Rebels Recon: Secret Cargo

Mon Mothma resigns from the Senate and meets up with the Ghost crew on this week’s “Secret Cargo.” In Recon, Andi Gutierrez chats with Taylor Gray, Henry Gilroy, Dave Filoni and Pablo Hidalgo about the episode, while Pablo answers a Thrawn question.

Thrawn to get exclusive cover, poster at Barnes & Noble

Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn novel will look a little different if you buy it at Barnes & Noble. The U.S.’s largest book chain will have a cover with a black background, while other retailers will get a white cover. It also comes with an exclusive poster.

B&N exclusives are nothing new for Star Wars, as several recent releases have also featured posters, including next week’s Aftermath: Empire’s End. But Thrawn will be the first novel to feature a different cover.

Thrawn is Zahn’s first novel in the new canon and his tenth overall. It’s due out in hardcover and eBook on April 11.

Our first blurb for Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn novel

Up today at the Penguin Random House catalog is the blurb for Thrawn, Timothy Zahn’s spring Star Wars novel – his first for the new canon. It’ll be our first detailed look at how much from the franchises’s first Legends import made it to the other side before his appearance on Rebels.

“I study the art of war. Work to perfect it.”
—Grand Admiral Thrawn

One of the most cunning and ruthless warriors in the history of the Galactic Empire, Grand Admiral Thrawn is also one of the most captivating characters in the Star Wars universe. From his introduction in bestselling author Timothy Zahn’s classic Heir to the Empire, through his continuing adventures in Dark Force Rising, The Last Command, and beyond, Grand Admiral Thrawn has earned an iconic status among Star Wars’ greatest villains. But Thrawn’s origins and the story of his rise in the Imperial ranks have remained mysterious. Now, in Star Wars: Thrawn, Timothy Zahn chronicles the fateful events that launched the blue-skinned, red-eyed master of military strategy and lethal warfare into the highest realms of power—and infamy.

After Thrawn is rescued from exile by Imperial soldiers, his deadly ingenuity and keen tactical abilities swiftly capture the attention of Emperor Palpatine. And just as quickly, Thrawn proves to be as indispensable to the Empire as he is ambitious; as devoted as its most loyal servant, Darth Vader; and a brilliant warrior never to be underestimated. On missions to rout smugglers, snare spies, and defeat pirates, he triumphs time and again—even as his renegade methods infuriate superiors while inspiring ever greater admiration from the Empire. As one promotion follows another in his rapid ascension to greater power, he schools his trusted aide, Ensign Eli Vanto, in the arts of combat and leadership, and the secrets of claiming victory. But even though Thrawn dominates the battlefield, he has much to learn in the arena of politics where ruthless administrator Arihnda Pryce holds the power to be a potent ally or a brutal enemy.

All these lessons will be put to the ultimate test when Thrawn rises to admiral—and must pit all the knowledge, instincts, and battle forces at his command against an insurgent uprising that threatens not only innocent lives but also the Empire’s grip on the galaxy—and his own carefully laid plans for future ascendancy.

Thrawn is out in hardcover and eBook on April 11 – just before Celebration. The character is currently appearing in the third season of Star Wars Rebels.

NYCC: Timothy Zahn says not to fear that Rebels is going to misuse Thrawn

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We’ve already covered the news out of Friday’s Star Wars writers roundtable at NYCC, but there was a decent lineup of current writers: Novelists Timothy Zahn, Chuck Wendig, James Luceno, E.K. Johnston, comic writers Kieron Gillen, Charles Soule, plus Lucasfilm editor Jennifer Heddle. Tor.com has a nice roundup of their comments.

Zahn reassured fans that the Thrawn on Rebels is not too far removed from the Thrawn of Legends. Johnston revealed that Ahsoka begins “about ten minutes—slight exaggeration—after Order 66 comes down.” And Wendig had some wise words about what makes Star Wars so appealing. (He also joked about Jar Jar being in Empire’s End, of course. But is it really that far-fetched? Really?)

Here’s the panel video: