by Matthew Wilson
Star Wars: Wraith Squadron, book five in the X-Wing Series, was written by Bestselling Author, Aaron Allston. This Expanded Universe tale takes place during the New Republic Era, seven ABY (7 years after the battle of Yavin).
SUMMARY
Wedge Antilles builds a new squadron! He wants it to mirror Rogue Squadron, which is both fighter unit and commando unit. Rogue is pilot first, commando second. He wants the new one – Wraith Squadron to be commando first, pilot second.
The Wraiths commandeer an Imperial ship, it’s mission logs, code, and mapping are all intact and available. They will use this equipment to pose as Imperials, following through on missions that are logged on the schedule as not to arouse suspicion. This will be the perfect opportunity for the New Republic to gather intel on the whereabouts of Warlord Zsinj. If all goes to plan, Wraith Squadron would be able strike Zsinj when he least expects it.
While the first four books of the X-Wing series focused on Rogue Squadron, there is a massive shift in the series. This story if full of new characters, though some do make an appearance, Wraith is now the primary focus of the X-Wing series.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
I enjoyed this story a bit better than the previous X-Wing books, though it is a tad slow. The development of the new Wraith Squadron, the mission they go one, and the interaction between the characters was written pretty well. Yet, I am a bit irritated that we didn’t truly get what we were teased; Wraith Squadron being designed as commandoes first, fighter pilots second. We really didn’t get an action packed commando story.
The first four X-Wing books written by Stackpole had a lot of characters to keep up with. That doesn’t change with Allston’s first book in the series. It’s easy to lose track of who the characters are sometimes. This book has a few characters that I found to be much more memorable than those in the first book. The few that stand out to me to be the most unique, are Piggy (a Gamorean that has a vocal translator to speak basic. He was a subject in one of the strange experiments under the rule of the Empire. ) and Donos (human male). Wedge Antilles shines in this tale as squad leader as well, we get a good sense of the burden he carries, the responsibility he has in the New Republic.
It may be sad to say but it’s honest, I’m so glad Corran Horn was absent in this story. Aaron Allston did a fine job mixing up the X-Wing series with the introduction of Wraith Squadron and the cast of characters. The plot was straight forward, introducing risky tactics that proved to be beneficial to the New Republic. This story also retcons some events from the previous story; the resignation of Rogue Squadron members was “misfiled” therefore they were still operating as the Republic. A temporary Rogue Squadron took their title so it wouldn’t draw so much attention.
Do I recommend that you read this tale? Yes. I found this installment to be far more entertaining that than the first book in the series, which a better cast of characters than the first four books all together.
RATING
I give Star Wars: X-Wing: Wraith Squadron a B+.
by Matthew Wilson
Star Wars: The Bacta War, book four in the X-Wing Series, was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Michael A Stackpole. This Expanded Universe tale takes place during the New Republic Era, seven ABY (7 years after the battle of Yavin).
SUMMARY
Rogue Squadron has gone… rogue! In the previous novel, The Krytos Trap, each member resigned from the New Republic. As the New Republic turns its focus to fighting Warlord Zsinj, Rogue Squadron is dead set on putting an end to Isard. Had the group stayed with the New Republic, they would have had to follow orders and forget about Isard and her reign of terror, at least for the immediate future.
It’s up to Rogue Squadron to seek out its own ships, weapons, fuel, docking, and much more in order act alone. While Isard’s pride swells, her new right hand man – Fliry Vorru – keeps her grounded; reminding her that the empire is no longer limitless, and that it has its restrictions.
Isard has taken control of the wold – Thyferra and has the monopoly on Bacta, but she’s having trouble with the distribution of the much needed product. Rogue Squadron has been disrupting her plans as the feisty rebels pick off the freighters making their delivery runs. The war on controlling Bacta has begun!
OVERALL THOUGHTS
There’s no doubt that the X-Wing series is progressing, each story pushes new bounds. I wish I could say the same about the entertainment value. I found myself getting bored with this instalment. The last book felt more contained with a plot that was easy to follow. This one is all over the place with loads of character perspectives. Unlike the previous story, where we focused a bit more on the character development on Corran Horn, this one lacked that sort of character focus.
I got excited when something I really enjoyed from the Rise of the Republic era was mentioned, the very book that got me out of a Star Wars reading fatigue; The squadron sits around discussing the challenges they face, when someone says, “We can hope the Outbound Flight project finally produces results, with a host of non-human jedi knights coming from outside the galaxy to help us.” I loved the reference.
In the last book, we found out that Corran Horn has some Jedi blood. I accept this. In this book, I couldn’t stand it when Corran Horn was faced with an obstacle, and to get out of it he just had to think about a story he’d once heard about the Jedi (mind-trick), and uses the force (though not fully successful) on his enemy. I think there would need to be some sort of an “awakening” (epiphany might be a better word – I don’t want to cause a canon war because of my choice of words). Some sort of mentoring from Luke should have been ongoing for this force ability to be used… not just recall some story and say yeah I can do that because I found out I might have the force.
Overall, the story was a bit of a blur and not as focused as I would have liked. It is nice though that Michael A Stackpole is putting a lot of culture in these books with all the different characters.
Do I recommend you read Star Wars: The Bacta War? Sure, why not, if you’ve read up to book 3, give this one a go as well.
RATING
I will give this story 3/5 stars, or a C for the letter grade.
by Matthew Wilson
Star Wars: Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade was written by bestselling author, Delila S. Dawson. This tale takes place over a time, during the events of Attack of the Clones and well after Order 66.
SUMMARY
In this story we follow Iskat Akaris, from her time as a padawan to where she ends up after the great Jedi purge. When she was a youngling in training, she caused an incident that hurt another, and it’s been held against her. She’s always been a black sheep, never fitting in with her peers. She feels alone and betrayed.
When she is sent with a team to Geonosis and is forced to use her blade, she finds pleasure in taking the lives that cross her. At that first battle, marking the beginning of the Clone Wars, her master is killed. With her dying breath, she utters apologies to a name unfamiliar to Iskat. Through research, Iskat believes the name her master had mentioned is tied to Iskat’s past. Anger swells at the Jedi, for having hidden her past from her.
Bitterness toward the Jedi Oder boils over, they’ve let millions die in the Clone Wars with their tactics and poor intelligence. Iskat has lived a lonely life of frustration and depression. The bonds she’s tried to form always fail.
When the Order is issued to Clone Troopers to kill Jedi, Iskat is spared. She is given the option to live – to not be oppressed by the traitorous Jedi. She can have the freedom to unleash the force within, to discover who she truly is.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Okay so I’ll admit I was surprised by this novel. Delila S. Dawson was an author I really wasn’t a fan of at first, with Phasma. Later she wrote Black Spire which I thought was a decent book, and now we’ve got Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade – I enjoyed it.
Iskat Akaris, a black sheep in the Jedi Order, was a well written character. We follow her from the best of times to the worst of times… (though her life never really had best of times) it was always sad. I like getting an alternate perspective of the Jedi Order and how it may have felt for those that didn’t fall in like mindlessly. The glimpse at the Geonosis battle and Order 66 from a new perspective was also very well done.
I like how this book pulled from other content, obviously the movies – Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, but also other books. The one that stuck out the most was Brotherhood, which was a major turning point for the Jedi Order.
While I dislike the direction of canon, Dawson laid out the best argument for the Inquisitors. The one thing that drove me crazy though, was the lightsabers that the Inquisitors used. They were given new lightsabers with red blades. Whatever happened to the concept of “bleeding the blade?” The crystal’s energy being tainted by the dark-side… that would have been much cooler.
I am pleased with this book, I had fun reading it, it’s always fun diving into a character that struggles with who they are. There are opportunities and dreams that could become their reality but they keep doing the thing that binds them.
RATING
I give Star Wars: Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade, an A. I was hooked from page one all the way through to the end. We get some awesome Vader action, we have Sidious, we have a really deep look into the arrogance of the Jedi.
by Matthew Wilson
Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone, was written by bestselling author, J.K Rowling. The Sorcerer’s Stone is the first book in the Harry Potter series.
SUMMARY
Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone is about a boy that learns there’s so much more to life than what his abusive family had led him to believe. This is a story of adventure and friendship. The magical, Wizarding-World or witches and wizards is hidden to the eyes of muggles, us normal folk. Select children are invited to enter the hidden world to attend the school of Hogwarts. Unknown to Harry Potter, he’s famous in this realm. Harry desires to know more of his past, who his parents were, and why/how they were killed.
In this young reader novel, Harry and his friends will uncover secrets of Hogwarts and reveal that a dark lord has risen from the shadows.
CHARACTER
Harry Potter is a young boy who’s mistreated by his blood relatives. He lives with his Aunt and Uncle, he has since he was just a baby. He was left on their front porch after the horrific death of his parents, James and Lily Potter. Harry’s parents were involved in magic, and were killed by the one who must not be named… Voldemort. Voldemort attempted to kill the infant Harry, but by the love of his mother, it deflected the deathly magic that Voldemort used, killing Lily, and only putting a scar on Harry’s forehead. As Harry Potter grows, he is treated like a dog by his family. One one fateful day, he’s rescued, taken to the Wizarding-World, and the magical school, Hogwarts.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
This book, is a quick, simple read that focuses on friendship, curiosity, and overcoming fear. The Sorcerer’s Stone moves along at a solid pace, shifting from point A to Z without slowing down much. With the book moving at such a fast pace, Rowling still gives us a great amount of character introduction (there’s a lot) and superb world building (it’s big). Rowling doesn’t waste any time with overly expressed details or pointless misdirection. The story unfolds naturally, and brings up new questions about Harry’s past as well as the history of Hogwarts.
The friendship built up by the first year Gryffindor trio – Harry, Hermione, and Ron is fantastic. Ron and Hermione have a bit of tension between them – that young immature boy vs. girl attitude. It’s a comical fault of Ron, he’s the primary instigator. Overall the gang gets along pretty well, each of them posses something that the other doesn’t. Ron is poor, Harry has a cache of gold left by his parents, Hermione’s parents are dentists, so they’re well off. Harry is an Orphan, and desires what Hermione and Ron have, family. Hermione is a muggle, which means she isn’t a witch by blood, while Ron and Harry do have the “magical gene” passed on to them. Their friendship truly feels authentic and they work so well together as a team. Hermione follows the rules a bit more tightly than Ron and Harry, who are usually just asking for trouble. They all share a pretty heavy dislike for the bully in the first year class, Draco Malfoy, who’s in the house of Slytherin. Slytherin has a rough history, as it’s where the primary antagonist spent his years at Hogwarts.
This story is fun and heart warming. The treatment of Harry by his family, was heartbreaking. I was pleased by the events that unfolded that lead to Harry’s escape of the abuse, to see a whole new world. I truly am impressed with the way Rowling told this first story, and leaving it wide open for more to be told.
RATING: I will give Harry Potter & The Sorcerer’s Stone, an A.
by Matthew Wilson
Star Wars: Dark Force Rising was written by bestselling author, Timothy Zahn. This Expanded Universe tale takes place during the New Republic Era, nine years ABY. This is book two of the original Thrawn Trilogy.
SUMMARY
The stakes are raised in the second instalment of the Thawn trilogy! The New Republic and the Empire are in need of war-ships. Talon Karrde has information on the whereabouts of a Clone-Wars era fleet known as The Katana Fleet or Dark Force. The news travels fast as both factions learn where the ships are located.
Leia and Chewbacca are on a mission to gain a new ally for the New Republic, Han and Lando are on the search for the Katana Fleet, and Luke Skywalker meets with Jorus C’baoth to discuss the future of the Jedi! Meanwhile, Borsk Fey’lya is determined to climb the political ranks of the New Republic! He’s desperate for power, and will stop at nothing to put an end to the “wreck less heroics” of Republic heroes.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
The second book in the Thrawn trilogy is definitely more entertaining than the first book, Heir to the Empire. Timothy Zahn had certainly had his hands full with all the characters and events taking place throughout the galaxy in this one. While some of the character quests taking place were a tab boring, others were more exciting.
While Leia had a lot to do in this story, I wasn’t much a fan of her storyline. tryng to mentally wake up an alien race that basically worshiped Vader and served the Empire. They thought the Empire had been helping them cleanse their planet. Turns out, the Empire wasn’t doing anything to help them. Leia does her best to open their eyes to that fact.
I was really captivated when Timothy Zahn brings Luke Skywalker to Jorus C’baoth. Zahn did a good job making me feel the discomfort Luke was experiencing during their meeting. Luke is very hesitant when it comes to Jorus, he’s uncomfortable around him. Luke doesn’t know if the old Jedi is in his right mind.
There was one big thing with the writing I couldn’t stand; Luke is seriously doubting Jorus C’baoth the whole time he’s with him, but when ill intentions are made known by C’baoth, it’s a total shock to Luke. This whole time Zahn has us believing that Luke has his wits about him and feels really uneasy about C’baoth… just to find be told that Luke didn’t expect such darkness and distrust from this crazy old mad-man.
Overall, Zahn balanced out the many plots fairly well. He builds up tension and puts in a few unexpected surprises throughout. Leia with a lightsaber, C’baoth stepping up to be a bigger threat than Thrawn realized, Borsk Fey’lya getting his voice heard in the uppper politics of the New Republic, and a few other things.
I once really enjoyed Thrawn, thinking he was a cool character. He’s so calm, collected, loves art and knows cultural war tactics. However, upon this re-read, I found the character to be highly annoying and uninteresting. I know I mentioned this in the review of Heir to the Empire, but this book solidifies the dislike of the character. I found Jorus C’baoth and BBorsk Fey’lya to be far more interesting.
Do I recommend you read Star Wars: Dark Force Rising? Yes.
RATING
For the rating of the second book of the Trawn trilogy, I give it a B
