The Outbound Flight was originally a throw-away line that Hugo-Award-winning author Timothy Zahn put in his first Star Wars novel: Heir to the Empire, shown here. His original idea for the dark Jedi villain in the novel: an insane clone of Obi-Wan Kenobi, was nixed by Lucasfilm. As a result, he needed something different to describe the original donor, Jorus C'baoth. Thus he coined the Outbound Flight: a colony mission lead by Jedi Master Jorus C'baoth to explore the Unknown Regions and the area outside the galaxy. A mission whose failure was orchestrated by Palpatine and an alien with red eyes and light blue skin: an alien known as "Thrawn".

With the best-selling success of Heir to the Empire and it's two sequels, Timothy Zahn's Star Wars fans had to wait for the details of the failed mission. Originally scheduled to be published in 2002, Ballantine Books forced us to wait some more, felling that publishing "Pequel Era" novels setting up and chronicling the Clone Wars was more important. I must say, however, that Outbound Flight is worth the wait. Fans of Zahn's work know that he can do political intrigue extremely well. Most of Outbound Flight is indeed political intrigue, which Timothy Zahn specializes in. Many of his original novels deal with political intrigue, also.

As the book opens, (Minor Spoilers here! You were warned!) Jedi Master Jorus C'baoth has been trying for years to get funding for his ambitous project. After foiling a murder attempt, he is able to secure the political backing of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. However, Darth Sidious has his own reasons for wanting the flight to go forward, and to ultimately fail. But the Jedi Council is suspicious of C'Baoth's motives and assigns Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan, Anakin Skywalker to join the mission and keep an eye on C'baoth. The Jedi Council wants them to journey with the Outbound Flight until it is ready to leave the galaxy. They will then return in hyperspace-capable fighters attached to the Outbound Flight itself. However, neither Darth Sidious' plan nor the Jedi Council's plan come off without a hitch.

Some fans might be a little put out that Timothy Zahn has Anakin and Obi-Wan playing second fiddle to Jorus C'baoth, Thrawn, C'baoth's Padwan: Lorana Jinzler, smuggler Jorj Car'das, and Palpatine's aide: Kinman Doriana. However, with the exception of Thrawn and C'baoth, everyone else is a secondary character. And if it seems that the author left some loose ends hanging, well, that was intentional.

[The following sources by Timothy Zahn tie up the loose ends: the short story "Mist Encounter", which can be found at
http://www.starwars.com/hyperspace/member/fiction/f20040507/index.html and also republished in the paperback edition of Outbound Flight, explains how Thrawn is reunited with Palpatine's government and Survivor's Quest (written at about the same time as Outbound Flight, but published 2004, it can be found both in hardcover and paperback), has Luke Skywalker discovering the final fate of the Outbound Flight. Jorj Car'das' fate is revealed in both Specter of the Past and Vision of the Future. Kinman Doriana returns in the three-part story "Hero of Cartao" which was published in Star Wars Insider, issues 68-70. (At some point, I'm sure that it will be republished online for Hyperspace Members.) Doriana's final fate has yet to be revealed.]

So, is the book any good? Most certainly. The creator of the Chiss is really the only one who can write Thrawn. (Michael Stackpole is the only exception, but then, he was co-writing a Thrawn story with Timothy Zahn's help in the 4-port story "Side Trip". Part 1 is found at http://www.starwars.com/hyperspace/member/fiction/f20050513/index.html. You can get to the other parts by following the links there.) And, although not mentioned in the book, we finally understand why Jorus C'baoth would clone himself. Also, even though they play second fiddle to C'baoth and Thrawn, Timothy Zahn accurately portrays Anakin's and Obi-Wan's characters. (For a Timothy Zahn Clone Wars adventure showcasing Anakin and Obi-Wan see "Changing Seasons", which can be found at http://www.starwars.com/hyperspace/member/fiction/f20040720/index.html.) His portrayal of both aspects of Darth Sidious' persona (the actual Sith Lord personality and his public, charismatic Palpatine personality) is also right on target . All the other characters are extremely well-written as well. Plus, the plot has several twists and turns before it reaches it's climax. In the end, Timothy Zahn once again sets the bar extremely high for all Star Wars authors, just like he did when Heir to the Empire was first published. Fans of his Star Wars fiction will eat it up. And for those who haven't discovered him yet, well, you're in for a real treat. (In fact, to date, he is my favorite Star Wars author!) Final rating: **** (on a scale of 0-4 stars, although I again wish I had a five-star rating).