David's Review of X-wing: Rogue Squadron

5/5 Rancors - X-wing: Rogue Squadron by Michael Stackpole is an outstanding first book in the series about the Rogue Squadron. Rebel hero Wedge Antilles has been given the task of rebuilding the legendary Rogue Squadron - a team of pilots charged with using their X-wings in the most difficult assignments that the Rebel Alliance has to face. Rogue Squadron exemplifies heroism to the Rebel side and fear to the Imperial side. This first book kicks off the series in a rousing fashion. The time period is two and a half years after the Battle of Endor. Isolated, but still powerful remnants of the Empire are scattered throughout space. These pockets of evil must be dealt with before they can act to overthrow the Rebel Alliance.

Wedge Antilles faces a huge task in reestablishing the Rogue squadron. The original squad of pilots defeated the Death Star, and the new pilots will face challenges equally as daunting. Wedge first has to mold a band of young, rowdy, undisciplined pilots into a well-oiled fighting machine. How this is accomplished is the primary basis for this first book in the series.

Rebel Alliance leadership has determined that the most effective approach to destroying the Empire once and for all is to capture the planet of Coruscant, the ultimate symbol of government power and authority. Instead of just launching a massive, all-out attack on the planet, the plans developed involve a stepping-stone approach of capturing a string of planets ever closer to Coruscant. Wedge Antilles is brought back from a propaganda tour and restored to active duty to form the new Rogue Squadron and lead the campaign against Coruscant.

The bulk of this first book is devoted to the formation of the squadron and the training of the pilots through simulators and actual flying time. The reader develops a whole new appreciation for the skills and the psychological makeup needed to be a successful X-wing pilot, i.e., to remain alive against overwhelming odds. Wedge is charged with training an unusual assortment of characters from different species with differing backgrounds and unique personalities. That he succeeds in getting the job done is impressive, and his methods are very interesting to read about. The action scenes in the book are outstanding, a touch of humor moves the tale along, and you find yourself pulling for the characters - Wedge Antilles (human male from Corellia), Tycho Celchu (human male from Alderaan), Corran Horn (human male from Corellia), Mirax Terrik (human female from Corellia), and a number of others. On the opposite side, the bad guys are exemplified by Ysanne Isard (Director of Imperial Intelligence) and Kirtan Loor (Imperial Intelligence Agent).

X-wing: Rogue Squadron is a great beginning to a series that promises to bring hours of reading pleasure to the Star Wars aficionados. Highly recommended.