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+.