Inferno Squad

Star Wars: Battlefront #2

by Christie Golden

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Set in the aftermath of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, this action-packed prequel to the hotly anticipated videogame Battlefront II introduces the Empire’s elite force: Inferno Squad.

After the humiliating theft of the Death Star plans and the destruction of the battle station, the Empire is on the defensive. But not for long. In retaliation, the elite Imperial soldiers of Inferno Squad have been called in for the crucial mission of infiltrating and eliminating the Partisans—the rebel faction once led by notorious Republic freedom fighter Saw Gerrera.

Following the death of their leader, the Partisans have carried on his extremist legacy, determined to thwart the Empire—no matter the cost. Now Inferno Squad must prove its status as the best of the best and take down the Partisans from within. But the growing threat of being discovered in their enemy’s midst turns an already dangerous operation into a do-or-die acid test they dare not fail. To protect and preserve the Empire, to what lengths will Inferno Squad go . . . and how far beyond them?

The Rebellion may have heroes like Jyn Erso and Luke Skywalker. But the Empire has Inferno Squad.

Genres: Star Wars, Science Fiction, Fiction, Audiobook, Fantasy, Space Opera, Canon

336 pages, Hardcover

First published July 25, 2017

About the author

Award-winning author Christie Golden has written over thirty novels and several short stories in the fields of science fiction, fantasy and horror. She has over a million books in print.

2009 will see no fewer than three novels published. First out in late April will be a World of Warcraft novel, Athas: Rise of the Lich King. This is the first Warcraft novel to appear in hardcover. Fans of the young paladin who fell so far from grace will get to read his definitive story.

In June, Golden’s first Star Wars novel, also a hardcover, sees print. Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi—Omen is the second in a nine-book series she is co-authoring with Aaron Allston and Troy Denning. Also in June comes the conclusion of Golden’s StarCraft: The Dark Templar Saga with the release of Twlight, the third book in the series. The first two are Firstborn and Shadow Hunters.

2004 saw the launch of an original fantasy series called The Final Dance, from LUNA Books. The first novel in the series, On Fire's Wings, was published in July of that year. The second, In Stone’s Clasp , came out in September of 2005. With In Stone’s Clasp, Golden won the Colorado Author’s League Top Hand Award for Best Genre Novel for the second time. The third book, Under Sea’s Shadow, is available only as an e-book

Golden is also the author of two original fantasy novels from Ace Books, King's Man and Thief and Instrument of Fate, which made the 1996 Nebula Preliminary Ballot. Under the pen name of Jadrien Bell, she wrote a historical fantasy thriller entitled A.D. 999, which won the Colorado Author's League Top Hand Award for Best Genre Novel of 1999.

Golden launched the TSR Ravenloft line in 1991 with her first novel, the highly successful Vampire of the Mists , which introduced elven vampire Jander Sunstar. Golden followed up Vampire with Dance of the Dead and The Enemy Within . In September of 2006, fifteen years to the month, The Ravenloft Covenant: Vampire of the Mists enabled Jander Sunstar to reach a whole new audience.

Other projects include a slew of Star Trek novels, among them The Murdered Sun , Marooned , and Seven of Nine , and "The Dark Matters Trilogy," Cloak and Dagger , Ghost Dance and Shadow of Heaven .

The Voyager novel relaunch, which includes Homecoming and The Farther Shore , were bestsellers and were the fastest-selling Trek novels of 2003. Golden continued writing VOYAGER novels even though the show went off the air, and enjoyed exploring the creative freedom that gave her in the two-parter called Spirit Walk, which includes Old Wounds and Enemy of my Enemy .

Golden has also written the novelization of Steven Spielberg's Invasion America and an original "prequel," On The Run , both of which received high praise from producer Harve Bennett. On The Run, a combination medical thriller and science fiction adventure, even prompted Bennett to invite Golden to assist in crafting the second season of the show, if it was renewed.

Golden lives in Loveland, Colorado, with her artist husband and their two cats.

Reviews

[Khurram · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was a bit disappointed with this book. Okay I know I have a prejudice against prequels, and having a book called Battle Front 2 that actually is set before the Battle Front book messes with my brain sensibilities.

There is very little action in the book. The team is called Inferno Squad "as a promise to the Rebels." This makes sense as you have two top Tie fighter pilots on the team, it could be things like Inferno Squad scorched the battle field, or oh no Inferno Squad is on the way, but instead they are made an infiltration unit so the whole point of them is no one is supposed to know them so the brazen name goes out the window.

I did not like any of the characters. On one side, we have the hardcore Imperials, on the other side terrorist. The main character has as many daddy issues as she has loyalty to the Empire.

The first chapter was great. The rest of the story is at a snail's pace. Everything that happens, you see coming from a mile away. However the book started out great the last part of the Death Star battle from a Tie fighters perspective was great, the first couple of missions were pretty simple and the last mission could have been done a lot quicker. There was a mission that went wrong. I am still trying to work out what they were trying to achieve in the first place. I kept reading expecting a twist but got more of the same until the epilogue.

[Alejandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Empire’s Best of the Best are called!


This is a “Star Wars” prose novel, part of the new canon expanded universe. This is a tie-in book as part of the merchandising campaign of the “Star Wars: Battlefront II” video game. The story is set after “Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope” and before “Star Wars: Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back”.


THE DEATH STAR IS…WHAT?!

The Galactic Empire thought that once with the Death Star, its humongous mobile battle station, already in operational status, its pesky troubles with the Rebel Alliance were over, it was even disolved the Senate, but…

…thanks to the efforts of brave unlikely heroes of the Rebellion, Jyn Erso leading the stealing of Death Star’s schematics, and Luke Skywalker’s astonishing aiming…

…it was possible to exploit the intentional structural flaw, made by Galen Erso, on the fearsome Death Star…

…and destroy it with a single shot!

The Empire has been humiliated.

It’s time to call Empire’s own kind of heroes…


MEET INFERNO SQUAD

Admiral Garrick Versio, from the Imperial Security Bureau, forms an elite team to deal with any enemy of the Empire…

…outside AND inside of it!

Iden Versio: Admiral’s daughter. Graduated with honors from the Imperial Academy. She is an experienced TIE fighter pilot and she is one of the very few survivors from the Death Star’s destruction.

Gideon Hask: Iden’s best friend. He is an exceptional Imperial Navy officer.

Seyn Marana: Having eidetic memory. She has served in Imperial Special Forces and Imperial Intelligence. Fluid in way more than twenty languages. Master cryptologist. Computer expert. Superior sniper.

Del Meeko: Surpassing in 10 years of military field experience to the rest of the team. He begins his career since the bottom as Stormtrooper until reaching a position of Chief Engineer in an Imperial Star Destroyer. He is expert in repairing and programming all kind of vehicles and droids.

They are the best and brightest than the Empire can offer.

They are the surgical response against inner Imperial corruption and treason, as well against any outer rebellious battle actions.

They are the Inferno Squad!


CRUSHING HOPE

While in its very first action, the once Death Star, killed many of Saw Gerrera’s Partisans, including their extremist leader…

…hardly the dream of Saw Gerrera is dead…

…now the remnants of the Partisans are evolving into The Dreamers, to carry the legacy of Gerrera and to attack the Empire in ANY WAY in their power.

Admiral Garrick Versio knows that the Rebel Alliance is a threat that the Empire must deal, but The Dreamers are more dangerous, more extremists, truly terrorists in the eyes of the Empire, therefore…

…Inferno Squad must infiltrate their ranks and to clean the menace.

The Dreamers have access to classified Imperial information, so the the leak must be determined and stopped.

Inferno Squad isn’t as any other Imperial strike team and its methods to infiltrate the Dreamers won’t be any conventional at all, and...

...they’ll have to do anything necessary to get into the terrorist group and later to keep their covers.

Anything.

Inferno Squad will protect the Empire at any cost!

Crushing hope is their everyday’s work.

[Mogsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/08/08/...

Taking place in the aftermath of A New Hope with heavy references to the events of Rogue One, this book serves as a prequel for the upcoming video game Star Wars: Battlefront II by providing the backstory for the elite strike team known as Inferno Squad.

Following the theft of the Death Star plans from Scarif which led to the destruction of the orbital battle station, the Empire is itching for retaliation. Iden, the daughter of Admiral Garrick Versio of the Imperial Security Bureau, is tapped to head up a special forces commando unit to hunt down and eliminate the rest of Saw Gerrera’s Partisans. The resistance leader might have died on Jedha during the test of the Death Star’s superlaser, but there are still plenty of his followers, dubbing themselves the Dreamers, who have followed in his footsteps. Determined to avoid any more humiliating defeats, the Empire is working to stamp out any and all of these extremist rebels that they can find.

And thus, Inferno Squad was born. Iden Versio, who was one of the few surviving TIE fighter pilots in the Battle of Yavin, is teamed up with three other Imperials at the top of their fields: fellow pilot Gideon Hask, expert engineer Del Meeko, and intelligence agent Seyn Marana. Together, they’re put through a rigorous training regimen to prepare them for a top secret operation to infiltrate the Dreamers and take them down from within. Each squad member is tasked to take on a new identity, with the goal of convincing the enemy to seek them out and take them in. But as time wears on and the demands of their new undercover roles grow, the risk of discovery becomes the greatest threat to the success of their mission. Just how far are the four of them willing to go in order to protect the Empire?

I’ve always been a big fan of Christie Golden’s Star Wars books, but this was definitely not her best. Overall the story was based on a rather flimsy premise and there was a slapdash quality to the manner the plot was pieced together. The entire setup of the novel felt unneeded, for example. Despite Iden’s repeated concerns that she would not be chosen as the team’s leader, we already know that she will be, and as such, Inferno Squad’s first assignment together felt like one long exercise in pointlessness. Using the appropriate analogy, if this book was a video game, then this whole sequence would be the mind-numbing introductory tutorial.

As for their main mission to infiltrate the Dreamers, there were a lot of moving pieces, and with Iden’s cover story being especially thin and risky, I was not entirely convinced that every single one of their plans would have fallen into place so perfectly. We’re also told that the members of Inferno Squad are supposed to be the best of the best, and yet this book was full of examples of their incompetence and slipping up left and right. Going after Dreamers didn’t really make much sense to me either. It was clear what the Empire really wanted was to get revenge on the rebels that stole the Death Star plans, but since they were all either dead or out of reach, Inferno Squad instead decides to go after the remnants of Saw Gerrera’s fan club, also known as the guys that are so radical that even the main Rebel Alliance doesn’t want anything to do with them. It just seemed like the publisher was trying too hard to link this book to Rogue One.

Fortunately though, I loved following the characters of Inferno Squad. This novel joins the growing number of stories in the new canon that have come out recently exploring the inner workings of Empire, emphasizing the fact that they are not one homogenous entity. The leadership aside, most of them are not evil people but are merely regular citizens born on this side of the war. For someone like Iden who was raised on an Imperial planet and was surrounded by the military, the destruction of the Death Star was a holocaust, and the extreme resistance factions like Saw Gerrera and his supporters represent the worst kinds of terrorists in her eyes. While Iden herself subscribes to an ends-justifies-the-means mindset, some of her foe’s tactics are so distasteful that I think many readers will find that it is easier to cheer for Inferno Squad than expected. Of the team, Iden was probably most fleshed out and well-written, but each member also had fascinating backgrounds and personalities and I enjoyed getting to know them all.

When Star Wars: Battlefront II releases in several months, the game’s will take place after Return of the Jedi and focus on Iden, who would have survived to see a second Death Star get destroyed (personally, I would have switched sides or retired to the a quiet corner of the galaxy at this point—clearly the Rebels know something my team doesn’t). It’s unlikely this novel would be a prerequisite for the game, but those who would like to get Iden’s backstory before playing the campaign might wish to check this out. Otherwise, I would probably skip this. While Inferno Squad is by no means a bad book, there are plenty of better canonical Star Wars novels I would rank above it. Recommended only if you follow new canon book releases, or if you have an interest in the Battlefront video game series.

Audiobook Comments: One of the best things about Star Wars audiobooks is that they’ve always got the best actors and actresses to read for them, and it was a great decision to have Janina Gavankar narrate this since she is also portraying Iden Versio in the game. It lends a special touch to this audiobook, and Gavankar’s personal connection to the Battlefront II project is obvious because you can also hear her passion and enthusiasm practically bursting from her voice. It was an excellent performance, and I can’t wait to hear portrayal of Iden in the game.

[Dennis · Rating 1 out of 5]

When she was in a room, she owned it, even if she stood quietly at attention like all the rest of them. Hers was not a common beauty, but stemmed from her straight back and fierce dark eyes. And, Tarvyn had to admit, her smooth, warm-hued skin and lustrous black hair also helped make her unforgettable.
— Chapter 9, which almost made me stop reading right there.

The newest addition to Star Wars female leads is Iden Versio. She is strong, beautiful, graceful, loyal and smart. She has it all, and she got it all by herself, despite what you might think about her mother being a propaganda artist famous across the whole Empire or her father being an admiral. Oh no no no, she is an independent woman very tired of her father's attitude. She doesn't need your help, DAD. She is, for a couple chapters, bad at public speaking. You know, that thing people take years to master? Not our Iden, no si-ree. Give her a few days and she can record propaganda pieces with literally the best of them.

All in all, your usual crap fanfiction Mary-Sueish OC with no flaws of note. Who needs flaws and intriguing character traits, am I right? "But..," — I hear you ask. "..Is she a child genius with an eidetic memory?" No. Of course not. Another girl in the Inferno Squad is. This is just... you can't make this stuff up. Oh yeah, and there are also guys in this. One of them is a mechanic, the other — a pilot. He's the best Empire has, but not nearly as good as Iden Sue, obviously.

The plot is wholly unnecessary. The main undercover spy mission, the one Inferno Squad spends half a book executing as the whole Empire thinks of Iden as a traitor and the genius girl dies in a desperate and contrived attempt to save the Squad's cover could have been dealt with in a couple chapters. Seriously, 4 of the Empire's best people infiltrate a partisan group that numbered, what, 10? Just kill everyone, steal the info, which was on an actual physical chip and get out, you might think? Nope. 200 pages of pathetic espionage, unnecessary risks and general stupidity. Battlefront Two? More like, Espionage Poo. Oh and by the way, there are no battles of any scope here. If you discount the Death Star blowing up, that is, but it kinda does not pertain to the book's story, so yeah.

If only the boundless extent of unbelievable female competence in recent Star Wars media included the writers.

In conclusion: read Battlefront: Twilight Company instead. Not "as well", but "instead". The characters are nicely flawed yet relatable, the story actually goes somewhere, and the personal drama unfolding sometimes even overshadows the epic battles and operations. None of which are present in Espionage Poo: Inferno Squad.

[Micah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has the same problem a lot of star wars books past had. When centering a story on sith or empire figures it's very hard to make a sort of moral connection with them. It plays all sides of moral arguments to the point where nothing held any actual emotional weight. The whole "these ppl are just people doing their job" thing doesn't work when we know that their job is blowing up planets. And while the book tries to address that, you can only put so many generic flowery words around it. Ultimately, these are the bad guys and I'm cool with every one of them dying.
The way this book tries to get around that bit of moral weirdness is by having them go up against terrorists. Everyone can agree terrorism is bad so it doesn't matter who takes the terrorists out, as long as they are taken out. But so often it came across as . . .lazy seems totally unfair, but not super well considered? The book is never forced to reconcile itself with the fact that the empire is doing gnarly stuff. It dances around it so you can still have warm fuzzy feelings about the main characters. But it just doesn't work for me at all in that regard. also, no one in this book wears their cover to the grave. They're all disastrous undercover agents. Every single one of them just messes up over and over. I was surprised when the one character died, not because it was shocking, but because I felt like they had all given themselves away prior to that scene. And then, in the end, none of it mattered. Like, not a bit of all that work mattered. That was basically a disaster of bad storytelling. But YAY the main character is brown so woo woo *eye roll*
It's not awful. It's fast paced and easy to read. I just think all these books totally fall apart with their internal morality.

[RG · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big Star Wars fan, and I always feel like this is fan fiction at its worst or best. The writing isnt amazing, the story is pretty standard, but I really did enjoy this alot. Told from the perspective of the Inferno squad (the Empire) its a little weird cheering for the bad guys. Events follow after Rogue one, move along with some good action, decent characters and some good star wars backstory.

[Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not enough Battles. Not enough Fronts.

[Scott Rhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hatred is all over the news feed this week. Football fans hating on players taking a knee during the National Anthem, gun control advocates hating on the NRA for buying the entire Republican Party, gun nuts hating the gun control advocates for wanting to actually talk about gun control, Trump hating on Puerto Rico for screwing up the budget, everyone hating on Trump for wasting millions of tax payer money on his golf weekends: it’s getting to the point now where emotions are so heated and on edge that even the most innocuous statement will set someone off. It’s almost like we’re expecting the next worst mass shooting in U.S. history every day.

This is not a healthy way to live. Indeed, it’s pretty toxic. But I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s calculated to be this way. Strings are being pulled, demographics are being manipulated, people are being duped by someone. Or a group of someones. And I don’t think it’s much of a conspiracy theory to say that there is a very small percentage of the population that are reveling in and capitalizing on all of this. I don’t pretend to know who these people are, specifically, but we all have ideas and suspicions, don’t we?

The problem is, it doesn’t matter who the big “They” are in this scenario. They’ve pretty much already won. They have succeeded in dividing us into so many small groups that hate every other group---Muslims, Christians, atheists, gays, straights, transgenders, pro-gun people, anti-gun people, rich, poor, old, young, white, black, Hispanic, meat eaters, vegan, metalheads, country music fans, people who like sitcoms, people who like PBS, coffee drinkers, tea drinkers, people who pee standing up, people who pee sitting down---it will take generations, if ever, to calm things down.

They want it that way. They need it that way. That’s how They take over the world and stay in power.

Revolution in the form of rebellion---unified rebellion---is the only answer. If we have learned anything from the “Star Wars” movies, it is that. And, as Jyn Erso said in “Rogue One”: “Rebellions are built on hope.”

They, however, are counting on us wiping each other out with hate, because if rebellions are built on hope, quelling rebellions before they begin are built on hatred, well-choreographed and focused hatred.

This is the basis for the latest, surprisingly good “Star Wars” novel, “Battlefront II: Inferno Squad” by Christie Golden. Based on the video game that is either currently out or will be soon (I’m not a gamer, so I don’t keep up with video game release dates: sorry), “Inferno Squad” is told from the perspective of a small hand-picked group of Imperial special operatives whose sole purpose is to infiltrate the Rebel Alliance and destroy it from within. These are basically the Emperor’s Black Ops.

Set immediately after the destruction of the first Death Star, “Inferno Squad” ties in elements from “Rogue One” and “A New Hope” brilliantly. The four main protagonists (I hesitate to call them “heroes” as “anti-heroes” is more appropriate) are capitalizing on the recent death of Saw Gerrera (see “Rogue One”), the leader of the Partisans, a radical and ultra-violent group that split with the Rebel Alliance. The Alliance felt that Gerrera’s tactics and motives were far too extremist. (Picture the Partisans as the ISIS of the Rebel Alliance.)

Most Imperial intel had the Partisans disbanded after Gerrera’s death, but the Imperial Admiral who leads Inferno Squad believes otherwise. The squad’s first mission: infiltrate and join up with a group of partisans that seem to be making headway against the Empire. They are receiving funding and Imperial intel from someone, most likely high up in the Imperial chain of command. Once they have become fully ensconced and entrusted by the group of partisans, they are to discover who and where the leak is and assassinate him or her.

That’s basically the plot, and for the first two-thirds of the book, it’s pretty much a straight “Mission: Impossible”-style thriller. It’s not bad, but it’s not exceptional either. Making it more difficult is the fact that one is essentially rooting for the bad guys. These protagonists are, after all, Imperial assassins.

Then, something interesting happens. “Interesting”, as in “fascinating” and “disturbing”. Two of the four infiltrators start to actually feel something akin to sympathy for the partisans. They still have a mission to complete, but they are less sure about killing these people they have pretended to befriend. They certainly don’t agree with the rebel’s views about the Empire---a brainwashed hatred brought about by propaganda and “fake news”---but they are beginning to suspect that, maybe, the Empire isn’t totally perfect and that, maybe, the Emperor isn’t the total bastion of law and order in the galaxy, after all.

Treasonous thoughts, to be sure.

Golden’s “Inferno Squad” takes a similar approach to the Empire as Claudia Gray’s “Lost Stars”, a young adult novel that also humanizes the Empire. Unlike the characters in Gray’s novel, however, Golden’s characters have the strength of their convictions. While Gray’s characters learn to look past their indoctrinations of hatred, Golden’s characters are true patriots: they don’t question their hatred of the Rebel Alliance. They may have doubts about the Empire, but they keep those to themselves. They are loyal Imperialists through and through, and they will shed blood for the glory of the Emperor, not necessarily because they want to but because that is their duty.

[Lata · Rating 3 out of 5]

Iden Versio is a TIE fighter pilot. What distinguishes her are a couple of things: 1) a father and mother who both live and breathe the wonders of the Empire, 2) a staunch belief in the wonders in the Empire and the horribleness of the Rebellion, and 3) an intense desire to live up to her father's expectations for her.

This story picks up during the Rebels' attack run on the first Death Star. Iden is helping to pick off Y-wing and X-wing pilots she feels are stupidly making a last stand against the Empire. Then, boom! bye bye Death Star, and Iden and three others are picked by Iden's father to begin a new, covert life as Inferno Squad to take on and eliminate threats by the Rebellion.

Sounds like a great setup for a story, and it is. Problem is, I just didn't care about any of the characters. Especially after it's made abundantly clear that Iden is a pretty awful person, completely lacking in empathy for others. For example, the destruction of billions of lives on peaceful Alderaan and the thousands on Jedha City is seen as acceptable, and even good, while the destruction of the Death Star is terrible, awful, even monstrous, to Iden. Of course, considering her parents' views, it's probably not that surprising that Iden has repellent ideas about the value of those who hold different beliefs from her. Now if only someone else on her team were sufficiently interesting to sustain my interest or to make me care about Inferno Squad.....nope. They're all very competent, but soulless people.

I read the whole story because I was sort of interested in finding out what happened to the remainders of Saw Guerrera's group of fighters after the destruction of Jedha City. Saw's methods were awful, but here's the weird thing. Some of the members were actually much more sympathetic than any of Inferno Squad.

And, much as I loved the colours used on the cover of this book, I hated the butt shot of Iden. She's an uber-competent team leader, TIE pilot, strategist, killer.... Why is she pictured like that on the cover??

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This being a Star Wars books works in it's favor. Again the audio was very entertaining. This book introduced a new set of characters....and it is told from the POV of the Empire. I'm not sure how I felt about that. We all know that the Empire are the evil ones, seeking to destroy and dominate. So this book glosses over that little fact and tries to sell the idea that they are just like anyone else. They picked a cute little kick ass Empire girl to represent the evil ones, but they give her a 'conscience' along with her brain washing. She's killing people from the Rebel Alliance but then feels bad about it.

I did like the characters, the narrator, the sound effects, but the story...I'm not sure. So 3 stars.

[Kels · Rating 5 out of 5]

iden versio you absolute GIRLBOSS!!!

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this is almost as stupid as Christie Golden's other Star Wars novels, albeit a tad less egregious since she's working with (mostly) an all original cast so there's a lot less of that teeth-grinding that occurs whenever she writes a well-established character wildly out-of-character. But there's plenty of other nonsense that relegates this to the bin of overtly bad Star Wars books. Let me count the ways. SPOILERS BELOW

I Think Golden Forgot Who the Protagonists Were Mad At
The story is ostensibly about an 'elite' squad of Imperials who are so angry about the destruction of the Death Star, they specifically name themselves 'Inferno Squad', to signal the hellish wrath they're about to unleash on those dirty rebel scum! Except they don't ever fight, or even try to fight any proper rebels. All their missions are under-cover and the purpose of most of them is to thwart corrupt Imperials.

Their one big mission against actual rebels actually targets a surviving cell of the late Saw Guerrera's terrorist network. A network who are so extreme, the Rebels don't even want to associate with them. The Rebels would probably volunteer to pitch in and help bring down the partisans if given the chance. So it's never really clear how any of the squad members' rage toward the Rebels is being satiated here.

You'll Notice 'Elite' was in Quotation Marks
How these four Imperials were selected to join an 'elite' undercover spy squad is beyond me. It consists of two really good TIE pilots, a really good engineer, and a really good data analyst. None of them have, or seem to be given, any special spy training. But that doesn't stop them and their commanding officer from bragging non-stop about how elite they are.

Third Rate Mission: Impossible Knock-Off
If you had to boil this book down to a specific theme, I'd say it was "Third Rate Mission: Impossible Knock-Off". Rather than feature any actual battlefronts, Christie Golden seems to be angling more for an "undercover agents" story. The problem is that Golden just isn't up to writing about espionage in any believable way. As has always been the case in her books, she's much better at sort of announcing how elite and clever her characters are than actually showing them do anything clever, which is a death knell for an espionage book. The plans the squad come up with range from pedestrian to inane to monumentally stupid, but again, that never stops the squad and their commander from going on and on about how elite and awesome they are. Two (but not the only) examples...

a) There's a big deal made early on about how competitive the squad is, and how the leader will be determined by who comes up with the most awesome plan for their first mission. What the mission is, is not explained. I think Golden was going for a lead-up to a big reveal, but forgot that tension is a pre-requisite for dramatic reveals. Anyway, the squad are put into a hotel room and told to individually make their own awesome plans, and then we're told how the perfectionist main character, Iden, just totally busts her ass to concoct the perfect scheme to...again, that's left unexplained. The next day, their commander has very high praise indeed for her plan (even though we still haven't been told what the plan is or what it's for) and makes her leader. When the plan is finally enacted (in what I assume Christie Golden thought was the dramatic reveal), it turns out it involved sneaking into a party, getting the host drunk, and stealing stuff from his office. Oh, and getting him drunk required him to raid his daughter's wedding gifts and steal the alcohol they brought as a gift. It's a monumentally dumb plan and it works to perfection because Christie Golden writes it that way, then has nothing but praise for how elite and clever the squad is and how impressive are Iden's leadership skills. Just super lazy, all around.

b) The other major plan of the book is so stupid it demotes the book from dumb fun to inept and embarrassing. So the gang decides to infiltrate a terrorist cell of partisans. They make a big deal about how dangerous and difficult this will be, and how their lives will be on the line. Golden enters Stupidity Category One when three of the squad infiltrate with alarming ease. Again, much hand-waving is done to make you think this is dangerous, but Golden makes all her terrorists gullible dupes, so the Imperials are never in any danger.

It's the fourth Imperial, ELITE LEADER Iden, whose infiltration takes us to Stupidity Category Ten. The plan is this: replace Saw Guerrera as the figurehead of the terrorists. Now, there is a certain shaky logic to this. Iden is a prominent Imperial wunderkind, and if she were to suddenly start denouncing the Empire and going rogue and doing Very Rebellious Things, at the very least, her public defection could be a cool propaganda coup for the Rebellion.

But logic, even of the shaky sort, isn't how Christie Golden rolls. Iden doesn't do any of those things, but instead develops a very different, very 'elite' plan. And at every step in this scheme, the least logical thing happens. Step One: Iden conspicuously expresses remorse about the destruction of Aldaraan while one of her fellow TIE pilots is secretly recording her. He turns over the recording to the authorities for Iden's own good, and she is suddenly Public Enemy Number One in the Empire. So, she becomes Hated and Despised because she says out loud that she feels bad about innocent people who died. The anger is so prevalent, she's a front page story! Her father learns about what happened by seeing it on the news! (actually, he secretly already knew since he's her commanding officer and in on the plan!) Why does the Empire aggressively and vehemently vilify someone who expresses regret over civilian casualties during war? Because if they behaved like normal people, the Elite Squad Plan would crumble to dust.

Step Two: Next, they stage a very public punishment for Iden meant to shame her. The shameful punishment is that she's sent back to the Leadership Academy at which she once studied and becomes a security pilot there? And she lives with the headmistress? I'm using question marks because these don't seem like punishments and I'm confused?

Step Three: Wait for the terrorists to come kidnap her from the Academy because surely, they will independently realized that a TIE pilot who expressed regret about civilian casualties in wartime would make the perfect figure head for their violent terrorist extremist mission. And of course since Christie Golden controls everything, this dumb plan goes perfectly, and total infiltration is achieved.

Elite!

Mary Sue's For Everybody!
Every single character is described as being perfect and beautiful and clever and elite in every way, plus one extra personality trait. Iden's personality trait is that she's the Mary Sue. One guy's trait is that he's an arrogant wiseacre who never says anything clever but everyone reacts to his banter as if it were. One guy's trait is that he's an ace engineer. One girl's trait is she has an eidetic memory. Otherwise, they're pretty interchangeable. As usual, Christie Golden just kind of mentions their traits a lot as opposed to using them as drivers of the characters' actions. When they're making their plans for their first mission, for example, she basically says something along the lines of, "Del's plan involved droids (because he likes technology *wink wink*), and Hask's plan involved being charming (because he's an arrogant wiseacre *wink wink*), and Seyr's plan involved memorizing things (because she has an eidetic memory *wink wink*), but Iden's plan was the best as it combined all the best elements of everyone else's since she's practically perfect in every way (*wink wink*)!" Aside from actually seeing Iden's plan play out, none of the other plans are ever described other than mentioning the squad members' character traits and how they featured heavily in their planning.

And all of this is in addition to all of the characters having the emotional maturity of teenagers writing fan-fiction (which, incidentally, is a pretty good description of Christie Golden's writing style).

Utterly Irredeemable Characters
Golden writes these characters as if they're supposed to be sympathetic, and honestly, other, better writers have been successful at humanizing various Imperial characters. They're not all raving sociopaths, and it is true that otherwise normal people have a fascinating ability to rationalize some pretty heinous things. There is a workable story there. But Golden doesn't write these characters as if they're misguided and blind to their own ugly natures. She plays it pretty straight. She portrays them as honorable and friendly and loyal and caring and you get the sense that you're supposed to like them. And then suddenly (and this is super SPOILERY), she has them decide to help the terrorists kill 400 school children with a bomb because to save the children would blow their cover. Now, if their ultimate goal was to save an entire planet or the galaxy or the universe, maybe you could just about wring an interesting moral dilemma out of sacrificing school children for the greater good. But Inferno Squad's stakes are pretty low. They're basically trying to root out how the terrorists are getting ahold of some sensitive information. So naturally, Golden writes this sequence as if their decision is completely justified.

I kept waiting for a big plot twist where the squad would realize they were dupes in their commander's plan, putting their own morality and safety on the line for the benefit of fat-cat higher-ups. But no. They gnash their teeth and rend their garments, and it's all in earnest, and they're viewed (and view themselves) as heroes for the lengths to which they were willing to go. These are very stupid and morally vacuous characters and impossible to root for.

Arbitrary Golems
There are these strange creatures that show up about halfway through the book for no apparent reason. One of the nice terrorists discovers them with one of the undercover agents and they bond over the mysterious clay statues with crystal innards. For no apparent reason, the inquisitive pair become convinced that the statues are droids who are controlled telepathically. The statues come alive at the end of the book to retrieve some dead bodies, and everyone is utterly perplexed as they realize that these very creatures have been responsible for disposing of all the dead bodies the terrorists dump in some remote location. The terrorists have been disposing of dead bodies there for months, and no one was curious enough to find out why the bodies kept disappearing. It was so out of the blue and unconnected to anything else in the story, and I was left as confused as the characters at the profound lack of plot or thematic relevance. Now I'm an English Lit major, so I'm literally a trained professional at pulling metaphorical symbolism out of my ass, but this one had me stumped.

In Conclusion
So anyway, this was pretty standard Christie Golden dreck. The kind of book twee fourteen year olds go gaga over, since what's more fun than self-identifying with a plucky Mary Sue who is perfect in every way? When her Fate of the Jedi novels were finished, I was optimistic that I'd never have to read another book by Golden again. Then came this deceptively titled book to make me read one more. (Deceptive, because I stupidly thought this was a sequel to the vastly superior Battlefront: Twilight Company, which is a book that's actually about battlefronts and wars).

[Andreas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I randomly picked this book up completely on a whim, and I had no real expectations of it. And I was pleasantly surprised and entertained by it. It's a tie in novel to one of my all time favourite video games in Star Wars Battlefront 2 (2017). (I also love the 2005 game with the same name, and still play it from time to time.) Now it's been many years since I played the story mode and I don't remember much, but I still had a really good time with this book. The actress that played the main character in the video game, Janina Gavankar, also narrated the audiobook version and did a spectacular job. Props to her.

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

STAR WARS: INFERNO SQUAD is the tie-in book to STAR WARS: BATTLEFRONT II by Christie Golden. I'm a huge Christie Golden fan and love her work with Warcaft, Ravenloft, Star Craft, and her work in the Fate of the Jedi series. I was hesitant to read this book, though, because I felt that the Battlefront II game had been something of a disaster. I didn't dislike the protagonists of the single player campaign, even wanted to see more about them, but cutting off a third of their campaign for DLC left their story feeling pretty unfinished. Also, I felt like the game had been falsely advertised since it had implied a full Imperial campaign but you only spent a little time as Inferno Squad before defecting to the Rebellion.

Even so, I've softened my opinion regarding Iden Versio and her team and really wish we'd get more ofd their adventures during the Imperial Era. One of the disappointments I had in the TIE Fighter series was that they barely had any time to establish characters for what could have been a solid ongoing series. One of the benefits of the old Legends universe was the fact that we were able to follow the continuing adventures of numerous smaller groups. It's why I love the current ongoing Doctor Aphra series as it reminds me of things like Knights of the Old Republic and Legacy.

The premise is that Iden Versio and her three Special Forces troopers are working for the Imperial Security Bureau. Iden is one of the few survivors of the Death Star, which automatically means she's a complete fanatic, and wants some payback for the destruction of the Imperial war machine. After some low-level missions planting bugs and being closer to spies than commandos, they're given the mission of infiltrating the Partisans that have been given a second wind after their near-destruction in the movie ROGUE ONE.

I've always liked the Partisans and am interested in seeing more of them in future supplements (presumably before now). They're the terrorists to the Rebel Alliance's freedom fighters. It was something only the Star Wars RPG ever dealt with before in Legends and only barely with things like the Justice Action Network and the Imperial Remnant (ironically).

One thing that real life has shown is that oppression doesn't make someone a good person, it just makes them oppressed. Plenty of people would fight against the Galactic Empire but engage in terrorism to do so. Putting up die-hard fascists like Inferno Squad against hardcore terrorists is an interesting premise even if it's darker take from Star Wars than we're used to. Part of what I like about this novel is that it really shows the average Imperial is fully capable of doing unimaginable evil while not mentally engaging with it. Iden mourns her comrades on the Death Star while not really thinking about Alderaan (dismissing everyone who died there as rebels despite 99.999999% being noncombatants).

Iden's willing to go along with the Partisans making terrorist attacks against Imperial citizens because that's the mission and it's for the greater good. Finally, her biggest worry is that her mother will be disappointed in her due to having them fake her defection. They're tribalistic "Team Us vs. Team Them" and it's unfortunately all too realistic. The fact that being undercover screws with that sensibility just a little is well-done.

I wasn't quite sure what the mission objective was for Inferno Squadron because they could eliminate the Partistans at any time and they don't seem to be doing much to find out where the leak of Imperial information was. I did like the interactions between the squad as well as their differing views on the war as well as the Partisans. I was also surprised at the inclusion of a major character from The Clone Wars 3D series and was glad to see them use that bit of continuity.

In conclusion, I really liked this book and would like to see further adventures of Inferno Squad during the Galactic Civil War. I don't see it likely as happening but Disney should know that it has plenty of interesting characters that fans would love to read more about. Inferno Squad seems like a group that would be great to show up in the Galactic Civil War, blowing up Rebels and performing more missions. Admittedly, I wanted to see more of that in Battlefront II anyway.

[Nate Philbrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

**2.5 stars**

I give this book one star for being Star Wars, one for a few nice surprises at the end, and half a star for the gorgeous cover art. The rest...meh.

On the surface, it's a decent story. Not as action-driven as I was hoping for (a.k.a. the vast majority of it is about people sitting around, talking), but interesting enough for me to not dislike it.

As soon as I started thinking a bit more critically, however, several significant problems surfaced.

FIRST PROBLEM --> Who am I supposed to connect with? Inferno Squad or the Dreamers? The whole book is Inferno-POV, which suggests that's who the author wanted readers to connect with, but (most of) the Dreamers are much more likable. This book had several potential directions it could have gone: 1.) Good vs bad doesn't matter because the story carries its own weight. 2) Inferno Squad is still bad, but we want to show the bad Empire from their perspective. OR 3) The Dreamers (rebels) are bad, and Inferno Squad will convince you of that. If the book had committed to any one of those viewpoints, it would have been better. Instead, it pinballs around all three of them, and while that may have been intentional, it wasn't executed well enough to be thought-provoking. Instead, it was just...bland. [Insert "many sides" reference here].

SECOND PROBLEM --> Multiple key plot points relied heavily on coincidence and luck.

THIRD PROBLEM --> The whole second third of the book felt unnecessary. Inferno Squad's mission, at least it's culmination, depended on Iden discovering the Mentor's journal and info chip That's what kicked off the plot's major resolution, but why couldn't something that simple have happened a lot sooner? Inferno Squad could have landed, killed everyone, done some snooping, and found all the information they needed in about an hour. All those second-act weeks (months?) of espionage and blending in hardly felt necessary.

FOURTH PROBLEM --> Seyn died for a VERY stupid reason.

Besides those large-scale issues, the writing wasn't the best and there were several clerical errors one would think editors would have caught before publication. Things like typos in character names, character names getting swapped altogether, some weird verb conjugation missuses, etc.) These were few and not that distracting, but at the same time...come on, this is a Star Wars canon novel. These things shouldn't happen at this level.]

Okay, enough about the problems. Here are some of the things I liked:
-That one thing that Admiral Versio does at the very end that completely changes how you view his character.
-Iden's mother
-Del Meeko (most well-rounded character?)
-Dahna and Piikow (certainly the most likable characters)

All in all, this wasn't the worst book in the world, and it'll look great on my shelf, but there are much better Star Wars novels I'd recommend before this one.

[Dave Carden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t be fooled by the Battlefront II title – this is easily one of the best new canon Star Wars novels to date. Christie Golden created a thrilling origin story to the upcoming video game’s main characters. She makes you root for but also empathize with the elite Imperial soldiers. Most of the novel covers their mission going deep undercover with the remains of Saw Gerrera’s radical and often brutal partisans. But getting to know the partisans personally creates an engaging conflict as the members of Inferno Squad struggle with their undercover personas. This is a fantastic addition to the new canon, tying the upcoming video game perfectly to the large universe.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My full review can be found over on Coffee With Kenobi here: https://www.coffeewithkenobi.com/book...

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set at the time of the original Death Star's destruction, Battlefront II: Inferno Squad provides for a different perspective to the events which culminated in the ending of A New Hope.

"If hope is all you have, then you already are nothing."

Iden Versio was a TIE pilot and one of the few Imperials who escaped the catastrophic destruction of the Empire's most powerful weapon. Having to deal with being one of the handful of survivors makes for an interesting internal conflict for the fierce and dedicated character as she slowly comes to terms with surviving, turning her fortune into fury with renewed vigor and a determined purpose; eradicate the Rebels and return the Empire to it's former glory - at any cost.

"And you know what they say. Live in hope...die in despair."

I thought Battlefront II: Inferno Squad was great. Not only does it make A New Hope and Rouge One better by providing some added conflict to the war but it also showcases the impact on the Empire which leads not only to the formation of the elite unit but also the human aspect of war.

The cast of characters are well written and merge seamlessly into the Battlefront II game though the game is set some time after the events of this book so you can read this in isolation.

My rating: 5 stars. Up there with one of the best books in the Disney Canon.

[Poppy Parkes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having no experience of Battlefront I was dubious about this book, however, it's actually an amazing book. It's interesting to read a book from the Empire's perspective and actually support them. This was nearly a five-star book for me but there were some aspects of the plot that seemed redundant in my opinion.

[S— · Rating 5 out of 5]

I AM MENTALLY DRAINED :'((((((

[Allison Tebo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Warning: this review contains spoilers.

Star Trek has invaded Star Wars.

Gone are the good old days of “Good Guys and Bad Guys” in Star Wars.

While I always find it interesting to read a book or watch a movie from the bad guys perspective (rather like reading a text book on how to improve writing my own villains and creating delusional characters who believe evil is good) another reader pointed out that there is really no one to root for in this book and that is true.

The characters, especially Del Meeko, were good. The writing style itself is exceptional and the Audible narrator is AMAZING. The story was interesting and I could have given it a three star if the author had just been willing to plant a few more flags and changed the ending.

In the beginning of the book, it was clear that the audience was supposed to know that the Imperial characters, though sincere, were wrong—but by the end of it I felt like she was trying to convert me into thinking, basically, no one is good, no one is bad, we ought to be able to understand, like and tolerate Nazi type villains and terrorists that bomb school children.

And then to cap at all off - this weird mystical moment of semi-sentient robot things that dispose the myraids of bodies lying around. This apparently very significant scene was supposed to make us feel better / hopeful and instead left me staring and laughing incredulously.

To summarize: Definitely a weak installment.

Content: Thematic elements—the group spends a lot of time with terrorists and have to make a lot of ‘hard decisions’—though I was pleasantly surprised at how the author cut around torture scenes. It is implied that the four MCs (two men and two women) share the same cabin (such a liberated day and age), there is a one kiss and a romance between two different species. A lot of violence and gross disposal of bodies.

[Peter Hammond · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm torn. I should be enjoying these novels a lot more. While reading this one I started blaming myself, has Star Wars fatigue set in? Why do I feel so jaded and apathetic towards these characters? And then it struck me. Inferno Squad is fundamentally reactionary. It is a story engineered with antithetical Star Wars tropes. Much like Battlefront II (video game) has been seemingly designed to appease critics of its predecessor, the novel is trying to present a fresh perspective from which to view the Galactic Civil War in an attempt to distinguish itself from other novels in the canon.

You know all those TIE fighters that cut down Y wings and X wings during the battle of Yavin? Well one of them was piloted by a gorgeous savant named, Iden Versio. She's an amazing fighter pilot, a relentless warrior, and a brilliant strategist. Star Wars Battlefront II: Inferno Squad is her story. And man oh man is it a snooze.

Lucasfilm is putting out too much material. There's no getting around it. I've been enjoying consuming all of it for a couple years now. I've read every comic, every novel, played the shit out of the Battlefront video game, watched all of Rebels, and seen both Rogue One and TFA a dozen times each. It seems to be an impossible feat to keep all of the different stories within the different mediums fresh and interesting while also still being pertinent to the larger picture.

Inferno Squad is trying to present something new: an empathetic face on the whole heartedly evil Galactic Empire. A little Game of Thrones in our Star Wars. It's an interesting thought... in theory. But it is clumsily wielded and really, surprising dull. As others have pointed out there is hardly any battle in this Battlefront. An odd choice for a novel that is set up for a first person shooter video game. I thought Lost Stars was really phenomenal and in some ways Inferno Squad is piggy backing on the success of that novel. But in short I think this new novel is giving us more of the same by trying to give us something different. I think my main problem with the story is that it all just feels so inconsequential. Iden and her Inferno Squad are presented in such a bombastic way, yet they never quite seem to earn their accolades. The missions they embark on are predictable and lack importance on a galactic scale. And so, consequently does this novel.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Star Wars: Inferno Squad kicks off with us meeting meeting Iden Versio as she does battle over the first Death Star needless to point out she get a of a surprise when it goes up and then the story takes if from there in the aftermath of the Death Star's destruction! :D

She along with Gideon Hask, Seyn Marana, Del Meeko are brought together by Admiral Garrick Version (her Dad! ) and forged into an infiltration unit with the titular title of Inferno Squad! :D Needless to say they get on with business starting small but then they have to move up to the big time with infiltrating the Dreamers a left over group from Saw Gerrera’s Partisans! :D

Throughout the book we are constantly picking up on new facets of the group including the ill-fated Seyn that get to show up the Imperial side, a trick that has been done recently with the book Star Wars: Thrawn! :D This goes a long way to showing that not everyone in the empire is totally evil and again shows how intelligent people have been hoodwinked by the Emperor! :D Who in reality would be no more than a abstract concept to most people in reality! :D

At the same time though we get to see how the various members of the group struggle to continue there duty as they get to no the partisans! :D This is not to paint them all in glowing colours though they can be downright vicious throughout the book though they do wobble a bit on their justifications before firming up and getting on with from a 'certain point of view' of course! :D The characters though are all well defined though and they deal with the situations as they see them both Del and his concern for Piikow and Iden sparing of Mentor provide character depth and future things come back and bite them really giving the book an edge! :D

Star Wars: Inferno Squad is a view from the other side and it certainly makes for interesting and moral debates with well rounded and grounded characters (literally for them at points! :D Lol )! :D Star Wars: Inferno Squad build depth into the Imperials and really set up things up for future events! :D

Star Wars: Inferno Squad is clever, debate, filled fast-pace and action packed! :D Brilliant and highly recommended! :D

[DiscoSpacePanther · Rating 3 out of 5]

As is traditional in Star Wars, we have a prequel on our hands. Star Wars Battlefront II: Inferno Squad begins at the Battle of Yavin, and follows a small team of Imperial agents who are tasked with bringing down the remnants of Saw Gerrera’s partisans.

Whilst I enjoyed reading this, it had none of the depth or grim realness of Twilight Company, and it ended up feling therefore a little lightweight by comparison.

First of all, Christie Golden’s writing carries a whiff of YA about it, in book that is ostensibly for adults. All the main characters are beautiful, all the clothes are splendid, and everything tastes so delicious! There aren’t enough superlatives in he thesaurus to cover all the amazing wonders that these characters feel in what it otherwise a bit of a humdrum tale.

There was nothing wrong with the story - it just felt to me to be a little timid. Covering similar themes to the Wraith Squadron novels from Legends, it didn’t take advantage of the fact that at least two of the Imperial team were accomplished TIE pilots, and instead opted for a pedestrian infiltration narrative. Iden Versio, the protagonist is a complete Imperial stooge - she never questions the Empire, and her motivation for the single morally complex act she performs is never really explored, but is only ever hinted at.

The other Imperials are a pretty one-dimensional bunch, as are the partisans. They fulfill their story function, and that is about all.

Still, I enjoyed reading the book - it is Star Wars after all, and set in the classic era, with nary a mention of lightsabers or jedi - which is refreshing after so much Legends material where the narrative is nothing but jedi jedi jedi!

There is room for more stories with these characters - but let’s see them spread their wings more interestingly next time.

[Jim C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating is 3.5 stars.

This is part of the Star Wars universe and opens with the Battle of Yavin. We all now what happens there. After the destruction of the Death Star, the Empire realizes the Rebellion is a serious threat. Inferno Squad is formed to determine how the Rebellion is getting their hands on sensitive information about the Empire.

This book opened up with a bang and has probably the best opening scene from any book in this universe. Yes, we have all seen this battle but this time we get the view from a lone tie fighter. I loved every second of it and after twenty five pages I was already giving this book a five star rating. Then we get to the heart of the story. Inferno Squad infiltrates the remaining members of Saw Gerrera's rebellion cell. This part dropped the rating for me. It was more talk than action and the importance of infiltrating this cell seemed exaggerated. The beginning emphasizes the Rebellion and the formation of this squad but then we tell the story of the last remaining remnants of a group that is doing minor damage. It seemed like it went a little askew. That being said, I did love the conclusion.

This was a pleasurable read from this universe. It did drag a little in the middle. It is a shame too because the opening and the conclusion was fantastic. I hope to see more from these characters.

[N.E.C.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been interested in the diferent points of view about the events that take places in the Star Wars universe and in this occasion Christie Golden didn't disappoint me at all.
I must admit, this book could've used more "battles", i thought it was going to be more fast paced and with more "emotions" but at the end it wasn't like that.
I loved the first part of the story, the introduccion of the characters and the formation of Inferno Squad but almost at the middle of the book it felt like it started to go slower than before (probably because of the whole "not enough battles" that i talked about before). Luckily before the end it picked up again.
Nonetheless, i have to admit that Christie Golden kocked it outta the park again. The sad part is that i have to wait until November for Battlefront II to spend more time with Inferno Squad.
I hope they dicide to make a sequel or a series of books about this team, that would be awesome.

[Helix · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, let me get this straight: I enjoy villains. I enjoy knowing how the bad guys work. Aesthetically and fictionally speaking, I root for the Empire. I *like* bad guys, at least a couple of them (coughs Thrawn Krennic Tarkin Vader and Ventress coughs). I have no such compuctions reading novels like this, that was centered around "villains" and people who are, well, people, who worked for (and was raised in) a FICTIONAL, bad, authoritarian regime. Why am I saying all of this? Because I read some the reviews here and it boils my blood, saying that novels like Inferno Squad has "no point" or "hard to relate with morally" because the protagonists, in the grander scheme of things, are villains.

If you're one of these people please stop reading this review at this point. I have no patience for moral busybodies who conflates fiction with real life and can't see the actual point of fiction.

Anyway. Discourse aside, I pretty much enjoyed this novel. I always love reading more stories from the dark side, whether it's the Sith or the Empire, though nowadays I enjoyed the Empire more. I'll be honest, I don't much like Iden at first. She's an annoying, unsympathetic character at best, lacking at personality at worst. Her entire character was built around her daddy issues and her parental problems. The other members of the squad fared somewhat better: Gideon is the stereotypical golden boy who has a somewhat (unaddressed) crush on Iden (his childhood friend) and who yearns to best her (something Lost Stars also have), he's the least developed of all the characters and I don't care much about him. Seyn is the child prodigy of the squad, and she has the most potential for complexity, although that potential is largely squandered. Del is arguably the most complex character in the squad. His profile is straightforward, and he /seems/ to the the type that would defect, but he's surprisingly complicated, and it's a shame his character wasn't explored a little more.

Frankly, the squad felt forced at first, and the first half of the book before the undercover mission essentially felt this way too, and I feel like the author doesn't yet know how to write Imperials as convincing well-rounded characters instead of "the enemy". I don't much enjoy the first half of the book and I've had a lot of doubts about this book. Then the undercover mission part arrived and it gets more engaging from that point onwards. I definitely think that there should be a lot more action going on in this book, and I was also kind of underwhelmed, but I do love undercover mission plots, so I actually pretty much enjoyed it. I'd also just finished reading Rebel Rising, so Staven and Saw was still fresh in my mind. I'm a bit...disappointed too about the resolution, honestly (other than the big reveal, I LOVE the big reveal), and the ending...yeah. But Iden grew to be quite a sympathetic character (I actually felt sorry for her at the end) and the death (no spoilers) makes me sad.

A little about Del: I think he's the most interesting and complex character (and my favourite) because he's so disarming. He /was/ the friendly one, genuinely likeable, and seemed to be the one who has a disposition towards kindness like Seyn (in contrast with Iden, who doesn't even know what is kindness, or Gideon, who I think at this point was possibly a sociopath or something), but some of the things he said and did during the mission and to COMPLETE the mission, was frankly surprising. I actually thought he was gonna defect and turn coat.

To be honest, this novel is far from perfect, and I...kind of feel like Golden failed to humanise the villains. Instead of writing them as people (who got caught at the other side of the war), she writes them as Imperials first, which translates to "people with wacky beliefs under a tyrannical regime", and I can really feel that acutely all throughout the story. Instead of giving Inferno Squad an internal moral consistency by giving the characters a natural growth through questioning their convictions and then deal with it accordingly, therefore making what they believe in--however despicable and morally wrong--well, believable, she stuck to that good old stereotype that Imperials are evil and therefore lying and deception and other things comes easier to them (consciously or otherwise, but I feel like that's embedded in the narrative). Well, MAYBE, but that's not the point. The point is that I feel like there's a lack of organic character growth, and it's painful because this could be an excellent novel. It's on the verge of greatness but...it stops short. No examples because spoilers, but I get this impression in Seyn's arc.

I'm not going to touch the issue of "Imperials are evil so let them face something more evil, TERRORISTS" because...yikes. Star Wars in general has shown that it's about CHOICES, and hope (bad guys can hope too), and I'm actually glad that under Disney, Lucasfilm seemed to be willing to be more grey than strictly black and white. I think while Saw's goal might be good, the MEANS he use are not morally ok, and in some cases I can even staunchly say that he's more evil than the Empire (not the Emperor though, he's another league of evil). He's definitely NOT a hero. The Imperials and the Empire aren't good, they are evil too, but Saw and the Dreamers aren't any better, either. I'm going to quote Victoria Schwab: "there are no good men in this game" and it's true. Even the Rebels in Rogue One had done some things that they regretted. Extremism is the problem (quoting Jyn in Rebel Rising) and causing all manners of evil to unfold. I think in this perspective, both sides ARE evil (I mean the Imperials and the partisans).

I'm just glad that we finally get a story without an Imperial defecting to the Rebels because frankly I'm tired of that particular redemption arc and it's overused at this point, even if it felt forced. And we finally get a story where the Imperials are the "heroes", something from their perspective. I absolutely hope we'll get more.

I'm giving this a four star out of spite. This is for you Rebel scum out there.

[WayneM0 · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

Another excellent Star Wars book and my only criticism is it was too short. I would have liked it to be longer but heres hoping it might not be the last of the books in the Battlefront series. For those that played the game this fits into the same timeline but adds to the story concerning the birth of inferno squad.

Its Star Wars so the world building is fantastic. Vivid and it really gives the reader a sense of what its like to be there. The flora and fauna is also a highlight and evokes a strong sense of diversity which Star Wars is all about.

The characters are great and will be well known to those players of Battlefront 2. It follows the early career of a pivotal character from the single player mode and filled in a few gaps. Iden is a brilliant lead and is an enthralling character. The other characters are very strong too.

There is plenty of action, and suspense as well as a few plot twists and surprises. The pacing is good and overall the story fitted in well with the Star Wars universe.

Probably not the first book I'd read of all the books you might start with but you could read it without knowing much.

A great addition to Star Wars canon and the perfect way to encourage non readers to read if they play video games.
Highly recommended.

[⟡ brittney ⟡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolute gut-punch of a novel, Inferno Squad details the events that led up to the formation of the infamous team in Battlefront 2 and the ones that preceded the game. It explores morally grey areas in Star Wars and challenges these characters to define the lengths they are willing to go for their cause, even at the very expense of that said cause. Great pacing here with lots of character and relationship build-up that pays off in the Battlefront 2 campaign.

[Tim Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bonus point for taking video game characters and making them relatable!