Star Wars: The Krytos Trap, book three in the X-Wing Series, was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Michael A Stackpole. This Expanded Universe story takes place during the New Republic Era, seven years after the battle of Yavin.
SUMMARY
Tycho Celchu faces persecution for the death of Corran Horn!
The Krytos Virus, manipulated to affect non-human races, causes division within the New Republic. The need for Bacta is reaching the point of desperation, as the Empire and cartels have mass stock in the much needed medicine.
The stakes are high for many characters in this tale as the fight against the Empire and the sleeper agents chip away at the New Republic forces.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
I do like that there is distrust between the Rogue Squadron heroes and the the politicians. I like the concept that one of there own is a traitor. Yet, I believe this aspect of the story could have been handled a bit differently. If Stackpole led the readers into distrust of Celchu, it would have been more interesting. But we are fed the truth of what’s actually happening through the perspective of the Empire itself; where is the fun in that?
The book sheds light on the complications of building a governmental power. The spreading virus is making it difficult, as it’s targeting the non-human citizens, this causes conflict between the different races. At the birth of the New Republic, we are seeing corruption take root; guilty or not, Tycho Celchu will most likely be a sacrifice “for the greater good.” The New Republic wants to make it clear that they are just as hard on humans as the Empire was on non-humans. They want to look “fair.”
I actually appreciate this third book, more so than the previous two. I imagine creating a Star Wars story wouldn’t bee that difficult. However, creating a Star Wars story that has depth, putting a microscope up to the political affairs and advancement in character arches, has to be difficult. Michael A. Stackpole did a fine job of making this story have weight and throwing in an interesting character choice.
Do I recommend that you read Star Wars: The Krytos Trap? Yes, this installment of the X-Wing series is the best one yet.
Star Wars: Wedge’s Gamble book two of the Rogue Squadron Series, was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Michael A Stackpole. This novel is part of the Expanded Universe , aka, Legends timeline. This tale takes place during the New Republic Era, about seven years after the battle of Yavin.
SUMMARY: New Republic forces (still referred to the Empire as rebels) desire to topple the remnants of the Empire that control Imperial Center on Coruscant. Intel proves that taking the planet will be an enormous challenge with their miniscule numbers, as the defenses on Coruscant appear to be impenetrable by outside forces. A plan is devised that seems utterly reckless and risky. However, despite the baffling plan, Rogue Squadron will do as ordered. Rogue Squadron, led by Wedge Antilles, are to extract dangerous members of Black Sun from Kessel and release them on Coruscant to rebuild their organization in hopes to overthrow the imperial cell, controlled by Ysanne Isard. Rogue Squadron makes the bold move of ditching their starfighters to take to the streets of Imperial Center to gather intel on planetary defenses and specific targets.
Meanwhile, the Empire is experimenting with a deadly virus that painfully kills the infected victim, by liquifying their insides.. General Derricote is the one heading the experimentation of the Virus, called Krytos. It’s designed to target specific species that are non-human. The plan is to direct the Rebels attention to the infected, to drain their funds on the cure of this potential galactic crisis.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: I wasn’t a big fan of the the first X-Wing book, Rogue Squadron, but that didn’t stop me from being excited to pick Wedge’s Gamble. I really don’t care for this second book the series either. I have some of the same complaints for this story as I did with the prior X-Wing book; it can be a bit confusing at times to follow the action. Space battles and space ships are cool to see on the big screen or to even play in a video-game, but reading the action… can be a challenge.
I enjoyed the elements that didn’t focus on a lot of action. I liked the briefings and strategic meetings. When the characters and politicians gathered to discuss how they would manage their assault on Imperial Center for example, are the most interesting parts of the story for me. I found myself getting lost in some of the action and getting really bored with it. That said, Wedge’s Gamble does make an unexpected shift from space battles to on-the-ground action, which is much easier to follow, but still… a bit too easy to get bored with.
Stackpole introduced a new type of superweapon that is really different for Star Wars. Thankfully, it wasn’t some giant, planet basting laser beam… it’s a bioweapon, a virus called Krytos. Krytos is a highly disturbing and a brilliant, fresh move for Star Wars weaponry. It’s pretty simple, but it sure is sick and twisted.
Corran Horn is character that I’m really not liking. He’s like the Tom Cruise of Star Wars. Gets all the babes, handles all the action, cocky, the best at everything. I don’t like how Stackpole added in sexual stuff in the story. It really did feel out of place. It’s suggested that Corran has been everywhere, done a lot of things with a lot of ladies… a skanky man for sure.
Do I recommend Star Wars: Wedge’s Gamble? If you like liked the first book, you may like this one. If you didn’t like the first book… I say give this one a shot before calling it quits.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, was written by New York Times Bestselling Author, Michael A Stackpole.
This novel is part of the Expanded Universe , aka, Legends timeline. This tale takes place during the New Republic Era, seven years after the battle of Yavin, in the A New Hope.
SUMMARY: Years after the death of the Emperor & Darth Vader, many worlds remain loyal to the Empire, back when the Senate was dissolved and world powers handed over to Moffs, some Imperial factions stay true to the cause, some fend for themselves, and others join the Rebel Alliance to end the tyranny.
Rogue Squadron has been reformed, commanded by Wedge Antilles. Corran Horn is one of the best pilots in the Squadron, but things don’t come easy for him. The Squadron is not just to possess the best pilots, but have the courage and skill to operate independently and accomplish operations that would typically require a much larger head count. Some within the Squadron have blurred the line between justice & revenge against the Empire.
Rogue Squadron sets its sights on Coruscant, but has other missions it must accomplish on that road to the Empire’s ruling fortress.
Characters: There is a heafty amount of characters to talk about, but I’ll mention two leading characters.
Corran Horn: He’s a great pilot, but he struggles with pride. His journey consists of humbling himself and learning to operate with a team. His past haunts him, and has him marked for death by the Empire. The man seems desperate to be a hero, taking big risks. Sometimes I felt that Corran was a rip off of Solo, some lines from Han from the films were repeated by Horn.
Wedge Antilles: He’s the Squad leader of Rogue Squadron. He’s somewhat of a downer, always downplaying everything, even the victories they have. It’s like he’s stuck in the past.
OVERALL THOUGHTS: During the first briefing of Rouge Squadron, Wedge Antilles tells them that most of them will die within the first five battles. That their job will be dull and boring, with brief sparks of sheer action & terror. This sets a grim tone as well as foreshadowing that we will certainly loose characters … but who?
I was confused at one point, when Corran is revealing some history about his time in CorSec, he was tasked with killing rebel smugglers, his team made up some names and blamed Corran for executing them, then when he escaped the Empire, the deaths of those fake folks marked Corran with a death warrant wasn’t that his job?
I’ve never been a big fan of stories that have several characters on the same team that always nag and compete against each other. I can see a few moments where it may be entertaining but it seems like Corran is always pushing everyone’s buttons, and he has to prove himself… to himself and/or Wedge.
Wedge mentions that the Bothans are too cocky, they celebrate their bravery and “victory” of getting/obtaining the plans to the second Death Star, the Emperor lured them all there as a trap. Those are some pretty harsh words coming from Wedge, the Bothans died as heroes in my heart, had they not had those plans, the trap would have been successful! Yet, the Rebels won that day… thanks to the Bothans.
There are good moments in this story, then there are parts that I just get lost on. There’s so much going on it’s hard to keep focused and remember exactly who’s who and where we are. I’m not a big fan of the book. There’s so many different names and places being tossed around I couldn’t contain all the details. Some characters are written well, but not written in a way that makes me feel invested in the characters. Some deaths occurred and I could care less.
There is a cool thing in the Epilogue with Isard and Kirtan Loor. She let out info where Loor was located, this will lure Corran Horn for revenge, but also this makes Loor nervous, he’s seen Corran in action.
Do I recommend you pick up Star Wars: Rogue Squadron? If your’re a Wedge Antilles and or military warfare fan, yes. If you’re more into Jedi wizardry, probably not.
RATING: I give this book a C+ I think it could have been better, especially the character development.
Star Wars: The Crystal Star, A New York Times Bestseller, written by Vonda N. McIntyre. This book… is not what I was wanting to come back to. You may vomit while reading this book. I thought the new canon book Aftermath was bad, this book takes bad to a whole new level.
SUMMARY
The children of Han and Leia have been kidnapped! Chewy was left for dead. While this was going on, Han was on “vacation” with Luke as he is on the search for more Jedi. There’s a character that pops up from the Han Solo trilogy… that was fun. Leia, the wounded Chewbacca, and R2 leave the planet called Munto Codru to track down the kidnappers. The antagonist, Hethrir has a plan to resurrect the Empire with himself being the all powerful leader. Occasionaly in the Expanded Universe, something drains the force from users. In this book, it’s a dying star… The Crystal Star.
I believe this may very well be the Star Wars book from hell. If you look at the picture from the back of the book, you’ll find hidden on the Falcon the number 666. Coincidence… I think not.
CHARACTERS
Character development is weak, C3PO couldn’t be more annoying and Luke less interesting. Luke is treated like a child, he’s not in his right mind really at all the entire book. He’s always confused or grabbing his light saber as a way to threaten Han. Han Solo, you want to punch his face in this book… because this, this isn’t the Han Solo we love.
Leia, comes off as a weak character, she seems desperate and not all there in the head, she’s like a crazy person. She’s always been cool and collected, but in The Crystal Star, she uses an alias,calling herself Lelila, a bounty hunter. Jaina Solo, I know she’s only a 5 year old, but my goodness she’s annoying.
Waru, a bloody blob with gold scales, with the power to hypnotize, heal, and even kill. Thats pretty much all that matters for the character of Waru. Hethrir is a crazy pedophile who creeps throughout the galaxy snatching up children. He finds out if they are force sensitive, so he may train them as his minions. If they don’t meet his requirements, he sells them to the highest bidding pedophile. How was Hethrir going to rule the galaxy with a bunch of kids? That’s possibly the dumbest plan ever.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Horrible detail and disappointing dialogue. In the 2nd chapter there’s what I thought was a cameo from Golem, “Has it got a coin in it’s pocketses for me?” The structure of each paragraph was odd, half the sentences in this book were nearly five words each! It reads very choppy, which makes the boring tale lag.
The climax matched the rest of the book, week. The family has an awkward reunion. There are about a hundred hugs happening. As the Solo family is reuniting and having a good time, some other side characters are having it out with emotions of anger and a bit of family love drama… very weird. The last line of the book was some kid asking, “Are we home yet?’ Thats not closure!
