A review by fandom4ever
Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn

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.