrawn present for the plot.

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good is the middle book in the second Star Wars canon trilogy starring the titular Senior Captain Thrawn of the Chill Expansionary Defense Fleet. The novel is written by Timothy Zahn and published by Del Rey. Fresh off a victory against General Yiv of the Nikardun, Thrawn and his fellows are working to snuff out any lingering threat. Meanwhile, a greater threat seems to loom and the incessant politics of the Chiss Ascendancy and its familial feuds threatens to inadvertently aid this unknown enemy.

Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good is the epitome of a middle book in a trilogy. With the great enemy defeated in the first book, the second is all about uncovering the greater threat that lurked behind the original enemy and makes them seem tame by comparison. This way by book three, everything will be set into place and a grand and final confrontation can occur. This is a tried and true formula within Star Wars, but unfortunately, in this trilogy, it just did not work for me. For nearly 60 percent of the book or so, I knew there was a greater threat coming into focus, both through the plot, context, and general trilogy formula. But I never really understood what kind of fear I should have or the type of danger the Chiss were in. For all of that time, the strong and interesting plot moments or engaging action sequences were just constantly interspersed by either seemingly trivial side plots that eventually let to the apex of the action but not for a few hundred pages, or mundane flashbacks and tired politics.

I didn’t dislike the book. As somebody already deeply invested in the Star Wars universe as a whole and in Thrawn’s story as a character, I am confident that the slog through a large portion of this book will feel worth it when the mostly strong finish here leads us into the conclusion of the trilogy. But it was absolutely a slog. There were too many new characters introduced who had little personality other than as plot devices and took up two entire side-plots and points of view in the book. The various adventures of Thrawn, Ar’alani, and even Lakinda as their three ships went about their investigations of Nirkadun and other alien activity were totally engaging though.

I love most of the battle sequences, always have in the Thrawn books. The way they each are essentially their own little puzzles you watch Thrawn and his subordinate (or superiors) put together in creative ways each time is always interesting. Even with a limited array of weapon types at the Chiss’s disposal, every battle still manages to be unique. The problem is that none of the smaller puzzles ever felt particularly connected to a greater purpose. There’s the looming dramatic irony where the reader knows some greater threat is out there, and you know Thrawn is smart enough to understand it too, but ultimately, most of the book goes by without every for a second giving the reader an explicit enemy or end-goal to keep in mind. Without this, the book just feels like it meanders too aimlessly to keep me captivated.

It’s been interesting having Thrawn go from sure villain to sympathetic protagonist to hero over the past few years of Star Wars media. It’s especially interesting seeing the way an alien civilization works and perceives the rest of the galaxy. The Force is still a major presence in the Unkown Regions, even if people call it by different names and touch it in different ways. So some of the most basic tenets of Star Wars storytelling are still there. But a lot of the rules are different in the Chaos as well. Travel is slower, there are different types of weapons and customs and cultures and governments. And the rules of engagement especially for the Chiss Ascendancy are dramatically different than that of the Republic, the Empire, or the New Republic. In theory, observing the universe of Star Wars through a different culture’s lens in a different part of space is really cool.

It’s just that all of the massive worldbuilding done in Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good is done at the expense of a strong plot. I am fully here for the final book in the series and absolutely would love to see more stories told in the Unknown Regions. But I would like to see it perhaps in a different medium or type of story next to help retroactively make some of what happens in this series make more sense and feel more clear.

Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good is a mystery that doesn’t have enough mystery, an action book with not enough action, and a political thriller that isn’t particularly thrilling. It’s definitely an interesting read as a case study in how to present unique stories within the Star Wars universe, and fans of Zahn’s Thrawn books will continue to enjoy its latest entry. But in the grand scheme of Star Wars novels and science fiction in general, it will not be topping any lists of my favorites.

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good is available wherever books are sold April 27th.

Lesser evil is the culmination of all the new canon information that Zahn has crafted in the brave new world of Star Wars canon. The main battle of the Chiss comes to ahead as Thrawn must use all his skills to save his people no matter the cost.

All his skills and allies are needed and yet despite this being the prequel to the other Thrawn trilogy their is a real presence of danger in this story. I especially loved the female characters in this trilogy and how their paths overlapped with Thrawn. A very satisfying read.

"Lesser Evil" is a conclusive, emotional, and hard-hitting finale to the "Thrawn: Ascendancy" trilogy. Whereas the predecessor book, "Greater Good," feels more like a setup that somewhat stalls the progression of the overall story, "Lesser Evil" returns to form as a high-stakes political thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat. You feel invested and you want to know how the Chiss can set aside their internal differences in order to unify as one. The book is not without its flaws, such as being chock-full of military terminology and battle tactics that span nearly 600 pages (one of the longest books of the current Star Wars canon). However, this book really shines when the spotlight is on the characters and the sacrifices they're willing to make in greater service of the Chiss Ascendancy. Zahn also does a beautiful job weaving together both trilogies and providing answers to lingering questions that date back to 2017.

For more of my thoughts on "Lesser Evil," check out our review on the Friends of the Force podcast here.

Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil by Timothy Zahn comes out today! With the Grand Admiral set to make his live action debut, the character is about to get more attention than ever before. So how does the final book in the Ascendancy Trilogy measure up to the several other Thrawn stories? Here are my spoiler-free thoughts.

It landed right down the middle for me. I loved the Legends Thrawn books back in the day. I really loved the first canon Thrawn novel. Alliances and Treason didn’t do it for me so much because they felt too boxed in taking place during the events of Star Wars Rebels. Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising felt like a step in the right direction, allowing Zahn to tell a more substantial story that wasn’t constrained by surrounding material. But then I thought the second novel, Greater Good, was kind of boring. I wasn’t following it very well. And while I have plenty of criticisms for Lesser Evil, it brought everything in the Ascendancy full circle. These three books felt like a proper trilogy more than the first three canon Thrawn books, which felt like three tenuously connected stories that involved Thrawn. I started Lesser Evil fairly skeptical, but the deeper I got into the story the more I enjoyed it.

I think Zahn has something he wants to say and he says it well by using the Chiss. Isolation leads to downfall. The Ascendancy is the strongest force in the Unknown Regions and they plan to keep it that way by securing their borders and not getting involved with anyone else. They are hesitant to help their neighbors. They don’t share their technology. Basically they’re selfish, which is the nature of the dark side, and I think Zahn does a great job at exploring the morality of Star Wars in a story that doesn’t involve the Force all that much. I also like that the problem isn’t just the Chiss Ascendancy as a faction, but also the families that make up the faction. There are nine ruling families and forty major families and then countless other families that all want to improve their status. And so they all become selfish and untrusting. They don’t share with each other. Again, that’s all very dark side inspired, and we see that the selfishness of isolation doesn’t stay isolated. Selfishness is pervasive and will invade other areas of life, not just the areas where it was deemed necessary.

Unfortunately the politics of it all can be difficult to follow. Chiss culture is just downright confusing with all the family names and ranks. Chiss names start to become white noise because a lot of them are very similar. For example, all Mitth names start with T-H. Thrawn. Thrass. Thalias. Thurfian. Now multiply that by nine families. I was able to pick up and remember the important characters, but if a minor one popped up suddenly I’d have to remind myself who they were. Some characters even change their names over the course of the three books to add to the confusion. That alone is a lot to keep straight, but then mix in the ranking order of family members, which families are allied with who, and so on. I couldn’t keep up with it all, and I know some of the overall story of this trilogy was likely lost on me.

That said, the characters that I was able to keep track of I enjoyed quite a bit. Thalias’s relationship with the sky-walker Che’ri was a highlight of all three books, and Lesser Evil was no exception. There are also a bunch of flashback or memory chapters that cover Thrawn’s friendship with Thrass, who was a major character in the Legends book Outbound Flight. I loved those flashback chapters. So much so that I was frustrated they weren’t the entire book. I found I enjoyed the story most when it got more intimate with its characters. Reading about Thrawn and Thrass working together to solve problems and become best friends was a lot more fun than zooming way out to see Ascendancy families bickering with each other, even if I did appreciate the messaging behind it all.

Maybe these books were just trying to do too much for my taste. There are a lot of Chiss characters, obviously, and many of them are antagonistic. Then each book had a unique threat from the Unknown Regions that were all being controlled by the Grysk. And I like the Grysk as villains, but I wish we learned more about them. I feel like we’ve been teased with them since Thrawn Alliances, and I am intrigued, but I’m ready for more. This is certainly the most we’ve been allowed to see of them so far, and the fights with them are cool. Zahn has always been very skilled at writing space battles. But I’m ready for them to take center stage. I’m not expecting it to happen in live action or anything, but the next time they appear in the books, I hope they are a more present threat.

And with that I think I need to talk about Thrawn’s future. Will there be more Thrawn books? I expect so, but we’ve gotta see what they do with him in live action first. I’ve talked quite a bit about how I feel Thrawn’s characterization has been inconsistent between the books and Star Wars Rebels. We learn that Thrawn ruthlessly bombed a city full of civilians in Rebels and then Zahn writes a book that says, “No, that was someone else.” He’s a villain in Rebels and more of a hero in the books. I’m glad to see that Lesser Evil addressed that a bit. Thrawn’s allies are taken aback by him a couple of times when he sees that he will go to any length to protect the Ascendancy. I wouldn’t say he crosses any lines in this book, but the signs are there. He basically talks about wanting to use the powers of their Force-using navigators to see, anticipate, and control the future. Trying to control what can’t be controlled is definitely some dark side behavior. There is the looming threat of a superweapon in the story that I won’t get into now, but it’s pretty telling of Thrawn’s character. And of course we know that he ultimately joins the Empire and makes a deal with the literal devil of the Star Wars universe. It’s all under the rationalization of necessity and protection, but it doesn’t matter if you go to the dark side for good intentions. It will consume you. I’ve been guessing that Thrawn will be treated as a villain when he appears in live action, and I think Zahn did enough character work in the Ascendancy Trilogy that if that happens, it won’t feel so inconsistent.

I also think that if Thrawn is a villain and if his fate remains the same as it did in Legends, there is plenty of potential to continue exploring the Chiss Ascendancy. Alliances and Treason established the Grysk threat is still out there. All three of the Ascendancy books established several proteges for Thrawn. His actions affect several military and political leaders. So if he winds up dead in the upcoming live action series, I don’t think the Chiss storyline will be dropped. We could get a Thrawn Legacy trilogy or something following Admiral Ar’alani and Eli Vanto and any number of other characters. I think Zahn sprinkled in several options for himself while we all wait and see what happens to the Grand Admiral.

Personally I think he works best as a villain. A looming threat. Even though Thrawn might be my favorite book about the character, I have preferred his Legends depiction over canon for the most part. Or it might be more accurate to say I prefer watching him at that part of his life. So who would I recommend this book to? Obviously Thrawn lovers. If you loved all the other Thrawn books, you’re going to like this one too. If you’re like me and haven’t been as drawn into the past few stories, not a lot has changed for Lesser Evil. I’ll also say that if you haven’t given the Ascendancy books a shot, but you really like it when Star Wars leans more into science fiction than science fantasy, you’d probably enjoy these. I like my Star Wars to be more fantasy, but there’s plenty of room for both!

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy (Book III: Lesser Evil) is an explosive and emotional end to the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy. Timothy Zahn once again dazzles readers with complex descriptions of space battle and politics alike. This book provides us with the deepest lore surrounding Thrawn's upbringing and relationships, which inform the reader as to how he views the world and makes decisions. Zahn's decision to save this for the last book of the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy serves to create a devastating emotional blow, despite the reader knowing the story will eventually end with Thrawn's exile.

Overall, this is a fitting ending to what could have been a difficult to understand trilogy. Zahn manages to write about a highly intelligent character and complex situations without causing confusion to the reader, and creates a world many will want to hear more about.

Despite my Thrawn quota already being filled for the year (1 Thrawn story per year), I have found myself once again picking up a Thrawn novel in 2021. LESSER EVIL, published on November 16, 2021, is the finale to author Timothy Zahn's latest trilogy 'Thrawn Ascendency' which chronicles Thrawn's years before he became in league with the Empire. LESSER EVIL is the culmination of Thrawn's time in the Chiss military and as a part of Chiss culture....for now.

This book picks up right where we left off in GREATER good, as Jixtus continues on this path to overtake the Ascendancy and Thrawn. Meanwhile, Thrawn not only navigates Jixtus' plots, but also the politics of the Chiss. It's hard to describe the book past that point because it is alllll details.

My reading experience with Thrawn has been mixed. I ended up really loving Chaos Rising but not enjoying Greater Good at all. That being said, I am pleased to say that I overall enjoyed LESSER EVIL!! The success of LESSER EVIL comes from the fact that it's very clear to me that Timothy Zahn had a clear plan for this trilogy and what he wanted to do with it. I believe it could have been very easy to get lost in any of the detailed plots he lays out through the trilogy and although it is heavy on the details across all three books, each thread has a clear beginning and ending within the story.

LESSER EVIL moves at a good pace throughout its 547 pages. I found the overarching plot thread easy to follow, even when I messed up my details. The Memories section once again was one of the major strongpoints in the novel, as the relationship between Thrawn and Thrass was really dynamic and exciting to watch unfold. Additionally, Thalias once again gets the best moment of the book, which was really wonderful (and that moment is truly thrilling) to see. I wish we had gotten that plot point expanded upon in a bigger way, because it was a real bombshells, truly exiting Star Wars. I also wish we had gotten more of the relationship between Thrawn and Ar'alani, but overall I was happy with what we got with most of the other characters here.

This isn't a book series for everyone. It's very different from our typical Star Wars fare, and reads more like military sci-fi than anything else. That is not only because of Thrawn's success as a master tactician, but also because this series leans heavily into the politics between families, governments, and worlds. I believe that this trilogy would be best read back to back, as each book ties into the next intricately, and there's no "Here's what you missed on Glee" catch up like in some series. That all being said, I do with the series would have had more supplementary material up front like the military hierarchy and dramatis personae, but in the form of important planets or simply a map of the Ascendency. I think this would have gone a long way in helping me understand where we were and why it was important at any given time, considering a lot of new planet named are dropped in this third book across our storylines.

All in all, this book series is successful. Book 2 could have used a little more editing, but it all comes together in the end. LESSER EVIL is very readable, action packed, and left me (brace yourselves) wanting more. I loved where the book ended and how it all tied together as well as what it lays out for the future. Whether you're a Thrawn superfan or someone just wanting to give the character a try, this is the series I recommend!

Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil is the third and final book in the most recent Thrawn trilogy (of which there have been, what, at least three?), and it provides a fine ending to a trilogy I didn’t care much for. I usually hate to be so upfront about what I don’t like, but I don’t think it would seem very honest for me to pull the rug out of this review later. I do, however, remain committed to speaking about the things that I like first.

In this light, let me first talk about world building. The novel does address two critiques I’ve had against recent Star Wars stories: a lack of strong world-building and a lack of interesting planets. Thankfully, this book features both in spades. First, the Chiss culture is built in a really compelling and interesting way. In Chiss culture, and in this story, the Nine Ruling Families clash with each other, and forty other Chiss families, for political power and control. While the political espionage and intrigue never reaches the levels of politics in other series, it brings a depth of nuance to this novel that we don’t get a lot of in Star Wars. It also addresses the lack of interesting planets in the franchise. The planet Csilia turns out to be a really interesting location, whose backstory ties in with the greater plot of this novel (in a spoiler way I don’t want to get into here!).

I also liked that Zahn moved more toward the mystical elements of the franchise in this novel. In the trilogy prior, we’ve learned about Sky-walkers, and their power to access the Third Sight in order to navigate through hyperspace. Of course, the Third Sight is the Chiss vision of the Force (adding yet another dimension to the galaxy’s understanding of the Force), but Greater Good hinted at more dimensions than we’ve seen even in Chiss culture. This novel leans into it more, but that also gets into spoiler territory, so I will leave the reader to discover the way that it is explored. I will say, since it is not a spoiler, that it did scratch some of the itches I’ve felt in this series.

Unfortunately, I have three more major topics that I would like to address as critiques, which overshadowed the two things that I really liked in this novel.

The first is that the book can just be really hard to read at times, for two reasons. The first reason it is hard to read is that it’s simply too dense with sci-fi terms and names. The Chiss naming convention is an integral part of worldbuilding, and part of the story, but it came across as a little too sci-fi at times, like I was reading Star Trek instead of Star Wars. It made it hard to keep track of characters when they switched between core names and family names. The second is that it felt too much like a sci-fi novel than a space fantasy. The Expanse series was an interesting exploration of “hard sci-fi”, where physics mattered. I think this novel tried to emulate that sort of sci-fi, but it ended up feeling not Star Wars-y enough without feeling like it was good “hard sci-fi”. By this I mean that it didn’t feel like a rip-roaring space adventure, like we want from the franchise, but it also didn’t feel like the hard sci-fi was warranted. Instead, it feels like it sat in a weird liminal stage between the two.

The second thing that I would like to critique is that everyone is just too darn perfect in this novel. Since the first Thrawn novel since the canon reboot, Thrawn has become more and more of a pariah, an immeasurable genius who never seems to make mistakes. He is literally always four steps ahead of anyone else, and there’s no tension. I never wondered if, in any of the six canon Thrawn novels, whether or not he would be defeated. Instead, I simply waited to see how he would defeat everyone else. Unfortunately, this left Thrawn as less of an interesting character and more of an immovable force of plot. The rest of the Chiss characters then join Thrawn in this status of “always foreseeing the future”. The only characters that I wondered about were a Chiss named Roscu and Qilori, the Pathfinder from previous novels. These two seemed to be the only ones capable of making mistakes, and they needed to, otherwise the plot wouldn’t have moved forward. Instead of meeting characters, I feel like I met archetypes, and that left the novel a bit hollow for me.

The third critique I have is a mixture between pacing and plotting. On one hand, this is one of the longest novels in the franchise, so it was bound to feel long. Unfortunately, the plotting of the book did not help, and it felt a lot longer than the page count indicated. Quite a few times, I felt like the book was moving toward a natural conclusion only to see hundreds of pages remained. Another critique I had of this novel, and the previous, was that quite a bit happens “off-screen”, but becomes super important for the novel. In the previous novel, we see the way that Jixtus affects one Chiss family, but we hear off-screen that he was also working on two others, and they factor into the climax without factoring in the main story. This happens again in this novel a few times, and it gave me a feeling like “deus ex machina”, where something from outside the story comes in to affect the story. I wouldn’t have wanted the book to be any longer, but I felt like some elements were introduced without sufficient lead-up.

In the end, I do think fans of Thrawn will end up enjoying this novel. He operates at his peak, infallible knowledge level, and sets up the original Thrawn trilogy well. It gives more context to his actions in Rebels without directly leading into it, and ties the trilogy together well. Unfortunately, it didn’t connect with me on a character or plotting level, and ended up leaving me ready for the next Del Rey Star Wars release instead of spending more time thinking about this novel.

Star Wars Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Timothy Zahn. This is the final book in the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy. The Ascendancy trilogy as a whole, takes place after the events of Attack of the Clones.

SUMMARY: A threat to the Chiss Ascendancy is just on the horizon, but not all can see it coming. The enemy, Jixtus, has been formulating a plan to weaken the Chiss, turning the families against each other with lies and theatrics. Thrawn is fully aware of the deception and must act alone in order to keep the Ascendancy from collapsing in on itself, or from being conquered by outside forces, known as the Grysks.

CHARACTERS: A big cast of characters in this book, many military and political figures as well as a few alien races with very prominent roles, I'll just briefly mention Thran and Jixtus.

Thrawn, as always knows what's happening and is several steps ahead of everyone else. Sometimes its fun and believable, other times it's silly and unbelievable. Thrawn seems to be in control of his own destiny, nothing comes as a surprise to him. I love that the Chiss families all have a grudge against him and want him ousted. Thrawn breaks the rules quite a bit, ignoring most of the orders given to him. Governing officials can't stand him, but a handful of military leaders understand his motives but cringe at his risk taking.

I liked what Zahn was doing with the primary villain of the story. Jixtus is a pretty bad dude; he's manipulative, controlling, and determined destroy the Chiss Ascendancy. While the character was handled well most of the time, I was actually somewhat underwhelmed with the overall arch of the character.

OVERALL THOUGHTS: For me, this novel has the same flaw as the previous instalments, the "Memories" chapters. These "memories" tend to foreshadow events or themes that are contained in the following chapters. I really don't like reading unnecessary content that doesn't mean much to the overall story... especially when it's going make the following chapter(s) predictable There is one memory chapter in this book that actually was really good, it gave me the chills while reading it. That said, there is also one of these memory chapters, that left me outright confused as to what it was referencing, it seemed important, but there was no explanation of what was happening or why.

There is so much happening in this book, I'm surprised it was condensed down into a trilogy rather than a series of five or six books. I could be wrong but it feels like that's something Zahn would've wanted to do, but it just didn't happen. While the book is over 500 pages, which is pretty hefty in the Star Wars canon, it felt rushed in many places and left some aspects of the story wide open without conclusion.

I was hoping this book would tie up at the end with some sort of absolute closure with certain things, but it really didn't. So many things can be brought back up in the future, which could be nice... but it also has me worried that we may never touch on these things ever again. For example, some awesome, wild tech is mentioned but not utilized in this story... we know it's there now, we know what it's capable of doing... I would hate it if we never get more use with it. There is more I can say on this, but I like to keep reviews spoiler free.

RATING: I enjoyed a lot of the book, but due to some of the issues that I really can't seen get over, I give Thrawn: Lesser Evil a B.

(YouTube Review Filming in Process)

Excerpts from my review for DorkSideoftheForce.com:

Despite being one of the longest canon Star Wars books out there, Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil is both an epic and intimate page-turner. Concluding Timothy Zahn’s latest (and likely last) Thrawn trilogy, Lesser Evil packs a political and emotional punch, seamlessly tying up the many threads cut loose in Chaos Rising and Greater Good while also effortlessly connecting to the next phase of Thrawn’s story.

While the overarching angle of this trilogy is to show the ways in which a mysterious villain plots and schemes to try to take down the Chiss Ascendancy. Lesser Evil finally spells out why these shadowy baddies known as the Grysk seek to destroy the Chiss and refreshes our memories on how they and their leader Jixtus have been trying to instigate a civil war. While Lesser Evil presents a fascinating look back at the many alien species Jixtus and Thrawn have “worked with” throughout the trilogy, it falters in its portrayal of the Grysk. We never actually read what Jixtus and the Grysk physically look like nor do we get more details about their home systems or planets, their government or their culture.

Clocking in at more than 500 pages, Lesser Evil is one of the largest Star Wars books in both the canon continuity and the Legends material. Still, it has excellent pacing without a dull chapter or inexplicable side quest in sight. I struggled at times to get through parts of Greater Good — mostly because I’m not as big of a fan of military strategy-heavy political thrillers. Even some of the battles in the previous two novels fell a bit flat as I struggled to picture the maneuvers in my head.

Almost every battle in Lesser Evil, however, is beautifully written and understandable. Especially the final battle, which played out with an intensity that had me flying through the book’s last pages. Thrawn’s signature tactics are on full display here, showing the stylish and at times a bit arrogant might of his power in Chiss Ascendancy.

Lesser Evil and the Ascendancy trilogy overall present Thrawn as a relatable anti-hero with a complicated history full of his own people loving him, fearing him, hating him and respecting him. It adds even more depth to a character we’ve read about and loved for the last 30 years and will likely continue to see in future Star Wars projects like the live-action Ahsoka series.

Reflecting on three decades of writing Thrawn, Zahn said he does not have any plans to write more Star Wars stories — but he’s open to it. We can only hope we’ll read more stories of the enigmatic Chiss in the near future.

Thrawn: Ascendancy - Lesser Evil is the perfect conclusion to a trilogy that has brought the readers to new areas of the Galaxy, with new alien species, new societies and - above all - new threats.
Although perhaps this novel is missing that "wow effect" that had characterized Chaos Rises, this is probably the most solid novel of the trilogy: its fast pace never misses a beat, alternatinggreat action with periods of transitions rich in explanations and surprises and, above all, with a clear goal from the start.

The cast of characters, which we have come to know by now is always on point both alone and in groups and there are a few moments of introspection in which Zahn's style becomes poetic at times. The American writer does not fail to weave also in this third chapter a myriad of links to his other works, both Legends like Outbound Flight, and Canon like the other novels now united in a single hexalogy.

The Ascendancy Trilogy thus proves to be a very solid and epic story made up of space battles, political and family intrigues and a good dose of investigation, where the specular parables - the military and the political - of Thrawn, now definitively consecrated to antihero or, perhaps just a hero, are the main subject of the story, but not the only one.
We have grown fond of characters such as General Ba'kif, always ready to turn a blind eye, the loyal and highly trained Admiral Ar'alani, the attentive caregiverThalias, the precise commander Samakro and the sweet sky-walker Che'ri. Their narrative arcs are all brought to a splendid conclusion and I will miss them a lot.

As enemies inside and outside the Ascendancy assemble, Thrawn stands against them. The final book in the Ascendancy trilogy; Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil brings the story to its close.

...even if it’s not exactly a final one.

Timothy Zahn brings the best of the best Thrawn playlist with all the hits:

Thrawn space tactics? Check.
Impossibly complicated plans with all sorts of moving pieces? Check.
Thrawn saying “Perhaps.” Check.
A cast of characters that keeps you guessing their true intentions throughout? Check.
Enemies coming from every angle? Check.
That moment when the plan all comes together? Check.
Lesser Evil takes the pieces left on the board and plays them elegantly… you know, as Thrawn would…

Zahn pulls together threads from the previous two books and ties them up here before sending Thrawn off to the galaxy far, far away that we’re much more familiar with. Whether you are looking for your favorite admiral, syndic, caregiver, pathfinder, or the sky-walker, the cast gets a lot of time to shine. As the trilogy began, I was definitely disoriented with the unfamiliar settings of the Chaos and the Chiss. But as the trilogy has gone on, I’ve enjoyed each book more and more as I’ve become more familiar with its inhabitants and their worlds. Lesser Evil delivers a wonderful finish for many of the characters whom I now genuinely enjoy and have grown to love! As usual, Thrawn utilizes every asset available to achieve his goals. Even if the rest of his peers or superiors fail to see it his way. The trilogy fills in many pieces of Thrawn’s past as we all await the possibilities of Thrawn’s future.

This book is definitely a must-read for Thrawn fans looking for political intrigue, fleet tactics, and likely the deepest look into Chiss society so far!

Lesser Evil is the final installment in the Thrawn Ascendancy series and was my most anticipated book of 2021. It did NOT disappoint! The Ascendancy books have been such a wonderful insight into Grand Admiral Thrawn's life before joining the Empire and how the man we saw in the canon Thrawn trilogy is the same we saw in Rebels and who he might be when we eventually see him in live-action.

Lesser Evil was a great conclusion to this series with an absolutely heart-wrenching ending that made me want to reread the original canon Thrawn trilogy immediately. I had been nervous for this book because Greater Good wasn't my favorite of the Ascendancy books, but it set up everything that happened in this book wonderfully and the payoff was worth it. This book felt like Thrawn's Revenge of the Sith.

One of this book's greatest strengths was how connected it made me feel with these characters, and I feel really sad knowing that we only see Ar'alani and Thrawn again. Thrass and Che'ri were two perfect emotional pulses of this book and their separate connections to Thrawn make me feel A Lot of Things.

We learn so much about the Ascendancy in this book but now I have GOTTA know what they have been up to since the events of the original Star Wars movies. I look forward to hearing more from the Ascendancy and Thrawn in the future!

4.75/5 Stars

Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil by Timothy Zahn is a solid end to the Ascendancy trilogy; although, I wish some of the more mystifying aspects - like the Grysks and Jixtus - had more of a satisfying conclusion rather than leaving things as ominous as we found them. Don't get me wrong, it's understandable why this decision was made, but I feel like Lesser Evil relies too heavily on yet-to-be-announced material, assuming there will be another trilogy sometime down the line, to fill in the gaps. Conversely, I enjoyed how the ending transitions nicely into the 2017 Thrawn trilogy and overall everything flows together quite well.

To say that the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy is probably Timothy Zahn’s greatest work is an understatement. Although the numerous trilogies and duologies featuring Thrawn have made a huge cultural impact within both the Legends and Canon Star Wars timelines—the Thrawn Ascendancy books have given the author free reign of storytelling without the often required strong ties with beloved characters, locales, and events (with the exception of Thrawn’s adventure in Lesser Space with General Anakin Skywalker depicted in Thrawn: Alliances) from our familiar and beloved galaxy. Starting with Chaos Rising, Zahn set the groundwork for brand new storytelling set “beyond” a galaxy far, far away—its freshness comparable to the recent all-new era of Star Wars, The High Republic. The second book of the trilogy, Greater Good shifted to the enemy’s point of view and the beginning of their plan to destroy the Chiss Ascendancy from within by planting seeds of doubt among the various families. And finally with Lesser Evil the readers will experience the epic conclusion of the long game between the Grisk mastermind Jixtus and the Ascendancy.

Oftentimes readers are not satisfied with endings. Let’s face it, if you love something you don’t want to let it go—your mind continues to run the what-ifs, pondering the missed opportunities or the lack of resolution for a certain character’s journey. With Lesser Evil, Timothy Zahn does his very best to bring closure to most (if not all) of the characters paths, especially Thrawn’s. In fact, the ending of the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy is more like the beginning of the Thrawn Canon trilogy—Lesser Evil giving a fascinating explanation for the Chiss’ exile, tempting the readers to go back and revisit (or experience for the first time) those amazing novels.

With over 500 pages, author Timothy Zahn really takes his time in Lesser Evil developing the story and its characters. A’ralani, Thalias and Che’ri, Thurfian, Roscu, Lakinda (now called Ziinda), Qilori of Uandalon, Jixtus, and of course Thrawn himself all get plentiful development that is satisfying to their individual journeys and the main story.

In terms of new characters, only one really stands out. Syndic Thrass (only present in the Memories inner chapters of the book) represents Thrawn’s probably only true friend. The character brings out a bit of Thrawn’s buried emotional side, which is almost a gift to see in and of itself. Their relationship is almost like a dyad—Thrawn’s tactical adeptness complemented by Thrass’ experience in politics. Their storyline is probably the only one (along with another, but revealing it would definitely spoil the surprise) that is left somewhat unfinished—the few Memories chapters do not give enough breathing room to really satisfy the readers (perhaps Zahn is reserving it for future tales).

If the gorgeous cover design suggests it enough, the seemingly impenetrable Ascendancy is beginning to show some cracks. The seeds of doubt continue to be carefully spread by evil mastermind Jixtus, whose plan to destroy the Chiss is finally (but slowly) revealed in Lesser Evil. It’s once again a game of chess mostly between Thrawn and Jixtus—each move so intriguing the readers won’t be able to resist the urge to find out what happens in the next chapter and the next. Jixtus’ deception and Thrawn and his allies’ strategic counteraction are never predictable, the political side of the conflict is definitely more fun to unveil over the actual space confrontations—the latter a bit hard to follow at times for their technicality. However, this is not a complaint whatsoever as each battle is epic (especially the final one) and really satisfies the buildup from the extensive strategic planning.

Zahn’s latest novel is the ultimate page-turner (don’t let the massiveness of it scare you away). If you have been impatiently waiting for this final instalment of the Thrawn Ascendancy to arrive on the bookshelves, then you will without a doubt be rewarded for your patience. Make sure to grab a copy of Lesser Evil today and let us know your thoughts on our social media channels about this epic conclusion of the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy!

Seven months after its second entry, Timothy Zahn’s latest Thrawn-centric trilogy of novels, Thrawn Ascendancy, ends with Lesser Evil. Much like the finale of his last, though loosely connected trilogy of Thrawn novels, Zahn’s Lesser Evil flounders, more concerned with setting up the aforementioned books, once again avoiding character development, punting on answering two trilogies worth of questions, or truly exploring the Chiss’ extensive past, instead continuing Thrawn’s flawless victory status to underwhelming effect across its over expanded page count.

In the first series of Thrawn-centric books for the new canon, Zahn’s Thrawn was rather flawless, never really encountering any setbacks beyond his sole blind spot, politics. At the start of a trilogy called Thrawn Ascendancy, which promised to explore his past, it’s not a stretch to assume we’d see the character stumble, fall even, and learn to pick himself back up and become the great strategist fans have loved for decades. It was clear from book one this would never be the case, as the Thrawn we meet in both the “present” of this trilogy and its past, flashbacks via “Memory” chapters, is already the fully formed genius, with only his trademark flaw of politics, and it quickly made reading each subsequent entry of the previous and this trilogy a bore; someone who never fails offers little to no entertainment, since they are always going to succeed; where are the stakes? For some it might be interesting or even exciting for more of their flawless Thrawn, but I far enjoyed his time in Star Wars Rebels, where he had setbacks and failures, and I’m curious why Zahn decided to ignore progress or development for the character and write him as he always has written him: was it fear fans wouldn’t be interested in the character if he faltered in these early days or just an unwillingness to imagine Thrawn as anything else than Zahn already knew of him as a character, or something else? Regardless, Thrawn’s ‘failure’ at Lesser Evil’s end is really set up for his appearance in the resulting Empire-set books, so instead the failure reads like another win for the character, be it the kinds words people have about him and his deeds, his court martial stemming from a technicality of Chiss rules after the big military victory, to the whole ‘it’s all part of the plan’ reveal afterwards. Lesser Evil hammers home how missed of an opportunity this trilogy was for developing Thrawn into a complex character, one that’s more than his signature smarts and single flaw, and even a series of “Memories” delving into the canon version of his ‘brother’ Thrass falls short of compelling or important to Thrawn’s characterization. I know I’ve made this argument with the last two books, but if there’s no attempt to change on the series’ end, why should I? I eagerly look forward to what will be done with Thrawn in his upcoming live-action appearances.

The blurb for Lesser Evil promised Thrawn would dive deep into the Ascendancy’s past, but it was more Thalias, the ex-sky’walker (the Force sensitive girls who navigate hyperspace for the Chiss) now caretaker to a sky’walker, who explores the Chiss’ past and her own a bit, much like her awesome section at the end of Book 1: Chaos Rising. Thrawn’s brush with the Chiss’ ancient past comes during the Memory chapters, which explains the “odo” at the end of his Chiss name and offers a compelling story about the Starflash weapon mentioned at the end of Book II: Greater Good, but it’s not much more than an interesting story we’re told than anything meaningful for Thrawn’s choices, beyond inspiring the ‘self-sacrifice’ he nobly takes to Lesser Space (aka the rest of the known galaxy). The little hints we do get about the Chiss’ past instills a sense of wonder the main events of this book don’t and I hope maybe we’ll get to explore those moments in the future. For now though, Thalias’ exploration of the sky’walker program, after an alien named the Magys—first met in Greater Good—expands the sky’-walker’s abilities for a tactical advantage, offered Lesser Evil some intrigue, as predictable as it was, about the Chiss’ choices in the past, but it all ends with more questions than answers and I’m not sure I’m eager for them, whether or not it comes in a Thrawn-centric or Chiss Ascendancy set book.

The Grysk Hegemony, and their subtle tactics and usage of client races, ramps up their threat in Lesser Evil, but by the end they still felt underwhelming as an enemy, as we still don’t know enough about them or what they want, or if they truly could be a threat to the rest of the galaxy. Introduced as a threat to the Ascendancy in the first set of Thrawn books, their enigmatic member Jixtus only came to the forefront in Greater Good, and while he has more time in Lesser Evil, lacking any POV with his character (much like Thrawn) makes him feel like window dressing to the larger conflict. Sure, we get a sense of how the Grysk operate via POV chapters with Jixtus’ latest client race, Generalirius Nakirre of the Kilki Illumine, but in the final confrontation his long conversation with Thrawn before the battle feels forced, as if Zahn was looking for a way to make writing the big battle easier, as Jixtus regurgitates all the names and classes of his Grysk armada, hollowing out the character into nothing more than a Wookieepedia page writer. Grysk tactics are certainly full of potential, but when not faced with a bunch of Chiss families that somehow all are either related to or believe Thrawn is a some type of good/bad Chosen One, I’m not sure they’ll feel as considerable a threat, while lacking any real information on what they want leaves them once again as a nebulous and non-substantial threat. After 5 books of being told and not shown about their considerable threat, as the Chiss have managed to defeat them in all their appearances, they simply seem like convenient threats for these stories and nothing more, which is disappointing given their potential.

By the end of Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil, everything’s set to begin the events of the previous trilogy, but it does so at the expense of this trilogy, never really letting it spread its wings and expand/focus on this new area of space, instead feeling more focused on getting us back to the rest of the galaxy.

The new canon Thrawn books mean a lot to me personally. I never expected them to. I think they are part of the reason I have connected so deeply with Star Wars books in the past few years. It is a little disconcerting how much Thrawn as a character means to me as a person, given his place as a fascist villain. The Ascendancy prequel trilogy really embodies what it means to be a Star Wars prequel. You know what happens at the end. You just don’t know how he gets there. The sense of dread is palpable, the tension is very evident. This book is the final chapter - it has the same feeling as watching the Clone Wars season 7 and Revenge of the Sith. And much like the Clone Wars, I had to keep stopping reading because I didn’t want to say goodbye to these characters. I don’t know if or ever I will see them again, and wow, have they wormed their way into my heart, like they do Thrawn’s.
I consider the final paragraph of Thrawn (2017), the first canon Thrawn novel, about the nature of friendship, to be the thesis of all 6 books now. It really is about how maybe the real battle tactics were the friends we made along the way.
This book is quintessentially Star Wars - it balances plot heavy space battles and many, many characters with moments of genuine human (Chiss) emotion that catch you so off guard. I cried multiple times. The whole Ascendancy trilogy is much like the Clone Wars - with the troubling idea of “what if we brought children (padawans or sky-walkers) into a warzone, and what dynamics would that bring,” in both funny and poignant, and darkly sinister ways.
I consider this book to be my second (maybe third? I’m at a tie with Chaos Rising) favorite Thrawn novel. I am running to go re-read Treason now that there is more context about the Grysks. And I am mourning the loss of my time with these characters. Thank you, Mr. Zahn. I can’t wait to talk about this book (with full spoilers) once it releases on my podcast, RuPalp’s Podrace.

PS: The audiobook is phenomenal. Marc Thompson does something for one character to relate them to another, that as a voice actor I noticed and made my jaw hit the floor. And the final battle is as cinematic as Star Wars should always be.

Getting a whole trilogy of books in 14 months is no easy feat. Having that trilogy be as dense, plot-heavy, and sprawling as Thrawn Ascendancy is even more difficult to fathom. Yet here we are, with Timothy Zahn bringing the second of his new canon trilogies to a close with Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil.

Picking up almost immediately where Greater Good left off, Lesser Evil sees all the moving parts converging, as the Chiss Ascendency is forced to face the outsiders who would threaten everything about their way of life.

Lesser Evil had a daunting task ahead of it. By the time Eli Vanto finds Thrawn and brings him into the Empire, he needs to have done something bad enough to warrant his exile from the Ascendancy. It not only had to build into the events of the second chronological trilogy, but also wrap up all the events of the first.

As with the first two books, by far the most interesting parts of Lesser Evil were everything to do with the politics and inner workings of the Ascendancy itself. The power plays and machinations of the ruling Chiss families remain unlike anything we currently have in Star Wars, and it proves to be especially refreshing for a book set during a well-trod time period.

But because the story as a whole relies so heavily on Thrawn’ strategic and military prowess, a lot of time is spent on the “battle math” - the precise ins and outs of space battles that are likely very interesting to readers who are into those types of scenes, but which feel long to everyone else.

Fortunately, there are plenty of quieter, character-focused moments in between the battles that give the reader a chance to breathe, Though once again Thrawn is not a point of view character, most of the key players in his early life are given points of view of their own.
By this point, enough time is spent with them that by the end many of the newer players have become so fully realized, you are rooting for their personal achievements and triumphs. Thrawn might be the reason readers came to these books in the first place, but the core ensemble is the reason they stay.

What it comes down to, is when the emotional and character-driven beats are there at the forefront, they are extremely effective. The story does occasionally get bogged down in the nitty-gritty of space combat, and there are so many new names and interpersonal relationships that it can be easy for casual fans to lose track. But for the characters we have spent three books following - and for Thrawn himself, of course - the character beats and arcs land well and ring true.

Although the story is bittersweet, and a little chaotic, it is ultimately a satisfying conclusion to the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy, which both wraps up its own story, and very nicely bridges the gap into the earlier Thrawn books.