Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
For 2020, I decided to reread (in publication order) all the Bantam-era Star Wars books that were released between 1991 and 1999; that shakes out to 38 adult novels and 5 anthologies of short stories & novellas.
This week’s focus: the third of Aaron Allston’s X-Wing books, Solo Command.
SOME HISTORY:
In the FAQs on his former website, Allston explained that while he didn’t have a clear favorite character, a few stood out to him: Lara Notsil for purposes of dramatic potential, and Wes Janson for the humor potential. It should surprise no one, then, that both characters feature prominently in Solo Command. And like with the previous book in the series, I couldn’t find any data that Solo Command made the New York Times paperback bestseller list for any of the weeks after its release.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
I mistakenly thought that the Wraiths would be masquerading as Hawkbats again in this book, but I was wrong! While their pretense wasn’t discovered (thanks to Shalla on Saffalore), they never assumed those roles again. Otherwise, my memories were pretty accurate here.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
Wraith Squadron’s covert mission posing as pirates has been a success, but Warlord Zsinj is still on the loose. To defeat him, they must join a combat task force led by General Solo, the only man crafty enough to beat Zsinj at his own game...
THE CHARACTERS:
Up till now, the X-Wing books have not prominently featured any of the main trio: Luke and Leia both made brief appearances in Stackpole’s books, and Wraith Squadron is nominally attached to Han’s fleet group in [b:Iron Fist|35449|Iron Fist (Star Wars X-Wing, #6)|Aaron Allston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327941995l/35449._SY75_.jpg|976853]. Solo Command makes Han a viewpoint character, and I found him a welcome addition to the cast. Other than the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy, we don’t get many glimpses into Han’s military career, so I enjoyed seeing Han in command. He’s pretty good at it! We also see how depressed and tired he’s become by the beginning of [b:The Courtship of Princess Leia|161540|The Courtship of Princess Leia (Star Wars)|Dave Wolverton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1326717007l/161540._SY75_.jpg|806845], because the search for Zsinj was a long, exhausting campaign.
Similarly, I love that Wedge has become such a good boss. He transfers back to Rogue Squadron, leaving Face as Wraith One, to take command of Mon Remonda’s entire starfighter complement: the Rogues, the Wraiths, the A-Wing Polearm Squadron, and the B-Wing Nova Squadron. He deals with everyone in his squadron, but particularly Myn Donos, in a thoughtful and compassionate manner.
Face Loran is promoted to Brevet Captain and put in charge of the Wraiths. He does fairly well, which shows you how much progress he’s made since [b:Iron Fist|35449|Iron Fist (Star Wars X-Wing, #6)|Aaron Allston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327941995l/35449._SY75_.jpg|976853]. However, I did take issue with his handling of the Lara Notsil situation. Face chooses to confront her before the raid on Kidriff 5, when they’re already in their starfighters--and on an open communication channel. While he was reacting instinctively to the information he’d just read and processed, it would have been much better if he confronted her afterwards, back on the Mon Remonda. Of course, then Donos wouldn’t have attempted to fire on her, and Lara wouldn’t have been able to escape in her X-Wing...
Wes remains comic relief, except for a brief time when they run into the trap on Saffalore. Don’t piss Wes Janson off, because then he becomes an utterly silent, ruthless killing machine. (Also, don’t play too many pranks on Wedge Antilles, or like Wes, you may find yourself wandering around naked covered in Ewok food.)
I really like Lara and Donos’ plotline, because they’re two very damaged people who have to learn to cope with trauma in different ways.
Lara rejected her Imperial upbringing in [b:Iron Fist|35449|Iron Fist (Star Wars X-Wing, #6)|Aaron Allston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327941995l/35449._SY75_.jpg|976853], but wasn’t willing to look critically at what she had done. She knows that she needs to confess her past to Wedge, but keeps putting off that talk. She starts a relationship with Donos, the sole survivor from Talon Squadron (and the action that eats at her the most). And then the floor falls out from under her, because Face is really good at spotting a fellow actor.
She leaves the Wraiths, ingratiates her way onto the Iron Fist, and plots to bring Zsinj down from the inside (using mouse droids!). She can’t be Lara Notsil anymore, doesn’t want to return to Gara Petothel, and ultimately remakes herself as Kirney Slane (the only one of her adopted personas that had been happy).She plays a key role in the New Republic’s triumph at the Battle of Selaggis, even if few people will ever know her complete contribution to the battle.
Myn Donos likewise had a ton of issues in [b:Wraith Squadron|773545|Wraith Squadron (Star Wars X-Wing, #5)|Aaron Allston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327941832l/773545._SY75_.jpg|352905], pulled through the worst of them--only to realize in Solo Command that he’s still an absolute mess. Donos frequently considers quitting Starfighter Command so he can hunt down everyone responsible for the destruction of Talon Squadron. He’s finding it very difficult to forgive himself for letting his pilots die.
Of course, finding out that the woman he (maybe) loves caused their deaths doesn't help at all. He tries to kill Lara, tries to resign his commission, is ordered by Wedge to get medical and psychiatric treatment, and comes out of his tailspin. He transfers to Rogue Squadron in the end, and gets another chance with Kirney. I think he’ll be OK. (And in his FAQs, Allston said that he believed they reconnected during the events in [b:The Courtship of Princess Leia|161540|The Courtship of Princess Leia (Star Wars)|Dave Wolverton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1326717007l/161540._SY75_.jpg|806845], and “Donoslane Expeditions” exists in [b: Legacy of the Force Betrayal|267426|Betrayal (Star Wars Legacy of the Force, #1)|Aaron Allston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347487245l/267426._SY75_.jpg|296931] and [b:Mercy Kill|12925663|Mercy Kill (Star Wars X-Wing, #10)|Aaron Allston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1332901588l/12925663._SY75_.jpg|18081190].)
I’m still impressed with how Allston has developed Zsinj. In [b:The Courtship of Princess Leia|161540|The Courtship of Princess Leia (Star Wars)|Dave Wolverton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1326717007l/161540._SY75_.jpg|806845], he was angry and fat. Allston’s Zsinj is much more complex. He throws temper tantrums, but (for the most part) they’re just an act. The only time we see him legitimately furious is when he learns that the Wraiths have captured Dr. Gast. (And he’s so upset, primarily because he wasn’t able to foresee that outcome.) As the New Republic takes down his companies and harries his allies, he’s increasingly worn down by the end but not defeated.
And then we meet Dr. Edda Gast, a truly awful scientist from the Binring Lab. I love how she got her comeuppance: arrested for sedition on Coruscant because she was carrying half a million Imperial credits.
ISSUES:
I’m not crazy about the brainwashing subplot. It seemed a little too similar at times to Isard’s ploy in the Rogue Squadron books, and I’m not sure I bought the timeline here. Jart Eyan was away for one week, but Tal’dira was also brainwashed, and had only been unaccounted for one day at most.
I love the Millennium Falsehood; how they acquire a YT-1300 freighter, Han and Chewie take one look at it, and immediately declare that it looks nothing like the Falcon! I wish we could have seen a few more of the Falsehood’s outings--as it is, we only see the raid on Kidriff 5 and on Comkin Five in any detail. And speaking of the Comkin Five raid, it took me far too long to figure out what they were doing. I had to read that section again to realize that they were actively trying to look like a YT-2400, even though the Falsehood itself is a YT-1300.
While I feel like Allston did adequately foreshadow the conclusion of the “why is Fel working for Zsinj” mystery, I wasn’t crazy about that subplot overall. Wedge still doesn’t know anything about the fate of Fel or his sister, and pretending that Tetran Cowall is Baron Fel only works if no one sees him in person. (How deep did the conspiracy run??)
I love Lara and Myn but Allston is not good at writing romance, so some of their scenes are unnecessarily awkward. Also, timeline issues again: the amount of time they spend together before Face leaks Lara’s identity doesn’t seem long enough to me. Their relationship might have felt more realistic to me if it had started after Myn accompanied Lara to Zsinj’s trap on Aldivy in [b:Iron Fist|35449|Iron Fist (Star Wars X-Wing, #6)|Aaron Allston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327941995l/35449._SY75_.jpg|976853]; because in Solo Command, they’re barely seeing each other before she has to leave.
Allston masterfully sets things up for [b:The Courtship of Princess Leia|161540|The Courtship of Princess Leia (Star Wars)|Dave Wolverton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1326717007l/161540._SY75_.jpg|806845], but that’s the problem--we don’t actually get any resolution on Zsinj at this point. We get the first hint of Zsinj’s Nightcloak satellite, we get a perfectly logical explanation for why Han thought that he destroyed the Iron Fist before the beginning of TCoPL, and there’s a nice farewell to all the Wraiths. But Zsinj is still out there, and I just didn’t find the final resolution of his plotline satisfying at all.
IN CONCLUSION:
I absolutely loved Solo Command. I thought it was a great conclusion to the Wraith Squadron arc--it had funny moments, exciting space battles, and Allston really fleshed out the conflict between Han and Zsinj. (And I am 100% the kind of person who goes looking for Myn Donos/Kirney Slane fanfiction afterwards.)
Next up: Michael A. Stackpole’s final X-Wing book, [b:Isard’s Revenge|422569|Isard's Revenge (Star Wars X-Wing, #8)|Michael A. Stackpole|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1424084400l/422569._SY75_.jpg|2696915].
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/F_oypMfhf-A
Aaron Allston SW FAQs: https://web.archive.org/web/20071013164158/http://www.aaronallston.com/faqswars.html
Vintage Allston interview from 2000: https://www.fanthatracks.com/interviews/vintage-interview-aaron-allston-november-2000/
This week’s focus: the third of Aaron Allston’s X-Wing books, Solo Command.
SOME HISTORY:
In the FAQs on his former website, Allston explained that while he didn’t have a clear favorite character, a few stood out to him: Lara Notsil for purposes of dramatic potential, and Wes Janson for the humor potential. It should surprise no one, then, that both characters feature prominently in Solo Command. And like with the previous book in the series, I couldn’t find any data that Solo Command made the New York Times paperback bestseller list for any of the weeks after its release.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
I mistakenly thought that the Wraiths would be masquerading as Hawkbats again in this book, but I was wrong! While their pretense wasn’t discovered (thanks to Shalla on Saffalore), they never assumed those roles again. Otherwise, my memories were pretty accurate here.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
Wraith Squadron’s covert mission posing as pirates has been a success, but Warlord Zsinj is still on the loose. To defeat him, they must join a combat task force led by General Solo, the only man crafty enough to beat Zsinj at his own game...
THE CHARACTERS:
Up till now, the X-Wing books have not prominently featured any of the main trio: Luke and Leia both made brief appearances in Stackpole’s books, and Wraith Squadron is nominally attached to Han’s fleet group in [b:Iron Fist|35449|Iron Fist (Star Wars X-Wing, #6)|Aaron Allston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327941995l/35449._SY75_.jpg|976853]. Solo Command makes Han a viewpoint character, and I found him a welcome addition to the cast. Other than the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy, we don’t get many glimpses into Han’s military career, so I enjoyed seeing Han in command. He’s pretty good at it! We also see how depressed and tired he’s become by the beginning of [b:The Courtship of Princess Leia|161540|The Courtship of Princess Leia (Star Wars)|Dave Wolverton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1326717007l/161540._SY75_.jpg|806845], because the search for Zsinj was a long, exhausting campaign.
Similarly, I love that Wedge has become such a good boss. He transfers back to Rogue Squadron, leaving Face as Wraith One, to take command of Mon Remonda’s entire starfighter complement: the Rogues, the Wraiths, the A-Wing Polearm Squadron, and the B-Wing Nova Squadron. He deals with everyone in his squadron, but particularly Myn Donos, in a thoughtful and compassionate manner.
Face Loran is promoted to Brevet Captain and put in charge of the Wraiths. He does fairly well, which shows you how much progress he’s made since [b:Iron Fist|35449|Iron Fist (Star Wars X-Wing, #6)|Aaron Allston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327941995l/35449._SY75_.jpg|976853]. However, I did take issue with his handling of the Lara Notsil situation. Face chooses to confront her before the raid on Kidriff 5, when they’re already in their starfighters--and on an open communication channel. While he was reacting instinctively to the information he’d just read and processed, it would have been much better if he confronted her afterwards, back on the Mon Remonda. Of course, then Donos wouldn’t have attempted to fire on her, and Lara wouldn’t have been able to escape in her X-Wing...
Wes remains comic relief, except for a brief time when they run into the trap on Saffalore. Don’t piss Wes Janson off, because then he becomes an utterly silent, ruthless killing machine. (Also, don’t play too many pranks on Wedge Antilles, or like Wes, you may find yourself wandering around naked covered in Ewok food.)
I really like Lara and Donos’ plotline, because they’re two very damaged people who have to learn to cope with trauma in different ways.
Lara rejected her Imperial upbringing in [b:Iron Fist|35449|Iron Fist (Star Wars X-Wing, #6)|Aaron Allston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327941995l/35449._SY75_.jpg|976853], but wasn’t willing to look critically at what she had done. She knows that she needs to confess her past to Wedge, but keeps putting off that talk. She starts a relationship with Donos, the sole survivor from Talon Squadron (and the action that eats at her the most). And then the floor falls out from under her, because Face is really good at spotting a fellow actor.
She leaves the Wraiths, ingratiates her way onto the Iron Fist, and plots to bring Zsinj down from the inside (using mouse droids!). She can’t be Lara Notsil anymore, doesn’t want to return to Gara Petothel, and ultimately remakes herself as Kirney Slane (the only one of her adopted personas that had been happy).She plays a key role in the New Republic’s triumph at the Battle of Selaggis, even if few people will ever know her complete contribution to the battle.
Myn Donos likewise had a ton of issues in [b:Wraith Squadron|773545|Wraith Squadron (Star Wars X-Wing, #5)|Aaron Allston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327941832l/773545._SY75_.jpg|352905], pulled through the worst of them--only to realize in Solo Command that he’s still an absolute mess. Donos frequently considers quitting Starfighter Command so he can hunt down everyone responsible for the destruction of Talon Squadron. He’s finding it very difficult to forgive himself for letting his pilots die.
Of course, finding out that the woman he (maybe) loves caused their deaths doesn't help at all. He tries to kill Lara, tries to resign his commission, is ordered by Wedge to get medical and psychiatric treatment, and comes out of his tailspin. He transfers to Rogue Squadron in the end, and gets another chance with Kirney. I think he’ll be OK. (And in his FAQs, Allston said that he believed they reconnected during the events in [b:The Courtship of Princess Leia|161540|The Courtship of Princess Leia (Star Wars)|Dave Wolverton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1326717007l/161540._SY75_.jpg|806845], and “Donoslane Expeditions” exists in [b: Legacy of the Force Betrayal|267426|Betrayal (Star Wars Legacy of the Force, #1)|Aaron Allston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347487245l/267426._SY75_.jpg|296931] and [b:Mercy Kill|12925663|Mercy Kill (Star Wars X-Wing, #10)|Aaron Allston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1332901588l/12925663._SY75_.jpg|18081190].)
I’m still impressed with how Allston has developed Zsinj. In [b:The Courtship of Princess Leia|161540|The Courtship of Princess Leia (Star Wars)|Dave Wolverton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1326717007l/161540._SY75_.jpg|806845], he was angry and fat. Allston’s Zsinj is much more complex. He throws temper tantrums, but (for the most part) they’re just an act. The only time we see him legitimately furious is when he learns that the Wraiths have captured Dr. Gast. (And he’s so upset, primarily because he wasn’t able to foresee that outcome.) As the New Republic takes down his companies and harries his allies, he’s increasingly worn down by the end but not defeated.
And then we meet Dr. Edda Gast, a truly awful scientist from the Binring Lab. I love how she got her comeuppance: arrested for sedition on Coruscant because she was carrying half a million Imperial credits.
ISSUES:
I’m not crazy about the brainwashing subplot. It seemed a little too similar at times to Isard’s ploy in the Rogue Squadron books, and I’m not sure I bought the timeline here. Jart Eyan was away for one week, but Tal’dira was also brainwashed, and had only been unaccounted for one day at most.
I love the Millennium Falsehood; how they acquire a YT-1300 freighter, Han and Chewie take one look at it, and immediately declare that it looks nothing like the Falcon! I wish we could have seen a few more of the Falsehood’s outings--as it is, we only see the raid on Kidriff 5 and on Comkin Five in any detail. And speaking of the Comkin Five raid, it took me far too long to figure out what they were doing. I had to read that section again to realize that they were actively trying to look like a YT-2400, even though the Falsehood itself is a YT-1300.
While I feel like Allston did adequately foreshadow the conclusion of the “why is Fel working for Zsinj” mystery, I wasn’t crazy about that subplot overall. Wedge still doesn’t know anything about the fate of Fel or his sister, and pretending that Tetran Cowall is Baron Fel only works if no one sees him in person. (How deep did the conspiracy run??)
I love Lara and Myn but Allston is not good at writing romance, so some of their scenes are unnecessarily awkward. Also, timeline issues again: the amount of time they spend together before Face leaks Lara’s identity doesn’t seem long enough to me. Their relationship might have felt more realistic to me if it had started after Myn accompanied Lara to Zsinj’s trap on Aldivy in [b:Iron Fist|35449|Iron Fist (Star Wars X-Wing, #6)|Aaron Allston|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327941995l/35449._SY75_.jpg|976853]; because in Solo Command, they’re barely seeing each other before she has to leave.
Allston masterfully sets things up for [b:The Courtship of Princess Leia|161540|The Courtship of Princess Leia (Star Wars)|Dave Wolverton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1326717007l/161540._SY75_.jpg|806845], but that’s the problem--we don’t actually get any resolution on Zsinj at this point. We get the first hint of Zsinj’s Nightcloak satellite, we get a perfectly logical explanation for why Han thought that he destroyed the Iron Fist before the beginning of TCoPL, and there’s a nice farewell to all the Wraiths. But Zsinj is still out there, and I just didn’t find the final resolution of his plotline satisfying at all.
IN CONCLUSION:
I absolutely loved Solo Command. I thought it was a great conclusion to the Wraith Squadron arc--it had funny moments, exciting space battles, and Allston really fleshed out the conflict between Han and Zsinj. (And I am 100% the kind of person who goes looking for Myn Donos/Kirney Slane fanfiction afterwards.)
Comkin Five was a green-blue world circling a yellow star. As the Falsehood neared the planet’s surface, blotches of color resolved themselves into blue sea, deep green tropics, and bands of cloud cover, with only the smallest patches of arctic ice.
“Pretty,” Donos said. “What do we blow up first?”
Wedge, ahead of him in the pilot’s chair, turned to glance at him. “Write that down,” he said. “That ought to be the Wraith Squadron slogan.”
Next up: Michael A. Stackpole’s final X-Wing book, [b:Isard’s Revenge|422569|Isard's Revenge (Star Wars X-Wing, #8)|Michael A. Stackpole|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1424084400l/422569._SY75_.jpg|2696915].
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/F_oypMfhf-A
Aaron Allston SW FAQs: https://web.archive.org/web/20071013164158/http://www.aaronallston.com/faqswars.html
Vintage Allston interview from 2000: https://www.fanthatracks.com/interviews/vintage-interview-aaron-allston-november-2000/
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I like this one a bit more than I have the other books in the series, but not enough to bump it up to a full four stars. It just lacks a little something that would push it to that level.
I liked this one quite a bit. One of my biggest problems with Iron Fist was the slow start, but Solo Command solves that problem handily with an attempted assassination within the first six pages, and it only ramps up from there.
The terror attacks from brainwashed aliens was a very smart plot, one that really kept striking at the soul of the New Republic. That's something the X-Wing books always do really well, addressing the very real problems a fledgling government would have. This plot also allowed us to have a very emotional scene that showed us Piggy's perspective on his creation and how it continues to affect him.
Lara's story is certainly one of the highlights of the book for me. Of course her secret had to be discovered eventually, and it's a very tense and narratively satisfying moment when that happens, especially the way it advances Donos' story as well. Her attempt at redemption through secretly working independently as a double agent and sabotaging Iron Fist for the New Republic is awesome. The New Republic obviously couldn't take her in no questions asked after what she did, but her heart did change in a very convincing way, and I liked that she got her somewhat happy ending, maybe even with Donos, another character who continues to be very well-written.
For a book called Solo Command, I was really expecting more Solo. True, the Millennium Falsehood plan (which was very cool) wouldn't have been possible without him around, but I expected him to be working more closely with Rogue and Wraith Squadrons, rather than just overseeing their operations generally. Still, I liked what we got, and it finally showed off why Han was made a general in the first place. Speaking of Rogue and Wraith Squadrons, I loved their bits of interaction. It felt like a crossover episode.
The ending was a little frustrating to me. To see that the heroes had defeated Zsinj, seemingly destroying Iron Fist, only to reveal that it had escaped, was a little anticlimactic, but I suppose that the Courtship of Princess Leia (which came out before these books) set it up to appear there, so I understand why the decision was made. Still, after the journey we've been on with these characters, I wanted the killing blow to come from them. A really solid X-Wing book, and I'm very glad it's not the last.
The terror attacks from brainwashed aliens was a very smart plot, one that really kept striking at the soul of the New Republic. That's something the X-Wing books always do really well, addressing the very real problems a fledgling government would have. This plot also allowed us to have a very emotional scene that showed us Piggy's perspective on his creation and how it continues to affect him.
Lara's story is certainly one of the highlights of the book for me. Of course her secret had to be discovered eventually, and it's a very tense and narratively satisfying moment when that happens, especially the way it advances Donos' story as well. Her attempt at redemption through secretly working independently as a double agent and sabotaging Iron Fist for the New Republic is awesome. The New Republic obviously couldn't take her in no questions asked after what she did, but her heart did change in a very convincing way, and I liked that she got her somewhat happy ending, maybe even with Donos, another character who continues to be very well-written.
For a book called Solo Command, I was really expecting more Solo. True, the Millennium Falsehood plan (which was very cool) wouldn't have been possible without him around, but I expected him to be working more closely with Rogue and Wraith Squadrons, rather than just overseeing their operations generally. Still, I liked what we got, and it finally showed off why Han was made a general in the first place. Speaking of Rogue and Wraith Squadrons, I loved their bits of interaction. It felt like a crossover episode.
The ending was a little frustrating to me. To see that the heroes had defeated Zsinj, seemingly destroying Iron Fist, only to reveal that it had escaped, was a little anticlimactic, but I suppose that the Courtship of Princess Leia (which came out before these books) set it up to appear there, so I understand why the decision was made. Still, after the journey we've been on with these characters, I wanted the killing blow to come from them. A really solid X-Wing book, and I'm very glad it's not the last.
This is the first time I've read this one. I had all of the books in the series except this one. I think I will be rereading it many times in the future. This one was able to invoke all of the feelings of the first one.
Super solid book. Loved the characters and it was funny too.
Two words: Ewok jokes. Absolutely hilarious book that deals with some serious issues as well.
A great ending to the Wraith trilogy, I would be happy to see these characters come back in more books. Allston writes a good character story with great action scenes.
This section of the series comes to an okay conclusion. Having read other novels in the expanded universe before, I should have known what was coming. Still, it feels like a let down on some levels by ending the story by saying "go read this other book to find out what happens". I guess that's part of the danger of filling in gaps between other novels written by other people.
Otherwise, it's pretty good. It retains its sense of humor while wrapping up as many of its storylines. There's even a brief funny moment where one of the characters finds herself in a situation that she almost can't take seriously because of a running joke that's been going on in the last few books.
Otherwise, it's pretty good. It retains its sense of humor while wrapping up as many of its storylines. There's even a brief funny moment where one of the characters finds herself in a situation that she almost can't take seriously because of a running joke that's been going on in the last few books.