Customer Reviews

Wraith Squadron (Star Wars: X-Wing Series, Book 5)

5 star:		(96)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Well, what can i say! The Wraiths rock! Sure, i was a little disappointed when i first picked this book up for two reasons. 1) It wasn't by Stackpole, and 2) It wasn't about the Rougues I had learned to love through the first book. But as i read on, boy was i glad i had bought it. First of all the transition between the two sets of characters is VERY smooth. It's not just about the Wraiths from the beginning. But beleive me, the Wraiths are every bit as cool as the Rougues.

One major difference that you will definitly notice is the addition of much-needed humor to this series (or to any Star Wars book.) Unlike Stackpole, Alliston can make you roll onto the floor laughing at times. In humor, i would definitly rate this book two yubs up :)

In contrast, Alliston can also make you cry at times. An example would be the extremely emotional moments when characters die, ones that you got to know, unlike Stackpole's "kill off all the characters i didn't even bother to write about" tactic, like when Riv Shiel died, i found myself asking the question "who was Riv Shiel again?" Well, not happening in this book. Every character has a unique personality and Alliston gives the reader the sense of closeness to the characters in only one novel that took Stackpole four full length novels to achieve. Well, back on the topic of character deaths, when Alliston's characters die, they stay dead, unlike a certain Corran Horn and Mirax Terrik that could "never seem to stay dead" from the past set of books. And the deaths of characters aren't the only thing that will make you cry in this book. Talon Squadron is a major part of this book, and when you find out about Shiner, Donos' "Last Talon" you will be reaching for a tissue in no time. All in all, this book definitly heads the series in a new, yet refreshing direction. I hope if Stackpole re-claims the X-Wing throne, he will learn something from Alliston's exceptional work.

This was an amazing book. I thought it was a very strange idea to form a squadron with commando priority over pilot skills, and especially out of the dregs of the galaxy! I figured that about half of them would die within the first three battles. I was surprised to find that I was WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! The "Yub, yub" joke was hilarious, and the Millenium Falcon trick was ingenious. This was a great continuation of the amazing series. On a scale of one to five, I'd give it: Two thumbs up!

I think that this is a step in the direction taken by Lucas when he introduced Lando Calrissian. The Star Wars universe is vast and diverse. This helps to make it even more so. As Wedge says in the book 'Not all battles are fought with lightsabres in public squares, some battles are fought in back alleys with vibroblades.' This is a wonderful change from the normal pace of the Star Wars novels. This shows that a side of the Republic that most of us never thought there could or would be. The whole Wraith Squadron set of the X-Wing series is a wonderful and fast read. A must for any true Star Wars Fan, especially the fans of the secondary characters like Wedge Antilles and Wes Janson.

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.

In the original four books from the X-Wing series we got a fresh story with completely new characters to whom we soon felt attached. Wraith Squadron continues that tradition by presenting us an unusual group of upstarts who have to battle their own personal problems at the same time they help in the fight against the Empire, proving their true worth. Being a silly guy myself, I especially loved the duo of Ton Phanan and Face. Don't overlook this book, you'll find yourself laughing and maybe even feeling a knot forming in your throat as you enjoy this story.

Aaron Allston does a terrific job of carrying on the series with these three Wraith Squadron books. If you liked the first books, you won't be missing anything in this one.

The premise is that Wedge Antilles, after experiencing the success of the commando like operations of a pro fighter squadron, decides to take the idea further, by making a squadron designed to specialize in commando missions, but also be thoroughly trained in flying. The source of pilots? Washouts and rejects, who can only manage one last chance to get into a squadron.

The main difference between these and other X-Wing books is the characters. Rogue Squadron isn't here, except for Wedge, and you get to meet a bunch of new people, who are even more off-beat than the Rogues. Aaron Allston brings excellent humor, that you can't help but love the books for.

The central plot, revolving around a campaign against Warlord Zsinj, is really great, and Zsinj is well developed.

Don't be afraid of the new squadron and new author. Everything awesome from the first books are there, and you won't be disappointed.

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.

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!

I was a little dissapointed after reading the first 4 X-wing masterpieces because Stackpole would not be writing the others, and also being thrown into another new group of characters. But the writing is equal to Stackpole, and I found no difference in the overall storytelling. Aaron Allson has done a fine job, and he fleshes out the new characters of Phanan, Face, and Tyria just as well as Stackpole did with Corran, Mirax, and Gavin.

This series involves Wedge Antilles looking to form Wraith Squadron, a group of commandos who do ground-based work but can also fly. He ends up getting a group of misfits and washed-up loose cannons, on their last chance at redemption. They quickly turn into one unit that would rival that of Rogue Squadron.

This new series is a must read, for it involves the search for Warlord Zsinj(the man who Han Solo hunted in "The Courtship for Princess Leia"), and has MANY twists and turns and a lot of emotion. I recommend this for any fan of Star Wars and the original X-Wing series.

When they started putting out new Star Wars books, I picked up every one, good and bad [and there were some BAD ones]. Over the last couple of years I've picked up few... The Hand of Thrawn books and the X-wing books. I loved the Rogue Squadron series, but I like the Wraith Squadron trilogy better.

Allston gives us exciting action scenes, both on space and on the ground, mixed in with a lot of humor that enhances the personalities of the Wraiths instead of being inserted just to get laughs [but it does that. This is one of the few books that make me literally laugh out loud, despite wierd looks from others around me]. This book also shows us one of the real truths of war: People die. To prevent spoilers I won't reveal anything more, but Allston makes these deaths mean something, and have an impact on the reader and the characters [even moreso in the next book, Iron Fist].

If you are a Star Wars fan, and maybe if you aren't, these books are a great read.