Playing the X-Wing miniatures game has re-kindled my interest in Star Wars. I have not only started working on new miniatures and terrain for Star Wars Miniatures Battles, but also decided to read Michael Stackpole’s Star Wars: X-Wing books. Of the nine original books, the first four (Rogue Squadron, Wedge’s Gamble, The Krytos Trap, The Bacta War) and Isard’s Revenge were written by Stackpole and form one story line, with a two-year gap between the first four and the last.

Main subject is the New Republic’s fight against the Emperor’s successor, Ysanne Isard, from the perspective of Wedge Antilles’s Rogue Squadron. The story is told pretty straight-forward, mostly from the view of Corran Horn, Rogue Squadron’s hot-shot pilot. As such, the books lack the broader view and wide-ranging impact of Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy or Stackpole’s own Battletech work.

I had a few issues with the books. First, it remains difficult to convey dogfighting in textual form. Second, there are some logical inconsistencies, such as one Sullustan speaking in his native tongue, and another in basic. Third, Coruscant falls much too easily, and Isard’s fleet appears too weak, never able to bring more than a few Star Destroyers to a battle.

An enjoyable read nonetheless. I find it commendable that Stackpole concentrated on Rogue Squadron and kept the use of the “famous” characters to a minimum.