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amandamarie00's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
rikakohlrabi's review against another edition
4.0
This is, as of 2019, the best written novel of the new canon, in my opinion. I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could. But there is a high standard set from the old canon. These are incredibly reminiscent of the X-Wing series by Stackpole and Allston. Those novels were phenomenal tales and only further publications will tell if this series will hold up to its predecessor. But if I compare this entry against the entry of Stackpole's, it doesn't quite hit the bar.
That said, the author does a wonderful job of creating compelling characters, all of whom I found frustrating and unlikable but in a way that I am curious to see how they manage to succeed or fail and grow. A decent job was done of representing the lone character returning from other tales in the new canon.
The plot feels quite dialed back, and I wonder if smaller scale stories is what we should expect from Star Wars with Disney as they leave all the truly epic stories for the big screen. Or perhaps if I just need to be patient for Disney's creators to fill in all the space. Despite feeling like a cog in a much larger picture, the plot is still interesting enough to draw you through the book and leaves quite a bit of interest moving forward. But the drawback with the plot becomes how small scale the enemy feels. While appropriate for the task-force of the story's protagonists, the feeling that the much bigger picture outside of the story is way more interesting is the biggest negative compared to the far more epic enemy in Stackpole's arc of X-Wing Rogue Squadron. There are hardly any specific details of the goingson outside the scope of the book so we don't know whether or not this is a main front of the galactic conflict or something much smaller. There is a chance that feeling is deliberate, but with how minuscule the enemy turned out to be at the end of this novel, I have a hard time imagining them growing, even with the intriguing lead in to the next novel in the Alphabet series at the end of this book.
I'm more excited about the followup to this series than any other as of yet. I am certainly hopeful that this positive direction continues for the quality of the Star Wars license.
That said, the author does a wonderful job of creating compelling characters, all of whom I found frustrating and unlikable but in a way that I am curious to see how they manage to succeed or fail and grow. A decent job was done of representing the lone character returning from other tales in the new canon.
The plot feels quite dialed back, and I wonder if smaller scale stories is what we should expect from Star Wars with Disney as they leave all the truly epic stories for the big screen. Or perhaps if I just need to be patient for Disney's creators to fill in all the space. Despite feeling like a cog in a much larger picture, the plot is still interesting enough to draw you through the book and leaves quite a bit of interest moving forward. But the drawback with the plot becomes how small scale the enemy feels. While appropriate for the task-force of the story's protagonists, the feeling that the much bigger picture outside of the story is way more interesting is the biggest negative compared to the far more epic enemy in Stackpole's arc of X-Wing Rogue Squadron. There are hardly any specific details of the goingson outside the scope of the book so we don't know whether or not this is a main front of the galactic conflict or something much smaller. There is a chance that feeling is deliberate, but with how minuscule the enemy turned out to be at the end of this novel, I have a hard time imagining them growing, even with the intriguing lead in to the next novel in the Alphabet series at the end of this book.
I'm more excited about the followup to this series than any other as of yet. I am certainly hopeful that this positive direction continues for the quality of the Star Wars license.
thepancreas11's review against another edition
4.0
I love me some fighter pilots. I love their troubled, cartoonish backstories. I love their impossible to follow maneuvers. I love their missions which aren't so much about the characters or the themes as about how crazy the mission objectives are. I don't care that novels like this are probably bloated and filled with unnecessary detail. I don't care about the weird pacing or the clichés or the repetition that every fighter story inevitably has. It really doesn't matter. I want to see a team assembled, and I want to see them face impossible odds, and I want them to come out unscathed but transformed.
Star Wars has its beach reads too. They're fun, they're silly, and you can read them in a day or two, if you concentrate. Sure, this novel isn't really adding to the depth of the lore or examining the deeper meaning of the universe. But as far as lighter reads go, you could do a lot worse. There's a lot said on PTSD and the effects that the war at large has on its individuals. There's a lot said on vulnerability and toxic masculinity. There are elements to this story that I haven't seen in any other Star Wars story, canon or legends. I think very highly of the old X-wing series, and I think "Alphabet Squadron" would fit right in. It might even be better.
Still, I do wish that Star Wars had the guts to not just touch on deeper subjects. It's one thing to say, "Hey, these people have PTSD," and it's another to say, "This is what their PTSD is doing to them." If anything holds this novel back, it's that some of the room given to the candy coating of
action could have--and probably should have--been given over to the creamy nougat of theme.
Star Wars has its beach reads too. They're fun, they're silly, and you can read them in a day or two, if you concentrate. Sure, this novel isn't really adding to the depth of the lore or examining the deeper meaning of the universe. But as far as lighter reads go, you could do a lot worse. There's a lot said on PTSD and the effects that the war at large has on its individuals. There's a lot said on vulnerability and toxic masculinity. There are elements to this story that I haven't seen in any other Star Wars story, canon or legends. I think very highly of the old X-wing series, and I think "Alphabet Squadron" would fit right in. It might even be better.
Still, I do wish that Star Wars had the guts to not just touch on deeper subjects. It's one thing to say, "Hey, these people have PTSD," and it's another to say, "This is what their PTSD is doing to them." If anything holds this novel back, it's that some of the room given to the candy coating of
action could have--and probably should have--been given over to the creamy nougat of theme.
peresr's review against another edition
2.0
Després d'unes setmanes de lectura molt tècnica i espesa, necessitava una lectura fàcil, animada i que no requerís gaires neurones :D i per això vaig decidir-me per aquesta trilogia que tenia pendent des de fa anys: una lectura clàssica d'Space Opera militar ambientada a l'univers Star Wars.
La trilogia passa just després de El Retron del Jedi i ens explica les conseqüències de l'esfondrament de l'Imperi, les últimes ordres de l'Emperador i com els Rebels (la Nova República) o ciutadans de l'ex-imperi i/o soldats imperials reaccionen a la desaparició de l'status quo.
La trama és interessant, però dubto que pugui enganxar a algú que no sigui fan d'Star Wars, té batalles espacials prou detallades però la descripció és un xic confusa i es fan difícils de seguir i gaudir i m'esperava una trama més rebuscada, més un joc de gat i ratolí i amb molt més suspens.
Aquesta trilogia sembla un intent de suplantar Rogue Squadron (que ja no és Cànon) amb tots els ingredients que les audiències actuals reclamen: personalitats amb clarobscurs, herois que no s'avenen entre ells, misfits, personatges a priori incompatibles que acaben treballant plegats per aconseguir un objectiu comú, etc; tot ingredients que m'agraden i que obren les portes a moltes possibilitats argumentals interessants.
Desafortunadament, la novel·la no passa de ser entretinguda; li manca ritme, el desenvolupament dels personatges és massa lleuger i s'allarga massa en el temps, centrant-se massa aviat en l'acció immediata i obviant el pas necessari per a que el lector "connecti" amb un dels personatges principals. La resta de la novel·la, després, intenta solucionar aquest error inicial i seguir construint els personatges però ja fa tard i vaig acabar la novel·la sense connectar amb cap dels membres de l'esquadró.
La part positiva de la novel·la, crec, és que deixa la porta oberta a un gran potencial per a les següents dues novel·les ara que totes les peces estan disposades al tauler, els personatges estan clars i més o menys formats així com l'objectiu final de perquè aquest grup de gent tant divers ha aconseguit treballar (o no) plegats.
La trilogia passa just després de El Retron del Jedi i ens explica les conseqüències de l'esfondrament de l'Imperi, les últimes ordres de l'Emperador i com els Rebels (la Nova República) o ciutadans de l'ex-imperi i/o soldats imperials reaccionen a la desaparició de l'status quo.
La trama és interessant, però dubto que pugui enganxar a algú que no sigui fan d'Star Wars, té batalles espacials prou detallades però la descripció és un xic confusa i es fan difícils de seguir i gaudir i m'esperava una trama més rebuscada, més un joc de gat i ratolí i amb molt més suspens.
Aquesta trilogia sembla un intent de suplantar Rogue Squadron (que ja no és Cànon) amb tots els ingredients que les audiències actuals reclamen: personalitats amb clarobscurs, herois que no s'avenen entre ells, misfits, personatges a priori incompatibles que acaben treballant plegats per aconseguir un objectiu comú, etc; tot ingredients que m'agraden i que obren les portes a moltes possibilitats argumentals interessants.
Desafortunadament, la novel·la no passa de ser entretinguda; li manca ritme, el desenvolupament dels personatges és massa lleuger i s'allarga massa en el temps, centrant-se massa aviat en l'acció immediata i obviant el pas necessari per a que el lector "connecti" amb un dels personatges principals. La resta de la novel·la, després, intenta solucionar aquest error inicial i seguir construint els personatges però ja fa tard i vaig acabar la novel·la sense connectar amb cap dels membres de l'esquadró.
La part positiva de la novel·la, crec, és que deixa la porta oberta a un gran potencial per a les següents dues novel·les ara que totes les peces estan disposades al tauler, els personatges estan clars i més o menys formats així com l'objectiu final de perquè aquest grup de gent tant divers ha aconseguit treballar (o no) plegats.
poppyparkes's review against another edition
4.0
I was not expecting to enjoy this book but after a slow start I was completely drawn in to the “Legends-like” Alphabet Squadron world. I did, however, see the final twist coming but I’m still looking forward to continuing the trilogy.
katcrits's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed getting to know the members of alphabet squadron. The action sequences were interesting and brought new information to this era in star wars. I'm interested to see where the series goes!
among_the_stacks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
noah_hurts's review against another edition
3.0
I haven't read a Star Wars book since I was in middle school and I hadn't read a single one of the new Disney-era canon novels so here goes.
Alphabet Squadron captures the spirit of the Rogue Squadron rag-tag group of pilots pretty well. I cared about the characters (to a point) and (for the most part) they all felt distinctive and interesting in their own regard. Like a lot of the Star Wars EU (are we even still calling it the EU?) content the stakes here feel infinitely larger than they do in the movies, but it works to the book's credit. This book does not shy away from presenting the horrors of war as just that. One of the characters comes into contact with would-be suicide bombers, another has a degree of PTSD for witnessing the army she was a part of conduct acts that can really only be described as ethnic cleansing. One character in particular dreams about how cool it would be to die a martyr's death like the protagonist of Rogue One, Jyn Erso. It's a little slapped together and not 100% congruous with the rest of the universe it draws from, but it works and it feels like what a lot of EU content does-an extension on what fans of the original trilogy remember the films being, not what they actually are.
The characters are mostly interesting and fun. They all feel a little one-dimensional until later in the book and the constant POV shifting worked a lot but sometimes felt more like the author's voice than the character's. The biggest fault I found in regard to the characters was the book's constant insistence that there were secrets that needed to be uncovered. Star Wars loves a good plot twist, but the "plot twists" in this book felt weirdly hyped. Characters made reference to their "secret plans" or ulterior motives for them to be revealed leaving my scratching my head. But by having all original characters (save for one character I was unfamiliar with anyway due to her being from one of the TV shows I have not seen) the story feels detached enough from the movie narrative that I never have that typical Star Wars moment of sighing deeply and thinking "I'm supposed to believe they were there, too?
Beyond weird character choices the only real fault I came away from this book with was some of the messaging. It was really interesting to read from the perspective of a character that dutifully served the Empire and genuinely believed they did good for the galaxy, but seeing her grapple with whether or not this was true or molded by propaganda got to be exhausting. It got to be the very end of the book and she was still grappling with these problems with seemingly no progress. Is this realistic? Probably, yes. Is it also going to be a big part of the trilogy going forward? Also probably, leaving this to feel a little sad as a stand-alone story. Regardless, the book mostly stands on its own to the point that someone with no knowledge of Star Wars could probably enjoy a good bit of this. Mentions of the Death Star are plentiful but you can gather easily enough what that is.
Ultimately I enjoyed this a lot despite what it sounds like. It was a quick read that gave me a dose of some more grounded Star Wars content after my disappointment with Episode IX. I'm kind of bummed out that this is going to be a trilogy because I am generally wary of stories that were fun as a one-shot being extended that far, but I can only wait and see.
Alphabet Squadron captures the spirit of the Rogue Squadron rag-tag group of pilots pretty well. I cared about the characters (to a point) and (for the most part) they all felt distinctive and interesting in their own regard. Like a lot of the Star Wars EU (are we even still calling it the EU?) content the stakes here feel infinitely larger than they do in the movies, but it works to the book's credit. This book does not shy away from presenting the horrors of war as just that. One of the characters comes into contact with would-be suicide bombers, another has a degree of PTSD for witnessing the army she was a part of conduct acts that can really only be described as ethnic cleansing. One character in particular dreams about how cool it would be to die a martyr's death like the protagonist of Rogue One, Jyn Erso. It's a little slapped together and not 100% congruous with the rest of the universe it draws from, but it works and it feels like what a lot of EU content does-an extension on what fans of the original trilogy remember the films being, not what they actually are.
The characters are mostly interesting and fun. They all feel a little one-dimensional until later in the book and the constant POV shifting worked a lot but sometimes felt more like the author's voice than the character's. The biggest fault I found in regard to the characters was the book's constant insistence that there were secrets that needed to be uncovered. Star Wars loves a good plot twist, but the "plot twists" in this book felt weirdly hyped. Characters made reference to their "secret plans" or ulterior motives for them to be revealed leaving my scratching my head. But by having all original characters (save for one character I was unfamiliar with anyway due to her being from one of the TV shows I have not seen) the story feels detached enough from the movie narrative that I never have that typical Star Wars moment of sighing deeply and thinking "I'm supposed to believe they were there, too?
Beyond weird character choices the only real fault I came away from this book with was some of the messaging. It was really interesting to read from the perspective of a character that dutifully served the Empire and genuinely believed they did good for the galaxy, but seeing her grapple with whether or not this was true or molded by propaganda got to be exhausting. It got to be the very end of the book and she was still grappling with these problems with seemingly no progress. Is this realistic? Probably, yes. Is it also going to be a big part of the trilogy going forward? Also probably, leaving this to feel a little sad as a stand-alone story. Regardless, the book mostly stands on its own to the point that someone with no knowledge of Star Wars could probably enjoy a good bit of this. Mentions of the Death Star are plentiful but you can gather easily enough what that is.
Ultimately I enjoyed this a lot despite what it sounds like. It was a quick read that gave me a dose of some more grounded Star Wars content after my disappointment with Episode IX. I'm kind of bummed out that this is going to be a trilogy because I am generally wary of stories that were fun as a one-shot being extended that far, but I can only wait and see.