This is a recommendation with a huge caveat. How deep do you want the rabbit hole?
We all know Star Wars has a myriad of characters, settings, and timelines. This is a great book if you love the empire era. This book also paints the empire in a very different light then in any other media namely the “boring sides” of logistics, protocols, and bureaucracy; mixing in xenophobia, life under empire rule, and of course space battles. With that said, I still recommend any fan interested to know who Thrawn is, read this book. It is well worth your time. This book is smart and clever with gripping story (yes even with the bureaucracy). Also if you are an audiobook lover like I am, I highly recommend/warn the sound effects and pure production in the book.
Because of this book, I give the mentioned caveat.
I think to the surprise of no-one I am a Star Wars nerd. Because of this, I read 9 other books featuring Thrawn. ( Thrawn: Alliances, Thrawn: Treason, Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command, Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising, Thrawn Ascendancy: Greater Good, and Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil) I could recommend them. But I find myself when I talk about these books with peers I really can’t.
It is a struggle to convince someone to read one book let alone 9. I do absolutely enjoy what I have read, and think if people take the time to sit down and read them all it will be worth their time. But it is a commitment too far to say “read 9 books and tell me what you think”.
Basically this is THE book I recommend, and IF you want more there is plenty more, but if you only read one, this is it.
RockRaiderMiner 