"Before the start of the Clone Wars, the future Emperor was already maneuvering to destroy the Jedi. This is the tale of the doomed Outbound Flight Project, which began as a new hope for the galaxy...and ended in despair. A grand Jedi adventure by one of the most popular Star Wars authors. Before the Clone Wars began, a group of Jedi led by Master Jorus C'baoth lobbied the Republic Senate to fund a project to search for and contact intelligent life outside the known galaxy. Six Jedi Masters, 12 Jedi Knights, and 50,000 additional support personnel boarded an incredible starship and left on their adventure...only to disappear without a trace. This was the Jedi's first encounter with the aliens called the Chiss, and the New Republic's future archenemy, Thrawn. But until Luke Skywalker and his wife Mara headed out for the Unknown Regions in Survivor's Quest, the fate of the Outbound Flight Project remained an enigma. This is the story of those Jedi Masters and Knights, their heroic quest, and their mysterious end."

There you have it... another Star Wars book, this one sorting out a loose end thats been there for almost fifteen years. I've not read the book yet myself though should have it today or tomorrow but from what I've seen the reviews have been wholly positive. Whether you're a fan of the original trilogy (thus, by large, a fan of the Thrawn Trilogy too), the prequels, or the New Jedi Order there this ties all three together and has something for everybody.

Even some of the uber-geeks on theforce.net who usually tear into everything have had high praise for Outbound Flight, which gives me high hopes. It apparently casts the Jedi Order in a new light, justifies Palpatine's decision to reveal himself when he did, and answers the question of exactly why the Empire and the Death Star were necessary both before and after the Jedi Order was destroyed (and, by connection, why the Sith were right, and the Jedi wrong).

Note: In case you're curious: Outbound Flight is the direct prequel to Survivor's Quest, which was the sequel to the Hand of Thrawn Trilogy (Spectre of the Past, Vision of the Future), which was the sequel to the Thrawn Trilogy (Heir to the Empire, Dark Side Rising, Last Command), which also makes Outbound Flight a partial prequel to the Thrawn Trilogy. In effect its Book #1 of the Thrawn Septology.