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blancwene 's review for:
The Bacta War
by Michael A. Stackpole
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 fourth X-Wing book by Michael A. Stackpole, The Bacta War.
SOME HISTORY:
Compared to 1996’s record of nine books released, 1997 proved a more leisurely year with only six books published: the fourth X-Wing book, two hardcover releases in the spring and fall, the first two volumes of the Han Solo trilogy, and a fourth Tales collection. And with the conclusion of Stackpole’s four-book series in February, there wouldn’t be another X-Wing book until the release of Aaron Allston’s [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] in February 1998. The Bacta War made it to number thirteen on the New York Times paperback bestseller list for the week of February 2, 1997.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
This book contained most of the scenes I thought were missing from previous books. A lengthy visit to the Darklighters on Tatooine? Check. Resolution of Bror Jace’s mysterious death from book 2? Also check. I didn’t think I reread these books all that frequently, but apparently I did.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
Ysanne Isard has taken control of Thyferra, intending to control production of bacta. Deprived of Alliance support, Rogue Squadron resigns and goes rogue. They must oppose Isard's plans, defeat her Star Destroyer fleet, and free Thyferra from her rule in a battle against a seemingly superior force.
THE CHARACTERS:
Wedge (once again) has an awful lot on his plate, but I feel like Stackpole never fleshes out his character to the extent that he did with Corran. Wedge is the boss, Wedge has to make a ton of tough choices, and he regrets all the people that squadron has lost, but he doesn’t have as developed an arc as Corran.
Corran learned at the end of book 3 about his heritage (his biological grandfather, Nejaa Halcyon, was a Corellian Jedi), but he’s more concerned with freeing the prisoners on the Lusankya than pursuing the Jedi path. And if anything, he proves that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing: he attempts--very badly--to use a Jedi mind trick on a stormtrooper, and he doesn’t know enough about lightsaber combat to be particularly good at using his saber. He also starts to second guess himself; is he nervous in this situation because of intuition from the Force? Can he even rely on that yet? I liked Stackpole’s nuanced take on the Jedi, that Corran’s own perception of them is colored by the vague legends and propaganda films about them.
Tycho gets one outstanding chapter--Chapter 12, wherein he goes to the Graveyard to pay his respects to his family--but otherwise he’s just here, being Wedge’s second-in-command. His choice to use Another Chance’s transponder code ends up working very well for the Rogues, though, since it gains them the help of the automated Thranta-class War Cruiser during the second ambush in the Graveyard. (And Another Chance in general is an interesting facet of Alderaanian history.)
After books 1 and 2 detailed Corran and Mirax’s growing friendship and book 3 took a backseat to any relationship development, The Bacta War opens with them already together. I guess Stackpole didn’t want to write out their DTR, but it felt a little abrupt to me. They’re good, Corran and Booster don’t like each other but work things out, and then Corran and Mirax get engaged AND married super quickly. Umm, OK?
Iella’s plotline is perhaps the weakest, mostly because we just don’t see much of what they’re doing. Iella and Elscol are inserted on-planet to meet up with the Ashern rebels and take down Isard’s government, but we don’t see enough of their plans for me to feel like they’re essential to the story. In comparison, Iella’s emotional arc felt more compelling--she’s still grieving the loss of her husband from book 3, and has to figure out how she can move on from her grief.
I love Booster Terrik, and he was a highpoint of the novel for me. He’s a shrewd businessman and a frankly intimidating figure, but he also loves his daughter very much. (And he got a Star Destroyer in the end! Go Booster.) Karrde also makes an appearance, very similar to his character in the Thrawn trilogy--so props to Stackpole for using him properly. He doesn’t want to pick sides, but he also wants to make a profit.
Frankly, I found the Imperials surprisingly weak this go-around. In previous books, Isard was an enigma: a shadowy figure, true, but one that also seemed to have a good grasp of strategy. All that goes out the window in book 4, where she becomes an irrational woman with temper tantrums. Vorru thinks that she’s insane, and she’s always been insane: the former seems quite possible in this book, but the latter just doesn’t mesh with the Machiavellian schemer we see in books 1-3.
Books 2 and 3 presented Vorru as someone entirely self-serving, only allying with Isard because it’s in his best interests. In The Bacta War, though, he seems to be working for her a lot more actively than I’d expect. I thought he wanted to revitalize Black Sun? But here he’s perfectly happy (for most of the book) serving as her Minister of Trade. Erisi, too, seems to have no problems following Isard’s lead, and has been reduced to just a good pilot in charge of inexperienced newbies.
And the Star Destroyer commanders are a mixed bag. Captain Convarion is aggressive and competent, but he dies first. The captain of the Lusankya is a moron; the captain of the Virulence is remarkably ineffective, which is probably how Booster Terrik was able to capture her ship. And the captain of the Avarice is blackmailed/bribed into switching sides, where he doesn’t do too badly.
ISSUES:
In long-running series (although four books is not particularly long!) there’s this desire to shake up the status quo and hit the reset button by making our heroes work outside the law. In this case, the Rogues “go rogue” by leaving the New Republic and becoming mercenaries working against Isard. But not completely--the NR still gives them support, practically sends them their ships, and welcomes them back with open arms. And the logistics of the rebel Rogues don’t really work for me. They start out with the 10 million credits that the Imperials put in Tycho’s bank accounts, and somehow this is enough to fund their initial escapades? Putting together a military unit is very very expensive, so this is one instance where I definitely had to suspend my disbelief.
I love all the dogfights, especially after their lack/lesser frequency in the previous two books, but also tended to find them confusing. Stackpole has the pilots banking and swerving and engaging the rudder and I just...sometimes couldn’t follow. It wasn’t that I wanted to skip the battles for the character scenes, but more that I often felt lost and longed for something easier to follow--like dialogue.
Stackpole doesn’t really make any effort to flesh out any of the Rogues beyond Corran, Tycho, and maybe Gavin. It’s almost as though he introduced us to the various Rogues in Rogue Squadron, then noped out of further development for the non-mains. Riv Shiel the Shistavanen is killed during an ambush from the Victory-class Star Destroyer, which should be shocking! But since we know so little of him and have barely heard him speak, his death lacks any emotion or poignance.
I enjoyed how Booster used the spy in Karrde’s organization--he gave Melina the runaround until they were ready to leak the station’s location to Isard--but I was expecting resolution there that never came. She leaves a probe droid, heads to Corellia, and ??? After Karrde was brainstorming all the different ways to kill her, I expected her to be dealt with in some way.
Four books isn’t a particularly long series by any means, but Stackpole both wrapped up a surprising number of plot threads as well as leaving some tantalizingly open. We saw Isard’s shuttle destroyed, but was she actually on board? We see Erisi’s TIE go down and get smooshed, but since there wasn’t an explosion is she dead? Will Vorru be able to finagle his way back out of New Republic custody? (Seeing as Stackpole wrote another X-Wing book that was released in 1999, we’ll probably get answers to some of those questions.)
IN CONCLUSION:
The Bacta War is exciting and action-filled, but also features the weakest villains yet of the series. It wrapped up the subseries remarkably well, though, despite my issues.
Next up: the conclusion to the informal Callista trilogy, [b:Planet of Twilight|758692|Planet of Twilight (Star Wars The Callista Trilogy, #3)|Barbara Hambly|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320513858l/758692._SY75_.jpg|1180883] by Barbara Hambly.
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/bGdHsP8cX1U
This week’s focus: the fourth X-Wing book by Michael A. Stackpole, The Bacta War.
SOME HISTORY:
Compared to 1996’s record of nine books released, 1997 proved a more leisurely year with only six books published: the fourth X-Wing book, two hardcover releases in the spring and fall, the first two volumes of the Han Solo trilogy, and a fourth Tales collection. And with the conclusion of Stackpole’s four-book series in February, there wouldn’t be another X-Wing book until the release of Aaron Allston’s [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] in February 1998. The Bacta War made it to number thirteen on the New York Times paperback bestseller list for the week of February 2, 1997.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
This book contained most of the scenes I thought were missing from previous books. A lengthy visit to the Darklighters on Tatooine? Check. Resolution of Bror Jace’s mysterious death from book 2? Also check. I didn’t think I reread these books all that frequently, but apparently I did.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
Ysanne Isard has taken control of Thyferra, intending to control production of bacta. Deprived of Alliance support, Rogue Squadron resigns and goes rogue. They must oppose Isard's plans, defeat her Star Destroyer fleet, and free Thyferra from her rule in a battle against a seemingly superior force.
THE CHARACTERS:
Wedge (once again) has an awful lot on his plate, but I feel like Stackpole never fleshes out his character to the extent that he did with Corran. Wedge is the boss, Wedge has to make a ton of tough choices, and he regrets all the people that squadron has lost, but he doesn’t have as developed an arc as Corran.
Corran learned at the end of book 3 about his heritage (his biological grandfather, Nejaa Halcyon, was a Corellian Jedi), but he’s more concerned with freeing the prisoners on the Lusankya than pursuing the Jedi path. And if anything, he proves that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing: he attempts--very badly--to use a Jedi mind trick on a stormtrooper, and he doesn’t know enough about lightsaber combat to be particularly good at using his saber. He also starts to second guess himself; is he nervous in this situation because of intuition from the Force? Can he even rely on that yet? I liked Stackpole’s nuanced take on the Jedi, that Corran’s own perception of them is colored by the vague legends and propaganda films about them.
Tycho gets one outstanding chapter--Chapter 12, wherein he goes to the Graveyard to pay his respects to his family--but otherwise he’s just here, being Wedge’s second-in-command. His choice to use Another Chance’s transponder code ends up working very well for the Rogues, though, since it gains them the help of the automated Thranta-class War Cruiser during the second ambush in the Graveyard. (And Another Chance in general is an interesting facet of Alderaanian history.)
After books 1 and 2 detailed Corran and Mirax’s growing friendship and book 3 took a backseat to any relationship development, The Bacta War opens with them already together. I guess Stackpole didn’t want to write out their DTR, but it felt a little abrupt to me. They’re good, Corran and Booster don’t like each other but work things out, and then Corran and Mirax get engaged AND married super quickly. Umm, OK?
Iella’s plotline is perhaps the weakest, mostly because we just don’t see much of what they’re doing. Iella and Elscol are inserted on-planet to meet up with the Ashern rebels and take down Isard’s government, but we don’t see enough of their plans for me to feel like they’re essential to the story. In comparison, Iella’s emotional arc felt more compelling--she’s still grieving the loss of her husband from book 3, and has to figure out how she can move on from her grief.
I love Booster Terrik, and he was a highpoint of the novel for me. He’s a shrewd businessman and a frankly intimidating figure, but he also loves his daughter very much. (And he got a Star Destroyer in the end! Go Booster.) Karrde also makes an appearance, very similar to his character in the Thrawn trilogy--so props to Stackpole for using him properly. He doesn’t want to pick sides, but he also wants to make a profit.
Frankly, I found the Imperials surprisingly weak this go-around. In previous books, Isard was an enigma: a shadowy figure, true, but one that also seemed to have a good grasp of strategy. All that goes out the window in book 4, where she becomes an irrational woman with temper tantrums. Vorru thinks that she’s insane, and she’s always been insane: the former seems quite possible in this book, but the latter just doesn’t mesh with the Machiavellian schemer we see in books 1-3.
Books 2 and 3 presented Vorru as someone entirely self-serving, only allying with Isard because it’s in his best interests. In The Bacta War, though, he seems to be working for her a lot more actively than I’d expect. I thought he wanted to revitalize Black Sun? But here he’s perfectly happy (for most of the book) serving as her Minister of Trade. Erisi, too, seems to have no problems following Isard’s lead, and has been reduced to just a good pilot in charge of inexperienced newbies.
And the Star Destroyer commanders are a mixed bag. Captain Convarion is aggressive and competent, but he dies first. The captain of the Lusankya is a moron; the captain of the Virulence is remarkably ineffective, which is probably how Booster Terrik was able to capture her ship. And the captain of the Avarice is blackmailed/bribed into switching sides, where he doesn’t do too badly.
ISSUES:
In long-running series (although four books is not particularly long!) there’s this desire to shake up the status quo and hit the reset button by making our heroes work outside the law. In this case, the Rogues “go rogue” by leaving the New Republic and becoming mercenaries working against Isard. But not completely--the NR still gives them support, practically sends them their ships, and welcomes them back with open arms. And the logistics of the rebel Rogues don’t really work for me. They start out with the 10 million credits that the Imperials put in Tycho’s bank accounts, and somehow this is enough to fund their initial escapades? Putting together a military unit is very very expensive, so this is one instance where I definitely had to suspend my disbelief.
I love all the dogfights, especially after their lack/lesser frequency in the previous two books, but also tended to find them confusing. Stackpole has the pilots banking and swerving and engaging the rudder and I just...sometimes couldn’t follow. It wasn’t that I wanted to skip the battles for the character scenes, but more that I often felt lost and longed for something easier to follow--like dialogue.
Stackpole doesn’t really make any effort to flesh out any of the Rogues beyond Corran, Tycho, and maybe Gavin. It’s almost as though he introduced us to the various Rogues in Rogue Squadron, then noped out of further development for the non-mains. Riv Shiel the Shistavanen is killed during an ambush from the Victory-class Star Destroyer, which should be shocking! But since we know so little of him and have barely heard him speak, his death lacks any emotion or poignance.
I enjoyed how Booster used the spy in Karrde’s organization--he gave Melina the runaround until they were ready to leak the station’s location to Isard--but I was expecting resolution there that never came. She leaves a probe droid, heads to Corellia, and ??? After Karrde was brainstorming all the different ways to kill her, I expected her to be dealt with in some way.
Four books isn’t a particularly long series by any means, but Stackpole both wrapped up a surprising number of plot threads as well as leaving some tantalizingly open. We saw Isard’s shuttle destroyed, but was she actually on board? We see Erisi’s TIE go down and get smooshed, but since there wasn’t an explosion is she dead? Will Vorru be able to finagle his way back out of New Republic custody? (Seeing as Stackpole wrote another X-Wing book that was released in 1999, we’ll probably get answers to some of those questions.)
IN CONCLUSION:
The Bacta War is exciting and action-filled, but also features the weakest villains yet of the series. It wrapped up the subseries remarkably well, though, despite my issues.
Next up: the conclusion to the informal Callista trilogy, [b:Planet of Twilight|758692|Planet of Twilight (Star Wars The Callista Trilogy, #3)|Barbara Hambly|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320513858l/758692._SY75_.jpg|1180883] by Barbara Hambly.
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/bGdHsP8cX1U