Reviews

Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed

mal8181's review

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

readerreborn's review against another edition

4.0

First time was a bit rough following the first half of the book, but I enjoyed it all the way through on the second read. The last 1/4 of the book or so is 5 Stars. Excited for book 2!

skywalkerem's review against another edition

3.0

I can’t tell you what happened during that final battle but I can tell you that Hera Syndulla, my beloved, appeared several times in this book.

tamalf130's review against another edition

4.0

4.5/5

apireading's review against another edition

3.0

I’ve heard so many great things about this series I was a bit nervous to dive into it. Overall, I had a good time but not as much as expected.

First, it was too long. Really long. I don’t mind a slow pace if it serves the characters or the introduction of a new universe, but I feel I got neither of those. I couldn’t really capture the essence of the main characters because their decisions seem odd and coming from out of nowhere. Yrica Quell was the worst because we have to wait so long to have something coherent from her. As a reader, I rather enjoy a character fully pictured in order to get me into the story. For her, I started to appreciate her part in the last 100 pages. In the opposite, the character of Nath and Wyl were the most likeable because I could understand their motivation and purpose.

A bit too introductive for me, the plot really started to make sense to me in the last 30% of it. Nonetheless, there is many action scenes and I was easy to read.

rep: bi mc.
tw: death, grief, fire, explosion.

wheelerdavid44's review against another edition

4.0

This was my first Star Wars book in which the main characters were pilots. I definitely enjoyed the book a lot, but it did take a little time to really “get into it”. However, once I was invested in the characters and the story, my experience was heightened, and the book moved pretty quickly. I am looking forward to the next book in the series!

abeplaut's review against another edition

adventurous tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

_lannylou's review against another edition

5.0

I would die for Wyl Lark. This is canon's answer to Wraith Squadron and I love it. 

Also I still haven't gotten over Rogue One and apparently neither has Alexander Freed. I respect that. 

emsemce123's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This was a chore for me to get through. I wouldn't call the writing bad by any means but it was just missing something. The writing is good, there's a diverse cast of characters, all with their own backstories and motivations and some with hidden agendas but for some reason, I just don't care. I was never on the edge of my seat, never unable to put the book down, and sometimes even having to force myself to pick it back up again. It's like the author beautifully described a blank canvas to me instead of painting something, and the only thing (debatable) worse than atrocious writing that angers me is decent writing that makes me feel indifferent to the plot and characters. Small nitpicks there are times where the author doesn't take full advantage of an entirely fictional universe, dropping things directly related to reality ( turns of phrases and the length of time. It wouldn't be the same on different planets or at least it doesn't have to be.) And other times he's a little to confident with the Star Wars Fandoms involvement. I consider myself a casual fan, I know what certain races and spacecraft are by name alone, but he definitely could've added some descriptions for casuals like myself or even non-fans (though I doubt non-fans would even pick up a SW book) this gets good praise but I've read better SW extended lore. 

the reveal at the end of the book on who Devon really is, thanks. I hated it. Too little too late in my opinion and like I said I found it hard to care about anything in this book. Tensent discovers and discloses the truth about Yrica Quell's "defection" to Adan, but if the whole point was to make it look genuine so she could leave the Empire, why the hell is there an official report directly contradicting and exposing it for rebels/the Empire to find? What. The. Hell. Admittedly this could've been explained and I zoned it out but I don't remember anything about it.

peterdrake's review

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

It's a Star Wars novel, and a couple of minor existing characters come up in passing, but the characters in this book aren't compelling. The high points are some meditations on how or whether those who previously fought for an evil regime can be redeemed.

The few pages of comic panels in the center are not a multimedia chapter, but merely an interstitial ad for a related comic book series.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide

It's fictional Star Wars genocide (e.g., Alderaan).