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Star Wars: X-Wing #4
Star Wars X-Wing Series - The Bacta War
After her attempt to strike at the heart of Coruscant with a deadly virus, the sinister Ysanne Isard sets her sights on destabilizing the New Republic by seizing its medicinal bacta production. Under the guise of a mere power struggle between corporations on the planet Thyferra, the imperial mastermind has taken control of one of the galaxy's most precious resources.The heroes of Rogue Squadron are desperate to liberate the planet, and free prisoners trapped by Isard, only to find their plans foiled by the politics of the New Republic, which is set on assigning the squadron elsewhere. With timing and resources running short, Wedge Antilles, Corran Horn, and the other rogues have no choice but to resign from the New Republic.The team must now go truly rogue to chip away at Isard's power, defeat her powerful complement of Star Destroyers, and free Thyferra from her iron rule. But when she discovers the Squadron's secret base, its pilots must scramble for survival in a winner-take-all battle against Isard's overwhelming and seemingly superior force.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 264 reviews
May 31, 2024
It's easy to see why this series is among the best-loved parts of the Expanded Universe. Great action and a fun plot; what's not to like? Then again, I could have done without the scene in the first chapter that implies sex.
April 5, 2023
Wow, what a ride! I had not read the X-Wing series before and when the first four books in the series were given unabridged audiobooks, it was time for me to check this series out. I have enjoyed these books immensely. The Bacta War was a wonderful wrap up to a great mini series. After the dramatic events of the Krytos Trap, a supposed death, a trial, a plague and more, we go back into space. After Wedge and the rest of Rogue Squadron resigned from the New Republic, they formed their own crew to go after Isard and her Imperial crew, including traitor Erisi. Getting pilots, planes, parts, a base and more are dealt with and we finally meet Mirax's father Booster Terrik. One of my favorites Talon Karrde also shows up. Mix all this together and we have a wonderful tale of action, adventure and some romance. Battle scenes are easier to follow in this edition and this book wraps up the story begun in Rogue Squadron. Author Stackpole writes politics as well as Zahn and Luceno and this book surpasses quite a few canon books. I hope the rest of the series will be release on unabridged audio. Marc Thompson is brilliant as usual and the voicework is superb.
August 24, 2023
A decent curtain call to Stackpole's tales of Rogue Squadron, this time acting independently of the New Republic/Rebel Alliance to carry on a "private war" against the ruthless ISB Director Ysanne Isard following her occupation of the planet of Thyferra, sole supplier to the galaxy of the titular medical panacea.
Audiobook Note: Marc Thompson, as always, really brings it, though at times I wish the character of Booster Terrik could speak in anything other than a shout. Also, I defy you to imagine Talon Karrde as anything other than a young Antonio Banderas when you hear his dialogue.
Oh look Karrde has seemingly effortlessly made several more million credits...
Audiobook Note: Marc Thompson, as always, really brings it, though at times I wish the character of Booster Terrik could speak in anything other than a shout. Also, I defy you to imagine Talon Karrde as anything other than a young Antonio Banderas when you hear his dialogue.
Oh look Karrde has seemingly effortlessly made several more million credits...
August 16, 2010
Rogue Squadron goes rogue
After the events of The Krytos Trap, the Rogues were in a sticky position: let Ysanne Isard have control of Thyferra and the galaxy’s supply of bacta (which would cure the deadly Krytos virus) or leave the New Republic and go after her. Being Rogues, Wedge, Tycho, Corran, and the others leave their post and begin to plan a way to release Thyferra from Imperial rule.
NOTE: Based on audiobook and novel.
I Liked:
It’s nice to see the pilots of Rogue Squadron have to fight with their brains instead of overwhelming firepower. The story of this book is unique. Instead of working with the New Republic, the Rogues have to leave in order to defeat the Empire (which is very different than how most authors tend to paint the New Republic, as the rosy-posy, goody-two-shoes, nearly utopian government).
Stackpole continues to please me by including continuity nods to Zahn’s trilogy among others. I was particularly pleased to see mentions to Outbound Flight, the Katana fleet, Winter, and even Talon Karrde! And speaking of Winter and Karrde, Stackpole writes them brilliantly, just as I think Zahn would want.
Corran Horn gets some growth: relationally and in the Force. I really liked to see how he tried and failed to use the Force (after Luke asked Corran to join his Academy).
I Didn’t Like:
I wasn’t too fond of how much recapping occurred in this book. The first 15min of the audiobook (which is only 180 min long) was basically a recap of the previous book. I don’t recall so much recap from the previous books (even The Krytos Trap, in which Corran was captured), and I don’t really feel it is necessary.
Also, Isard is reduced to the Cackling Villain variety, a variety I loathe. She could be really good, but all she does is talk about how she will destroy the Rebel Alliance and the Empire will rise again. A shame. Our other villain, Vorru, isn’t so bad, but he really doesn’t have as much power as he likes to think. And Kirtan Loor, the villain I really liked, is gone.
Lastly, I just had trouble getting involved in the story. It wasn’t boring, it wasn’t terribly written, it’s just after the info-dump and the recap, I found myself unengaged.
Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Star Wars curse words.
Mirax and Corran consummate their love off-screen.
Dogfights galore. Corran also unintentionally starts a fight while trying to use a Jedi Mind Trick.
Overall:
The Bacta War wraps up many things in the X-Wing line: the Rogue Squadron’s story, Ysanne Isard’s flee from Coruscant, the Krytos virus arc, and Stackpole’s four book run (though he would return to X-Wing in “Isard’s Revenge”). It was a decent novel, but I just couldn’t seem to get interested in it. I’m rounding to 4 because it might have been A) the audiobook (the narrator uses some annoying voices for the women and an odd Scottish accent for Wedge), B) my mood, or C) being distracted.
After the events of The Krytos Trap, the Rogues were in a sticky position: let Ysanne Isard have control of Thyferra and the galaxy’s supply of bacta (which would cure the deadly Krytos virus) or leave the New Republic and go after her. Being Rogues, Wedge, Tycho, Corran, and the others leave their post and begin to plan a way to release Thyferra from Imperial rule.
NOTE: Based on audiobook and novel.
I Liked:
It’s nice to see the pilots of Rogue Squadron have to fight with their brains instead of overwhelming firepower. The story of this book is unique. Instead of working with the New Republic, the Rogues have to leave in order to defeat the Empire (which is very different than how most authors tend to paint the New Republic, as the rosy-posy, goody-two-shoes, nearly utopian government).
Stackpole continues to please me by including continuity nods to Zahn’s trilogy among others. I was particularly pleased to see mentions to Outbound Flight, the Katana fleet, Winter, and even Talon Karrde! And speaking of Winter and Karrde, Stackpole writes them brilliantly, just as I think Zahn would want.
Corran Horn gets some growth: relationally and in the Force. I really liked to see how he tried and failed to use the Force (after Luke asked Corran to join his Academy).
I Didn’t Like:
I wasn’t too fond of how much recapping occurred in this book. The first 15min of the audiobook (which is only 180 min long) was basically a recap of the previous book. I don’t recall so much recap from the previous books (even The Krytos Trap, in which Corran was captured), and I don’t really feel it is necessary.
Also, Isard is reduced to the Cackling Villain variety, a variety I loathe. She could be really good, but all she does is talk about how she will destroy the Rebel Alliance and the Empire will rise again. A shame. Our other villain, Vorru, isn’t so bad, but he really doesn’t have as much power as he likes to think. And Kirtan Loor, the villain I really liked, is gone.
Lastly, I just had trouble getting involved in the story. It wasn’t boring, it wasn’t terribly written, it’s just after the info-dump and the recap, I found myself unengaged.
Dialogue/Sexual Situations/Violence:
Star Wars curse words.
Mirax and Corran consummate their love off-screen.
Dogfights galore. Corran also unintentionally starts a fight while trying to use a Jedi Mind Trick.
Overall:
The Bacta War wraps up many things in the X-Wing line: the Rogue Squadron’s story, Ysanne Isard’s flee from Coruscant, the Krytos virus arc, and Stackpole’s four book run (though he would return to X-Wing in “Isard’s Revenge”). It was a decent novel, but I just couldn’t seem to get interested in it. I’m rounding to 4 because it might have been A) the audiobook (the narrator uses some annoying voices for the women and an odd Scottish accent for Wedge), B) my mood, or C) being distracted.
May 22, 2024
“The Bacta War” brings my reading of Michael Stackpole’s original “X-Wing” novels to a close (I haven’t decided yet if I’ll read the rest of the series’ books by Aaron Allston someday).The book sees Rogue Squadron resigning from the New Republic, going rogue (pun intended), and waging their private war against Ysanne Isard to bring her to justice and to gain control of a world that produces bacta (Star Wars’ magical healing liquid).
In general, I feel like Stackpole brought back several of the issues I had with book 1 of this series such as hard-to-follow/oddly boring dogfights (due to overuse of technical jargon). Yet Stackpole also brought in elements that I have come around to over the course of these 4 books. For instance the Rogues, even Corran Horn (I’m still ambivalent but he’s a lot more tolerable here), are all enjoyable characters (a testament to Stackpole’s writing for their character arcs) and I had an easier time keeping track of them. Yet while our heroes were fine to read about, the Imperials were less engaging. 4 books in and I don’t see the appeal of Isard, she just was a generic evil and insane woman, maybe had we gotten POV chapters about her she might have been more interesting, but as is I think she falls short of other Star Wars villains.
Thus I went back and forth with my overall level of engagement with the book and the main conflict. But overall I was very satisfied, especially as the book entered the final act and the climatic space battle of Stackpole’s 4 book run was worth the wait. In general the book had plenty of entertaining Star Wars content spread throughout. Surprisingly I was thinking The Bacta War was less of “Top Gun” in space and more like “Dune” with fighter pilots. Most of Star Wars’ Dune parallels are restricted to Tatooine/Kessel but the conflict of different families/corporations fighting for control of a planet and thus bacta really is reminiscent of the fight to control Spice production on Arrakis. It was definitely an interesting way to honor (maybe unintentionally) one of Star Wars’ influences. Other “interesting” concepts were the frequent suggestions of characters having sex, probably the most I’ve seen in any Star Wars content.
Stackpole’s X-Wing books took off in a shaky manner but as they progressed I got to enjoying them. While “Wedge’s Gamble” was the best of the 4 books, “Bacta War” was still an entertaining end to the quartet. I got my Wedge Antilles fix from it and a new appreciation for the other various Rogue Squadron pilots. Whether it’s the rest of these X-Wing novels or Disney’s planned Rogue Squadron movie, I hope these other Star Wars projects continue to do right by the Rogues.
Trigger warning I guess for readers that hate trigger warnings and pronouns, this Star Wars book from the 1990s has an extended conversation about individuals with they/them pronouns (feel free to toss the book away and clutch your pearls).
In general, I feel like Stackpole brought back several of the issues I had with book 1 of this series such as hard-to-follow/oddly boring dogfights (due to overuse of technical jargon). Yet Stackpole also brought in elements that I have come around to over the course of these 4 books. For instance the Rogues, even Corran Horn (I’m still ambivalent but he’s a lot more tolerable here), are all enjoyable characters (a testament to Stackpole’s writing for their character arcs) and I had an easier time keeping track of them. Yet while our heroes were fine to read about, the Imperials were less engaging. 4 books in and I don’t see the appeal of Isard, she just was a generic evil and insane woman, maybe had we gotten POV chapters about her she might have been more interesting, but as is I think she falls short of other Star Wars villains.
Thus I went back and forth with my overall level of engagement with the book and the main conflict. But overall I was very satisfied, especially as the book entered the final act and the climatic space battle of Stackpole’s 4 book run was worth the wait. In general the book had plenty of entertaining Star Wars content spread throughout. Surprisingly I was thinking The Bacta War was less of “Top Gun” in space and more like “Dune” with fighter pilots. Most of Star Wars’ Dune parallels are restricted to Tatooine/Kessel but the conflict of different families/corporations fighting for control of a planet and thus bacta really is reminiscent of the fight to control Spice production on Arrakis. It was definitely an interesting way to honor (maybe unintentionally) one of Star Wars’ influences. Other “interesting” concepts were the frequent suggestions of characters having sex, probably the most I’ve seen in any Star Wars content.
Stackpole’s X-Wing books took off in a shaky manner but as they progressed I got to enjoying them. While “Wedge’s Gamble” was the best of the 4 books, “Bacta War” was still an entertaining end to the quartet. I got my Wedge Antilles fix from it and a new appreciation for the other various Rogue Squadron pilots. Whether it’s the rest of these X-Wing novels or Disney’s planned Rogue Squadron movie, I hope these other Star Wars projects continue to do right by the Rogues.
Trigger warning I guess for readers that hate trigger warnings and pronouns, this Star Wars book from the 1990s has an extended conversation about individuals with they/them pronouns (feel free to toss the book away and clutch your pearls).
December 4, 2023
4,5
Nie spodziewałam się, że Isard już zginie... Nie zdziwię się, jeśli to przeżyła.
Ooryl mówi o sobie w pierwszej osobie :D
Super opisy bitew.
I ❤️ "Ɓłedny Rycerz" i sytuację zdobycia go przez Boostera
I już ślub Corana i Mirax, szybko. Ale że czytałam późniejsze książki, to i tak wiedziałam, że tym się skończy.
Trochę za szybką śmierć złoczyńców w tej serii. Brak pogłębienia tych wątków moim zdaniem.
Dlatego 4.5, a nie 5 gwiazdek
Nie spodziewałam się, że Isard już zginie... Nie zdziwię się, jeśli to przeżyła.
Ooryl mówi o sobie w pierwszej osobie :D
Super opisy bitew.
I ❤️ "Ɓłedny Rycerz" i sytuację zdobycia go przez Boostera
I już ślub Corana i Mirax, szybko. Ale że czytałam późniejsze książki, to i tak wiedziałam, że tym się skończy.
Trochę za szybką śmierć złoczyńców w tej serii. Brak pogłębienia tych wątków moim zdaniem.
Dlatego 4.5, a nie 5 gwiazdek
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 26, 2023
There's no doubt that the X-Wing series is progressing, each story pushes new bounds. I wish I could say the same about the entertainment value. I found myself getting bored with this instalment. The last book felt more contained with a plot that was easy to follow. This one is all over the place with loads of character perspectives. Unlike the previous story, where we focused a bit more on the character development on Corran Horn, this one lacked that sort of character focus.
I got excited when something I really enjoyed from the Rise of the Republic era was mentioned, the very book that got me out of a Star Wars reading fatigue; The squadron sits around discussing the challenges they face, when someone says, "We can hope the Outbound Flight project finally produces results, with a host of non-human jedi knights coming from outside the galaxy to help us." I loved the reference.
In the last book, we found out that Corran Horn has some Jedi blood. I accept this, and think it's pretty. In this book, I couldn't stand it when Corran Horn was faced with an obstacle, and to get out of it he just had to think about a story he'd once heard about the Jedi (mind-trick), and uses the force (though not fully successful) on his enemy. I think there would need to be some sort of an "awakening" (epiphany might be a better word - I don't want to cause a canon war because of my choice of wards). Some sort of mentoring from Luke should have been ongoing for this force ability to be used... not just recall some story and say yeah I can do that because I found out I might have the force.
Overall, the story was a bit of a blur and not as focused as I would have liked. It is nice though that Michael A Stackpole is putting a lot of culture in these books with all the different characters.
Do I recommend you read Star Wars: The Bacta War? Sure, why not, if you've read up to book 3, give this one a go as well.
I got excited when something I really enjoyed from the Rise of the Republic era was mentioned, the very book that got me out of a Star Wars reading fatigue; The squadron sits around discussing the challenges they face, when someone says, "We can hope the Outbound Flight project finally produces results, with a host of non-human jedi knights coming from outside the galaxy to help us." I loved the reference.
In the last book, we found out that Corran Horn has some Jedi blood. I accept this, and think it's pretty. In this book, I couldn't stand it when Corran Horn was faced with an obstacle, and to get out of it he just had to think about a story he'd once heard about the Jedi (mind-trick), and uses the force (though not fully successful) on his enemy. I think there would need to be some sort of an "awakening" (epiphany might be a better word - I don't want to cause a canon war because of my choice of wards). Some sort of mentoring from Luke should have been ongoing for this force ability to be used... not just recall some story and say yeah I can do that because I found out I might have the force.
Overall, the story was a bit of a blur and not as focused as I would have liked. It is nice though that Michael A Stackpole is putting a lot of culture in these books with all the different characters.
Do I recommend you read Star Wars: The Bacta War? Sure, why not, if you've read up to book 3, give this one a go as well.
August 29, 2009
Probably ought to be 3.5, but I wanted to give Stackpole credit for successfully finishing a series in less than a dozen books. (No small accomplishment these days.)
May 4, 2023
I've said it before, these X-Wing books are just tons of fun to read. They would've made great movies, or a great tv series. But sadly that will most likely never happen. Thank god we have the great Marc Thompson narrating the audiobooks at least.
January 14, 2020
Ok, read this one a while back and wanted to read a little fluff and see how this one had aged on me (I guess). Have to say it aged poorly at best. While I believe there was some hope for the general story (really this should have been drawn out over several books, instead Iceheart is made to look like a fool) the over the top performance of the Rogue Squadron really makes you question the series and writer. for openers Rogue Squadron seems to always have win engagements no matter the odds; yes i get it that they're good (arguable the best) but 10-0 kill ratio's don't happen in one engagement (they do for Rogue). Attrition happens and we never see Rogue losing a pilot (yes, one is forced to punch out at the end). I'll follow this up with the Empire (or the organization formally known as the Empire) must be full of idiots. How many "ships" must you lose to "snub fighters" before you recognize that "snub fighters" aren't only a threat but you really need to improve your defenses against them (turbo-laser turrets were used by the Death Star and failed, same for Endor and every other encounter we've read about. If I'm an Imperial Captain I'm either going to disengage when they appear or ensure my fighters hit them as one so I have multiple Tie's engaging each "snub fighter"). Merging this with an "Empirical Force" that can't seem to bring Rogue to heel no matter what happens makes for a lot of cotton candy reading and little that's truly fun or entertaining.
February 27, 2023
The Bacta War is the final entry in the "Rogue Squadron tetralogy" and the 4th book in the X-Wing series. I will be giving my thoughts on this book first and the tetralogy as a whole at the end.
After what felt like 3 books of mostly build-up to this one, it had to deliver. Did it?
Yes, but not quite as well as I had hoped. While I did enjoy it, it felt like it could have been executed even better. Spacecombat returns to the forefront again after being abit sidelined in the 2 previous books and it was fun. Overall it was an ok ending to the RS arc.
I would give this book a weak 4. Why not 3.5 you ask? I dont know, just feels more like a weak 4 to me, but I also am not very good at rating stuff. Just do what I feel.
Rogue Squadroan tetralogy:
I did enjoy the tetralogy as a whole and I can see why its a beloved series. Is it the best Star Wars has to offer? No. But its far from the worst. I know some characters will play bigger roles in later books so that was the main reason I decided to give this a shot. I do not regret my time reading this.
After what felt like 3 books of mostly build-up to this one, it had to deliver. Did it?
Yes, but not quite as well as I had hoped. While I did enjoy it, it felt like it could have been executed even better. Spacecombat returns to the forefront again after being abit sidelined in the 2 previous books and it was fun. Overall it was an ok ending to the RS arc.
I would give this book a weak 4. Why not 3.5 you ask? I dont know, just feels more like a weak 4 to me, but I also am not very good at rating stuff. Just do what I feel.
Rogue Squadroan tetralogy:
I did enjoy the tetralogy as a whole and I can see why its a beloved series. Is it the best Star Wars has to offer? No. But its far from the worst. I know some characters will play bigger roles in later books so that was the main reason I decided to give this a shot. I do not regret my time reading this.
May 9, 2023
Being a fan of the Rogue Squadron games of yesteryear, I really wanted to enjoy these more than I did. But, I’m done with the X-Wing series. It started off promising, this book in particular started great, but gradually got so boring. Not for me.
August 30, 2020
For 2020, I decided to reread (in publication order) all the Bantam-era Star Wars books that were released between 1991 and 1999; that shakes out to 38 adult novels and 5 anthologies of short stories & novellas.
This week’s focus: the fourth X-Wing book by Michael A. Stackpole, The Bacta War.
SOME HISTORY:
Compared to 1996’s record of nine books released, 1997 proved a more leisurely year with only six books published: the fourth X-Wing book, two hardcover releases in the spring and fall, the first two volumes of the Han Solo trilogy, and a fourth Tales collection. And with the conclusion of Stackpole’s four-book series in February, there wouldn’t be another X-Wing book until the release of Aaron Allston’s Wraith Squadron in February 1998. The Bacta War made it to number thirteen on the New York Times paperback bestseller list for the week of February 2, 1997.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
This book contained most of the scenes I thought were missing from previous books. A lengthy visit to the Darklighters on Tatooine? Check. Resolution of Bror Jace’s mysterious death from book 2? Also check. I didn’t think I reread these books all that frequently, but apparently I did.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
Ysanne Isard has taken control of Thyferra, intending to control production of bacta. Deprived of Alliance support, Rogue Squadron resigns and goes rogue. They must oppose Isard's plans, defeat her Star Destroyer fleet, and free Thyferra from her rule in a battle against a seemingly superior force.
THE CHARACTERS:
Wedge (once again) has an awful lot on his plate, but I feel like Stackpole never fleshes out his character to the extent that he did with Corran. Wedge is the boss, Wedge has to make a ton of tough choices, and he regrets all the people that squadron has lost, but he doesn’t have as developed an arc as Corran.
Corran learned at the end of book 3 about his heritage (his biological grandfather, Nejaa Halcyon, was a Corellian Jedi), but he’s more concerned with freeing the prisoners on the Lusankya than pursuing the Jedi path. And if anything, he proves that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing: he attempts--very badly--to use a Jedi mind trick on a stormtrooper, and he doesn’t know enough about lightsaber combat to be particularly good at using his saber. He also starts to second guess himself; is he nervous in this situation because of intuition from the Force? Can he even rely on that yet? I liked Stackpole’s nuanced take on the Jedi, that Corran’s own perception of them is colored by the vague legends and propaganda films about them.
Tycho gets one outstanding chapter--Chapter 12, wherein he goes to the Graveyard to pay his respects to his family--but otherwise he’s just here, being Wedge’s second-in-command. His choice to use Another Chance’s transponder code ends up working very well for the Rogues, though, since it gains them the help of the automated Thranta-class War Cruiser during the second ambush in the Graveyard. (And Another Chance in general is an interesting facet of Alderaanian history.)
After books 1 and 2 detailed Corran and Mirax’s growing friendship and book 3 took a backseat to any relationship development, The Bacta War opens with them already together. I guess Stackpole didn’t want to write out their DTR, but it felt a little abrupt to me. They’re good, Corran and Booster don’t like each other but work things out, and then Corran and Mirax get engaged AND married super quickly. Umm, OK?
Iella’s plotline is perhaps the weakest, mostly because we just don’t see much of what they’re doing. Iella and Elscol are inserted on-planet to meet up with the Ashern rebels and take down Isard’s government, but we don’t see enough of their plans for me to feel like they’re essential to the story. In comparison, Iella’s emotional arc felt more compelling--she’s still grieving the loss of her husband from book 3, and has to figure out how she can move on from her grief.
I love Booster Terrik, and he was a highpoint of the novel for me. He’s a shrewd businessman and a frankly intimidating figure, but he also loves his daughter very much. (And he got a Star Destroyer in the end! Go Booster.) Karrde also makes an appearance, very similar to his character in the Thrawn trilogy--so props to Stackpole for using him properly. He doesn’t want to pick sides, but he also wants to make a profit.
Frankly, I found the Imperials surprisingly weak this go-around. In previous books, Isard was an enigma: a shadowy figure, true, but one that also seemed to have a good grasp of strategy. All that goes out the window in book 4, where she becomes an irrational woman with temper tantrums. Vorru thinks that she’s insane, and she’s always been insane: the former seems quite possible in this book, but the latter just doesn’t mesh with the Machiavellian schemer we see in books 1-3.
Books 2 and 3 presented Vorru as someone entirely self-serving, only allying with Isard because it’s in his best interests. In The Bacta War, though, he seems to be working for her a lot more actively than I’d expect. I thought he wanted to revitalize Black Sun? But here he’s perfectly happy (for most of the book) serving as her Minister of Trade. Erisi, too, seems to have no problems following Isard’s lead, and has been reduced to just a good pilot in charge of inexperienced newbies.
And the Star Destroyer commanders are a mixed bag. Captain Convarion is aggressive and competent, but he dies first. The captain of the Lusankya is a moron; the captain of the Virulence is remarkably ineffective, which is probably how Booster Terrik was able to capture her ship. And the captain of the Avarice is blackmailed/bribed into switching sides, where he doesn’t do too badly.
ISSUES:
In long-running series (although four books is not particularly long!) there’s this desire to shake up the status quo and hit the reset button by making our heroes work outside the law. In this case, the Rogues “go rogue” by leaving the New Republic and becoming mercenaries working against Isard. But not completely--the NR still gives them support, practically sends them their ships, and welcomes them back with open arms. And the logistics of the rebel Rogues don’t really work for me. They start out with the 10 million credits that the Imperials put in Tycho’s bank accounts, and somehow this is enough to fund their initial escapades? Putting together a military unit is very very expensive, so this is one instance where I definitely had to suspend my disbelief.
I love all the dogfights, especially after their lack/lesser frequency in the previous two books, but also tended to find them confusing. Stackpole has the pilots banking and swerving and engaging the rudder and I just...sometimes couldn’t follow. It wasn’t that I wanted to skip the battles for the character scenes, but more that I often felt lost and longed for something easier to follow--like dialogue.
Stackpole doesn’t really make any effort to flesh out any of the Rogues beyond Corran, Tycho, and maybe Gavin. It’s almost as though he introduced us to the various Rogues in Rogue Squadron, then noped out of further development for the non-mains. Riv Shiel the Shistavanen is killed during an ambush from the Victory-class Star Destroyer, which should be shocking! But since we know so little of him and have barely heard him speak, his death lacks any emotion or poignance.
I enjoyed how Booster used the spy in Karrde’s organization--he gave Melina the runaround until they were ready to leak the station’s location to Isard--but I was expecting resolution there that never came. She leaves a probe droid, heads to Corellia, and ??? After Karrde was brainstorming all the different ways to kill her, I expected her to be dealt with in some way.
Four books isn’t a particularly long series by any means, but Stackpole both wrapped up a surprising number of plot threads as well as leaving some tantalizingly open. We saw Isard’s shuttle destroyed, but was she actually on board? We see Erisi’s TIE go down and get smooshed, but since there wasn’t an explosion is she dead? Will Vorru be able to finagle his way back out of New Republic custody? (Seeing as Stackpole wrote another X-Wing book that was released in 1999, we’ll probably get answers to some of those questions.)
IN CONCLUSION:
The Bacta War is exciting and action-filled, but also features the weakest villains yet of the series. It wrapped up the subseries remarkably well, though, despite my issues.
Next up: the conclusion to the informal Callista trilogy, Planet of Twilight by Barbara Hambly.
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/bGdHsP8cX1U
This week’s focus: the fourth X-Wing book by Michael A. Stackpole, The Bacta War.
SOME HISTORY:
Compared to 1996’s record of nine books released, 1997 proved a more leisurely year with only six books published: the fourth X-Wing book, two hardcover releases in the spring and fall, the first two volumes of the Han Solo trilogy, and a fourth Tales collection. And with the conclusion of Stackpole’s four-book series in February, there wouldn’t be another X-Wing book until the release of Aaron Allston’s Wraith Squadron in February 1998. The Bacta War made it to number thirteen on the New York Times paperback bestseller list for the week of February 2, 1997.
MY RECOLLECTION OF THE BOOK:
This book contained most of the scenes I thought were missing from previous books. A lengthy visit to the Darklighters on Tatooine? Check. Resolution of Bror Jace’s mysterious death from book 2? Also check. I didn’t think I reread these books all that frequently, but apparently I did.
A BRIEF SUMMARY:
Ysanne Isard has taken control of Thyferra, intending to control production of bacta. Deprived of Alliance support, Rogue Squadron resigns and goes rogue. They must oppose Isard's plans, defeat her Star Destroyer fleet, and free Thyferra from her rule in a battle against a seemingly superior force.
THE CHARACTERS:
Wedge (once again) has an awful lot on his plate, but I feel like Stackpole never fleshes out his character to the extent that he did with Corran. Wedge is the boss, Wedge has to make a ton of tough choices, and he regrets all the people that squadron has lost, but he doesn’t have as developed an arc as Corran.
Corran learned at the end of book 3 about his heritage (his biological grandfather, Nejaa Halcyon, was a Corellian Jedi), but he’s more concerned with freeing the prisoners on the Lusankya than pursuing the Jedi path. And if anything, he proves that a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing: he attempts--very badly--to use a Jedi mind trick on a stormtrooper, and he doesn’t know enough about lightsaber combat to be particularly good at using his saber. He also starts to second guess himself; is he nervous in this situation because of intuition from the Force? Can he even rely on that yet? I liked Stackpole’s nuanced take on the Jedi, that Corran’s own perception of them is colored by the vague legends and propaganda films about them.
Tycho gets one outstanding chapter--Chapter 12, wherein he goes to the Graveyard to pay his respects to his family--but otherwise he’s just here, being Wedge’s second-in-command. His choice to use Another Chance’s transponder code ends up working very well for the Rogues, though, since it gains them the help of the automated Thranta-class War Cruiser during the second ambush in the Graveyard. (And Another Chance in general is an interesting facet of Alderaanian history.)
After books 1 and 2 detailed Corran and Mirax’s growing friendship and book 3 took a backseat to any relationship development, The Bacta War opens with them already together. I guess Stackpole didn’t want to write out their DTR, but it felt a little abrupt to me. They’re good, Corran and Booster don’t like each other but work things out, and then Corran and Mirax get engaged AND married super quickly. Umm, OK?
Iella’s plotline is perhaps the weakest, mostly because we just don’t see much of what they’re doing. Iella and Elscol are inserted on-planet to meet up with the Ashern rebels and take down Isard’s government, but we don’t see enough of their plans for me to feel like they’re essential to the story. In comparison, Iella’s emotional arc felt more compelling--she’s still grieving the loss of her husband from book 3, and has to figure out how she can move on from her grief.
I love Booster Terrik, and he was a highpoint of the novel for me. He’s a shrewd businessman and a frankly intimidating figure, but he also loves his daughter very much. (And he got a Star Destroyer in the end! Go Booster.) Karrde also makes an appearance, very similar to his character in the Thrawn trilogy--so props to Stackpole for using him properly. He doesn’t want to pick sides, but he also wants to make a profit.
Frankly, I found the Imperials surprisingly weak this go-around. In previous books, Isard was an enigma: a shadowy figure, true, but one that also seemed to have a good grasp of strategy. All that goes out the window in book 4, where she becomes an irrational woman with temper tantrums. Vorru thinks that she’s insane, and she’s always been insane: the former seems quite possible in this book, but the latter just doesn’t mesh with the Machiavellian schemer we see in books 1-3.
Books 2 and 3 presented Vorru as someone entirely self-serving, only allying with Isard because it’s in his best interests. In The Bacta War, though, he seems to be working for her a lot more actively than I’d expect. I thought he wanted to revitalize Black Sun? But here he’s perfectly happy (for most of the book) serving as her Minister of Trade. Erisi, too, seems to have no problems following Isard’s lead, and has been reduced to just a good pilot in charge of inexperienced newbies.
And the Star Destroyer commanders are a mixed bag. Captain Convarion is aggressive and competent, but he dies first. The captain of the Lusankya is a moron; the captain of the Virulence is remarkably ineffective, which is probably how Booster Terrik was able to capture her ship. And the captain of the Avarice is blackmailed/bribed into switching sides, where he doesn’t do too badly.
ISSUES:
In long-running series (although four books is not particularly long!) there’s this desire to shake up the status quo and hit the reset button by making our heroes work outside the law. In this case, the Rogues “go rogue” by leaving the New Republic and becoming mercenaries working against Isard. But not completely--the NR still gives them support, practically sends them their ships, and welcomes them back with open arms. And the logistics of the rebel Rogues don’t really work for me. They start out with the 10 million credits that the Imperials put in Tycho’s bank accounts, and somehow this is enough to fund their initial escapades? Putting together a military unit is very very expensive, so this is one instance where I definitely had to suspend my disbelief.
I love all the dogfights, especially after their lack/lesser frequency in the previous two books, but also tended to find them confusing. Stackpole has the pilots banking and swerving and engaging the rudder and I just...sometimes couldn’t follow. It wasn’t that I wanted to skip the battles for the character scenes, but more that I often felt lost and longed for something easier to follow--like dialogue.
Stackpole doesn’t really make any effort to flesh out any of the Rogues beyond Corran, Tycho, and maybe Gavin. It’s almost as though he introduced us to the various Rogues in Rogue Squadron, then noped out of further development for the non-mains. Riv Shiel the Shistavanen is killed during an ambush from the Victory-class Star Destroyer, which should be shocking! But since we know so little of him and have barely heard him speak, his death lacks any emotion or poignance.
I enjoyed how Booster used the spy in Karrde’s organization--he gave Melina the runaround until they were ready to leak the station’s location to Isard--but I was expecting resolution there that never came. She leaves a probe droid, heads to Corellia, and ??? After Karrde was brainstorming all the different ways to kill her, I expected her to be dealt with in some way.
Four books isn’t a particularly long series by any means, but Stackpole both wrapped up a surprising number of plot threads as well as leaving some tantalizingly open. We saw Isard’s shuttle destroyed, but was she actually on board? We see Erisi’s TIE go down and get smooshed, but since there wasn’t an explosion is she dead? Will Vorru be able to finagle his way back out of New Republic custody? (Seeing as Stackpole wrote another X-Wing book that was released in 1999, we’ll probably get answers to some of those questions.)
IN CONCLUSION:
The Bacta War is exciting and action-filled, but also features the weakest villains yet of the series. It wrapped up the subseries remarkably well, though, despite my issues.
Next up: the conclusion to the informal Callista trilogy, Planet of Twilight by Barbara Hambly.
My YouTube review: https://youtu.be/bGdHsP8cX1U
March 21, 2024
4/5 stars for the initial Stackpole finale in the X-Wing series.
This was a really fitting end to the Rogue Squadron portion of books. There were definitely books in the quadology what performed better, but this really was a proper conclusion.
From a character perspective, we didn’t really get a whole lot of new folks except for the ground troops on Thyferra. The only new major character we really got is a familiar face to Legends fans in the XWing debut of Talon Kardde from the Thrawn trilogy and greater Legends community.
From a plot perspective, we see a lot of loose ends seemingly tied up in this book. We see the freeing of Thyferra, the description of Iceheart’s contingent of the Imperial Remnant, continued meshing of the Antilles-Terrik-Horn family, and the fall out of the Rogues forgoing their commissions with the New Republic.
The popular Star Wars trend of “no one is dead until you see a body” continues with a formerly believed Rogues resurrection during this mission and as leads me to believe this trend will continue given that the eighth book in this series is called “Isard’s Revenge”.
For folks who loved Rogue Squadron because it was Top Gun in space, this book was more of a return to that than it was in books 2 and 3. For folks who enjoyed the political thriller and espionage of the middle books, we also have that. This book really does have everything that makes the X-Wing books good.
I think my only gripe with this book is that it leaves a lot unsaid for 3/4 of the book. With shifting POV chapters, a lot of exposition happens “off screen”, more-so than traditional Star Wars novels. When we return to where that exposition should have been, the payoff has either already happened or is ignored altogether leaving us to wonder what happened. It isn’t until the last 30 pages that 90% of questions get answered and to me, it didn’t read as gripping and suspenseful. It instead read as pseudo-lazy and convenient. It didn’t really ruin anything, but it could’ve been presented better in my opinion only.
This is a really great book and makes me excited to try out the Wraith Squadron portion of books in the X-Wing Series.
This was a really fitting end to the Rogue Squadron portion of books. There were definitely books in the quadology what performed better, but this really was a proper conclusion.
From a character perspective, we didn’t really get a whole lot of new folks except for the ground troops on Thyferra. The only new major character we really got is a familiar face to Legends fans in the XWing debut of Talon Kardde from the Thrawn trilogy and greater Legends community.
From a plot perspective, we see a lot of loose ends seemingly tied up in this book. We see the freeing of Thyferra, the description of Iceheart’s contingent of the Imperial Remnant, continued meshing of the Antilles-Terrik-Horn family, and the fall out of the Rogues forgoing their commissions with the New Republic.
The popular Star Wars trend of “no one is dead until you see a body” continues with a formerly believed Rogues resurrection during this mission and as leads me to believe this trend will continue given that the eighth book in this series is called “Isard’s Revenge”.
For folks who loved Rogue Squadron because it was Top Gun in space, this book was more of a return to that than it was in books 2 and 3. For folks who enjoyed the political thriller and espionage of the middle books, we also have that. This book really does have everything that makes the X-Wing books good.
I think my only gripe with this book is that it leaves a lot unsaid for 3/4 of the book. With shifting POV chapters, a lot of exposition happens “off screen”, more-so than traditional Star Wars novels. When we return to where that exposition should have been, the payoff has either already happened or is ignored altogether leaving us to wonder what happened. It isn’t until the last 30 pages that 90% of questions get answered and to me, it didn’t read as gripping and suspenseful. It instead read as pseudo-lazy and convenient. It didn’t really ruin anything, but it could’ve been presented better in my opinion only.
This is a really great book and makes me excited to try out the Wraith Squadron portion of books in the X-Wing Series.
February 10, 2024
Star Wars Legends Project #327
Background: The Bacta War was written by Michael A. Stackpole and published in February 1997. It is the fourth of the X-Wing series of novels, and the last before Stackpole took a break from the series and Aaron Allston took over. Stackpole is also the author of several other Star Wars comics and novels.
The Bacta War takes place three years after the Battle of Endor (7 years after the battle of Yavin), and begins just after the end of The Krytos Trap (my review). The main characters are the former pilots of Rogue Squadron and their allies, along with Ysanne Isard and Fliry Vorru, Talon Karrde and Booster Terrik. The story takes place mostly on and around Thyferra and Yag'Dhul, on Tatooine, and amid the ruins of Alderaan.
Summary: The Rogues have resigned en masse from the New Republic military in order to wage a private war against Ysanne Isard, who now controls the galaxy's bacta supply. Outnumbered and outgunned, even more than usual, the Rogues will have to be wilier (and luckier) than ever before if they hope to stand a chance against Isard's personal armada. And Isard has no intention of waiting for the Rogues to strike. She'll hunt them and anyone who helps them to the end of the galaxy, and if she can locate their secret base before they can bring the fight to her, it may be game over for all of them.
Review: My two biggest memories of reading The Bacta War the first time were that it couldn't emerge from the shadow of how much I loved The Krytos Trap, and all of the stuff with Booster Terrik. Upon re-reading, I find that it suffered much less from that comparison, and that I liked the Booster subplot even more.
This novel really does feel like the well-earned climax of an arc that Stackpole has carefully constructed across the previous three books. It's a big, splashy finale that finally sees the Rogues spending some significant time doing starfighter squadron things instead of special-ops commando things. And it has several fun twists and reversals along the way, but also some moments of genuine humor, particularly related to the ongoing development of these characters we've come to know well and their relationships with each other.
At the same time, the stakes mostly feel very serious. This is amplified by the insights we get into the enemy forces and their strategies and countermoves to what the Rogues are doing. My one criticism is that Isard, while she is as ruthless and sadistic as ever, feels less like the terrifyingly cold and calculating villain she was initially, and more like someone who is unhinged and has lost all perspective. Maybe this is inevitable (or at least explainable) given the defeats she has suffered and the way she and the Rogues have made this conflict personal, but it diminishes her menace somewhat, and the sense that she is a competent leader is all but gone here.
Still, overall this story feels epic and action-packed and immensely satisfying. It's such a fitting conclusion for these characters and this chapter of their story that it isn't surprising Stackpole felt he was done with this series at this point. Of course, given how good it is, it's not surprising that fan demand led to its continuation anyway. I'll forever be baffled, given the success of this series and how beloved it is, why nothing quite like it was ever really attempted again. It is definitely lightning in a bottle . . . don't miss it!
A-
Background: The Bacta War was written by Michael A. Stackpole and published in February 1997. It is the fourth of the X-Wing series of novels, and the last before Stackpole took a break from the series and Aaron Allston took over. Stackpole is also the author of several other Star Wars comics and novels.
The Bacta War takes place three years after the Battle of Endor (7 years after the battle of Yavin), and begins just after the end of The Krytos Trap (my review). The main characters are the former pilots of Rogue Squadron and their allies, along with Ysanne Isard and Fliry Vorru, Talon Karrde and Booster Terrik. The story takes place mostly on and around Thyferra and Yag'Dhul, on Tatooine, and amid the ruins of Alderaan.
Summary: The Rogues have resigned en masse from the New Republic military in order to wage a private war against Ysanne Isard, who now controls the galaxy's bacta supply. Outnumbered and outgunned, even more than usual, the Rogues will have to be wilier (and luckier) than ever before if they hope to stand a chance against Isard's personal armada. And Isard has no intention of waiting for the Rogues to strike. She'll hunt them and anyone who helps them to the end of the galaxy, and if she can locate their secret base before they can bring the fight to her, it may be game over for all of them.
Review: My two biggest memories of reading The Bacta War the first time were that it couldn't emerge from the shadow of how much I loved The Krytos Trap, and all of the stuff with Booster Terrik. Upon re-reading, I find that it suffered much less from that comparison, and that I liked the Booster subplot even more.
This novel really does feel like the well-earned climax of an arc that Stackpole has carefully constructed across the previous three books. It's a big, splashy finale that finally sees the Rogues spending some significant time doing starfighter squadron things instead of special-ops commando things. And it has several fun twists and reversals along the way, but also some moments of genuine humor, particularly related to the ongoing development of these characters we've come to know well and their relationships with each other.
At the same time, the stakes mostly feel very serious. This is amplified by the insights we get into the enemy forces and their strategies and countermoves to what the Rogues are doing. My one criticism is that Isard, while she is as ruthless and sadistic as ever, feels less like the terrifyingly cold and calculating villain she was initially, and more like someone who is unhinged and has lost all perspective. Maybe this is inevitable (or at least explainable) given the defeats she has suffered and the way she and the Rogues have made this conflict personal, but it diminishes her menace somewhat, and the sense that she is a competent leader is all but gone here.
Still, overall this story feels epic and action-packed and immensely satisfying. It's such a fitting conclusion for these characters and this chapter of their story that it isn't surprising Stackpole felt he was done with this series at this point. Of course, given how good it is, it's not surprising that fan demand led to its continuation anyway. I'll forever be baffled, given the success of this series and how beloved it is, why nothing quite like it was ever really attempted again. It is definitely lightning in a bottle . . . don't miss it!
A-
January 31, 2019
So, I’ve come to the end of the first arc of the Star Wars: X-Wing series, Michael A. Stackpole’s The Bacta War (not Rogues Unbound as the previous paperback previews had promised).
It’s more of the same and, as far as I’m concerned, that is absolutely a good thing. Stackpole’s prose is workmanlike - it never soars to poetic heights (Star Wars literature seldom does), but neither does it sink to the depths of turgid fanfic wish-fulfilment like the Darth Bane sequence or the silly Jedi-as-comicbook-superhero stuff that KJA was peddling in the mid-‘90s.
The plot is thinner than the previous novels—the traitor has already been outed and Corsuscant liberated—and it feels as if this is Stackpole tying up the loose ends that he’d left lying around during the previous three books, but there is enough action and character drama that this shortcoming is barely noticeable.
We get to meet Biggs’ family on Tatooine, courtesy of his cousin, Gavin Darklighter (Georgette Heyer would thoroughly disapprove of Gavin Darklighter’s pink and puce landspeeder, regardless of whether it keeps the Krayt Dragons away), and there is the first appearance of Booster Terrik (Mirax’s father), who goes on to play a very frequent role in the later Legends books.
Also, Talon Karrde makes a pre-Thrawn Trilogy appearance, as wily and calculating as ever, which makes him a welcome addition to the X-Wing cast.
We get a couple of new characters—the captains of Iceheart’s small fleet of Star Destroyers play pivotal roles—and there is a visit to the Twi’lek world of Ryloth where another pilot is introduced. Tal’dira’s butch posturing is a little tiresome, but at least the Twi’lek culture is given more variety than typical of SF ‘warrior’ societies, like the Klingons. I’d hate to think what Tal’dira would do if he discovered one of his allies hopping on a transparisteel leg.
Still no more mention of Portha the Trandoshan—I suppose I will have to try my hand at fanfic to ensure that my favourite sauroid gets some closure to his story!
And does The Bacta War have the first mention of rontos outside of the Star Wars Special Edition? How did we ever enjoy Star Wars without dinosaurs randomly walking in front of the camera with jawas swinging from their reins?
This kind of story may not be to every fan’s taste—if you are more interested in Jedi shenanigans than in the lives of pilots and soldiers then this might not be the series for you. I think I prefer this style to an overabundance of Force users, though. The characters have a thicker veneer of realism, plus—since I spent many a happy hour in the ‘90s playing X-Wing, TIE Fighter, X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter and X-Wing Alliance—I have a high tolerance for the intricate descriptions of the fictional technologies of the Star Wars universe and long descriptions of space combat (although, Stackpole needed to dial back on his use of the word “argent”). It gives me the same feeling I get when watching Red Leader and Gold Leader show up at the Battle of Scarif in Rogue One—this is my Star Wars!
Re-reading these four novels has been pure comfort-food for me, and the enjoyment they have given me makes the five stars I’ve given each of them richly deserved.
It’s more of the same and, as far as I’m concerned, that is absolutely a good thing. Stackpole’s prose is workmanlike - it never soars to poetic heights (Star Wars literature seldom does), but neither does it sink to the depths of turgid fanfic wish-fulfilment like the Darth Bane sequence or the silly Jedi-as-comicbook-superhero stuff that KJA was peddling in the mid-‘90s.
The plot is thinner than the previous novels—the traitor has already been outed and Corsuscant liberated—and it feels as if this is Stackpole tying up the loose ends that he’d left lying around during the previous three books, but there is enough action and character drama that this shortcoming is barely noticeable.
We get to meet Biggs’ family on Tatooine, courtesy of his cousin, Gavin Darklighter (Georgette Heyer would thoroughly disapprove of Gavin Darklighter’s pink and puce landspeeder, regardless of whether it keeps the Krayt Dragons away), and there is the first appearance of Booster Terrik (Mirax’s father), who goes on to play a very frequent role in the later Legends books.
Also, Talon Karrde makes a pre-Thrawn Trilogy appearance, as wily and calculating as ever, which makes him a welcome addition to the X-Wing cast.
We get a couple of new characters—the captains of Iceheart’s small fleet of Star Destroyers play pivotal roles—and there is a visit to the Twi’lek world of Ryloth where another pilot is introduced. Tal’dira’s butch posturing is a little tiresome, but at least the Twi’lek culture is given more variety than typical of SF ‘warrior’ societies, like the Klingons. I’d hate to think what Tal’dira would do if he discovered one of his allies hopping on a transparisteel leg.
Still no more mention of Portha the Trandoshan—I suppose I will have to try my hand at fanfic to ensure that my favourite sauroid gets some closure to his story!
And does The Bacta War have the first mention of rontos outside of the Star Wars Special Edition? How did we ever enjoy Star Wars without dinosaurs randomly walking in front of the camera with jawas swinging from their reins?
This kind of story may not be to every fan’s taste—if you are more interested in Jedi shenanigans than in the lives of pilots and soldiers then this might not be the series for you. I think I prefer this style to an overabundance of Force users, though. The characters have a thicker veneer of realism, plus—since I spent many a happy hour in the ‘90s playing X-Wing, TIE Fighter, X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter and X-Wing Alliance—I have a high tolerance for the intricate descriptions of the fictional technologies of the Star Wars universe and long descriptions of space combat (although, Stackpole needed to dial back on his use of the word “argent”). It gives me the same feeling I get when watching Red Leader and Gold Leader show up at the Battle of Scarif in Rogue One—this is my Star Wars!
Re-reading these four novels has been pure comfort-food for me, and the enjoyment they have given me makes the five stars I’ve given each of them richly deserved.
July 26, 2023
This is my second favorite rogue squadron book out of the 4 I've read. I loved seeing the squadron procure all the needed guns, ammunitions, and ships. This gave an enjoyable insight into the economy of the galaxy and the new republic. The battle for the liberation of Thyferra was a blast to read, and finding out about Wedge's and Tycho's plan was a joy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 3, 2023
The 9th stop on this marathon of galatic proportions is, again, the best one yet and an totally satisfying conclusion to the first arc of X-Wing books. (mild spoilers for the other X-Wing books below).
This one gets back to the full on X -Wing dogfight/space battle spotlight and the implications behind are all the more enjoyable for being built up for the last two books. The climax of this book is one of the coolest space battles I've ever seen. Additonally, the dark tone of the book as our heroes are forced to essentially become the terrorists for the greater good is well done though could have been driven home even more. In concept, though it's excellent and it really works with the action. In fact, we are getting close to the full potential of Star Wars (assuming no jedi or sith involvemnt), thank you Stackpole!
This entry does stay at 4 stars for similar reasons to other entries. The character work is good with occassional greatness and nothing more. The opprotunity to develop the characters further with the stresses of the seemingly evil things they had to do could have been explored. How far into extremism can one go before they are no longer a hero? Where is line between rebel and terrorist? What sort of impact would these actions have on someone used to being on the "good" side of things? All these questions could have worked with character development to bring this story up to a 5 star read. Additionally, there is a rushed romance that progresses significantlly too quickly and falls flat on its face without the chemistry or development to back it up. It worked in previous books as a less serious thing but things really jump ahead in a sort of tell dont show manner that happens with romances in these sort of books a lot.
At the end of the day though this was enjoyable all the way through. I'm certainly still not tired of these characters and this series in general. I am looking forward to I, Jedi and the rest of the main X-Wing series.
May the force be with you!
This one gets back to the full on X -Wing dogfight/space battle spotlight and the implications behind are all the more enjoyable for being built up for the last two books. The climax of this book is one of the coolest space battles I've ever seen. Additonally, the dark tone of the book as our heroes are forced to essentially become the terrorists for the greater good is well done though could have been driven home even more. In concept, though it's excellent and it really works with the action. In fact, we are getting close to the full potential of Star Wars (assuming no jedi or sith involvemnt), thank you Stackpole!
This entry does stay at 4 stars for similar reasons to other entries. The character work is good with occassional greatness and nothing more. The opprotunity to develop the characters further with the stresses of the seemingly evil things they had to do could have been explored. How far into extremism can one go before they are no longer a hero? Where is line between rebel and terrorist? What sort of impact would these actions have on someone used to being on the "good" side of things? All these questions could have worked with character development to bring this story up to a 5 star read. Additionally, there is a rushed romance that progresses significantlly too quickly and falls flat on its face without the chemistry or development to back it up. It worked in previous books as a less serious thing but things really jump ahead in a sort of tell dont show manner that happens with romances in these sort of books a lot.
At the end of the day though this was enjoyable all the way through. I'm certainly still not tired of these characters and this series in general. I am looking forward to I, Jedi and the rest of the main X-Wing series.
May the force be with you!
June 18, 2023
Really fun book. Sort of wished I’d started at book 1 but I’ve picked a few of these up in charity shops over the years (this, 7 and 10 I think) but it does sort of summarise the previous plot well enough to add gravitas to this tale.
Just a shame it’s a “legend” now.
Just a shame it’s a “legend” now.
June 24, 2024
Continuing the story after the liberation of Coruscant with Wedge Antilles who appears in the original movies and expanded characters from the books like pilot Corran Horne.
Goes into more background about the Horn family and Jedi powers history and Luke beginning to train him in ways of the force.
The super star destroyer that doubled as a prison ship under Coruscant and brainwashed captured rebels busted out into the atmosphere becoming big threat to the new republic.
There are fake attacks on a warlord trying to blame the rebels and Isard of imperial intelligence restricting flow of healing bacta to any new worlds that wish to align with the rebels.
Rebels struggle to keep the supply coming to the sick with the remnants of the Empire hoping they will be welcomed back into Coruscant as saviours of the citizenship.
The Vratix insect species from Thyferra master blenders of bacta are neither gender playing different roles during life with pronouns mentioned.
Issard continues manipulating price of bacta whilst rebels have dealings with a senior member of the Darklighter family using blackmail of past dealings to procure weapons.
X wings have new paint jobs of individual home-worlds since Antilles and squadron decided to be independent and descriptive battles with tie fighters describing proton torpedoes proximity explosions with fast paced aerial combat.
Tycho x wing pilot from Alderan struggling with mindset of pacifism of his home planet obliterated by the Empire.
A traitor flying for the Empire hits hard places that have cooperated with rebels whilst Antilles x wings are careful to hit targets planning carefully to minimise casualties.
Big battle with the Imperial superstar destroyer and much negotiation of what to do with former imperial weaponry.
Well written interesting book series so far with great characters from both the movies and books.
Goes into more background about the Horn family and Jedi powers history and Luke beginning to train him in ways of the force.
The super star destroyer that doubled as a prison ship under Coruscant and brainwashed captured rebels busted out into the atmosphere becoming big threat to the new republic.
There are fake attacks on a warlord trying to blame the rebels and Isard of imperial intelligence restricting flow of healing bacta to any new worlds that wish to align with the rebels.
Rebels struggle to keep the supply coming to the sick with the remnants of the Empire hoping they will be welcomed back into Coruscant as saviours of the citizenship.
The Vratix insect species from Thyferra master blenders of bacta are neither gender playing different roles during life with pronouns mentioned.
Issard continues manipulating price of bacta whilst rebels have dealings with a senior member of the Darklighter family using blackmail of past dealings to procure weapons.
X wings have new paint jobs of individual home-worlds since Antilles and squadron decided to be independent and descriptive battles with tie fighters describing proton torpedoes proximity explosions with fast paced aerial combat.
Tycho x wing pilot from Alderan struggling with mindset of pacifism of his home planet obliterated by the Empire.
A traitor flying for the Empire hits hard places that have cooperated with rebels whilst Antilles x wings are careful to hit targets planning carefully to minimise casualties.
Big battle with the Imperial superstar destroyer and much negotiation of what to do with former imperial weaponry.
Well written interesting book series so far with great characters from both the movies and books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2025
A great end to the rogue squadron vs. Iceheart arc. Starting this book I wasn’t a fan but the finale is so good it won me over in the end. I’ve struggled keeping up with the starship combat sections just because it’s hard to visualize that sort of thing; which is a shame because that’s the whole draw to the series. But Stackpole has a knack for writing characters you want to win and defeat the empire.
A few gripes I have: Stackpole tends to have fake-out deaths during starfights and this really annoys me because it takes all the tension out of the fight. If one of the Rogue’s X-Wing gets taken down you have an 80% chance the pilot will be just fine. I wish there were more stakes and the true fragility of outer space combat was portrayed in this book.
The one pilot who does die in this book, Riv Shiel, is skipped over so fast and never mentions again. It felt like Stackpole just wanted to kill someone off to try and reintroduce stakes into the battles. Not even during Wedge’s victory speech does he mention Riv’s sacrifice. That felt really cheap to me because he was a cool character, albeit rarely one of the main focuses of the squadron.
The last issues I have is Iceheart’s demise, not delivering any kind of cool monologue before death. Just blown up in a tiny space shuttle while fleeing the battle. This makes me think, she’s not actually dead because it all happens so fast.
Overall though an enjoyable read that won me over in the end.
A few gripes I have: Stackpole tends to have fake-out deaths during starfights and this really annoys me because it takes all the tension out of the fight. If one of the Rogue’s X-Wing gets taken down you have an 80% chance the pilot will be just fine. I wish there were more stakes and the true fragility of outer space combat was portrayed in this book.
The one pilot who does die in this book, Riv Shiel, is skipped over so fast and never mentions again. It felt like Stackpole just wanted to kill someone off to try and reintroduce stakes into the battles. Not even during Wedge’s victory speech does he mention Riv’s sacrifice. That felt really cheap to me because he was a cool character, albeit rarely one of the main focuses of the squadron.
The last issues I have is Iceheart’s demise, not delivering any kind of cool monologue before death. Just blown up in a tiny space shuttle while fleeing the battle. This makes me think, she’s not actually dead because it all happens so fast.
Overall though an enjoyable read that won me over in the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2021
Unfortunately, I didn't like this as much as the others. Which is a shame, because the story is quite cool. But the plot armor and Gary Stu-ness are too strong in this one to still be enjoyable.
The final battle was really well done, but it, too,
On top of that, the pacing is off. I suspect Stackpole was given a page limit and would have needed more for the story he wanted to tell. That would explain the POVs, of which there were too many, and their short chapters. We jump around constantly and I couldn't really get into any individual story.
I still enjoyed this book. It's fun, a lot of things happen, the plot is good... I just didn't enjoy it as much as the others. And there were parts that read more like a male power fantasy, which was disappointing, because I know Stackpole can do better.
The final battle was really well done, but it, too,
On top of that, the pacing is off. I suspect Stackpole was given a page limit and would have needed more for the story he wanted to tell. That would explain the POVs, of which there were too many, and their short chapters. We jump around constantly and I couldn't really get into any individual story.
I still enjoyed this book. It's fun, a lot of things happen, the plot is good... I just didn't enjoy it as much as the others. And there were parts that read more like a male power fantasy, which was disappointing, because I know Stackpole can do better.
August 19, 2021
What a great way to end the Rogue Squadron arc. While I didn’t think this book was as good as The Krytos Trap, the difference wasn’t hugely significant and it was still very good. For one, I thought the dogfighting descriptions were easier to follow, and I’m not sure if that’s because this is my fourth book reading them or what, but they seemed to be better written. Booster Terrik was a fantastic character that I thought was so much fun, both for the help he was able to offer the Rogues and his relationship with Corran. Corran and Gavin are at their best in this book, and the villains are great as well, as they truly start to become unhinged and desperate. I do miss Kirtan Loor though. Vorru is a decent replacement, but not quite the same. The only part that really didn’t do it for me was Iella’s story. I like her character, but I never thought we were spending enough time with her plot to make it worth it. On the other hand, Gavin’s R2 is named Jawaswag. You won’t be disappointed.
March 13, 2024
Really solid conclusion, and pretty satisfying overall. Much like the first book this was more of an action adventure story, with pretty streamlined plot threads. I liked the introduction of Booster, as he's just a fun character on his own, and of course plays an important role for Corran.
Overall my only complaint was Isard herself. She was built up to be this menacing, clever, Intelligence chief. But in the end she really wasn't, she just was another unstable megalomaniac who didn't even seem competent much of the time. The two other main antagonists, Vorru and Erisi, were much more compelling. Though it would have been nice if our protagonsits, especially Corran and Tycho, had a little more interaction with all 3 of them, so we could have seen some more emotional unpacking of the trauma from the last book.
Overall my only complaint was Isard herself. She was built up to be this menacing, clever, Intelligence chief. But in the end she really wasn't, she just was another unstable megalomaniac who didn't even seem competent much of the time. The two other main antagonists, Vorru and Erisi, were much more compelling. Though it would have been nice if our protagonsits, especially Corran and Tycho, had a little more interaction with all 3 of them, so we could have seen some more emotional unpacking of the trauma from the last book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 13, 2020
After the first several X-Wing books, this one was a bit of a let down. In Krytos Trap, some issues started popping up (less character development, less showing more telling, no dramatic tension) . This was supposed to be the climax to the story, and instead we get...I don't even know how to explain it.
The book is called Bacta War, and instead we get a couple of half-hearted battles where the good guys win because they're the good guys (though I guess we're supposed to believe they're tactical geniuses). Isard comes off as a complete idiot, which was a let down because she seemed quite capable in the first two books. I guess I'm just surprised that the writing quality dipped as much as it did after Rogue Squadron/Wedge's Gambit. It feels to me like Stackpole just came up with an outline with a bunch of plot points, then sort of just connected the dots between them and called it a day. The book ends up feeling shallow because of it.
The book is called Bacta War, and instead we get a couple of half-hearted battles where the good guys win because they're the good guys (though I guess we're supposed to believe they're tactical geniuses). Isard comes off as a complete idiot, which was a let down because she seemed quite capable in the first two books. I guess I'm just surprised that the writing quality dipped as much as it did after Rogue Squadron/Wedge's Gambit. It feels to me like Stackpole just came up with an outline with a bunch of plot points, then sort of just connected the dots between them and called it a day. The book ends up feeling shallow because of it.
October 25, 2022
I'd been putting off the Rogue Squadron series for a long time, and may have taken even longer to get to it if it weren't for the new Essential Legends Collection audiobooks.
I loved this story and its conclusion, and really feel like the characters have grown on me over the past four books. I was fully invested in everyone surviving the final battle, and I know there are technically more books in this series, but I'm so glad to finally have been able to read these four.
Highly recommend, if you haven't gotten to them yet.
I loved this story and its conclusion, and really feel like the characters have grown on me over the past four books. I was fully invested in everyone surviving the final battle, and I know there are technically more books in this series, but I'm so glad to finally have been able to read these four.
Highly recommend, if you haven't gotten to them yet.
May 5, 2021
Didn’t love this one quite as much as the previous two installments, but it was a solid enough ending the saga told in the first 4 X-Wing books.
Most of this book was just set up for the final confrontation with sporadic dogfights here and there. Unfortunately this entry was bogged down with talks of grief and family politics, both being topics that understandably were addressed based on where the character arcs headed.
A fun ride overall, but not one I’ll revisit for a long while unlike the prior three installments.
Most of this book was just set up for the final confrontation with sporadic dogfights here and there. Unfortunately this entry was bogged down with talks of grief and family politics, both being topics that understandably were addressed based on where the character arcs headed.
A fun ride overall, but not one I’ll revisit for a long while unlike the prior three installments.
December 27, 2021
The conclusion to the original 4 novels of the X-Wing series was as epic a conclusion as one could expect and sets up for the adventures that would follow some of the characters we love. After finishing this series I believe the X-Wing books represent some of the best content that the Legends continuity has to offer and Alexander Freed's Alphabet Squadron novels build themselves on the foundation this series laid for it.
The conclusion here almost makes me want to revisit I, Jedi....almost.
The conclusion here almost makes me want to revisit I, Jedi....almost.
January 16, 2022
I'll never truly love the "Rogue Squadron" series, but I'd push this final novel to 3.5 stars...especially for the first 100 pages, which is easily the best writing in the series. Isard's comeuppance feels a bit sudden, and I'm still no fan of endless combat writing, but I'm fairly satisfied with the conclusion to the first phase of Rogue's adventures.
August 8, 2025
3.5/5
the exceptional ending helped make up for what was frankly a little bit of a disappointing book. I took forever to get through this because after the brilliant and exciting krytos trap this just didn't quite shape up. it was still good but not great.
the exceptional ending helped make up for what was frankly a little bit of a disappointing book. I took forever to get through this because after the brilliant and exciting krytos trap this just didn't quite shape up. it was still good but not great.
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