Spoiler-Free Review of Thrawn: Treason

[unspeakablehorror]

I finished Thrawn: Treason today.  While the story didn't fail to deliver in terms of pacing or plot, I was nevertheless somewhat disappointed with it.

I actually thought the reasoning for the Treason title to be solid enough by the end.  I won't give spoilers here but I was anticipating that part to fizzle much more epically than I actually felt it did.

No, it was the way I felt the confict was carefully constructed to avoid presenting the titular character with certain thorny moral quandaries.  I have this same complaint about the second book as well.  All three Thrawn novels are solid from a storytelling viewpoint, with all the focus on clever tactical maneuvers one could expect and hope for from a Thrawn novel.  But only the first one really captures my interest from a moral complexity perspective.  There's also a plot device I particularly dislike that the last two novels share in common.  

This book and Rebels are supposed to tie into each other, but I sense enough friction on both ends that there's a thematic disconnect between the two, even while they otherwise mesh well in terms of basic character information and the series of events.  Of course, I would actually be surprised if that *hadn't* been the case, but it's still jarring, regardless of the side I view it from.

Anyway, my review is--this is a Thrawn novel, through and through, and Zahn delivers on his skill with narrative and pacing, as well as managing a variety of intriguing characters. Its title is also firmly appropriate.  I just wish its thematic heart could have been a little closer to my own.