Star Wars: Outbound Flight

Star Wars Legends: Novels

by Timothy Zahn

Before the start of the Clone Wars, the future Emperor was already maneuvering to destroy the Jedi. This is the tale of the doomed Outbound Flight Project, which began as a new hope for the galaxy...and ended in despair. A grand Jedi adventure by one of the most popular Star Wars authors. Before the Clone Wars began, a group of Jedi led by Master Jorus C'baoth lobbied the Republic Senate to fund a project to search for and contact intelligent life outside the known galaxy. Six Jedi Masters, 12 Jedi Knights, and 50,000 additional support personnel boarded an incredible starship and left on their adventure...only to disappear without a trace. This was the Jedi's first encounter with the aliens called the Chiss, and the New Republic's future archenemy, Thrawn. But until Luke Skywalker and his wife Mara headed out for the Unknown Regions in Survivor's Quest, the fate of the Outbound Flight Project remained an enigma. This is the story of those Jedi Masters and Knights, their heroic quest, and their mysterious end.

Genres: Star Wars, Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, Space Opera, Audiobook, Science Fiction Fantasy

480 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2006

About the author

Timothy Zahn attended Michigan State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 1973. He then moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and achieved an M.S. degree in physics in 1975. While he was pursuing a doctorate in physics, his adviser became ill and died. Zahn never completed the doctorate. In 1975 he had begun writing science fiction as a hobby, and he became a professional writer. He and his wife Anna live in Bandon, Oregon. They have a son, Corwin Zahn.

Reviews

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

My usual caveat: I am a Timothy Zahn fanboy. I have yet to read a work of his I didn’t like. Some, of course, are better than others, but I’ve loved ‘em all. So read this review understanding that.

For those not in the know; a number of years ago, Timothy Zahn effectively re-launched the Star Wars novels with his Heir to the Empire trilogy. It was a smash hit, and rightly so. Zahn managed to capture the SW universe perfectly, while introducing plots and threats that were actually interesting, instead of just throwing our heroes up against another version of the Death Star (Kevin Anderson, I’m looking at you!). Zahn eventually followed that series up with a duology, and finally, a stand-alone book that serves as a bit of a prequel to the New Jedi Order series, which I have not read, though I own the first book of it. I can’t decide if I should read it or not.

But I digress.

Somewhere in the course of his novels, Zahn introduced the Outbound Flight—an Old Republic expeditionary force that had been sent to try and explore another galaxy. It was launched during the midst of the Clone Wars, and eventually disappeared into history. Years later, Luke & co. would eventually find out about it, and…well, read Zahn’s other SW books if you want the full story on that.

Outbound Flight is (surprise) the story of Outbound Flight itself. It begins with the last minute negotiations of the set-up, the flights launch, and its ultimate destruction. The story moves along at an appropriate clip, and as always, Zahn does a nice job of setting up some intriguing politics, mysteries, and manipulations along the way. We also finally get to see the original Jorus C’baoth, and the return of (or prelude to) Mitth'raw'nuruodo, aka Grand Admiral Thrawn, the greatest non-movie villain in Star Wars canon.

Outbound Flight has its downsides too. There’s a little too much Republic politicking that goes on, in part because of what seems to be a very forced cameo by Obi-Wan and Anakin. This takes up a part of the book that really could have been spent doing more interesting things with the Outbound Flight itself, or with Thrawn’s activities. It also ends up distracting from Zahn's characters, who are frankly, way more interesting than Obi-Wan and Darth Child. Besides, we already have a bunch of movies about them. I want to see other characters now! I have the distinct impression that this was editorial decision-making getting in the way of good storytelling, though I have no proof of that.

Also, there’s a twist/big reveal concerning Darth Sideous/Chancellor Palpatine/The Emperor that I really didn’t like. I GET why it’s there (it serves to tie ALL the SW stuff together) but it feels wrong to me. It also serves to make Palpatine vaguely sympathetic, which, in my opinion, he should not be (I love Palpatine, but sympathetic he ain’t).

In the end, I enjoyed Outbound Flight quite a bit, and any Star Wars fan, or Zahn fan, ought to read it (fans of both, doubly so). While Zahn is somewhat hampered by what I think are bad editorial decisions, he still manages to tell a fun and interesting Star Wars style romp, and answer some questions about Zahn-specific plots that have come up before.

[Jonathan Koan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to re-read this with my friends as an audiobook (I only use audiobooks for rereads), and I absolutely loved it, even more than when I read it the first time. This book is so densely filled with action, character development, great story, great themes, and fantastic reveals. Timothy Zahn has already written some of my favorite original science fiction standalones, and this book has catapulted even higher up as a favorite Star Wars standalone.

One of the things that makes this book so special is the characters. Lorana Jinzler, Kinman Doriana, Jorj Cardas, Thrass, Aralani, Thrawn, C'Baoth, and more are just stupendously written. Several of them are original exclusively to this book, and they certainly leave their mark.

I particularly connected this readthrough with Lorana Jinzler, who just has such a sweet heart and attitude and has been constantly beaten down (metaphorically) by C'Baoth. I felt she was a character who just needed a hug.

Jorj Cardas is such a fun character to read. His story really serves as a prelude to what Zahn would do with Eli Vanto in the canon Thrawn trilogy. His relationship with Thrawn, down to his cunning and character, just made him fascinating to follow.

Every single plotline in the book was evenly paced and exciting. I never had a moment where I was bored by any storylines. With such a big cast and so many POVs, this can be hard to do, but Tim nails it.

The book also has some epic action sequences, which is usually something I don't care for in my Sci-Fi or Star Wars books. But Zahn blended the tactics and the creativity of the action together and made it interesting throughout.

There are some really fascinating themes about the military and the role of first strikes, as well as the idea of sacrificing a few to save the many. There are also themes about languages and connecting with people different from yourself.

Overall, this is just a brilliant novel and I absolutely loved it. Probably my #2 standalone Star Wars novel from the EU. 9.7 out of 10! Great job Zahn!

[Scott Rhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Outbound Flight” by Timothy Zahn was an attempt, back in 2006, to create a “continuity” between the original Star Wars trilogy and the prequels, as well as the many novels post-Episode VI, including Zahn’s original three-book “Thrawn” series that essentially started the entire Star Wars Expanded Universe (SWEU). For the most part, it succeeded.

I am definitely an “old canon/legends” fan. The new canon stuff, for the most part, hasn’t really done it for me. The comic books have been wonderful, the movies have been decent (not great), and the books have been mediocre at best. Where Disney/Lucasfilm has really shined, in my opinion, has been the TV shows. “The Mandalorian” was awesome, and the new “Ahsoka” is fantastic. I hope that they continue this run of wonderful series.

The cool thing about “Ahsoka” is that it is attempting to introduce Thrawn into the new canon. Thrawn was featured heavily in the Disney XD cartoon series “Star Wars Rebels”, and for many fans (especially the young ones), it was their introduction to the blue-skinned Imperial Grand Admiral. Perhaps one of the coolest villains in the SWEU, Thrawn never appeared in any of the original films. He first appeared in the 1991 novel “Heir to the Empire”, written by Zahn. It quickly became a best-seller and is still cited by many fans as a favorite among the vast catalog of SWEU novels.

Part of its success is that it just a damn good novel. Zahn is a terrific writer, and he was a perfect match for the Star Wars universe, able to capture in writing the energy and wonder that made the original film trilogy so beloved.

Today, Thrawn has his own little franchise-within-a-franchise, as he appears in roughly 12 books in some capacity, all of them written by Zahn.

One of those books, “Outbound Flight”, attempts to shed some light on Thrawn’s backstory.

In the novel, set shortly after the events of “Episode 1: The Phantom Menace” and before the official start of the Clone Wars, a secret mission funded in part by Chancellor Palpatine to send a group of colonists into the Unknown Regions of the galaxy, led by Jedi Master Jorus C’baoth, is interrupted when it gets in the middle of two warring species: the Chiss (led by Thrawn) and the Vagaari.

There are a lot of minor characters in this novel, but the two main characters of any worth are Thrawn and C’baoth. They are the Kirk and Khan, respectively, of this story. (Apologies for making a “Star Trek” reference in a review of a “Star Wars” novel.)

While there is an official mission to the Outbound Flight Project, one of the “unofficial” secret purposes is to gather intel on a potential threat by an extragalactic species that could pose a serious threat to the safety of the Republic, an allusion to the Yuuzhan Vong (see The New Jedi Order series). Darth Sidious apparently had a vision of this threat.

It’s interesting that Thrawn is portrayed as almost the good guy in this book. Well, if not the “good” guy then certainly the “least worst”. He is definitely a charismatic and likable villain.

On the flip-side, C’baoth is a villain who is quite easy to detest, perverting the Jedi teachings for his own self-interest.

It should be noted that this novel is a prequel to “Survivor’s Quest”, which takes place almost 60 years after the events in this story, not too long before the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. That novel was actually published first, though. (I know, it’s confusing.)

And, depending on which paperback edition you are reading, a bonus short story, “Mist Encounter”, by Zahn, is an added bonus. Apparently, parts of this short story were tweaked and re-written into the subsequent 2017 novel “Thrawn”.

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

My healing as a Star Wars fan has come a long way since my trip to the theatre for my final kick in the balls at the booted foot of Revenge of the Sith. My tender testes put up with a whole bunch of abuse from Episodes I-III, and I thought I'd never be able to fall in love again, but much to the delight of my healing privates that fall is happening again.

I have two reasons, and both of those reasons have to do with the Expanded Galaxy of Star Wars and nothing to do with Star Wars itself.

Reason #1 -- This has nothing to do with Outbound Flight, but bear with me. Clone Wars, the animated series run by Dave Filoni, is better than any on-screen version of Star Wars barring Empire Strikes Back. If you've not seen any of them or only watched the first few episodes, you have missed out on a wonderful piece of filmmaking. It expanded the Anakin Skywalker story in just the ways I hoped it would, made his fall from Jedi glory understandable and sympathetic, and it introduced us to some of the coolest characters anywhere in the Star Wars Galaxy: Ahsoka Tano, Cad Bane, Hondo the Pirate and Asajj Ventress. I love all for of them as much as I love anyone in the movies (with the exception of Han, Lando and Chewie), and I would be willing to bet that my kids' favourite characters in Star Wars spring from that group (Ahsoka for Scout, Cad Bane for Beans, and Ventress for Te).

Reason #2 -- For much the same reason, I adore the work Timothy Zahn's been doing, for quite a while now, in the Expanded Galaxy. He has created characters as cool and important and worth knowing as any in the official films. Jorus C'baoth (arrogant, dickhead Jedi Master), Mara Jade (bad ass guard to Emperor Palpatine and wife-to-be of Luke Skywalker), Talon Karrde (smuggler, gambler, scoundrel, so what's not to like), and best of all Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo (the eventual Grand Admiral Thrawn). All of these characters are fantastic additions to the Galaxy, but it is the last -- Thrawn -- who I most want to see on screen.

Thrawn, when written by Zahn, is a tactical genius of autistic levels without the problems. He is cultured, suave, able to overcome Darth Sidious' hatred for aliens, honourable, kind, willing to make the pre-emptive strike, loyal, pragmatic, occassionally bellicose, and uncompromising when it comes to success. He is, in short, one of the most complex charactes anywhere in the Star Wars Galaxy, and I will read anything about him.

In Outbound Flight we're lucky enough to get two Thrawn tales, the larger origin of Thrawn's entrance to the Galaxy proper -- a tale of Jedi aggression, Sidiuos manipulation, and Thrawn master -- and a smaller, even cooler tale called "Mist Encounter," wherein an exiled Thrawn takes on the Imperial Navy, a pack of Storm Troopers, smuggling his way abourd a Star Destroyer and into the Imperial Navy for his troubles.

These tales might not be great literature, but they are great entertainment, and I think they are essential reading for anyone who still fancies themselves Star Wars fans after all these years.

[Markus · Rating 2 out of 5]

The rating may be a little bit unfair, considering that the book itself does little wrong. Unfortunately, I got the impression that it didn't do much right either. The most impressive part here is Zahn's ability to adapt quickly to the "completely" new setting provided by the prequel trilogy. Outbound Flight is basically the book where Thrawn meets the prequels.

The problem is that the book was hardly exciting at all and the characters were more or less all uninteresting. Most of it consists of people running around talking to each other and otherwise doing nothing. The younger Thrawn is more fallible and less in control of every situation than the older version (which is natural of course, but also takes always all that was cool about him). And while the concept of Outbound Flight (talking about the project itself now, not the book) is quite intriguing, it does not come anywhere near to discovering anything new, not to mention reaching another galaxy. The only interesting part of this book was Jorus C'baoth engaged in debates over Jedi philosophy with Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Timothy Zahn is one of the best things to have happened to the Star Wars universe. This book is not.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I'm a nerd, but I love the star Wars books. The first ones I read were my mother-in-law's Thrawn trilogy that take place 5 years after Return of the Jedi. Great series! That said, I've not been especially drawn to the 40+ other books that take place after the Star Wars movies. I love the books that take place before and during the first three episodes. The life of the Jedi order and the plotting of Palpatine/Sidious totally suck me in. The books in this timeframe also almost all indirectly revolve around the question of whether the Jedi Code is correct and how to morally use their power. The characters have diverse opinions about the Force and it gives the Jedi 100 times more depth than the movies. I think it makes the movies a lot more enjoyable too because you see them in context of the larger, decades-long story of Palpatine's conquest.

This book is pretty good. It has some cool action and strategy, plus a lot of questioning among the Jedi. It also has a lot of tragedy as events inevitably lead to Sidious winning.

It's by the same author as the Thrawn trilogy and acts as a prequel for much of it. Read that trilogy first and this will be better. I think it may be less enjoyable without that backdrop.

[Meggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

For 2022, I decided to go back in time and reread all the Prequels Era novels published between 1999 and 2005, plus a smidgen of other novels (like Survivor's Quest and the Dark Nest trilogy) released during that time frame. This shakes out to 21 novels, four eBook novellas, and at least thirteen short stories.

This week’s focus: Timothy Zahn’s long-awaited tale of Outbound Flight.

SOME HISTORY:

A few years after completing the Hand of Thrawn duology, Timothy Zahn was contacted by his editor: Lucasbooks and Del Rey wanted to know if he would be interested in writing a book about Outbound Flight. Since this was an opportunity for Zahn to bring back one of his favorite characters (Thrawn), he said yes. It was originally supposed to come out in 2002, since it takes place about five years before Episode II: Attack of the Clones, but instead the release date was pushed back to November of 2005 and finally January of 2006. Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn made it to number seven on the New York Times bestseller list for the week of February 19, 2006, and was on the NYT list for four weeks.

MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:

I remember that I first checked Outbound Flight out from the library during a school break, and then later purchased the hardcover myself. I have reread it several times over the years, mainly because I love Lorana Jinzler.

A BRIEF SUMMARY:

The joint Jedi and Republic mission of Outbound Flight is dead in the water until Jedi Master Jorus C’baoth manages to foil a murderous conspiracy plot and get Outbound Flight back on track. But this mission of colonization and exploration has a deadly enemy in the form of Darth Sidious, who wants its eighteen Jedi and the 50,000 colonists dead. His plan will run into a small kerfuffle, though, in the form of the Chiss Ascendancy and Commander Thrawn—who have distinctly other motives…

SOME BACKGROUND:

Outbound Flight was originally a throwaway line in Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn; it was more a way of explaining how Thrawn knew that the mad C’Baoth was a clone rather than a distinct, fleshed out story. But as Zahn continued to write Star Wars novels, we got more details about it—and finally with 2006's Outbound Flight we got the full story, and answers to questions that were left dangling at the end of Survivor's Quest. But Outbound Flight isn't just the story of that ill-fated mission; it’s also the earliest story about Thrawn, and how he first came to the attention of Darth Sidious. When we first met Thrawn in the Thrawn trilogy, he was a villain—an interesting one, but still villainous. But as Zahn continued to flesh out his Star Wars characters, Thrawn became more understandable…and as a result, less villainous. (Your mileage may vary whether that works for you.) In Outbound Flight, Thrawn is pretty much a good guy. He’s surprisingly reasonable, but he’s also developing his strategic mind.

(A LOT OF) PLOT:

As the story opens, the Outbound Flight mission is stalled out within the bureaucracy of the Republic. Jedi Master Jorus C’Baoth talks to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine about getting it pushed through the Senate, and is sent to Barlok to negotiate between the Corporate Alliance and the local miners. At the same time, Kinman Doriana—who publicly works for the Supreme Chancellor, but secretly serves Darth Sidious—also heads to Barlok for scheming purposes, just as Mace Windu sends Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to keep an eye on C’Baoth.

Obi-Wan and Anakin as well as C’Baoth’s padawan Lorana Jinzler uncover an assassination plot, but C’Baoth foils it in a very public display. With that achievement under his belt, C’Baoth gets Outbound Flight approved by the Senate—and we learn from Doriana’s viewpoint that Sidious intends OF to be full of troublemaker Jedi, and a Trade Federation force will ambush and destroy them in the Unknown Regions.

Meanwhile, three Corellian smugglers (Captain Dubrak Qento, Maris Ferasi, and Jorj Car’das) stumble into Chiss territory, and are picked up by Commander Mitth’raw’nuruodo of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force. Both Maris and Car’das end up with this hero worship/crush on Thrawn. Thrawn, however, is focused on eliminating the Vagaari, a nomadic piratical menace in the Unknown Regions, but since the Chiss don’t approve of preemptive strikes he has to be sneaky.

Somewhat improbably, Obi-Wan and Anakin join OF—but Sidious panics and grabs them before the planned attack. Everything comes to a head when Thrawn encounters the Trade Federation force and wipes them out; Doriana connects him with Sidious, and Thrawn (somewhat) agrees to deal with OF instead. Using a gravity projector that he stole from the Vagaari, Thrawn drops OF out of hyperspace and tries to reason with them to turn around and leave, but C’Baoth is an arrogant ass and refuses to do so. Because of the gravity projector and a surprising betrayal on the part of Car’das, the Vagaari also show up.

Mass chaos ensues. The Jedi attack the Vagaari, and Thrawn attacks the Vagaari, then Thrawn disables OF and asks them to please go away again, but C’Baoth tries to strangle Thrawn. Panicking, Doriana pushes the Big Red Button, and it kills (almost) everyone on OF and some of the Vagaari escape.

While Thrawn and Admiral Ar’alani try to figure out what to do with the remains of OF, Aristocra Formbi shows up, and they have to decide very quickly what to do with the ship. Car’das and Thrass attempt to scuttle it, but they encounter Lorana and learn there are survivors. There’s this noble/tragic ending wherein Thrass and Lorana sacrifice themselves to save the survivors, and everyone else gets pushed around to a proper ending (for now).

THE CHARACTERS:

Thrawn is probably the most important person here. (At least to Zahn!) Even though he’s on the back of the cover, I would argue that he’s more important than Outbound Flight itself. We’re given a lot of opportunities to see how Thrawn works, even this early in his career. He’s like a chess master: he manuevers people into situations, and usually achieves his desired outcomes. He learns very quickly, and he already has that strange knack of psycho-analyzing species based on their artwork. But we’re never in his head—instead, we see Thrawn through Car’das’s viewpoint, and later through Doriana’s.

He comes off more fallible here than he will in later stories, and also surprisingly reasonable. Maybe excessively so? Because he doesn't want to destroy OF, he just wants them to leave Chiss space and thus avoid the Far Outsiders/the Yuuzhan Vong. The only reason that his suggestion is disregarded is because we have a pompous idiot like Jorus C’Baoth in charge. While Thrawn is pragmatic—very much “the ends justify the means”--he is not the outright villain that we see in the Thrawn Trilogy. He's younger and he's still working overtly with the Chiss Ascendancy, and he cares about the well-being of the Chiss (even if he has to disregard their rules in the process).

Of the Visitors—the Corellian smugglers who teach Thrawn about the Republic: Captain Qennto is the uncooperative one, who doesn’t want to learn anything from the Chiss. Maris Ferasi is the idealist; she thinks the best of everyone, and I think that fuels a fair bit of her hero worship of Thrawn. She sees him as noble, and Thrawn’s actions with the Vagaari and OF would not align with her worldview. She’s the nice one, that everyone (even Thrawn) wants to protect from the truth. Jorj Car’das comes across as very very young. This navigator gig with Qennto is his first big job, and he’s in his early twenties. I think his age plays into his hero worship of Thrawn, that he sees someone who’s hyper capable and deeply admires and envies that. I did find it hard at times to link this young Car’das with the much older Car’das we hear about and finally meet in the Hand of Thrawn duology. (With the Prequel timeline rejiggering, Vision of the Future is about 45+ years later…)

Of the non-Thrawn Chiss, we don't get a sense of how closely Thrawn and Ar’alani work together until the end, because her role needs to be concealed for the surprise twist. Even before the novel begins, Thrawn and Ar’alani are scheming to eliminate the Vagaari in a way that the Ascendency can’t take issue with. (If you're interested in more about Ar’alani, the New Canon books are very good here, especially the Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy. You see a lot of their interplay and how their friendship works, because since she’s older and higher ranked she can shield him from some of the pushback he receives.)

Poor Thrass! We hardly knew you. He wants the best for his brother and for the Eighth Ruling Family, and if he has to report his brother’s actions to protect his Family, he’s willing to do so. And afterwards, he realizes that he’s been played—that Thrawn predicted his responses and used him to achieve what he wanted. And then he gets a tragic ending on top of that! Every time I read Outbound Flight, Thrass and Lorana’s fate hurts me deeply—because they were trying to do the right thing, and no one will ever know about their sacrifice. (And in Thrass’s case, he sacrificed himself for complete strangers.)

Jorus C’Baoth is the absolute WORST. He’s trash. It does surprise me a little that he was this intense and arrogant and completely wrong, because it makes the mad clone C’Baoth much closer to the original. The clone’s behavior in the Thrawn trilogy seems less due to his madness and more because that’s just how C’Baoth was. (And it does surprise me that Grand Admiral Thrawn is willing to use the mad clone, after his experiences with the real C’Baoth!) When C’Baoth falls to the Dark Side and strangles Thrawn, I wasn’t shocked because he had been skirting the edge for almost the whole book. He’s also “the ends justify the means,” except that C’Baoth’s ends are neither good nor in line with contemporary Jedi doctrine.

I wish he had gotten more pushback from the other Jedi onboard OF, though. The only one (besides Lorana) who seemed to worry about C’Baoth’s approach was Master Ma’Ning, and he didn’t confront C’Baoth until it was far too late. (However, we never really met any of the other OF Jedi, so perhaps the other Jedi and their opinions were cut for length.)

I really love Lorana Jinzler. I think that some readers could be frustrated with her passivity and how she lets C’Baoth steamroll over her, but I think it makes sense for her character. She’s been his padawan for at least ten years, so it felt like her poor self-esteem became internalized thanks to his shoddy teaching. At her heart, she’s a GOOD person, and she just wants to serve others. She has a run-in with her brother Dean before OF leaves, and it doesn’t go well. She can see that C’Baoth is alienating the colonists and she comes up with a very workable plan that met Thrawn’s approval, but she just can’t win in C’Baoth’s eyes. She’s nice and kind, so you can see how the older survivors in Survivor's Quest have fond memories of her even though they believe they were abandoned by the Jedi. She has so much promise, but events conspire against her.

Obi-Wan and Anakin’s presence on the Barlok mission makes a little more sense than their continued presence on OF. I got the sense from some of the prequel stories (especially from Yoda: Dark Rendezvous) that either Lucasbooks or Del Rey required that the author include Obi-Wan and Anakin because “this is a prequel novel” even if it didn't always feel right or fit the story. Obi-Wan and Anakin didn’t need to tag along, and Palpatine had to go to great lengths (personal travel to the Outer Rim!) to remove them. Ultimately, I felt like the only reason they're on OF is so we have an explanation behind why the Delta 12 Skysprite was present when Luke and Mara encounter the remains of OF in Survivor's Quest.

It’s interesting that Kinman Doriana does not know Palpatine's dual role, that he thinks his work for Sidious is actively undermining Palpatine and the Republic. I suppose that the only underlings who knew Palpatine’s true identity were his Sith apprentices (Maul and Dooku) and highly-ranked inner circle members like Mas Amedda. Doriana has to work with the Trade Federation, but they’re dumb as paint, so encountering Thrawn works better for Doriana in the end. He’s very conflicted about their partnership by the end, though—he needs to kill Thrawn so there are no Loose Ends, but he also recognizes that Thrawn is a potential asset for Sidious. Ultimately, he decides to spare Thrawn so that he can hopefully ally with them again. Doriana was first mentioned in Zahn’s older books, but other than cameos in Cloak of Deception and Darth Plagueis, Outbound Flight remains his only major appearance.

ISSUES:

My first issue was just…length. Outbound Flight is a pretty hefty novel at 450 pages, and I did feel like the plot could have been tightened up. Did we need to spend so much time on Barlok, especially when it felt like the time spent on OF was truncated as a result? Likewise, Zahn’s choice to spend so much time with Thrawn meant that we also sat through some action-less bits, like all those language lessons with Thrawn and Car’das and Maris. And if Anakin and Obi-Wan had been excluded from the plot, could some of the unnamed Jedi have been named and developed? As is, we have six Masters and twelve Knights onboard, but we only know three of them.

My biggest issue with Outbound Flight, though, is how Zahn ties it into later stories—especially the New Jedi Order series. When Doriana tries to convince Thrawn to attack OF, he reveals that there are extra-galactic invaders in the Unknown Regions, who use biotechnology and are a great threat to the galaxy. Sidious confirms this to Thrawn, and seems to imply that these invaders are one of the reasons why Sidious wants to build a New Order. At the end, Thrawn says that the Chiss already know about the Far Outsiders, that Ar’alani encountered them before and they (Thrawn & Ar’alani) wanted to attack the Vagaari to tidy things up before dealing with the invaders.

Here’s the thing: I think that Thrawn wanting to prepare the Chiss for this fight against the Far Outsiders makes sense for Thrawn’s character, because he’s very focused on what’s best for his people. But to also make it one of Sidious’s motivations troubles me. I can accept that Sidious knew about the presence of the Yuuzhan Vong, and that he would use that knowledge to compel Thrawn into his service, but I don’t buy that Sidious cares about truly protecting the galaxy at all.

He seems so consumed with power that I’m not sure the Yuuzhan Vong bother him beyond the slight possibility of losing power. Because if he really overthrew the Republic to save the galaxy from the Vong, it makes everything the Rebellion did counterproductive! If Sidious founded his Empire and strengthened his forces specifically so they could stand up against the Vong, then the Rebellion overthrowing a tyrannical Empire was a step-back—the Rebels' success put events into motion that led to the invasion of Coruscant and the destruction of worlds like Ithor and the death of trillions of galactic residents. I can’t accept that the Rebellion made things worse! Those small details that Zahn includes have huge ramifications for the future of the galaxy, and seem to argue that Palpatine should have remained in power to deal with the Vong. I can’t accept that! He’s evil! (The more I think about this, the more future events become very ethically and morally murky.)

IN CONCLUSION:

If you came out of 2004's Survivor's Quest wanting answers to all those dangling mysteries, they’re answered in Outbound Flight--you may even get answers to some questions you didn't have at the end of the previous novel. It's interesting to see a young Thrawn who is already a strategic genius but also growing into his skills, at a time when he's not overtly villainous and he's trying to do the right thing. (Although I do question if Zahn made him too reasonable at times.) I think the story could have been tightened up a bit, especially when it comes to the presence of Obi-Wan and Anakin on Outbound Flight, but I enjoyed revisiting Outbound Flight even if the ending made me cry. Again.


Next up: Palpatine’s origin story in Darth Plagueis by James Luceno.

My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/4aN3-issUJw

“Timothy Zahn: Outbound Flight Arrival” (January 2006): https://web.archive.org/web/200602030...

[Ilona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting to see Thrawn before he was recruited by The Empire and the ultimately disasterous fate of the Outbound Flight project. Also very interesting how they are already setting up the Yuuzhan Vong invasion which will happen during the New Jedi Order Era. 5 Stars ofcourse.

[Steve Holm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outbound Flight is something that has been mentioned several times over the course of the other Zahn books I have read. What was it? What happened? How did Thrawn's first meeting with the republic go? All answered here in this quick and easy read Zahn classic. It's got a little bit of everything that Star Wars has to offer: jedi adventures, great spacebattles and clever Thrawn scheming as usual. A lot of newer characters make their first timeline appearance, some likable and some not. One character in particular is just a major asshole.

Overall I enjoyed this one quite a bit and I recommend all Zahn and Thrawn fans to not skip out on this one. Before this I had read a lot of Zahns later placed timeline books so I knew the eventual fates of a lot of these characters, but that did not hinder my enjoyment at all. I give this a strong 4.

Quick note on the new Essential Legends cover: Overall it's great with nice colors and Thrawn's handsome face and a model of Outbound Flight. Not sure why they added another Chiss on there, as I feel there were other characters more deserving of a spot on the front cover.

[Joshua Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

This really was a 5/5 for me - I’m not sure why there are so many mixed reviews surrounding it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as a prequel to Heir to the Empire and the Thrawn trilogy as a whole. There were plenty of nods to the original trilogy of books and this gave both a huge backstory for them and great information about the Chiss as a whole.

The book surprised me with the inclusion of Kenobi and Skywalker and their budding apprenticeship was a nice subplot of the majority of the book.

The addition of Jorj Car’das was an interesting character and one that I hope gets fleshed out in future books. A young educated smuggler turned Chiss-pseudo-operative was a unique character to include.

Seeing the mid portion of Thrawns military career and initial introduction to the Republic and known Star Wars galaxy made for a great main plot. Also getting a glimpse at the pre-clone Jorrus C’Baoth was a great read seeing his initial demise.

All in all I thought Zahn did a phenomenal job as always.

[Sans · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would rate this higher if it was for so much page time devoted to C’baoth. I hated him, which I’m sure was the point. Once I started skimming his sections, my opinion of the book rose considerably.

I’m not ok with how it ended, but that’s why my personal head canon has been updated and the thing that happened to that character never actually happened.

[Haven B · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of the best Star Wars books I've read!

[Shawn Fahey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally a banger

[TheBookHunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Continuing my quest to read through the Star Wars Expanded Universe, I have reached possibly one of my favorite Star Wars books of all time: Outbound Flight.

This novel, written by (God Emperor) Timothy Zahn tells the story of the character of Grand Admiral Thrawn's mysterious appearance in the galaxy in the days of the Republic, roughly five or six years before the Clone Wars and about four-five years after events of the Phantom Menace.

Firstly, I have to say regardless of what your opinion may be of the Prequel Trilogy, a book such as Outbound Flight does a good job of telling a story of that era, in fact this and a handful of novels help me appreciate George Lucas's 'prelogy' when I rewatch them. So props for the fantastic writers such as Zahn who endeavour to write a good prequel within a prequel era!

Aside from that, if you've read Zahn's other Star Wars books centered around the blue-skinned alien military genius that is Thrawn, Outbound Flight was the perfect back story for such a character pre-Disney canon.

Outbound Flight is a rather dark novel, centered around the story mentioned in Zahns original books about a Republic-based, Jedi-led expeditionary space mission to explore and settle worlds in the mysterious Unknown Regions of space outside of the Republic. However, things take a grim turn when secret Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Sidious wants to sabotage the mission. At this time, a group of smugglers encounter a shadowy alien fleet commanded by an equally shadowy alien man known as Mitth'raw'nuruodo aka Thrawn.

When I say this novel is dark, I had a very bad-er, unsettled feeling about this. Mainly for the characters, and when the stuff hits the fan in the climax of the book, you hold to hope some will come out unscathed, others right off the bat you'll know will. Such as Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, who really don't participate much but, more or so are there because Preeequel Cooneectioonn. See you guys in Episode 2!

But other than that, you as the reader go along in the story getting to see the dangers of the Unknown Regions and seeing this failed mission just go to hell in a hand basket.

*Spoiler*

Thrawndidit

#ThrawnDidNothingWrong
#JorusC'Baothisalunatic

Oh yeah, crazy jerk clone Joruus C'Baoth from the Thrawn Trilogy? You do see him here in this story and you really do see how unhinged this guy really was. From the get go you know this guy is destined to fail with this project of his, and he's even more unlikeable here when he's not a Dark Side clone.

So yeah. In conclusion, this story is awesome regardless. Pick it up to read if you like Star Wars, if you like the prequel era, and if you like Thrawn as well as Timothy Zahn.

Also read it if you're someone who is finding Balance in the Canon and Legends continuities. If you've read the new canon book Thrawn, give Outbound Flight a read and have fun comparing some things, especially the included epilogue story called "Mist Encounter" ;)

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I will do whatever necessary to protect those who depend on me. No more. But no less."

Oh, dear. I was already feeling it for Thrawn, but this really made it all so, so much worse for me. I am so mad at myself for buying this book back in 2006 and not reading it until now. I think I would have had a Thrawn problem much sooner if I had.

I have to say, I actually think I loved this book more than the original Thrawn trilogy?? Which feels insane because I really love the original trilogy. There's just something about young Commander Thrawn, doing whatever he can within—and without—the borders of the Chiss laws to protect his people, fighting alongside his troops, making money moves effortlessly.

I also think that Zahn's writing only improved over the 15 years between when he first wrote the Thrawn trilogy and this book. I was just absolutely enraptured. Like we were dealing with mostly original characters of Zahn's here, with only bits of characters like Anakin and Obi-wan and Mace Windu, and yet I cared very deeply for so many of the characters I was introduced to and got to know over the course of the book.

Except C'baoth. He can choke.

Anyway, aside from Thrawn, I truly did adore the characters. Poor Lorana being stifled beneath C'baoth's boot. Car'das and the way his inquisitive and straightforward nature immediately called to Thrawn. Maris and her crush on Thrawn (me too girl). And even the people aboard Outbound Flight who were tragically bulldozed by C'baoth straight to their graves. I loved them all. I cared so deeply for them all.

I am also ridiculously upset over the fact that Thrawn's brother Mitth'ras'safis (Thrass, please. Have mercy) died. Like I did not see that coming. I was so hopeful. Surely Zahn wouldn't kill off his beloved creation's family?

And then he did. And I was stupidly sad about it.

Considering there was really only one way this could end, since those who read the Thrawn Trilogy know that this whole thing was hinted at there, I was absolutely enraptured by the plot and on the edge of my seat. Masterful workings by Zahn. Love when he's allowed to Do Plot Things.

I also absolutely loved how Zahn poked holes in the Jedi's philosophies and hierarchy and the general state of the Jedi during this time period, foreshadowing the reasons for their demise. So blind were they to C'baoth's susceptibility to the Dark Side, to the fact that he was filled with needless pride and a desire to control rather than guide, all because he was a talented Jedi and influential Jedi Master—and due to this willful blindness, he was able to lead tens of thousands to their deaths, including his fellow Jedi.

I love me some healthy Jedi hatred. My Mando heart soars. Vod Zahn.

I just. SIGHS. I truly loved this book. I love Thrawn. This sucks [kicks rock].

[Book Nerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you can get through this without wanting to punch Jedi Master Jorus C'Baoth in the face you have the discipline to be a jedi.

Zahn has done some of the best Star Wars books and this is a great story that bridges the older books and George Lucas's prequels and gives you some good background on Thrawn.

[Eli - Bookworm & Vine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love me some Admiral Thrawn, his character in this book far outweighed the snotty teenager Anakin Skywalker.

[Katrin von Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It isn't a secret that I rather dislike Timothy Zahn's "Star Wars" books; they're just never been quite what I've wanted to see in the EU. However, after reading "Survivor's Quest," I found that I was intrigued with the story of the ill-fated mission known as Outbound Flight. "Outbound Flight" fills in the gaps and tells that story...kind of. Spoilers follow.

"Outbound Flight" takes place sometime before the Clone Wars, during the time of the Old Republic. There are three main plots that all come together at the end: the story of Outbound Flight, Thrawn's first contact with humans from the Republic, and Doriana's attempts to ensure Outbound Flight's destruction.

Despite being the title of the book, Outbound Flight isn't the primary plot of the novel. The first hundred pages or so that deal with it are actually spent on a side mission in which C'boath and Lorana (eventually joined by Obi-Wan and Anakin) mediate a civil conflict on another planet. Afterward, the project is given the go-ahead and all supplies and personnel C'boath demands are provided. Not long after the gigantic craft launches, however, C'boath takes over, ruling in an arbitrary, cruel manner and sparking discontent among his fellow Jedi and Outbound Flight's colonists. The ship is soon confronted by the Chiss and almost destroyed, ending up in the position "Survivor's Quest" finds it (crashed with marooned survivors that hate Jedi).

The second plot, the one concerning Thrawn, gets the most attention. Jorj Car'das and his shipmates, Maris Ferasi and Dubrak Qennto, are captured and find themselves entangled in Chiss military politics. Their captor is none other than Thrawn, at this time commander of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet. Curious about one another, culture and language classes ensue and the situation becomes more difficult when a group of pirates, the Vagaari, become a threat to the Chiss. One thing leads to another and Thrawn's military genius and Doriana combine to destroy Outbound Flight. The first meeting of Thrawn and Sidious also occurs.

The third and by far least important story is that of Doriana, aide to Palpatine and servant to Darth Sidious. He's out to annihilate Outbound Flight before it can reach the Unknown Regions. Really, all he does is try to foil C'boath's negotiations early in the book, confront Thrawn with a Nemoidian fleet, provide Thrawn with the equipment to fight the Vagaari and Outbound Flight, and constantly praise Thrawn for being such a noble commander. He's more background than anything else, providing the tools necessary to move the plot along, and that's about it.

Unfortunately, I'll have to start my opinion of the overall story with a pretty big complaint. The title of book is "Outbound Flight," it claims to tell the story of a somewhat famous mission by the same name; however, most of the book is dedicated to Thrawn. It is very apparent that Zahn loves this character (more on that later), and anyone who has read his other books knows that Thrawn is associated with Outbound Flight, so he is expected to appear at some point in the story. Instead, he dominates the book with his story comprising at least half of the pages. Outbound Flight, the tale I wanted to read, is secondary to the author's pet character.

For the most part, the story of Outbound Flight itself is fairly interesting, at least as far as seeing how it leads to what is seen in "Survivor's Quest." It's actually pretty neat to watch the whole story unfold when you know what happens forty or so years down the road. There is one major problem with this story, however: Jorus C'boath. The whole plot hinges on C'boath being an obvious villain and the Jedi Counsel being completely stupid. Perhaps had Zahn dedicated more of the book to Outbound Flight, we could have seen a more fleshed out, ambiguously realistic C'boath and his fall to the Dark Side. Instead, this plot feels rushed and therefore doesn't live up to its potential. It also doesn't help that the first hundred pages or so aren't spent on Outbound Flight at all, but rather on a side mission for C'boath to get the funding and approval for the project, which could have been easily shortened or even skipped.

Writing-wise, Zahn has vastly improved since "Survivor's Quest." The writing itself was actually very enjoyable to read, largely because the phrases that the author used to repeat ad nauseam are absent from "Outbound Flight." Characters don't quirk eyebrows, wince, or comment wryly on things; no one ends an argument with "Point" or "Agreed." The action scenes were well written (though I would have appreciated more of them) and most of the dialogue is well done. Honestly, I can't really complain about the writing itself.

Characters are another story entirely and vary greatly.

My usual complaint with Zahn's books is that he tends to ignore movie and other book characters in favour of his own. Oddly, the opposite issue is present here. This is one case where the author probably could have used his own cast entirely with it still being connected to the "Star Wars" universe through Palpatine, the Jedi Counsel, the Republic, and other such entities. However, perhaps because it seems to be a necessity for prequel novels, Obi-Wan and Anakin are awkwardly shoved into the story, only to be conveniently removed just before Outbound Flight's destruction. The two aren't necessary at all, and it feels like Zahn was really stretching to include them. In regards to the characters themselves, they're really quite well-written; I could picture Obi-Wan actually saying his lines, and Anakin's hero-worship of the powerful C'boath is a nice little bit of foreshadowing of what is to come. Very in-character, yet so unnecessary.

As mentioned above, Zahn likes Thrawn (and by extension the Chiss) a little too much. He's simply too perfect. Seriously, the guy is almost never wrong (and when he does make a mistake, it's more the fault of others involved). While reading the large portions of the book devoted to this character, I got the impression that this plot line was written primarily to show just how brilliant Thrawn is, whether its his uncanny ability to pick up on languages, his masterful deductions from art, his prowess on the battlefield, or his carefully laid and perfectly executed plans. If you like Thrawn, then this probably won't be much of a problem, but I find him to be too perfect, almost Mary Sue-like. As if the majority of the book being devoted to this figure wasn't enough, several characters (Maris, Car'das, and Doriana) repeatedly praise the Commander for how noble, honourable, and honest he is. He's not a horrible character to read about on his own, but Zahn's tailoring of the situation to demonstrate Thrawn's brilliance, his dominance of the book, and other characters' praise of him make him almost unbearable.

There are a couple other character duds, the worst being C'boath's one-dimensional, evil persona, but I've already discussed that. Maris, Doriana, and to an extent Car'das seem present strictly to praise Thrawn and be convenient for the plot. Not all are bad, though.

I found Lorana Jinzler to be an intriguing character. The general opinion on her seems pretty mixed, but I enjoyed seeing her struggle with her confidence issues brought on by her Master's oppressive personality and, later, discovering her family. She wasn't a perfect Jedi and demonstrated character growth. She also seemed to illustrate a problem within the Jedi Order: how an inadequate Master can stunt a Padawan's potential. Along with Lorana, the various non-Jedi characters aboard Outbound Flight were also interesting, though I would have liked to see more of them. It also would have been nice to see more of Thrass, Thrawn's brother. Car'das, while sometimes falling victim to Thrawn-worship, does manage to do some useful, brave things that make the story that much better. As with most of Zahn's books, the cast is pretty large, and some of the characters really do shine.

On a random note, despite disliking the dominance of Thrawn, I very much enjoyed the language sessions and thought they were amusing and...dare I say...cute.

"Outbound Flight" is a great follow up to "Survivor's Quest" and answers a lot of questions that were presented in the previous book. Zahn's writing has improved and is very enjoyable, and the story of Outbound Flight itself is mostly interesting. However, Zahn's love of Thrawn really overpowers this novel and forces other plots (like that of Outbound Flight) to race to the finish, rather than telling their full story. There are some great characters and some that are a little flat, but the good ones really are good. The overwhelming obsession with Thrawn puts this book in the two-and-a-half star range, but finally getting to know the story of Outbound Flight, good writing, and some very intriguing characters bumps "Outbound Flight" to a solid 3 stars.

This review is also posted on Amazon.com.

[Caleb · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 stars (audiobook version)

Outbound Flight is a prequel book for a series I've never read so I missed a lot of the fan service a book like this exists to serve. That being said, out Outbound Flight is an enjoyable star wars book.
This book further cements to me that Star Wars exists best as a written series where the reader gets to immerse themselves in a fantasy with no bearing on our real world with things like: comm links, datapads, and turbo lifts. The best of star wars isn't just smushing two words together, it's feeling like you could live in a world where lightsabers and land speeders are broken and dirty from abuse. The written form of star wars allows for greater depth of time on those small imperfections that make the world feel lived in without sacrifice to the larger story. Making star wars feel more star wars.

Zahn captures this feeling with his writing but fails to offer anything outside of a star wars novel. It is not particularly inspiring sci fi because of its attachment to its IP. It's prequel status means every story line has to wrap up into predetermined patterns which feels (obviously) uninspired.
This book only gets 2.5/5 stars because I hesitate to recommended it to anyone outside of a star wars fan.

[Owen Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great!

[Charles Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun adventure. It makes an excellent audiobook (with Marc Thompson narrating). Thanks for the recommendation, Owen!

[Caleb Likes Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun to reread! It had been a few years since I last read this one, and this second time solidified it as one of my favorite Star Wars books, and arguably my favorite of Zahn’s that I’ve read.

One thing I really enjoyed about this book is the various plotlines and how they all come together. You’ve got the titular Outbound Flight, a project undertaken by Jorus C’baoth meant to explore unknown parts of the galaxy; a smuggler team on the run; and members of the Chiss fleet, including Thrawn, which the smugglers end up encountering. All of these plotlines were pretty interesting, and the way they end up intersecting is both really well done and also interesting. I think my favorite part of the book was actually the smuggler/Chiss storyline, as there was some really interesting worldbuilding surrounding Chiss culture and the interactions between the characters were a lot of fun. I also enjoyed the Outbound Flight storyline. There are a lot of fascinating Jedi interactions and you really get to see the variety of positions and viewpoints of the Jedi. This includes C’baoth, who gets a really fun backstory here that ties into the Thrawn trilogy, his padawan, and Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, among others. The dialogue between all these characters especially was really interesting and provided some of my favorite scenes in the whole book. There are also some really fun ties to the wider Expanded Universe that I loved, which I won’t spoil but are very cool.

The one nitpick I have with this book is the implementation of Anakin and Obi-Wan. I love their inclusion and the dialogue they get, and I always enjoy seeing the pair post-TPM but pre-AOTC. But I got the impression that they didn’t truly add as much as I hoped, so I might’ve liked for them to be included in a little bit more depth.

Overall, a really fantastic standalone with fun ties to the wider Star Wars EU. Highly recommended if you’ve not read it before.

Rating: 9.5/10

[Darlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a bit disappointed. I was hoping that this book would show more of what life was like with the Chiss before Thrawn came to the Republic as well as more about the Outbound Flight project. However, this book seemed pretty weak and I really didn't feel much for the characters. Thrawn and Car'das were the best thing about this book, but there wasn't enough about them. I really wished that more depth was given to Thrawn's brother, Thrass. It was almost like he was an afterthought. It seemed like I barely got to know him.

Update: I just re-read this in abridged audio. It's almost impossible to get an unabridged audio version of this book. However, I did pick up a few things that made me like the book more, so I upped my rating to 4 stars.

But, I would NOT recommend picking up the abridged audio version. Stick to the full book instead. I didn't like the way the book was parsed for the shortened version. They took out nearly all of the ending with Thrass and Lorana. It pretty much didn't make any sense anymore. Such a disappointment because that was my favorite part. I did like the voice acting with this version, though.

Another update: I got a hold of the UNABRIDGED version of the audiobook and thoroughly enjoyed it. Marc Thompson matched his voices to his previous works in the Canon Thrawn series(es).

[Ursula Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible ride! I wanted to read Outbound Flight for the introduction to possibly the best adversary in the Star Wars universe, Grand Admiral Thrawn. Here we meet him serving in the Chiss Defense Fleet. His remarkable skills as military tactician confound more than one group of adversaries. Set in the framing story of the doomed Outbound Flight project, headed by the supremely arrogant Jedi Jorus C'Boath, the ill fated mission is heartbreaking for the other Jedi and humans aboard. While Obi-Wan Kenobi and young padawan Anakin Skywalker make an appearance, this show belongs to Thrawn. The Sherlock of Star Wars without the psychotic personality, you wind up rooting for him. A thrilling adventure that is a great precursor to the new novel Thrawn. Outbound Flight is a must read for serious Star Wars and Thrawn fans. I can imagine what would've happened if Thrawn had been in command of the Old Republic forces in the wars against the Sith Empire. We finally have an unabridged audiobook version and Marc Thompson is superb.

[[boredom.is.overrated] · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not sure how I feel about the ending. This is my second read of the book and it felt long. And there’s nothing bad about that, long can be epic.

I feel like, if I was the editor, I would’ve wanted to see how the Jedi responded to Obi-Wan’s critique of C’Baoth. Did they send out a ship after Outbound? I also would’ve wanted to see Doriana report back to Sidious; did he recommend Thrawn for a job?

I know some of these characters are in other Zahn books, so I’ll keep an open mind. I’m just struggling with how it ends. BOOM, it’s over.

I’m starting my reread of Heir to the Empire next (it’s probably been 20 years; I think I read it in elementary school), so hopefully it ties up some of the loose ends. These loose ends just make me feel that it’s not a super great standalone story, but more of a companion piece, which is why I give this book 4.2 dreadnaughts out of 5.

Rating: 4.2 dreadnaughts out of 5.

[Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I usually enjoy Zahn's Star Wars books, this one was a bit of a hit and miss for me. There was something a little off about the pacing and how the overall story unfolded. There was more of a "forced" feeling to this story than most of his other books. It was like he had a couple of core elements to work from (introduction of a young Thrawn and the fall of Jedi Master Jorus C’baoth) and tried to wedge a story in and around them that just didn't feel natural to me. It's not to say that parts weren't enjoyable with some interesting character interactions and story lines but as a whole, it seemed disjointed.

[Leo Matoush · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book told the origin of Outbound Flight, gave the first glimpse (chronologically) of Thrawn and told of Jorus C'baoth and his obsession. I think it was good background for the events in the Heir to the Empire Trilogy. Unfortunately I found the story a little flat, and actually wished that Obi-Wan and Anakin hadn't been involved, if just to give some of the other characters a little more time and spotlight.

[Walt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rather original storyline to the genre. It really sets up the reader for the companion volume: Survivor's Quest.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

zzzZZZZzzZZZZzzzzZZZz var är yuuzhan vong schuu mimimi

[DiscoSpacePanther · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Zahn's first book in the latest Thrawn trilogy (Thrawn Ascendency: Chaos Rising) and loving it, I decided it was time to give the 15 year-old Outbound Flight a re-read—and I am very pleased that I did.

Whilst this isn't the spectacular, all-guns-blazing, sequels-that-should-have-been extravaganza that Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command were, it is a more thoughtful adventure that gives a great deal of insight into Thrawn's early career within the Chiss Ascendency, as well as providing an answer to a mystery that was hinted at in Heir to the Empire, and later expanded upon in Survivor's Quest.

We get a villainous plot by Darth Sidious to remove a troublesome group of Jedi even before the inception of the Clone Wars, politics within the Chiss Ascendency, monstrous alien invaders, and amusingly cowardly Trade Federation pawns. Anakin and Obi-Wan make an extended cameo, although I feel as if Zahn only included them at the instigation of the publisher, as the story would work just as well without them - they just help to tie it into the pre-Clone Wars era of Star Wars, making it familiar to readers who have only seen the movies.

Thrawn is as cerebrally impressive as ever, but the newly introduced characters are also well portrayed: Jorj Car'das as a young, uncynical man; Dubrak Qennto as his more world-wise yet greedier captain; Maris Ferasi the co-pilot who gains an open admiration of Thrawn; Lorana Jinzler, the padawan learner of Jedi Master Jorus (not Joruus) C'Baoth. Though none of these appear in the new canon, we do get to see Admiral Ar'alani, Thrawn's superior, who becomes even more fleshed out in the Ascendency books.

And we finally get to see Jorus C'Baoth in action, and he is as imperious and high-handed a Jedi Master as we all expected him to be.

Though there are a couple of references that will remain mysterious to readers of the new canon (such as: who is Vergere? Who are the Far Outsiders?), it is worth noting that nothing significant in this book contradicts the new canon, even though it was released as part of the Classic EU, and it ties in beautifully with Chaos Rising. In fact, I would recommend that readers who are interested in Thrawn's story read this book first, before moving onto the Thrawn Ascendency Books. In fact, the sequence should go:

• Outbound Flight
• Thrawn Ascendency: Chaos Rising
• Thrawn Ascendency: Greater Good
• Thrawn Ascendency: (Book 3)
• Thrawn
• Thrawn: Alliances
• Thrawn: Treason
• Heir to the Empire
• Dark Force Rising
• The Last Command
• Specter of the Past
• Vision of the Future
• Survivor's Quest

This is one of the good pieces of Star Wars fiction—not a shameless cash-grab and continuity-patch like many of the new books, but a well-put-together story in its own right, and a strong introduction to a significant main character who stars as both protagonist and antagonist in many more worthwhile stories.