Customer Reviews

The Price of Freedom: A Wing Commander Novel

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Fans of the Wing Commander Saga, don't waste your time with this sloppy and uninspiring story. I waited anxiously for this book for months, since I enjoyed the PC game so much. I was hoping that it would fill some of the holes in the story the way Heart of the Tiger did. You can't imagine my disappointment. Blair, the great war hero of the game, is now a pathetic and cowardly loser with one foot in a bottle, and the other in the grave. He jumps at the chance to fly again, (who wouldn't?), and from there begins a staid adventure that is nowhere near as exciting as the game. The book also goes off on tangents that the game never pursued. As others have already stated... #1. A romance with Sosa? Where did this garbage come from? #2. While not a major character in the game, I missed Catscratch. #3. In the more popular version of the game, Vagabond plays a vital role. The book ignores him completely. #4. Blair becoming an Admiral was one option of the game, but according to devotees of the game, not the true ending. William Forstchen has told many great tales of the Kilrathi war in other books, but it seems to me he just hurried this one along because he was under contract or something. I wouldn't recommend this book to any serious fan of the game. You're better off ignoring it.

Aside from "Freedom Flight" I can't name one Wing Commander book I ever fully enjoyed. But still, I expected more from this one. There's nothing wrong with the first few chapters - they do a good job of setting up Tolwyn as a shady megalomaniac and Blair as a man who has been lulled by a long and uneventful peace. But from there the book launches into autopilot, more concerned with recounting events then telling a good story with good characters. I can't help but feel Forstchen and Ohlander ducked all the important questions: The push/pull of loyalty vs. duty, the questionable morals of carpet-bombing civilians from outer space, the disorientation of turning your back on everything you've ever known. These events fly by almost without comment. The book does differ from the game in including a romantic subplot between Blair and Sosa, though in the last chapter it's presented as a fait accompli. And if you're a fan of Vagabond and Catscratch... forget about it. They're just scenery-chewers. Even by the loose standards of game-to-book novelizations A Price of Freedom is not up to snuff.

I remember playing the game with my Uncle back in '96. I remember thinking to myself then-"Hey wait this is the Admiral T. he can't betray the Confederation!!" Now I realize that this is what made the game better. The big bad leader of the human fleets has greed and ambition. As for the book I think it is the 2nd best wingcommander book with the exception of Action Stations. It really helped tie up some lose ends left in the game.

The one thing I never understood in the WC Universe was the portrayl of Tolwyn in the game versus the portrayl of the books. This is especially true for Price of Freedom, where in the game you find out something amazing about his character. I thought the book explained it a little better. Sure the game wins hands down for being more stimulating, but it's a good novel nonetheless. Most people want to see heros as unthinking patroits with no depth. But Blair's brooding and drinking is more than appropriate for a man who has seen so many die for so long but still accepting what must be done. I think people talking about the change to the Border Worlds in the novel is quick and uneventful forget how fast Blair put on a BW suit in the game without mention. And as for Sosa, I liked that she and Blair got together. Catscratch wasn't very appealing in the game, and just dropped off the universe when you save him. And I am glad Vagabond wasn't in the book much, because I hated to see him die in the game. Plus, the book brings more reality to the game as to the smaller resources and other problems of the Border Worlds rather than just letting you change over and destroy Confed fleets at will. Anyway, this is leaps better than any Pilgrim(can we say Use the Force, Luke) novel or WC movie, and is the last good WC book (until I read False Colors that is.)

Improved greatly over the WC3 novel. It has a superb beginning in the portrayal and history the Confed. But the excitement goes down when Blair walks matter-of-factedly into the realm of the Border Worlds with apathy as if switching college roommates. The lack of surprising element in Blair and the other crewmembers especially troubled me when the star port vet and Towyn were brought onboard without foreknowledge. Major inconsistencies with the game, such as the elimination of Vagabond and Catscrach as major characters, and the very unnatural romance between Blair and Sosa reduces the enjoyment a bit. The novel still brings you unexpected adventures, and I recommend it as an excellent companion to the game.

As mentioned before, there were a lot of things wrong with this book. Blair was a weak old man, getting beat up in bars, Vagabond and Catscratch weren't even there, and the character of Decker, in my own opinion, was all wrong. Some things were a tad unbelievable, such as fighter pilots flipping through an actual book in the cockpit instead of looking at a computer or something. After all, it is the twenty-seventh century! Sure, this book has some major problems, but it is still Wing Commander and a decent read nonetheless.

I have to say, after Reading the Price of Freedom, that I understand why the origin people decided against putting much of this in their game. I do not agree with the Romance with Sosa(We all know she was Catscratch's gal, hence her appreciation when you save him), or his vagrant appearance. Heart of the Tiger showed the true Blair, A patriot, not at slob. I was very unhappy with vagabonds cameo..but everyone knows Blair was an idiot and stayed with Confed until the last minute. However, the author is articulate in pretty well everything else. I recommend this rather highly!

This book has it all wrong. The border world's flying outdated craft. NO WAY!! Tolowyn is potrayed all wrong. Same with Blair. Blair never fell in love with Sosa! What happend to Catscratch? He was in it for about two pages! And last but not least, The Lexington is not a Concordia class carrier! It is the same class as the old rust bucket in Wing Commander 3. The Victory. Anyway. On the bright side it has the wing commander name on it and that has to count for something ehh?

Hardly to believe! The plot and story was quite based on the WC4 game, but the Border Worlders flying outdated crafts? Quite ridiculous and inconsistent with the game, such as the Avenger and Banshee-class fighters don't appear in the novel. I would say the story is good (including the unnecessary romance between Blair and Sosa), but the fighters' details are all wrong.

Okay, I know the changes in the book was done for the sake of the book, but... well... I loved Vagabond in the game, whether it's his personality or his fate at the end. (And this has nothing to do with me being a Chinese...) but in the book, he is, well, not there... a few seconds, maybe, but not enough... Also, the book never told how Maniac and Vagabond lived from the last mission to Kilrah... I mean, it's pretty logical that they were picked up by the Kilrhathis, but... I'd have liked to see it explained in the book... but don't get me wrong, it's a very good book... I recommand it to every WC fan out there...