- "Between Fleet and Family… Where does your loyalty lie?"
- ―Back cover blurb
Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good is a canon novel written by Timothy Zahn as the sequel to Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising, and the second volume of Star Wars: The Ascendancy Trilogy. It was published by Del Rey on April 27, 2021, along with its audiobook adaptation.
Publisher's summary[]
Thrawn and his allies race to save the Chiss Ascendancy from an unseen enemy in the second book in the epic Star Wars: The Ascendancy Trilogy from bestselling author Timothy Zahn.
Thrawn's latest triumph still rests newly on his shoulders. Despite leading the Chiss to victory and bringing glory to the House of Mitth, the true threat to the Ascendancy has not yet been extinguished. Their foes do not send threats or ultimatums, or mass ships on the edge of the Chaos. Their weapons come cloaked in smiles and generosity—gifts offered freely, services granted unconditionally.
Across the Ascendancy, seemingly inconsequential events could herald the doom of the Chiss. As Thrawn and the Expansionary Defense Fleet rally to uncover the enemy plot, they discover a chilling truth. Rather than invade Chiss capitals or pillage resources, this mysterious enemy strikes at the very foundation of the Ascendancy by widening the rifts between the Nine Ruling Families and Forty Great Houses below. As rivalry and suspicion sow discord among allies, each warrior must decide what matters most: the security of their family, or the survival of the Ascendancy itself.[1]
Plot summary[]
Chapter One[]
The Vigilant, Springhawk, and Grayshrike are undertaking a mission to eradicate the remnants of the Nikardun military within the Vak Combine as part of the Nikardun campaigns. Those warships, commanded by Admiral Ar'alani and Senior Captains Mitth'raw'nuruodo "Thrawn" and Xodlak'in'daro "Lakinda" respectively, engaged battle cruisers and missile boats. Ar'alani reflected that, in all her years in the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet, she had never seen an enemy present such a combination of viciousness, determination, and utter pointlessness; as the enemy had no hope of victory over the Chiss. The Nikardun remnants' sole motivation was to take as many hated Chiss down as possible while they died.
The thrusters of Lakinda's Grayshrike were disabled during the skirmish, leaving the Springhawk and Vigilant to complete the battle. Lakinda, a member of the glory-driven Xodlak family, fumed that her ship being disabled would mean less glory to herself and the Xodlak. The Xodlak Senior Captain believed her heavy cruiser could have won the entire battle alone and thus felt slighted that she received less than one-third the glory and honor that she felt she could have. She believed the Xodlak family homestead on Cioral would view it the same way, thus harming her standing with her family. After the Springhawk and Vigilant eliminated the last of the Nikardun, Ar'alani sent Thrawn and his Springhawk on a mission to the Rapacc system under the private orders of Supreme General Ba'kif.
At the March of Silence at the Syndicure's headquarters on the Chiss Ascendancy capital planet of Csilla, Syndic Prime Mitth'urf'ianico "Thurfian" broods angrily. Thurfian believes Thrawn was a reckless disaster waiting to happen, and would bring great shame on the Mitth family and the Ascendancy. The Syndic Prime resented that Thrawn's political faux-pas were invariably forgotten as they were always followed shortly after with a glowing victory. Irizi family Syndic Irizi'stal'mustro "Zistalmu" arrives late to his scheduled covert meeting with Thurfian, saying officials of the Xodlak family had asked the Irizi to sponsor their return to the Nine Ruling Families and the Irizi Speaker had "generously" foisted the task on him. Zistalmu and Thurfian discuss Thrawn's militarily successful but politically checkered history, including the Vagaari pirate operations in which Thrawn acquired a gravity well projector but Mitth family Syndic Mitth'ras'safis "Thrass" had gone missing and was presumed dead. Zistalmu and Thurfian had been working together to plot Thrawn's demise, and continued plotting in this meeting. They discuss rumors of an alliance between Vagaari pirates and the Paataatus, both often antagonists to the Ascendancy and both regularly beaten by Thrawn. They hope to send Thrawn on a mission far from the Ascendancy where he will be destroyed or at least politically self-destruct without collateral damage.
Continuity[]
The dramatis personae section of Greater Good lists Mid Captain Ufsa'mak'ro as a cousin within the Ufsa family.[3] The dramatis personae of Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil, Greater Good's November 2021 sequel, lists Samakro as an Ufsa merit adoptive,[4] as did both novels' 2020 prequel Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising.[5]
Media[]
Editions[]
- ISBN 9780593158296; April 27, 2021; Del Rey; US hardcover[1]
- ISBN 9780593158302; April 27, 2021; Del Rey; US eBook[6]
- ISBN 9780593358153; April 27, 2021; Del Rey; US hardcover, Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition[7]
- ISBN 9780593357316; April 27, 2021; Del Rey; US paperback, export edition[8]
- ISBN 9780593158319; February 22, 2022; Del Rey; US paperback[9]
Cover gallery[]
Appearances[]
| Characters | Creatures | Droid models | Events | Locations |
| Organizations and titles | Sentient species | Vehicles and vessels | Weapons and technology | Miscellanea |
Characters
Dramatis personae
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Other characters
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Creatures
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Events
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Locations
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Organizations and titles
Sentient species
Vehicles and vessels
Weapons and technology
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Miscellanea
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Sources[]
The Chiss Fleet Attacks in Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good – Exclusive Excerpt on StarWars.com (backup link)- "Launchpad" – Star Wars Insider 201
- "Timothy Zahn: Heir of an Empire" – Star Wars Insider 202
- Star Wars: Best of 2021 on StarWars.com (backup link)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy (Book II: Greater Good) on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link) (Hardcover)
- ↑ The events of Thrawn: Alliances set during the Clone Wars take place after the trial and exoneration of Ahsoka Tano. Star Wars: Galactic Atlas dates both the end of the the Clone Wars and the trial and exoneration of Ahsoka Tano to 19 BBY. As some of the events in Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising take place concurrently with Thrawn: Alliances, they must therefore take place around the year 19 BBY. Furthermore, Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good establishes that the attack on the Paataatus, which was depicted in Chaos Rising, took place "last year." Therefore, the events of Greater Good must take place around 18 BBY.
- ↑ Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good
- ↑ Del Rey (@DelReyStarWars) on Twitter: "The dramatis personae has landed for #ThrawnAscendancy: Lesser Evil Who are you most excited to see?" (backup link)
- ↑ Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising
- ↑ Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy (Book II: Greater Good) on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link) (eBook)
- ↑ Greater Good (B&N Exclusive Edition) (Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy Trilogy #2) on Barnes & Noble's official website (backup link)
- ↑ Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy (Book II: Greater Good) on Penguin Random House's international sales website (backup link) (export edition)
- ↑ Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy (Book II: Greater Good) on the official Edelweiss+ website (backup link)
External links[]
- Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy (Book II: Greater Good) on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link) (Hardcover)
- Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy (Book II: Greater Good) on Penguin Random House's official website (backup link) (eBook)
- Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy (Book II: Greater Good) on Amazon.com (backup link)
- Greater Good (B&N Exclusive Edition) (Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy Trilogy #2) on Barnes & Noble's official website (backup link)
- Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy (Book II: Greater Good) on the official Edelweiss+ website (backup link)
- Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy (Book II: Greater Good) on Penguin Random House's international sales website (backup link) (export edition)
