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Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising
Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising
Jan 1, 2026 9:00 AM

Author:Timothy Zahn

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Discover Thrawn's origins within the Chiss Ascendancy in the first book in an epic new Star Wars trilogy from bestselling author Timothy Zahn.

Beyond the edge of the galaxy lies the Unknown Regions: chaotic, uncharted, and near impassable, with hidden secrets and dangers in equal measure. And nestled within its swirling chaos is the Ascendancy, home to the enigmatic Chiss and the Nine Ruling Families that lead them.

The peace of the Ascendancy, a beacon of calm and stability, is shattered after a daring attack on the Chiss capital that leaves no trace of the enemy. Baffled, the Ascendancy dispatches one of its brightest young military officers to root out the unseen assailants. A recruit born of no title, but adopted into the powerful family of the Mitth and given the name Thrawn.

With the might of the Expansionary Fleet at his back, and the aid of his comrade Admiral Ar'alani, answers begin to fall into place. But as Thrawn's first command probes deeper into the vast stretch of space his people call the Chaos, he realizes that the mission he has been given is not what it seems.

And the threat to the Ascendancy is only just beginning.

Reviews

Deighton's research and plotting are as surefooted as ever, while the pace and tension leave one almost breathless. A frightening yet compelling novel.

—— Sunday Telegraph

A monumental work ... brilliantly executed.

—— Daily Telegraph

Deighton is a fearless observer of the deceptive human world.

—— John Gray , New Statesman

Deighton's most ambitious and subtle book to date, an epic fiction.

—— Evening Standard

An extraordinarily gifted writer... Sahota's ability to shine a phrase is not bought for the usual steep formalist price, at the expense of simplicity, intimate feeling, and solid representation. He's both camera and painter, in a literary world that often separates those novelistic tasks.

—— James Wood , New Yorker

Sahota combines great writing with amazing storytelling... his books are intelligent and beautifully written and very poised but also incredibly immersive, gripping and very moving. An epic in miniature, China Room is the kind of novel that reminds you why you fell in love with reading in the first place.

—— Open Book , BBC Radio 4

Novels this good are rare.

—— Anthony Cummins , Daily Mail, *Summer Reads of 2021*

Sahota's prose is a finely modulated instrument that moves from subtle minutiae to cosmic magnitude... Exhibiting the narrative control and psychological acuity of Rohinton Mistry and Jhumpa Lahiri, Sahota's tale of trans-generational trauma is quietly devastating.

—— Madeleine Feeny , Spectator

Sahota's beautifully crafted novel dovetails two stories from different eras... Both characters are prisoners of circumstances but, in their hunger for redemption, become emblematic of the human condition.

—— Max Davidson , Mail on Sunday

Such a thrilling combination of beauty and heartbreak. It's breathtaking.

—— Charlotte Mendelson, author of ALMOST ENGLISH

Sahota gives his period narrative the same effortless immediacy as his present-day one, yet his novel works by stealth, quietly beguiling the reader into an almost painful intimacy... I loved it.

—— Claire Allfree , Daily Mail

There is a scrupulous subtlety about that way that Sahota refuses to let his historical characters act as though they are in a historical novel.

—— Alex Clark , Guardian, Book of the Day

An intense drama of classic themes - love, family, survival, and betrayal - told with passion and precision in Sahota's economical, lyrical prose.

—— Adam Foulds, author of THE QUICKENING MAZE

A gripping read... a memorable and poignant depiction of how family histories can echo through the generations.

—— Huston Gilmore , Daily Mirror

Outstanding... dense with intricate layers. As author, Sahota brilliantly plays with access to knowledge, to history. China Room promises to haunt and to illuminate.

—— Shelf Awareness

China Room is very good at examining the trauma held in one family, whether it be personal or housed in a home, village, or country. Sahota seems to acknowledge that although we are not doomed to repeat the past, each subsequent generation feels a measure of the hardship that the last generation faced... a well-developed story of two lives that touch one another in ways that that can never be clearly seen.

—— India Lewis , Arts Desk

Engrossing, intricate, excellent.

—— Literary Review

Sunjeev Sahota's The Year of the Runaways propelled him on to the 2015 Booker shortlist. His latest, China Room, a multi-generational masterpiece ... could well see him nominated again.

—— Stephanie Cross , Daily Mail

Political currents seep subtly in and the cumulative effect is potent

—— Max Liu , i

Exquisitely written

—— Sameer Rahim , Daily Telegraph, *Books of the Year*

Sunjeev Sahota balances weighty ideas about cultural prisons and self-determination with hushed, featherweight prose

—— Claire Allfree , The Times, *Books of the Year*

[A] hauntingly beautiful novel

—— Jane Shilling , Daily Mail

Sahota's third novel has prose so beautiful it stops you dead

—— Daily Telegraph

It's unbearably wrenching . . . Mohamed makes the outrage at the book's heart blazingly unignorable by inhabiting Mattan's point of view, a bold endeavour pulled off to powerful effect. Passages from the barbaric climax are still echoing in my head, even as I type

—— Daily Mail

Just as Half of a Yellow Sun drew out the little documented dramas of the Biafran war, Mohamed describes an East Africa under Mussolini's rule . . . such an accomplished first novel

—— Independent, on Black Mamba Boy

A first novel of elegance and beauty... a stunning debut

—— The Times, on Black Mamba Boy

A haunting and intimate portrait of the lives of women in war-torn Somalia

—— New York Journal of Books, on The Orchard of Lost Souls

Mixing startling lyricism and sheer brutality, this is a significant, affecting book

—— Guardian, on Black Mamba Boy

With the unadorned language of a wise, clear-eyed observer, Nadifa Mohamed has spun an unforgettable tale

—— Taiye Selasi, on The Orchard of Lost Souls

A moving and captivating tale of survival and hope in a war-torn country, and confirms Mohamed's stature as one of Britain's best young novelists

—— Stylist on The Orchard of Lost Souls

Mesmerising

—— Daily Nerd

Mackintosh poses urgent questions about social expectations and free will that are relevant to all realities

—— Poets and Writers

Heartbreaking but redemptive, and lightened by French's trademark humour, this is a compelling read that will keep you poised between laughter and tears

—— Daily Mail

A tantalising story of motherhood told with Dawn French's signature warmth

—— Sainsbury's Magazine

As ever, even in the darkest of times, Dawn has found humour to inject into her novel

—— Best

A brilliant book

—— Good Housekeeping

The life-affirming and unmissable new novel

—— Eastern Daily Press

A tale told with warmth

—— Daily Record

While Dawn French's latest novel contains a dash of humour, it's also heart-wrenching

—— The Hunsbury Handbook

A fabulous emotional tearjerker of a novel

—— Silversurfers

Praise for Dawn French

—— -

Hilarious and brilliant

—— Woman & Home

I adored According to YES. It's so different to anything I've read in forever, so charming, wise, brilliantly written. I loved it all

—— Marian Keyes

Witty and wise, it'll have you burning the midnight oil. A cracker

—— Woman's Weekly

Very funny and packs an emotional clout. Brilliant!

—— Heat

An enlightening and feel-good read offering a fresh look at life and how to embrace it. Funny and enjoyable to the end

—— We Love This Book

There is lots of fun to be had reading this book. It's impossible not to warm to Rosie, a funny and open-hearted woman who acts as a salve and comfort blanket for this unhappy, inhibited family. There's something quite joyous about the way she unashamedly romps her way through the novel, changing the lives of those around her for the better

—— Express

Another hilarious novel!

—— Bella

French can spin a yarn . . . which sets According to YES apart. Think the vicar of Dibley, without the dog collar. YES YES YES indeed

—— Independent

Wise and poignant

—— Beyond the Joke

Heart-warming

—— Choice Magazine
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