Rating: Summary: The M*A*S*H of Star Wars! Review: I won't bother to compare this book to the Stackpole cycle, except to say that it blows it away in every category.This book is, to quote a previous reviewer, "a novel about people in war, not just war", which is how so many Star Wars novels strike me. In all of the novels from Zahn's Thrawn trilogy to Stackpole's Rogue Squadron cycle, I have never been so attatched to the characters as I am in Allston's Wraith Squadron trilogy. Overall, the best comparison I can give is to say that Allston's trilogy is like the M*A*S*H of Star Wars; the characters have life, depth, and personality, with conflicts and friendships forming every step of the way. They aren't superhuman, invincible and emotionally distant like so many other characters. Again, this is "a novel about people in war, not just war", and as such WILL make you laugh, cry, and occasionally cheer out loud.
Rating: Summary: The Next Generation of X-Wing pilots! Review: Wraith Squadron was the first Star Wars book written by Aaron Allston and the first to feature an all new X-Wing squadron. Featuring a more focussed role on Wedge Anitlles, Wraith Squadron picks up right where the Bacta War left off. Instead of searching for elite pilots, Antilles wants a bunch of already trained screw ups to fight under his command. From a failed Jedi to a mechanic who gets stage fright to a former child star, these characters are both unique and hysterical. Wraith Squadron is among the freshest of the Star Wars books. The characters Phanan and Face make the book totally worth it. I recommend highly!
Rating: Summary: A new threat needs a new squadron. Review: With Rogue Squadron's success in knocking Isaard from power and restoring the flow of Bacta to the New Republic behind him Wedge Antilles now focuses on a new threat, the Warlord Zsinj. He also has a crazy plan for a new squadron. One made up of the worst of the best, or is it that the best of the worst? His idea is to make a commando team that can dog fight in an X-Wing (instead of trying to make ace pilots into commandoes), but can he do it? Not too hard to figure out that he does and soon the Wraith Squadron is in fierce action. A nice introduction to a new storyline within the X-Wing subseries and the added humor is a welcome ingredient. Recommended.
Rating: Summary: YAY WRAITHS!!! Review: I was a little bit disappointed when I first spotted the newest X-Wing book and saw it wasn't written by Mike Stackpole. That didn't last. Wraith Squadron is one of the THE best and I LOVE the Wraiths. Face Loran and Ton Phanan are the best SW EU characters ever, and I am completely in love with Face. YAY!!! Yub Yub, Commander!
Rating: Summary: Yub, yub! Review: I was a little dismayed that Micheal Stackpole wasn't going to be writing this series all the way to the end. I don't think I have ever read anything from Aaron Allston until this book. But I must say I am impressed. The first thing Allston does in this book is to shake up the established status quo. Allston starts moving characters around and gives us a whole new set of characters to focus on in this book. Normally in an established series this can be a disaster (how many people would have been happy if they had introduced Yoda for the first time, then immediately cut him out of the story and focused instead on some distant relative of his?!). But in this instance it worked. Allston keeps Rogue Squadron in the background, but takes Wedge out of Rogue Squadron and gives him a new adventure and a new squadron to play with. Wedge also brings along Wes Janson for this adventure, Janson was in the movies and I think this is the first series face time this character gets in this franchise. The best part about Allston's writing isn't that fact that the established characters stay in character. The best part is that the new characters and old characters interacting in this book are HILARIOUS! I damn near fell out of my chair laughing when I read the Ewok joke (no I am not going to spoil it here, read it yourself)! Throughout the book Allston just randomly decides to take silly breaks and has the characters bantering and cracking jokes with abandon -- it works VERY, VERY well! Read it, you will like it -- unless the dark side has already claimed you!
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