Home :: Books :: Audiocassettes  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes

Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical
Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
Rogue Squadron (Star Wars: X-Wing Series, Book 1)

Rogue Squadron (Star Wars: X-Wing Series, Book 1)

List Price: $16.99
Your Price: $16.99
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 .. 17 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: X-Wings Rule!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I would just like to say I really reccomend this book. Even though it is mostly science fiction, there's also some romance, and all that...the X-wing series is really cool. I've read them all, and you should too. They're also realllly funny!!! There's some nice humor going on, and you get a perspective different from that of the Star Wars movies. The characters are really well developed, and even though the books are kind of long, it's easy to read them really fast because you want to know what happens next.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Its Definatly Different
Review: Admittedly, I didn't readily warm up to the idea of having none of the main characters save Wedge being featured prominatly in this series. How could it be Star Wars without Luke, Leia, Han etc? Despite these initial reseverations, I resolved to read this series and see how the Alliance carried out the liberation of Coruscant.

Having read it through, I can safly say that I was wrong about the lack of mains being a problem. Having the story carried by an entirely new cast of characters proved to be a nice change of pace. In fact, in some ways, having an unfamiliar cast was even better than letting the mains carry the story, since there was a question of who would live and die. Unfortunatly, not all of the newcomers are well devolped, and Corran Horn, the series main character, seems very overused by comparison. However, Wedge is well done, and some characters, such as Ooryl and Mirax, are more than welcome additions to the series.

The story reads very well, though I feel that Stackpole needs to tighten up his battle sequences, as the seem very long and drug out. The book also takes a bit too long to really get going, with great legnths of time being spent in the training of the Rogues. Toward the end, though, it picks up speed and gets pretty intense. The assault on Blackmoon is well done and some tension is created.

I have to get critical on this book for its portrayal of the Imperial characters. They really have little to no credibility. General Derricote claims to be a brilliant tactician, but despite his initial victory, he looses his moon pretty easily on the second assault. And Kirtan Loor, so far the most significant Imperial, is really hurting. He spends a great deal of time patting himself on the back or over-analyzing his mistakes without really doing anything of any significance. Ysanne Isard was fairly minor in this installment, so no conclusion can be drawn as yet.

Overall, this book is an enjoyable read, though the other three books in the series are much better. Still, it does prove that main characters aren't absolutly necessary to a Star Wars book.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Never expect the best in book one...
Review: Like many other reviewers I did not think this book was in the top catagory of Star Wars books. Not by a long shot. However, if you're a devoted fan, I definitely recommend you read the others, because with each book the author seems to get better. Anyway, this book takes place about two and a half years after Return of the Jedi, which is cool, since none of the others books cover this time period, and blank spots like this annoy me. Rather than yet another tale about Luke, Han and Leia fighting evil as usual, the focus in this series is on the members, old and new, of the legendary elite fighter squadron, Rogue Squadron. Wedge Antilles, now squadron leader, is a main character, but unfortunately the main focus of the book (and ultimately the source of many of it's problems) is a character I find somewhat annoying, Corran Horn. Sure, he's a nice guy at heart, but on the surface he's arrogant, self-centered, blood-thirsty, and prejudiced. And yet he is still lucky enough to have TWO love interests, Erisi; a well meaning slut, and Mirax Terrik; the beloved daughter of a man his father despised. Yes, I realize law inforcement officers see terrible stuff and get hard pretty quick, like Corran. Yes, I realize it must have been horrible to watch his father shot down in the street, but let's face it, these things don't have a lot to do with the current storyline, so why continually dwell on them? Giving a new character such extensive baggage right in the beginning seems like a bad idea to me. Anyway, besides Corran I found many of the other characters stereotypical and difficult to relate to as well, excepting the few bright spots of Wedge, Tycho Celcu, and Mirax Terrik. So, all in all, I'd say while this one isn't the best, the rest of the series makes up for it. If you're die-hard fan, and/or an action freak, you'll love this series. I wouldn't recommend this one to little kids either, because of the extensive violence and mild sexual inuendo.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: First X-Wing Book a Fun Read
Review: For some, Star Wars without the main characters would probably seem kind of strange. Star Wars: Rogue Squadron proves that there are many stories left to be told that don't involve Han, Luke, Leia, et al. Detailing the reformation of Rogue Squadron under the command of Wedge Antilles (one of the few supporting characters to appear in all three of the original Star Wars films), the book tells the story of some of the New Republic's victories after the death of the Emperor. Although the technical jargon and space battles can be a little tough to visualize at times, the characters are interesting (almost all of them have a backstory) and the plot draws you in. A nice look at another side of the Star Wars universe.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Yawnnn...Rebels win again...<yawnnnn>
Review: Typical junk writing from the "Rebellion must win at all costs" point of view. As in all the X-Wing books, one or two developed characters are sacrificed, but the Empire loses every bout. One wonders how they conquered the galaxy at all, given the fact they cannot, EVER, win one engagement.

Predictable, combat sequences are like a text play by play of air combat (BORING), Empire always loses so why read it. Just read the fist 20 pages to learn the characters and skip to the end. This pedantic series illustrates how much an Empire oriented storyline is needed, to restore "balance" to the force. LOL.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This is a great book
Review: I admit I like Allston's X-Wing books better, for reasons I'll list below, but Stackpole does a splendid job of capturing the Star Wars universe and the excitement of space combat. It's easy to see why he ranks with Timmothy Zahn in terms of notable Star Wars writers. Stackpole's first cycle of four X-Wing books cover a turning-point in the Star Wars expanded universe, when the Rebel Alliance is looking to legitimize itself as a government and to that end, must secure the city-world of Courscant. Wedge Antilles brings back Rogue Squadron to spearhead the assault, and the story is seem from the point-of-view of Corran Horn, a former security agent from Corellia. The book is well-paced and makes for a fast read. We discover many interesting tidbits about Wedge, and are new characters like General Salm and Tycho Celchu are integrated well with original characters like Admiral Ackbar. However, as much as I want to heap praise on this book, its not perfect. Not all of Rogue Squadron's pilots are developed; in fact, one pilot even dies without saying a single line of dialogue. If not for the unit roster in the first few pages, I wouldn't have known who the pilot was! Allston managed to give all of his pilots "screen time" and distinct personalities, so I was disappointed with Stackpole in that perspective. A portion of that complaint stems from the fact that the focus is on one pilot, Corran, so for characters to develop they must interact with him, and since Corran is a loner, this becomes difficult. Second, the space battles are hard to follow. Mostly you'll be able to follow the pilots going in, vaguely follow whats going on, then find out the results of the battle at the end of the chapter. Lastly, and this is really a minor complaint, several former pilots such as Biggs and Porkins are mentioned several times as being heroes, but it actually tends to get repetitive. Stackpole should have corroborated with Lucasfilm and created some other names for the original Rogue Squadron. Porkins and Dack may be legends, but we learn nothing new about them. To conclude, even with the complaints I've listed, the book is still a five-star read. The first X-Wing cycle is off to a strong start, and my expectations are high as I dive into book 2, Wedge's Gamble.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Ah........... The sweet smell of burnt TIEs in the morning
Review: This is Stackpole's 1st SW novel, and like all of his other works, it's not one meant for a non-SW fan or even a semi-SW fan in any sense. You have to know stuff going into this, because Stackpole expects you to know what a Lancer Frigate is or what 'klick' means and the what an Interdictor Cruiser is.

The X-wing series is always one I've considered to be one of the most unique in the world of SW lit. Almost gone from it are swashbuckling Jedi and fancy Force powers. This and the latter half of the X-wing comic series are as close as it gets to a war story in the SW universe. That said, its not for everyone. But that's okay.

I like the concept of a wide variety of characters that get developed piece by piece over time while one or two take center stage. This has been the hallmark of the X-wing books and comics and Stackpole does it well. I tend to like the comics more, but they're both highly reccomended and reading one media makes it imperative to read the other.

Onto this book. It's nice to see a lot of the Rogues like Corran and Ooryl, (my favorite supporting Rogue in the series) plus interesting people like Mirax. Wedge is done well and its nice to see him fleshed out from the movies. At the same time, I found Tycho and General Salm to be a bit off from how they were in the comics. Of course, Tycho is just getting out of a horrif Imperial prison right now and Salm's a bit wary about that. Still, you can't hold it against this book, as the comics came afterwards.

The battles are done well, too, as long as you know what you're talking about. And TIE pilots are not only far less experienced than the Rogues, but X-wings have shields, more powerful laser cannons, and projectile weapons. TIEs and X-wing are two completely different craft reflecting the philosophy of their makers. TIEs and quantity over quality and X-wings vice versa. and war in the SW universe is utterly different from that on Earth. Comparing F-14s to X-wings is like comparing an F-14 to a Swordfish biplane- they're meant for very different types of combat.

So its highly reccomended for SW fans, particularly of the technological aspects. Very good series overall, as are the excellant X-wing comics.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Start of Rogue Squadron,
Review: This book started the X-Wing series, based off of Wedge Antilles and the X-Wing game, made by LucasArts. While books 5,6,7 and 9 in the X-Wing series were the best Star Wars books ever, the others, featuring Ropgue Squadron, left much to be desired. The main character is a bland jerk, with no concept of trusting in friends, or sticking with one woman he loves. The book seems to be 90% focused on him, and the few interesting characters are given hardly any time in the spotlight. Also, a large portion of the book is taken up by badly-written X-Wing fight scenes, which are hard to follow and leave no room for any substantial character developement. The only reeason why I give this two stars is that it started the series. But if you want my advice, skip to Wraith Squadron (#5)and read something that's actually entertaining.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: thefar best books so far in the x-wing series
Review: the best book i have read since star trek ashes of eden. a freind recomanned i read it all also enojoyed iti very like how wedge is building the squradon corn Horn and whistler are my two farvtiore chatrters in the book iam look forward to reading wedge gamble also the rest of the series .

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: You ... like ... StarWars ... You ... like ... this
Review: Wonderfull ... Stackpole ... has ... caut ... the ... magic ... of ... Star ... Wars


<< 1 2 3 4 5 6 .. 17 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates