Wedge's Gamble (Star Wars: X-Wing Series, Book 2)
by Michael A. Stackpole
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Book Summary Information
Author: Michael A. StackpoleEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1996-05-02
ISBN: 0553568027
Number of pages: 368
Publisher: Spectra
Book Reviews of Wedge's Gamble (Star Wars: X-Wing Series, Book 2)
Book Review: Superb second book in a great series
Summary: 5 Stars
Picking up one month after the Rebels take the planet of Borleias, Wedge's Gamble not only successfully follows the first volume Rogue Squadron as a worthy sequel but manages to significantly ratchet up the stakes and the excitement. The Rebels defeated the Emperor and the second Death Star II at the Battle of Endor, but however critical this victory may have been, it did not assure the Rebels a place as a legitimate galactic government. In the two and a half years since Endor, the Rebel leadership has toured the galaxy, winning hearts and minds, but they will never be able to assert real control without owning the heart of the galaxy: it is time for the Rebellion to take Coruscant.
The primary conceit of this plotline is somewhat curious: Rogue Squadron, the most elite group of fighter pilots in the Rebellion, is tasked with what is essentially a reconnaissance and espionage mission. The Rebel leaders, notably including Admiral Ackbar, Princess Leia, Mon Mothma, and the shifty Bothan Borsk Fey'lya, disagree frequently on strategy but are in alignment over the need to invade Coruscant. Wedge and his Rogues are split into cells (unaware of each other) and go in to see what they can learn and to take any action they can to undermine the Imperial government led by Ysanne Isard. I found the set up of the mission fascinating, and Fey'lya, first introduced by Timothy Zahn in the Thrawn Trilogy, brings a wonderful uncertainty to the proceedings. He's essentially a good guy, but his methods and vision along with his untamable ambition make him hard to trust and like.
Speaking of trust, Tycho Celchu, a pilot introduced in the first book, assumes a more important role in this sequel. Tycho was a valued member of the Rebellion until his imprisonment at Lusankya, an infamous Imperial facility noted for producing sleeper agents. After his release, the Rebel leaders have been unable to extend much trust to him, as they fear he may betray them despite his affirmations that he will not. The truth behind Tycho's character is building into a compelling central plotline of the series (and is not resolved in Wedge's Gamble).
Agent Loor continues in his antagonist role, trying to do Isard's bidding while staying alive himself. Stackpole focused heavily on the conflict between Loor and Corran Horn (well, the books focus heavily on Corran overall, really), which brings a degree of personalization to a battle that involves planets and governments warring on a galactic scale. Stackpole also does a nice job of weaving in Warlord Zsinj as a somewhat distant but still impossible-to-ignore third party in the conflict. Zsinj is interested in what benefits Zsinj, and the Rebels and Imperials are both forced to keep an eye on his activities while slugging it out.
Isard's strategy for defeating the Rebels is intricately woven and will likely surprise readers with the twists it takes. A key component is the Krytos virus, a horrific Empire-designed superbug that only afflicts non-humans and that brings further tension and moral complexity to the battle for Coruscant. The end battle itself is absolutely spectacular. One of the best compliments I can pay the Expanded Universe novels is to say a scene reads like the movies, and it is extremely easy to visualize this climax as a film. The last page of Chapter 43 (p. 332 in my edition) has a scene depicted in a single sentence that brought home to me the end of the Dark Times and the Empire and the hope of the New Republic in a way that nothing else except for the explosion of the second Death Star and the defeat of the Emperor in Return of the Jedi did. Major kudos to Stackpole.
I thoroughly enjoyed Wedge's Gamble. It took all the promise of the first volume and delivered upon it in an absolutely satisfying way. I had a few minor quibbles, such as the bizarre ability of Rogue Squadron to bump into each other on a planet with a population numbering in the trillions, but I'm not going to detail them all here. This is a great book and a page-turner that I wholeheartedly recommend.
Summary of Wedge's Gamble (Star Wars: X-Wing Series, Book 2)
Sleek, swift, and deadly, they are the X-wing fighters. And as the battle against the Empire rages across the vastness of space, the pilots risk both their lives and their machines for the cause of the Rebel Alliance. Now they must embark on a dangerous espionage mission, braving betrayal and death on the Imperial homeworld to smash the power of a ruthless foe!It is the evil heart of a battered and reeling Empire: Coruscant, the giant city-world from whose massive towers the Imperial High Command directs the war. The Rebels will invade this mighty citadel in a daring move to bring the Empire to its knees. But first Wedge Antilles and his X-wing pilots must infiltrate
Coruscant to gain vital intelligence information. Capture means death, or worse--enslavement by the vicious leader known as "Iceheart," Ysanne Isard, now
Emperor in all but name. And one of Rogue Squadron's own is already her slave, a traitor hidden behind a mask of innocence, working to betray both colleagues and the Rebellion itself.
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