Star Wars Book Review: X-Wing: Rogue Squadron (1996) by Michael A. Stackpole

“Let’s hope they train us very well because Rogue Squadron is bound to be the tip of the spear the Alliance stabs into the heart of the Empire” (63).

Often likened to “Top Gun in Space,” the first installment in Michael Stackpole’s New York Times bestselling Star Wars: X-Wing series offers a rollicking ride through the post-Return of the Jedi universe, though somewhat surprisingly to me, I would surely rank it among my favorite Star Wars books. It features a dizzying number of characters, and plenty of superficial pilot banter, as well as a panoply of technical minutia that renders it a bit difficult to follow at times. But with that being said, I found myself mostly drawn to familiar elements in this book, such as the re-appearance of a classic character like Wedge Antilles, as well as the introduction of a villain named Ysanne “Iceheart” Isard. And admittedly, it was bold of Michael Stackpole to kill off several Rogue Squadron pilots in this book. Rogue Squadron is unique in the Star Wars lit-verse because there is a complete absence of the Skywalker saga and any Jedi/Sith conflict. Instead, this is more of a stripped-down Star Wars military novel. Rogue Squadron was first published in 1995 during the Bantam era of Star Wars novels following a Darkhorse Rogue Squadron comic run published in 1995 (the first nine books in the X-Wing series were published by Bantam, with one final book published by Del Rey). Michael Stackpole was originally an RPG designer and screenwriter who was first approached by Lucasfilm to write a series of X-Wing books, and as preparation, he conducted significant research into World War II pilots (a detail which shines throughout the novel) and he also consulted with fellow Star Wars writers like Timothy Zahn and Kevin J. Anderson, hence why the X-Wing series is so intimately connected with many other books in the Expanded Universe –especially The Truce at Bakura, The Courtship of Princess Leia, I, Jedi (also by Stackpole), and the New Jedi Order series.   

Rogue Squadron takes place two and a half years after the Battle of Endor, and the Provisional Council of the New Republic is still struggling to defeat the lingering Imperial remnants throughout the galaxy. Since the Emperor’s death, the surviving Grand Moffs have each carved out their own corners of the galaxy which they now rule like warlords (one such Imperial warlord mentioned is Zsinj), not unlike the Greco-Roman world after the fall of the Roman Empire. Perhaps none of these warlords is more fearsome than the ascendant Ysanne Isard (or “Iceheart”). She resides on Coruscant, a planet which the New Republic has not yet recaptured. Isard is a tall, slender Imperial Intelligence officer with long, black hair. Her right eye is ice-blue and “as cold as Hoth and as cruel as a Hutt in a sporting mood,” while her left eye is “molten a molten red, with golden highlights that flashed with fiery determination.” She summons an Imperial agent with a photographic memory named Kirtan Loor to help her destroy the Rebellion/New Republic. Loor was a former Imperial Officer and Security Officer on Corellia (he looks a great deal like Grand Moff Tarkin who died seven years earlier). Together, Ysanne Isard and Kirtan Loor serve as the chief villains in Rogue Squadron.      

“Ysanne Isard had risen to fill the power vacuum left by the Emperor’s death. The daughter of Palpatine’s last internal Security Director, she came of age in the Emperor’s court. Wedge had heard rumors that she had been the Emperor’s lover for a time, but he had no way of verifying that story. What he did know was that she had betrayed her father to the Emperor, claiming he was going to defect to the Alliance. Her father was put to death immediately and it was said she triggered the blaster shot that killed him. The Emperor elevated her to replace her father and in his absence she did a remarkable job in holding the core of the Empire together” (105).

The Provisional Council has agreed to enlist the leadership of hero Wedge Antilles in order to rebuild the famous Rogue Squadron unit by putting together an elite group of fighter pilots –in part, the newly revived Rogue Squadron is intended to serve as a symbol of strength and hope for the New Republic. Apparently, Borsk Fey’lya is the New Republic council member who persuades Mon Mothma to revive Rogue Squadron against Admiral Ackbar’s vote. Following a preliminary training simulation (the “Redemption” scenario) Wedge Antilles begins to welcome his new cohort of elite X-Wing pilots:

“You all know the history of this squadron. Even before we were formally created, we were given the job of killing the first Death Star. We did it, and lost a lot of fine pilots in the process. All of them were and are heroes of the Rebellion –they’ll be as famous as some of the old Jedi Knights in the years to come. Rogue Squadron saw a lot of action guarding convoys and raiding Imperial shipping after that. We covered the evacuation from Hoth, fought at Gall, and a year later, at Endor, we killed another Death Star. From there we went to Bakura and fought the Ssi-Ruuk…After seven years of nonstop fighting, the leadership of the New Republic decided to rebuilt and revitalize this unit. This was a wise choice because all of us –those who had survived—had seen a lot of new pilots come into Rogue Squadron… All of the veterans wanted to see Rogue Squadron continue, but also wanted to see the pilots in it get the training they needed to survive… About a year ago Admiral Ackbar, at the behest of the Provisional Council, presented me with the plans re-forming Rogue Squadron. Rogue Squadron had become a symbol or the Alliance. It needed to live up to its legend and become once again an elite group of pilots who could be called upon to do the sort of impossible jobs Rogue Squadron has always managed to complete. As you know, we have interviewed and tested a lot of pilots –nearly a hundred for each of the dozen positions you now fill” (47).

The members of Rogue Squadron include:

• Commander Wedge Antilles: the legendary green-eyed fighter pilot and fan favorite character who is friends with Luke Skywalker.
• Captain Tycho Celchu: a pilot from Alderaan who previously flew a TIE fighter in the Imperial Navy. After the destruction of Alderaan, he defected to the Rebel Alliance, but he was caught and imprisoned in Lusankya, an infamous Imperial prison. He has been conscripted by Wedge Antilles to serve as Executive Officer (XO) of Rogue Squadron. The previous XO was Captain Aril Nunb, sister of Nien Nunb one of the other heroes of Endor. Tycho Celchu was an original member of Rogue Squadron and fought on Hoth, and on Endor where he piloted an A-wing that led TIE fighters through the Death Star, then fought at Bakura, and volunteered to fly a captured TIE fighter on a covert mission to Coruscant, but he was captured and then escaped, and agreed to fly a Z-95 Headhunter to help train the squad, however he is not trusted by the New Republic leadership due to fears of brainwashing during his Imperial imprisonment. As a compromise he has agreed to have a destruct device placed on his ship in case he steps out of line.  
• Corran Horn: known as “Rogue Nine,” Corran Horn a cocky flyboy from Corellia (ergo he is a bit of a knock-off Han solo character). He previously served in the Corellian Security Force (“CorSec”) straight out of secondary school and continued the Horn family tradition of setting new records. His father Hal Horn had been one of the pilots who trailed the pirates who killed Wedge’s family at Gus Treta. Corran Horn’s father was killed by the Trandoshan bounty hunter, Bossk. Now there has been a death mark on Corran Horn for the murder of six smugglers on Drall in the Corellian Sector. His former partner in CorSec was a woman named Iella Wessiri and his nemesis is fellow Corellian Security Force alumnus, Kirtan Loor.
• Ooryl Qrygg: a Gand who refers himself in the third person, in keeping with Gand linguistic traditions. He is Corran Horn’s wingman.
• Nawara Ven: a Twi’lek pilot and lawyer from Ryloth who is seeking justice for clients.
• Rhysati Ynr: a female from Bespin whose family was forced to flee.
• Bror Jace: a blond-haired, blue-eyed Thyferran pilot (Thyferra is the homeworld of the Vratix species, who invented and mined bacta and eventually became addicted to it). Bror Jace’s family owns significant stock in Zaltin Corp (a leading bacta production and distribution company) and his people are known for being “haughty and obstreperous.”
• Erisi Dlarit: a female from Thyferra.
• Peshk Vri’syk: a Bothan.
• Gavin Darklighter: “…just a Tatooine farm boy whose ability to shoot womp rats from a speeder did make him a hero.” He is the cousin of Biggs Darklighter who was in the trenches with Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles at Yavin where he died. Gavin is a mere sixteen years old so Wedge lobbies heavily with admiral Ackbar to allow for his inclusion in Rogue Squadron. Per Gavin Darklighter, after Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru were killed, Luke Skywalker gave their Tatooine moisture farm to an alien named Throgg before Darklighter’s father acquired it.
• Riv Shiel: Shistavanen pilot from Uvena III.
• Lujayne Forge: a female from Kessel.
• Andoorni Hui: a Rodian female.

The new Rogue Squadron group is gathered on a Rebel base that was once an extensive mining complex on Commenor’s largest moon, Folor (the Commenor system was chosen due the high level of shipping traffic that passes through as well as its close proximity to Corellia and the Core Worlds), however Wedge Antilles decides to migrate to a new base in an effort to set the team’s sights on eventually conquering Coruscant –but first, they must move Rogue Squadron from Commenor to Talasea, a former farming colony planet in the Morobe system (a red-yellow binary wherein Talasea is a moist and cool world with indigenous insect, reptilian, and mammalian species. It is the fourth planet in orbit around a yellow primary). But while en route, the squad is suddenly pulled out of hyperspace by an Imperial Interdictor Cruiser and a space battle ensues in which Rogue Squadron rescues a smuggling ship called the Pulsar Skate, piloted by a woman named Mirax Terrik (she helps the squad by rescuing Corran Horn during the battle). Mirax Terrik (“Rogue Null”), wears a patch on her jumpsuit of a Corellian Sea-Ray that had a bar where the eyes should have been. And we soon learn that Corran’s father, Hal Horn, was the Security Officer who sent Mirax’s father to Kessel –so naturally, despite the mutual antipathy of Corran Horn and Mirax Terrik, they apparently fall in love. And on that note, it’s actually quite amusing seeing all the women throw themselves at Corran Horn throughout this novel. Despite being a fairly static, one-dimensional character, Horn’s allure adds a very silly element to the book.

At any rate, we follow Rogue Squadron to their new base on Talasea where they face a surprise attack by a cohort of Stormtroopers, which the squad follows-up with a retaliatory strike on the Imperials (or “Imps”) at Vladet in the Rachuk system on Grand Isle. Along the way, we meet some of the extended cast of characters around Rogue Squadron, such as General Salm, Commander Varth, Admiral Ackbar, Zraii (a Verpine maintenance worker), Captain Afyon, Wedge’s R5 droid nicknamed “Mynock,” Emtrey (a 3PO droid), Corran Horn’s R2 astromech droid nicknamed “Whistler.” And legendary heroes like Biggs Darklighter and Jek Porkins loom large in the memory of the Rogue pilots.

The novel culminates in a surprise attack on a secret Imperial base code-named “Blackmoon” (complete with the use of meteors as a distraction). At the last minute, Corran Horn’s droid Whistler discovers some hidden data about Blackmoon regarding an Alderaan Biotics research facility on the far side of the planet at Borleias, with a geothermal generation station and spaceport used to power shields, underground tunnel is the facility’s weak link. And in the end, Rogue Squadron wins the day (with Corran Horn being rescued by the Pulsar Skate), but in an epilogue, it is revealed that Isard actually has a spy inside Rogue Squadron and she is secretly awaiting their Coreward charge toward Coruscant –in other words, she is deliberately luring Corran Horn using his nemesis Kirtan Loor. So, who could the traitor be? Could it be a brainwashed Captain Tycho Celchu? Or someone else? Either way, the novel Rogue Squadron ends on a satisfying note and nicely teases a future conflict over which group will gain control of Coruscant. Despite having only read the first book in the X-Wing series, I can easily see why these books are fan favorites (this is surely a step above Shadows of the Empire or the Jedi Academy trilogy). However, admittedly, I wanted to appreciate this book much more than I actually did –but I could envision the X-Wing series being made into a compelling Star Wars miniseries in the vein of Band of Brothers if Lucasfilm ever wanted to pull itself out of the doldrums.

“To Rogue Squadron, to the friends we’ve lost, the battles we’ve fought, and the utter fear our return will bring to our enemies.” -Wedge Antilles

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Other Notes:

• Rogue Squadron was an immensely technical novel. Here are a few examples of highly specific, well-researched details in the novel: Incom 4L4 Fusial Thrust Engines, stabilizer foils on X-Wings, the Target-Aggressor Attack Resolution Software package, the TIE Interceptors’ Quadanium solar panels, G7-x gravjectors, the Delta DX-9 Transport ship, Nebulon-B frigates, Seinar Fleet System Quad Lasers, Baudo-class star yachts, Carrack-class cruisers, Lancer-class frigates, Lambda-class shuttles, Interdicter class imperial ships, and the verpine language. Much of this is far beyond my level of nerding to understand.
• Additionally, some of the other planets mentioned in Rogue Squadron include: Rachuk, Vladet, Chorax, Corellia, Kuat, the Hensara system (known for the “Rout of Hensara” outside Hensara III), the Darek system, the Mirit System (home to Ord Mirit), Venjagga (home to the imperial base on Jagga-Two), Noquivzor (the launching planet which Rogue Squadron uses en route to “Blackmoon,” the taopari are a native predatory animal to Noquivzor), Derra IV (where a past Imperial conflict occurred), the mythical world of Phenaru Primewoth with an asteroid ring and notable oceans and coastlines, and Borleias in the Pyria System where a small base is overseen by Imperial General Evir Derricote.
• At one point it is mentioned that Ashern rebels on Thyferra contaminated a batch of bacta infected nearly two million soldiers and citizens making them allergic to bacta. Thousands of Vratrix grow alazhi and refine bacta, but it is human corporations that distribute it throughout the galaxy. Something tells me bacta contamination will return in a future X-Wing book.  
• The legendary missing Katana Fleet (which was introduced in Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy) is mentioned a couple times in this book. Note that these first few X-Wing novels take place prior to the Thrawn Trilogy.  
• On Gand, names are of high importance (hence why Ooryl refers to himself in the third person). Additionally, Gands only require a fraction of human sleep and they store it up over time.
• At this point in the saga, the SoroSuub government on Sullust is providing aid to the alliance.
• A couple strange diseases and infections are mentioned in this novel: Blastonecrosis, a rapidly aging disease (a rebel prisoner named Gil Bastra suffers from it, his father was Corran Horn’s Corellian partner); and also the Rachuk roseola virus which infects Kirtan Loor.
• Apparently, space suits support life for only about three hours.
• As in Star Trek, the deceased are apparently jettisoned into space (several member of Rogue Squadron are killed in this novel).
• I took note of a few interesting examples of planetary flora described in this novel, such as the local kaha trees which are native to Talasea.
• Several forms of alcohol are mentioned in this book: Lomin ale (the preferred foamy drink of Rogue Squadron), Corellian Whiskey (particularly Whyren’s Reserve), Abrax (a type of cognac) and ryshcate –a type of whiskey made with vweliu nuts.

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Stackpole, Michael A. X-Wing: Rogue Squadron. Dey Rey, NY, NY, 2021 (originally published in 1996). The book was dedicated to George Lucas. I read the newly released “Essential Legends” edition.