Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(126)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(16)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Rogue Squadron" is the first book (of 9) in the X-Wing series set in the Star Wars universe. The Rogue Squadron is legendary. Responsible for the destruction of both Death Stars, as well as being one of the primary defense forces on Hoth, the Rogue Squadron is given the toughest missions and has the highest death rate in the entire Rebel Alliance. Commander Wedge Antilles has been given a new mission for his Rogue Squadron, straight from Admiral Ackbar and the leadership of the Alliance: assemble the best of the best pilots and reform Rogue Squadron to tackle the highest profile, most difficult missions and try and end this war against the Empire.

Emperor Palpatine might be two years dead by the start of "Rogue Squadron", but the Empire is vast and top Empire officials have taken hold of the Empire (even as it splinters apart). Some planets may not even know of his death, yet. It was a major victory, but the war still rages on. Ysanne Isard, the head of Imperial Intelligence runs the Empire in everything but name. Nicknamed "Iceheart", she is exactly that. Isard is cold, ruthless, and subtle in her actions: a true intelligence officer. She continues to hunt the Alliance, and in particular, the symbol that is Rogue Squadron.

The primary protagonist of "Rogue Squadron" is the Correllian Corran Horn, a former member of the Correllian Security (CorSec). He is one of the best in Rogue Squadron, which makes him one of the elite pilots in the galaxy. Corran Horn, while a great pilot and an asset to the Alliance, is also a hunted man. Kirtan Loor, an underling of Isard and a man with a grudge against Horn, is put in charge of the mission to destroy Rogue Squadron and protect the Empire.

Being a novel about an X-Wing fighter squadron, "Rogue Squadron" is filled with space battles and dog fights and is action packed. This is a fast paced Star Wars novel and is one of the better ones that I have read. Being set after "Return of the Jedi" means that we don't know how the story is going to play out or what the future is for the Alliance (every prequel novel has to fit itself into the known events of the movies). This frees the story up a bit, and with a novel built around characters who were not even in the films (except for minor characters like Wedge), there is a sense of freedom here. It helps that Michael Stackpole is able to tell an entertaining story that also serves to build the overreaching plotline of the X-Wing series. For a reader looking to discover what happens after "Return of the Jedi", "Rogue Squadron" is the perfect place to begin.

-Joe Sherry

Like many when i first bought this book i was reluctant to read it because, i didn't think that a book about X-Wings was going to be any good...but 4 years after buying it i finally decided to read it and and i can say is WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG?? This book was amazing, there is almost constant action all the way thru. I hope the other books in the series can match the intensity of this one.

Pros:
1. Great description of battles
2. Many new people, and a handy little list in the front of the book to show you whos who incase you somehow get Rhysati Ynr and Nawara Ven mixed up...rofl
3. Since there are so many new people Stackpole can have pretty much free reign over what happens to them. Unlike when Han, Leia or Luke are involved in something, you always know they will escape.

Cons:
1. At points it seems like all the characters and being thrown at you all at once, mainly in the first battle.
2. This is more of an annoyance then a Downside to the book, all the slang and abbreviations that are used seem a little out of place.

Overall this is a great book and i would recommend it very Strongly.

Ever wonder what happens after the Star Wars Trilogy? I have always been interested in what happens after the first three movies. This book shows how Commander Wedge Antilles must rebuild the legendary Rogue Squadron. Rogue Squadron is the elite fighting corps of the Alliance, and now New Republic. You get an excellent idea of what it is like to fly, and pilot the X-Wings, which are the spacecraft most commonly flown by Rogue Squadron. Corran Horn is one of the new characters introduced into the Star Wars Galaxy, and one of my favorites. He is one of Rogue Squadrons most talented pilots. The battles in this story bring you right into the cockpit of the X-Wings, and the battles are very well described and utterly exciting. I loved this book right from the start. The book takes you from space battles to new planets in this galaxy. The book is well detailed, and shows the characters personalities with vivid interest. I would recommend that Star Wars fans, and those that are just interested, should read this book. I would say anyone in high school, or even middle school, could read this book.

I bought the entire set of the x-wing series when I ran out of my current obsession, "The New Jedi Order." I had actually skipped this series when it first came out because it didn't seem like something I would want to read. However, when one is high on Star Wars reading, and needs a fix, one will read anything they can get their hands on.

Needless to say I was surprised by this book. I have always enjoyed Stackpole's writing, but I just didn't think he had much to work with in this particular sub-genre of the Star Wars universe. I mean come on, no Jedi, no c3PO, no R2D2?! Just x-wings flying around and shooting Imperial forces? I thought the book was going to be ... well, boring.

The funny thing is that I had read "I, Jedi," by the time I picked up this book, so I know what Corran Horn's future holds in store for him. But that spoiler knowledge hasn't ruined the series for me.

The plot line is well developed, and pulls a couple of nice twists and turns that leave you with a satisfied experience in the thinking department. The fighting scenes are descriptive without being "Tolkien-like," in as much as you get description, but not description that would put even ever patient Yoda to sleep. The character development is interesting and doesn't seem forced at all.

Then you have the most important piece of these stories, the HISTORY! You won't realize it until you have read these stories, but a lot of the stories that are staged after these stories are supposed to have taken place, refer to incidences in these stories! The other authors do a good job of giving you clues as to what they are talking about, but reading these stories helps flesh out some back history for anyone that has missed these.

Read them, you will like them.

I've read through the whole of the X-Wing series at least twice, and I've read almost every other Star Wars series there is. I have to say, that Michael Stackpole's X-Wing series surpasses every other. Stackpole's writing is exciting, fast paced and deep. The storyline is as good as anything I've yet to see and Stackpole is capable of having space battle after space battle without getting repetitive.

The main protagonist of Rogue Squadron is new member, Corran Horn. Horn hails from Corellia; he used to work for CorSec which was kind of like a police/investigative agency. Corran learned long ago not to trust anyone, so the Stackpole goes indepth about how Corran must learn to trust his new wingmates, and the squad second in command, Tycho Celchu, whom he believes to be an Imperial spy. Corran Horn may seem arrogant, but he has the talent to back it up, as he quickly proves to be one of the top pilots in the squadron.

Rogue Squadron was recommissioned to battle the Empire, which, while Emperor-less, still controls the greater part of the galaxy. Captain Wedge Antilles (of Trilogy fame) leads his squad into battle after battle against this incredible foe. The Empire is headed now by the demonic Isard and with the help of Corran Horns arch-rival, Kirtan Loor, the Empire will do their best to keep the rebels down. With the threat of both outer and inner foes, what will Rogue Squadron do? How will Corran Horn adjust and what role will he play in the battle against the Empire?

Rogue Squadron is intriguing, suspenseful and an altogether very enjoyable novel. Stackpole has an excellent outing. Rogue Squadron is excellent and the X-Wing series (nine books in all), will prove to be one of the most popular series. This book is recommended to anyone, whether you love space battles, or intriguing plot and suspensful mystery.

Michael Stackpole's first X-Wing book beats strongly with the pulse of the serial and/or pulp adventures that spawned the source trilogy and is a whale of a good read for it. Wedge Antilles, the famous X-Wing pilot who flew in both Death Star missions, has to whip a group of recruits into a fierce fighting team or else. What follows is a lot of action and some nice character introduction. The book seemed a little cluttered at first, but I reminded myself that there were NINE books in the series, plenty of time to get to know them all quite well. The story itself is fairly standard stuff (i.e. Top Gun, An Officer and a Gentleman, et al), a group of individuals need to overcome their personal problems (both within themselves as well as with each other) and learn to work as a team, of course there is a fierce battle that will act as the final bonding agent for the team's unity. Stackpole peppers the yarn with plenty of action and strikes a tone that is the closest to that of the original movies than any of the other spin-off novels I have read to date. A great start to what I hope is a great series.

I was never much for the technical part of science fiction. Robots and spaceships never really grabbed my interest. To put it bluntly, I'm not a science fiction fan and I only enjoyed Star Wars as much as I did because of the fantasy element so heavily played. Needless to say I wasn't prepared to be impressed by the Rogue Squadron series. It was mechanics and not lightsabers, but I figured I'd slog my way through them for the sake of saying I'd read them. Thankfully for me, and thanks to very good writing by Stackpole, I can say that I didn't slog through anything, I thoroughly enjoyed every chapter of the book.

Main plot is that Wedge Antilles has rebuilt Rogue Squadron to intimidate Imperial forces. What happens afterward is several different dogfights that all manage to actually LOOK different. It's never replays of one fight over and over only in different locations.

Character wise, there are a lot, so development takes place over the series instead of just this book. Wedge has always sort of been a favorite of mine, just because he was a normal everyday soldier. Tycho is a genuinely nice XO who no one except Wedge trusts. Corran Horn is by far the most developed character and really has become one of my favorites right behind Kyp Durron and Obi-Wan. He's cocky, respectful and dedicated.

Now here are the reasons for the missing star on my review. Number one, the female characters are basically love interests for the male pilots. Number two, the villain did nothing to inspire terror. She just glowers a lot and executes her own people. Her main agent in the book is an idiot.

Those problems aside, this is a great book. Shall I say Top Gun in space?

''Rogue Squadron'' is the first book of a long series called X-wing. The plot is mainly set around Rogue Squadron fighting the Imperials. This book features Corran Horn, a member from CorSec, and also Wedge Antilles, the one who formed Rogue Squadron.

In this book you will find suspense, especially in the space battles. Not everyone makes it out alive. In this thrilling and adventurous book, you will find not only the character's mind, but they're own emotions and feelings towards other characters. The book isn't dark, like the book Star By Star by Troy Denning, though the end probably might be the darkest. I recommend this book to everyone who wants a good read and everyone who loves Star Wars. Don't forget to read the next one!

In the late 1990's with interest fading in the Star Wars universe with generic and repetative characters and stories, Bantam Books came out with a fresh new look at the Star Wars universe. They took one of the side characters in the original Star Wars Trilogy and turned in one of the greatest maxi-series in the expanded universe. Rogue Squadron, founded by Luke Skywalker and seconded by Wedge Antilles is the focus of the X-Wing series' first 4 books. With Luke being all Jedi, Antilles receives command of the squadron, and some time after Return of the Jedi begins to reorganize it to become one of the most feared weapons of the New Republic. To do so he recruits the best pilots in the galaxy, among them is Corran Horn, ex-law enforcement officer from Corellia and the total antithesis of Han Solo. What makes this series so good is the excellent writing of Michael Stackpole perhaps the second best writer in the expanded universe. His character development is excellent, he makes you care for both the story and people in it. His villains actually have some feeling of threat to them unlike other books. Rogue Squadron is an excellent start to the X-Wing series.

The X-Wing rogue Squadron Comics, also written by Stackpole et al take us directly into this novel, the 1st of 4.

I completed reading the 8 Dark Horse TPB comics about the Wedge and Rogue Squadron Adventures. Stackpole wrote these comics after the 4 novels. One gains a whole new appreciation of the tapestry he has created here. The comics happen on the timeline before the novels and set up the events in the novels perfectly. I don't knowing own any stock in Dark horse, but I recommend reading the comics first, then start reading the novels in the timeline order. That is what I have just started doing.

Ultimately this is all about the conquest of Coruscant and driving out Isard. Wedge is of course the star of the comics and the novels. But an important new character emerges, Corran Horn. Corran is flight 9, arguably the 4th most senior of the 12 pilots. Wedge, Hobby, Wes and Tycho have been together a long time but Corran works himself in. He has two important assets. One is that he is the son of a jedi. Secondly, he was a senior detective on Corellia. So we have a cop jedi pilot quite an asset for a squadron that both dogfights with the best and also functions as a special forces unit.

Don't pay any attention to those 1 and 2 star ratings. This is the fun stuff that so many of us loved before the dark times called NJO.