Two words: Ewok jokes. Absolutely hilarious book that deals with some serious issues as well. ( )

scifi

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.com by express permission of this reviewer. Title: Solo Command Series: X-Wing, Star Wars Author: Aaron Allston Rating: 3.5 of 5 Stars Genre: SFF Pages: 354 Synopsis: Wraith Squadron and Rogue Squadron hookup under the command of Han Solo as they all try to take down Warlord Zsinj. My Thoughts: I read this at work on my lunch breaks. However, with the atrocious winter [100 inches of snow so far] combined with the typical seasonal slowdown, I haven't been working much and hence didn't read this very much. All of which is to say that it took me over a month to read this, all spread out and not in a quick read like most of my books. I enjoyed this, but can't remember much to say one way or another. If I ever got rid of my Star Wars book collection [mostly hardcover science fiction book club editions and just about everything up through Kenobi] I'll definitely be holding onto the X-Wing books. They remind me of the movies with their simple, clean adventure stories. " ( )

X-Wing - Solo Command: This is not the finale you're looking for

I admit to being a little disappointed in Solo Command - but merely in the sense of it not truly resolving anything. This is meant to be the finale to the Wraiths vs Zsinj saga. To that end, it builds up beautifully - with the same intrigue and adventure that we've come to expect in this series. The final showdown at the novel's climax is a great read, but the ending just leaves you wanting more closure. The fact that the true ending was already scripted by the events in The Courtship of Princess Leia necessitates this abbreviated ending so you can't blame Allston. He does his best with the corner into which he was painted.

Overall, though, the book was a fun read but not quite as enjoyable as the two previous Wraith entries in this series. I found myself feeling a bit betrayed in that, still, Solo is relegated to a minor supporting role in a novel bearing his name. The cover would have you believe that our favorite Corellian is going to strap in and fly the Falcon alongside the heroes of Wraith Squadron to bring down this self-proclaimed warlord. Instead we get a battered stand-in YT-1300 (the "Millennium Falsehood") that they use as bait for Zsinj - the actual Falcon never making an appearance. Worse yet, Han really never leaves his flag officer role to get his hands dirty in true Solo fashion. I suppose that it can be said that this lack of action helped convince him that he wasn't military material - accelerating his eventual resignation from service to the New Republic armed forces. But that doesn't do the reader of this novel any favors.

In short, it was a good book in the series and continues to tell the tale of "Face" Loran and his band of misfit pilots - Wedge Antilles is slowly fading out of day-to-day combat operations as he moves toward his eventual promotion to general. Face is a worth successor to the role of protagonist and is easy to identify with. ( )

Before reading The Courtship of Princess Leia, I decided to reread Solo Command, the X-Wing novel that serves as a prequel to it. It's the last of the "Wraith Squadron" novels, all of which I have not read for many years, though I remembered liking them.

It's okay. I honestly don't have a lot to say about it. Fans like to hold this book up as superior to the book it leads into, but I don't really see it. Warlord Zsinj and the other villains might have a little bit more style, but they have no more substance here than there; they are simple black hats on which to hang a plot. The pilots aren't exactly deeply characterized, either, though I wonder if they would pop more if I'd just read the previous two novels featuring them. Wedge Antilles is the highlight here, a man burdened with responsibility but eminently capable of shouldering it. On the other hand, I found it hard to imagine Han Solo saying the lines here where he is being all general-like.

The best part is the uneasy and unofficial alliance the New Republic and the Galactic Empire make to take down Zsinj. Rogriss is how I like my Imperials: earnest and not gratuitously evil. It's a standout subplot in an otherwise average book.