I just finished the book, and I had mixed feelings.
On the one hand, I liked Mara's journey, and I liked how well Han was written. I really liked the Hand of Judgment, though except for LaRone they all kind of seem the same.
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I liked the various manipulations done by both Thrawn and Nuso Esva, but I didn't feel that Esva's motivations were either very well established, or just generic. He hates Thrawn, he wants to conquer, etc. But that doesn't seem to be enough for me. Also, I felt a bit cheesed that Lord Odo was Esva all along and not Thrawn. I mean, Thrawn's full name is Mit'thrawnuruodo (I think I missed an apostrophe in there). Seems like a dead giveaway. I assumed that Odo was Thrawn and Sorro was Car'das, but then it turns out they're on a whole other ship that just happens to be following Chimaera the whole time? I would've preferred that Odo be Thrawn, and Esva simply have agents deep in Chimaera's command structure.
I'll admit, this next comment is based heavily on the fact that I read this sporadically over many weeks, but I just couldn't get into it as much as I wanted to. If I enjoyed it more from the get-go, I'd've been more motivated to keep with it, but nay.
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It was the year of fire… the year of destruction… the year we took back what was ours.
It was the year of rebirth… the year of great sadness… the year of pain… and the year of joy.
It was a new age. It was the end of history. It was the year everything changed.
The year is 2261.
The place: Babylon 5.
