Reviews

Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn

probablyrachel's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

joford's review against another edition

4.0

I always love a good Thrawn book. Especially when I started the book I had no idea he was in it. And it's fantastic meeting people from his home planet. Great read if you're a Thrawn fan.

fandom4ever's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Outbound Flight was such a fascinating novel in its very concept. The Outbound Flight Project had first been introduced in name via Heir to the Empire and then had other mentions throughout the EU. Characters that appear in here also had their first introductions in other books later in the timeline. Here though we finally get to see what Outbound Flight was and why it was doomed to fail and how it ended up where it did. When you finish, you both get a complete novel, while also having all these threads that will receive their answers further along the path in Zahn’s other Star Wars books. It’s just mind-blowing to consider how intricately weaved the EU truly is. 

As for the story itself, I enjoyed it. I liked how it started with C’baoth trying to get the project to actually move forward, with all the maneuvering by Sidious in the background to make sure everything goes just his way to remove those he deems troublesome. The story ultimately switches between life on Outbound Flight and Chiss space with Thrawn. You once more get to see the brilliant mind that Thrawn has. I certainly learned a few things here about Thrawn and Sidious’s first meeting that I didn’t know before and their talk of the Far Outsiders. I also liked the deep look at why Jedi are not supposed to be in positions of power and just how much people will allow rather than standing up to those who are imposing tyranny. 

I really liked the fact that none of this book took place from Thrawn’s point of view. We only got to see his actions and thoughts from other characters who interacted with him and that led into a very strong book. Due to not knowing exactly what he was thinking and planning, we could only try to guess what he might know about different events and what his ultimate decision would be regarding Outbound Flight. The same is said for Jedi Master C’baoth. Everything about him is seen through his actions and others’ opinions of him. It was fascinating to watch as he gathered more and more control on Outbound Flight for himself and the Jedi. Even if the project hadn’t been destroyed from the outside, you can see that eventually, there would have been a lot of trouble from within. 

I definitely recommend this book. Zahn is always a master at what he does and I can’t wait to find out the aftermath of this story. 

imakandiway's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

3.75

ofclumsywords's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

graff_fuller's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thrawn is a fierce competitor, and is able to learn from other races...in such a unique way, that he is often overlooked by the traditional view of what a bad guy, or antagonist usually looks like (not just different skin colour, but built differently, so that he uses so many influences to how he can gauge a tactic against them, from the most unlikely sources.

I was worried that we would depart from Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, but they are also prominant in this story. Though at first, how the book is structured...I was worried.

I like how this deals will the power dynamics within the Jedi Order, and how easily someone can be corrupted or slide to the Dark Side. It was well done (within this story). When it was happening, I keep thinking (it's just another way of getting to the same place), but no...it was bad. The Jedi are NOT perfect, but they try hard to show that they are impervious to the desire for power, and have to fight against the anger/ease that the Dark Side can take over their lives.

There are many concepts that happen within this story, that show how the Chiss are different, and that Thrawn is even spectacular for Chiss. Love his development.

I enjoyed this book, and am glad to finallly be in the part of the series that is Adult novels, instead of Young Adult/Middle Grade novellas.

Moving on to The Approaching Storm, by Alan Dean Foster.

grandadmiralharvoid's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

dmcke013's review against another edition

3.0

If I was asked which author is most associuated with kick-starting the whole Star Wars Expanded Universe (EU), I would have to choose Timothy Zahn, with his 'Heir to the Empire' trilogy. From that trilogy, two of his main protaganists would have to be the Jedi Master Joruus C'Baoth (a clone of the dead Jedi Jorus C'Baoth), and Grand Admiral Thrawn.

In this particular novel in that universe - set between the events of Episode I and Episode II - Zahn returns to those two particular characters, as well as to the fate of the eponymous 'Outbound Flight'. Slightly misleadingly, I felt, the main story does not detail how Thrawn joined the Empire (although there is a short story in the back of my edition that does just that), but instead fleshes out a previously hinted at backstory from his Heir to the Empire series. Set in an earlier peirod, I found it also interesting that it also foreshadows some of the event of the later New Jedi Order series of books - a series that, if I'm honest, I never really took to, preferring instead to primarily remain in or around the Rebellion era.

ayoung720's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

wdzrvl's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25