Wedge's Gamble (Star Wars: X-Wing Series, Book 2)

Wedge's Gamble is the second volume in the fan favorite Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron series. In this series author Michael Stackpole manages to sustain interest in a bunch of Star Wars characters NOT named Luke, Han or Leia (OK, Leia makes a cameo appearance here). The series is ostensibly about ace pilot Wedge Antilles and his team of intrepid X-Wing pilots, but Stackpole's new character...more

Wedge's Gamble is the second volume in the fan favorite Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron series. In this series author Michael Stackpole manages to sustain interest in a bunch of Star Wars characters NOT named Luke, Han or Leia (OK, Leia makes a cameo appearance here). The series is ostensibly about ace pilot Wedge Antilles and his team of intrepid X-Wing pilots, but Stackpole's new character Corran Horn quickly becomes the main character. Unlike the first volume in the series (Rogue Squadron (Star Wars: X-Wing Series, Book 1)), Wedge's Gamble features very little starfighter action. Instead the focus is on the Rogues' covert insertion into the heart of Coruscant and their efforts to wrest the planet from the Empire. You have to suspend disbelief a bit (which shouldn't be an issue considering you're reading a book about spaceships and aliens) to think a handful of pilots, no matter what their ancillary skills, could bring down the most populous planet in the galaxy, but Stackpole makes it seem at least somewhat plausible. There is a great deal of political intrigue, spy action and yes some aerial dogfighting, and nearly all of the Rogues develop further as characters. The faults of this book are the ones present in the first X-Wing novel. The dialogue is over the top, and many times is just too melodramatic to ever be spoken aloud. There's also Stackpole's insistence on ending every chapter with a dramatic phrase. I'd suggest a drinking game incorporating it, but you'd be passed out before the Rogues touched down on Coruscant. Aside from a couple of minor gripes, Wedge's Gamble is a solid and enjoyable entry in the X-Wing Rogue Squadron series, and one that should appeal to most Star Wars fans.   hide