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A review by colinmcev
Isard's Revenge by Michael A. Stackpole
2.0
Star Wars novels have always been my "guilty pleasure" reading, but I've had a real love-hate relationship with the X-Wing series, particularly Stackpole's works. I don't think they're the strongest books in the Expanded Universe and I especially have issues with Stackpole's writing, but in the past I've been able to look past that because I still found the stories and characters interesting enough, if not flawed. (And I've always enjoyed Aaron Allston's entries a bit more, as I like his sense of humor and think he has by far the more interesting characters.)
Unfortunately, though, I found Isard's Revenge to be my least favorite novel in the X-Wing series, particularly because the story just didn't hold up for me this time around. The half-baked plot feels like an convoluted attempt to squeeze yet one more story out of Ysanne Isard. I've enjoyed that character in the past, but feel Stackpole probably would have better suited to just let her stay dead, let alone going the direction he did with the whole cloning aspect of the story. It just felt very arbitrary and ultimately didn't hold my interest.
The fact that the story was lacking also meant, for me, that the usual issues I have with Stackpole's writing were that much more prominently on display. His dialogue, in particular, has never wrung true for me. It always sounds more like a bunch of people delivering exposition or over-explaining various plot points rather than actually having a conversation. Stackpole also sometimes spends a bit too much time dwelling on the technical elements of the spacecrafts, which to me bogs down the battle scenes too much. He clearly understands all the intricacies of these fictional spaceships, which is great, but I don't need a two-page explanation of every little thing that happens when a shuttle gets shot down.
So, despite how cool the idea of Wedge Antilles and Corran Horn flying around in TIE Defenders might be, Isard's Revenge did not live up to the previous installments for me.
Unfortunately, though, I found Isard's Revenge to be my least favorite novel in the X-Wing series, particularly because the story just didn't hold up for me this time around. The half-baked plot feels like an convoluted attempt to squeeze yet one more story out of Ysanne Isard. I've enjoyed that character in the past, but feel Stackpole probably would have better suited to just let her stay dead, let alone going the direction he did with the whole cloning aspect of the story. It just felt very arbitrary and ultimately didn't hold my interest.
The fact that the story was lacking also meant, for me, that the usual issues I have with Stackpole's writing were that much more prominently on display. His dialogue, in particular, has never wrung true for me. It always sounds more like a bunch of people delivering exposition or over-explaining various plot points rather than actually having a conversation. Stackpole also sometimes spends a bit too much time dwelling on the technical elements of the spacecrafts, which to me bogs down the battle scenes too much. He clearly understands all the intricacies of these fictional spaceships, which is great, but I don't need a two-page explanation of every little thing that happens when a shuttle gets shot down.
So, despite how cool the idea of Wedge Antilles and Corran Horn flying around in TIE Defenders might be, Isard's Revenge did not live up to the previous installments for me.