Solo Command (Star Wars, X-Wing #7) (Book 7) Review

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(More customer reviews)1. The Rogues are back with more to do. Corran Horn, Tal'Dira, and Iniryi Forge have quite a bit of stuff here. Forge's one chapter seems to give more dialogue than Stackpole ever gave her after WEdge's Gamble.
(Man, this keyboard is messed up. Any mistakes are probably because of the keyboard. Keys are sticking all over the place.)
2. The humor is still great. Wedge' mutiny and his revenge on Jansen are terrific. Elassar Targon seems to fit in well withthe Wraiths, except for Runt of course.
3. Awww, Wedge is back with Iella, I guess. Sort of. She's mentioned in one scene. Anyway, they are back together.
4. Han Solo is dead on with character. Great job, Allston.
5. Great Drama marks this book. The scene where Face accidently makes a revalation over an open comm channel is great. Wraiths in the oven, also good. Wedge and Baron Fel played out great too.
6. Deaths. Allston has backed the body count down a notch or two but the deaths of characters are appreciated. Two relatively minor characters are dispatched in various battles but the way one of them dies is particularly chilling.
7. About time we had assasins in the SW universe. The attacks on the political and military officials were very nicely done.
8. Opening. Allston has the best opening paragraphs of any SW EU author IMHO. He started off Iron Fist with a bang and he matches it here. Twelve minutes to live. Wow!!
One minor quibble:
It got a little old having Solo jump in and pound at Zsinj and then having him jump out and Solo slumps his shoulders in despair. Redundancy and predictability are the name of the game in these slugging mathces.
Gotta go. I'd stay longer but someone just came in to tell me that the Rancors are stealing my top hats. I've got to put a stop to that. See ya.

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Rogue Squadron (Star Wars: X-Wing Series, Book 1) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Rogue Squadron" is the first book (of 9) in the X-Wing series set in the Star Wars universe. The Rogue Squadron is legendary. Responsible for the destruction of both Death Stars, as well as being one of the primary defense forces on Hoth, the Rogue Squadron is given the toughest missions and has the highest death rate in the entire Rebel Alliance. Commander Wedge Antilles has been given a new mission for his Rogue Squadron, straight from Admiral Ackbar and the leadership of the Alliance: assemble the best of the best pilots and reform Rogue Squadron to tackle the highest profile, most difficult missions and try and end this war against the Empire.
Emperor Palpatine might be two years dead by the start of "Rogue Squadron", but the Empire is vast and top Empire officials have taken hold of the Empire (even as it splinters apart). Some planets may not even know of his death, yet. It was a major victory, but the war still rages on. Ysanne Isard, the head of Imperial Intelligence runs the Empire in everything but name. Nicknamed "Iceheart", she is exactly that. Isard is cold, ruthless, and subtle in her actions: a true intelligence officer. She continues to hunt the Alliance, and in particular, the symbol that is Rogue Squadron.
The primary protagonist of "Rogue Squadron" is the Correllian Corran Horn, a former member of the Correllian Security (CorSec). He is one of the best in Rogue Squadron, which makes him one of the elite pilots in the galaxy. Corran Horn, while a great pilot and an asset to the Alliance, is also a hunted man. Kirtan Loor, an underling of Isard and a man with a grudge against Horn, is put in charge of the mission to destroy Rogue Squadron and protect the Empire.
Being a novel about an X-Wing fighter squadron, "Rogue Squadron" is filled with space battles and dog fights and is action packed. This is a fast paced Star Wars novel and is one of the better ones that I have read. Being set after "Return of the Jedi" means that we don't know how the story is going to play out or what the future is for the Alliance (every prequel novel has to fit itself into the known events of the movies). This frees the story up a bit, and with a novel built around characters who were not even in the films (except for minor characters like Wedge), there is a sense of freedom here. It helps that Michael Stackpole is able to tell an entertaining story that also serves to build the overreaching plotline of the X-Wing series. For a reader looking to discover what happens after "Return of the Jedi", "Rogue Squadron" is the perfect place to begin.
-Joe Sherry

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Wedge's Gamble (Star Wars: X-Wing Series, Book 2) Review

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(More customer reviews)If the first book in the X-Wing series was great, then Wedge's Gamble, the second in the acclaimed X-Wing series was phenominal. It took everything great about the first book and turned up the heat. Wedge's Gamble, has WEdge Antilles and his Rogue Squadron on an impossible mission: disable the shields of Curuscant, the seat of Imperial Power. They have to deal with rogue agents, unpleasant surprises, deadly enemies and a traitor or two in their midst. Stackpole takes his characters and crafts a remarkable story. As a stand alone book its very good as part of the X-Wing series its awesome. Once again Stackpole focuses on Corran Horn a character who is not omnipotent, who does make mistakes, sometimes crucial ones. He is a very strict former cop who has the ego of an elite pilot just to make things interesting. It's not just Horn who is well drawn but the other characters as well. As the main villain Isard is chilling, but it's the hidden agenda of Fliry Vorru that hinges the story. Full of laserfights, space battles and one really big storm, Wedge's Gamble is a superb addition to the X-Wing series and the expanded universe.

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The Krytos Trap (Star Wars: X-Wing Series, Book 3) Review

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(More customer reviews)The third installment in Michael Stackpole's "X-Wing" seriesdetails the aftermath of the taking of Coruscant by therebels. Anyone who's been following this series will want to pick this one up - it's consistent in tone with the earlier novels, and the plot is both fast-moving and believable.
Unlike other authors of new Star Wars material, Stackpole has drawn directly from contemporary issues. Readers will recognize the similarity of physical symptoms of the Krytos virus to Ebola, and takes the opportunity to draw a parallel between human/non-human relations in the Star Wars universe to racial tensions in our own world.

Despite this, the tone of the novel is anything but grim. The primary focus here is entertainment, and in this Stackpole succeeds - my lunch hour extended to two hours from reading this book! It's a real page-turner, something that is necessary for anything bearing the Star Wars name, but which few Star Wars novels have managed to achieve.

The interesting thing is that the character I found myself most interested in is Kirtan Loor, Corran Horn's nemesis. Loor's struggle to extricate himself from Iceheart's clutches, and only managing to ensnare himself further, makes for some of the most compelling reading in the book. In fact, the fate reserved for him is a little disappointing; I was not left with a sense of closure in Loor's case.

The trial of Tycho Celchu is clearly the trial of the century in the Star Wars universe, and provides Stackpole with the opportunity to level a criticism or two at the media. The effect of the trial on the fledgling New Republic government is one influence that is clearly felt throughout the book.

One criticism I do have - I just wasn't as interested in Corran in this book as I was in previous books. It seemed pretty evident from the outset that he would survive with his sanity intact. After reading such novels as C.J. Cherryh's stunning "Cyteen," I may have an unusually high standard for stories dealing with this topic, but these sections of the novel weren't as effective as I felt they could be. It's true what they say - a reader won't believe it if the character has good luck, but we'll believe in bad luck readily enough - and the more of it the better! Corran just doesn't seem touched as deeply as he should be by his experience; this is one aspect of the novel that I really felt could have been better done.

Overall, though, the X-Wing series still outshines most of the other Star Wars books that have been recently released. It's fun, as the original films were fun, and while no novel can come close to matching the films, the same tone and cinematic breadth are absolutely necessary. Stackpole is one of the few who has managed this.

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The Rebels have taken the Imperial headquarters world of Coruscant, but their problems are far from over. A killer virus called Krytos is spreading among the population, and fomenting a counter-revolution, at the same time as the treason trial of Rebel hero Tycho Celchu. And X-wing pilot Corran Horn, given up for dead in "Iceheart"'s inescapable prison, discovers an extraordinary power in himself--the power of the Force!

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The Bacta War (Star Wars: X-Wing Series, Book 4) Review

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(More customer reviews)(And that goes for ALL of the X-wing books) I'm ashamed to say that when I first heard about the X-wing books, I decided not to read them because I figured there would be too many battles, and I hate reading battles, so I assumed the novels would be boring to me. But during a severe case of Star Wars withdrawal when I was ready to kill for something new, I figured, what the heck?
Boy was I wrong! The whole series (and especially this book specifically) was so incredible. The best thing about it was that it took us far away from the typical cut-and-dry Star Wars book formula. Wedge Antilles is the unsung hero who clearly proves something I've always thought important: you do not need the force to be heroic (I realize that Han already proved this, but he's in Luke's shadow all the time.)
The battles were honestly not that bad! I didn't understand the technical X-wing terms, but I like how all the characters worked together, and after a while I did get pretty knowledgeable about some things (like the difference between a squint and an eyeball).
Also the romance. I've always thought that Star Wars could use a little more romance, and not just Luke gets dumped by another girl because they just can't live with him. Stackpole not only put romance in the books, but he wrote it very well. Not mushy gushy, but real, open and honest, with realistic obstacles. For instance, Corran and Mirax learning to admit they were wrong in their prejudice about each other and learn to become friends.
My favorite is Pash Cracken. I don't know why, I just like hime a lot. I've also always liked A-wings.
The Bacta War was my favorite mostly because I have a tendency to like the last book in a set of books the best. Honestly I tend to think of trilogies and the like more as one great big book in volumes.
Read this book. Read the whole series!

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When the Alliance Fleet mounts a major campaign against a deadly warlord, tyrant Ysanne Isard has taken control of Thyferra, intending to use its supply of medicinal bacta to destabilize and destroy the New Republic. Undermanned, deprived of Alliance support, Rogue Squadron must oppose Isard's plans, defeat her Star Destroyer fleet, and free Thyferra from her rule in a winner-take-all battle against a seemingly superior force.

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