Wraith Squadron

This book proves that Aaron Allston is much better at writing "team books" than Stackpole. He does a great job balancing the dozen-plus characters and personalities, and adds plenty of humour, something that's sorely lacking in the Star Wars books. Lots of great ideas, epic space battles and memorable characters and dialogue.

Wraith Squadron - the Rogues have serious competition!
I was prepared to not like this book. In fact, I put off reading it for 15 years or so. I tore through the first four titles in the X-Wing series of novels when they came out, loving every page Wedge Antilles and Corran Horn remain two of my favorite characters in the Star Wars EU. When I saw that book 5 was NOT actually about Rogue Squadron, I felt a bit betrayed. Stackpole wasn't writing this one and it wasn't even about my Rogues? Why bother? Well, this summer I decided enough was enough and I finally buckled down to read the tale of these so-called Wraiths. I was not prepared for the joy I would find in this book. First of all, Wedge Antilles hasn't gone anywhere. I wished that show more I'd known sooner that Wedge was the one at the helm of Wraith Squadron - it certainly wouldn't have taken 15 years to read this. With Wes Janson at his side, Wedge builds a team of screw-ups that is as potent a weapon as it is comical. This book closely follows the exploits of the Wraiths as they bond into a new squadron facing adversity, with the space battle action I've come to expect from the X-Wing series. However, this story becomes a tale of espionage, action, humor, and intrigue. I couldn't wait to see what mission they would take on next and how they could possibly pull it off. The pranks and the humor that brings this team together, along with the story crafted by Aaron Allston, makes this a must-read. It was also great to finally get the gaps filled in about Warlord Zsinj's campaign against the fledgling New Republic. In summary, this book is more than a worthy successor to the story of the Rogues in the earlier books of this series. Give it a read. It will NOT disappoint. show less

It's always tough when you're introducing a totally new cast of original characters, and the leading/governing characters in this book only had very minor roles in the original films (with very brief cameos by the Big Three). Still, it just didn't have the same human-oriented feel as Michael Stackpole's Rogue Squadron books. I could be biased, though, because I think Stackpole wrote THE most human book in the entire Star Wars Expanded Universe: "I, Jedi," set in the first-person, which is also among my favorite EU stories.

It also threw me off that Wedge is 28 in this book, since I'm currently around that age and he sounds much, much older and more "stale" than any 28-year-old I know. And I didn't feel that any of the female characters show more were handled realistically--Allston has a far better grasp of the male voice. (Tyria throughout the book made me roll my eyes for some reason. And it seems like every human female in the book was described as "tall, slender, and beautiful." Seriously?)

This was still a fun and light read, though. I'd actually started it numerous times over the years but kept giving up or losing track of it about halfway through for some reason. It was nice to actually finish it off. And I have read WAY, WAY worse as far as Expanded Universe novels go. show less

After the success of Rogue Squadron, Wedge forms Wraith Squadron out of the least likely, least successful pilots in the Republic. The training sequences here are my favorite out of all the X-wing books, and there was an added touch of humor that really brought the characters to life. Plus, I had gotten kinda tired of Corran "I'm so awesome" Horn.

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer. Title: Wraith Squadron Series: X-Wing, Star Wars Author: Aaron Allston Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: SFF Pages: 416 Synopsis: Wedge puts together a new X-Wing group, one that is multi-talented in more than just flying and fighting with X-wings. However, they are all the dregs, the washouts, the problem children, of other units. Can Wedge forge them into a new squadron, one that is equal to Rogue Squadron? Or show more course he can; this is the Star Wars Expanded Universe after all! My Thoughts: Stackpole's writing was much more intense, almost darker. Allston on the other hand, injects a much needed dose of humor throughout the whole book and makes it work. I like Allston's writing and am sad that we'll never be reading any more new stuff from, as he died earlier this year. With a different author, we veer away from Rogue Squadron and into the Adventures of Wraith Squadron. A more disparate crew you won't be able to find, except maybe on the Millennium Falcon. A whole group of sentients with some serious issues, in one form or another. It is a lot of fun to see them coming together as a group and fixing their issues. Wraith Squadron's mission, overall, is to find and destroy Warlord Zsinj. And these books focus on the little missions leading up to that denouement. " show less

X-wing book number 5. Wedge comes up with a new idea for a squadron with less fighter pilot skills and more insurgent skills. He uses misfits. This is the 1st book of Wraith Squadron and their growing pains.

I enjoyed this book even if I missed Rogue Squadron.

Plot: The usual Star Wars fare - a main plot with the Imperial bad guys, some character-centric side plots. Well-executed in most cases, with some threads left open for the sequels.

Characters: An almost new set compared to the previous four books in the series. Interesting characters, for the most part, and far from perfect. Heavy on the men, which is surprising. There even is slash potential.

Style: Allston writes great situation humour and one-liners. The book feels a lot less serious than Stackpole's contributions to the series, but still manages to build up plenty of drama and tension. There are less battles and more personal interaction here.

Plus: The book doesn't take itself entirely serious. Good mix of characters, no perfect show more people around.

Minus: A full set of new characters makes it a bit tricky to get into. Not quite as bad as some Star Wars books have been, but difficult especially in battle scenes.

Summary: This is where the X-Wing series begins to really be fun. It's also a potential entry point to the series, what with an all-new character roll. show less