History Literature / Thrawn

* NotProven: [[spoiler:Yularen and Thrawn both know he wasn't responsible for the massive civilian casualties at the Battle of Batonn. Yularen rightly suspects it was actually Pryce, though she covered her tracks so thoroughly that not even the ISB Director can officially prove it. However, he's certain enough that he ends his professional relationship with the Governor.]]

* NotProven: [[spoiler:Yularen and Thrawn both know he wasn't responsible for the massive civilian casualties at the Battle of Batonn. Yularen rightly suspects it was actually Pryce, though she covered her tracks so thoroughly that not even the ISB Director can prove it.]]

* ResolvedNoodleIncident: The Battle of Batonn, which was mentioned in Thrawn's first appearance on ''Rebels'', serves as the book's climax. [[spoiler:Also turns out Thrawn was framed for the massive civilian casualties and it was actually Pryce.]]

None of them are happy with the decision I can read that in their faces. but they are officers and servants of the Chiss, and they will carry out their orders. Protocol alone demands that.\\

It was released on April 11th, 2017, by Del Rey Books. It is received a sequel, ''Literature/ThrawnAlliances'', which released in Summer 2018. A third book, titled ''Literature/ThrawnTreason'', has been announced for a 2019 release.

''Thrawn'' is a Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse novel by Creator/TimothyZahn, who previously authored ''Legends'' works including the original ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'' that first introduced the character into the franchise. ''Thrawn'' delves into the new origins of the titular character, making it a preboot of sorts. The novel is a prequel to ''WesternAnimation/{{Rebels}}'', where Thrawn was first reintroduced into the franchise after the ContinuityReboot.

It received a comic book adaptation from Creator/MarvelComics, written by Jodi Houser (the ''Film/RogueOne'' comic adaptation), edited by Heather Antos (''[[ComicBook/MarvelStarWars2015 Marvel Star Wars]]'', ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsDarthVader Darth Vader]]'', ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsKanan Kanan]]'', ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsPrincessLeia Princess Leia]]'', ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsShatteredEmpire Shattered Empire]]''), and illustrated by Luke Ross (''ComicBook/DarthMaul'', ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' comic adaptation), released in early 2018.

* RealityEnsues: Thrawn only knows minimal Basic at the beginning of the novel and thus needs someone to coach him and translate between him and other people. Also, while Thrawn was high-ranked in the Chiss Ascendancy, he has to start near the very bottom of the Imperial ranks as a lieutenant.

** Thrawn's memoir from Chapter 7 reads ''(...) But a warrior may forget that even the task of identifying an enemy can be difficult. And the cost of that failure can lead to catastrophe.'' There's also Chapter 13's ''(...) No battle plan can anticipate all contigencies. There are always unexpected factors. (...)'' [[spoiler: In Rebels the Battle of Atollon didn't go the way Thrawn expected because of this, the unexpected insubordination of Konstantine and Bendu's attack.]] [[spoiler: The same happened during the Liberation of Lothal, in which Thrawn could have not predicted the sudden appearance of freaking ''hyperspace-capable {{space whale}}s.]]

** Thrawn's memoir from Chapter 7 reads ''(...) But a warrior may forget that even the task of identifying an enemy can be difficult. And the cost of that failure can lead to catastrophe.'' There's also Chapter 13's ''(...) No battle plan can anticipate all contigencies. There are always unexpected factors. (...)'' [[spoiler: In Rebels the Battle of Atollon didn't go the way Thrawn expected because of this, the unexpected insubordination of Konstantine and Bendu's attack.]] [[spoiler: The same happened during the Liberation of Lothal, in which Thrawn could have not predicted the sudden appearance of freaking space whales.]]

* CommonalityConnection: Because Eli has heard stories about the Chiss and has knowledge of their language, Thrawn finds interest in him and takes him under his wing. He's not too entirely happy about his career being sidetracked by Thrawn, though.

Something the turns are of one's own volition, as one's thoughts and goals change over time. But more often the turns are mandated by outside forces.\\

* FantasticRacism: Thrawn has to deal with a lot of unnecessary obstacles put in his way by other Imperials who don't like the fact that the Navy's rising star is an alien.

** Thrawn's memoir from Chapter 7 reads ''(...) But a warrior may forget that even the task of identifying an enemy can be difficult. And the cost of that failure can lead to catastrophe.'' There's also Chapter 13's ''(...) No battle plan can anticipate all contigencies. There are always unexpected factors. (...)'' [[spoiler: In Rebels the Battle of Atollon didn't go the way Thrawn expected because of this, the unexpected insubordination of Konstantine and Bendu's attack. The same happened during the Liberation of Lothal, in which Thrawn could have not predicted the sudden appearance of freaking space whales.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Thrawn makes several comments about the tactical importance of flexible fighter craft in conjunction with Star Destroyers and why they're superior to any hypothetical superweapons. [[spoiler: In Rebels he's pushing the scalpel of upgraded fighters as a better solution than the sledgehammer of a Death Star.]]

* NoodleIncident: Thrawn and Anakin Skywalker met during the Clone Wars. Not much more is known about this incident other than Anakin's report on Thrawn made a favorable impression on Palpatine.

* SynchronousEpisodes: ''Thrawn'' takes place over the span of about a decade and half, making several nods to events happening alongside it, mostly the backstory of the Lothal arc from ''Rebels''.

-->What the. . . ''Chimaera'', did you just ''fire'' on us?

It was released on April 11th, 2017, by Del Rey Books. It is received a sequel, ''Literature/ThrawnAlliances'', which released in Summer 2018.

* ParanoiaFuel: In-universe. Rather than report them, Thrawn has Deenlark transfer Eli's bullies to Skystrike, reasoning that [[FateWorseThanDeath it's worse than simply being washed out or some other physical punishment]]; instead, for while, they have to live knowing what they've done and that they may be punished for it at anytime.

** Interestingly, the book counts as this for the ''Legends'' canon (which is itself the TropeMaker). It would take little, if any, modification for the novel to slot into that continuity, as well, serving as something of a prequel to ''The Thrawn Trilogy'' or a sequel to ''OutboundFlight''.

* MythologyGag: In the ''Legends'' canon, Thrawn once related an anecdote about how he once defied the Emperor by refusing to take his forces into a battle he wasn't prepared to win. The Emperor promptly sidelined him and sent a more willing commander, who wound up getting his force wiped out. In the new canon, Thrawn does much the same thing when initially ordered to retake Scrim Island on Batonn, Thrawn states that he needs time to gather more intelligence. His superior, the Fleet Admiral, demands a more prompt effort and sends a more gung-ho admiral to do the job. After that admiral gets his butt kicked, the Fleet Admiral finally agrees to send in Thrawn, who is able to retake the island using the intelligence he gathered from his rival's attempt.

It was released on April 11th, 2017, by Del Rey Books. It is received a sequel, ''Literature/ThrawnAlliances'', which is to be released in Summer 2018.

It is receiving a comic book adaptation from Creator/MarvelComics, written by Jodi Houser (the ''Film/RogueOne'' comic adaptation), edited by Heather Antos (''[[ComicBook/MarvelStarWars2015 Marvel Star Wars]]'', ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsDarthVader Darth Vader]]'', ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsKanan Kanan]]'', ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsPrincessLeia Princess Leia]]'', ''[[ComicBook/StarWarsShatteredEmpire Shattered Empire]]''), and illustrated by Luke Ross (''ComicBook/DarthMaul'', ''Film/TheForceAwakens'' comic adaptation), to be released in early 2018.

* NothingIsScarier: Whatever's out there lurking in the Unknown Regions. Nothing is said about it, aside from the fact that the Chiss are really scared of it. It's possibly the same presence that Palpatine and the Acolytes of the Beyond were said to have felt in ''Literature/AftermathEmpiresEnd'', [[spoiler: which is implied to either be or is related to Snoke]].

* WhamLine: The [[spoiler: revelation of Nightswan's identity.]]
-->[[spoiler:Cygni]]: And please-call me [[spoiler:Nightswan]].

* CallBack:
** Thrawn and Eli travel to [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars Umbara]], and the latter explains to the former that there was a deadly campaign there during the Clone Wars when the locals allied themselves with the Separatists. Eli reasons that the Umbarans probably don't want to go through it again with the Empire.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: A frustrated Eli argues with Thrawn about how [[IJustWantToBeNormal his career as an Imperial Navy officer is being suddenly being sidelined because he has to serve as a newcomer's aide and translator]]. He calls Thrawn's explanation that he needs a translator so that possibly lethal mistakes won't happen as [[PardonMyKlingon "Krayt spit"]]. Thrawn is confused as to what it means, to which Eli then says it's like saying "Nonsense.", so the former is led to believe that is exactly what it means. Eli then has to clarify that it's an expletive that he shouldn't use, [[NotHelpingYourCase which just further proves Thrawn's point]].
* CommonalityConnection: Because Eli has heard stories about the Chiss and has knowledge of their language, Thrawn finds interest in him and takes him under his wing. He's not too entirely happy about his career being sidetracked by Thrawn though.

* DownerBeginning: The novel begins with a short prologue of Thrawn describing being charged with exile by his people and admits to himself that [[NowWhat his future is uncertain]]. [[spoiler:It later turns out that this is a case of UnreliableNarrator[=/=]FromACertainPointOfView[=/=]ExactWords, because he's not talking about how he felt like being disowned; he's actually talking about how they're carrying out the plan to get him found by the Empire, though him being uncertain of what will come after he gets "exiled" is obviously true since he isn't omniscient.]]

* {{Expy}}: Zahn has admitted that part of the reason Eli Vanto was created was because at this point in the timeline, Gilad Pellaeon drastically outranks Thrawn and thus, would have a very different dynamic were he kept.

* HonorBeforeReason: Nightswan ultimately chooses this, when it becomes clear he can no longer win at Batonn. His men depend on him and he can't abandon them even if he does appear somewhat tempted [[spoiler: by Thrawn's offer to set him up with the Chiss Ascendency. He subsequently died with his men and the civilian population when Pryce sets off the explosives.]]

** MoleInCharge: [[spoiler:Then he becomes one of the highest ranking officers in the Imperial Navy]].

* ForegoneConclusion: Thrawn ultimately makes an ally out of Pryce, as we see in ''Rebels''. We also already know that Thrawn will manage to get his promotion from admiral to grand admiral thanks to the Battle of Batonn, which happens at the end of the book.

* MeaningfulName: Cygni. ''Cygnus'' is Latin for [[spoiler:swan]].

* SerialKillingsSpecificTarget: The real reason for the massive civilian casualties during the Battle of Batonn. [[spoiler:Governor Pryce needed to cover up the fact that she had murdered ISB Agent Gudry, so she decided to remotely detonate the insurgents caches of explosives without destroying their shields first. This results in the force of the blast being redirected inward, destroying the evidence and killing thousands of civilians along the way.]]
* StealthMentor: Thrawn himself to Eli, after recognizing how good Eli is at understanding Thrawn's plans, a skill only a few others like Wullf Yularen possess. Thrawn spends most of the book developing this talent further in Eli and it's not until late in the book when Commander Faro spells out to Eli that Thrawn has been preparing him for command.