swbookclub | Rogue Squadron: 1 of 4

colls posting in

Welcome to our first of four check-in and discussion posts for our Book of the Month.

This month’s book is Rogue Squadron (Star Wars: X-Wing #1) by Michael A. Stackpole
Chapters 1-10

Rogue Squadron Part 1 of 4

1. The first few chapters introduce several of the pilots and allow us as readers to eavesdrop as they establish their initial relationships. Which characters do you see as possibly filling common roles? (ie. hot shot, joker, arrogant competition, etc.)

2. What do you think of Corran Horn and Agent Loor's history and do you have any predictions on how it'll impact this story?

3. Wedge seems to have to balance politics with piloting in rebuilding Rogue Squadron. How many obstacles do you think he'll face before he's successful?

4. What other thoughts do you have? How are you liking it so far?

FYI - There's no need to answer all (or any) of the questions above - they're just talking points to get us started. Informal chatter is more than welcome! In-person book clubs often veer off topic, it's okay if we do as well. :)
All I ask is that you try to avoid spoilers for things past Part I of the book.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

colls

I'm glad there's a list of the dramatis personae in the beginning, because I'm still wrapping my head around the introduction of so many new characters.

While it's an ensemble, the apparent main character is Corran Horn who seems to be the one the author wants us to relate the most to.
His roommate Ooryl doesn't yet have much personality, despite there being a pretty long(-ish) conversation with him. We learned more about his species than him specifically? He is prevalent and I assume we'll learn more.
I keep picturing Nawara as female, but the character is apparently male. Maybe they are a non-binary character after all and it just wasn't spelled out when this was published? I'm a little confused how one goes from being a lawyer to a pilot, but I do like how they're setting up the squad with people who have varied skill sets.
Jace seems like he's going to be the typical insufferable pilot like Ice-Man was in Top Gun. The two female pilots, Rhysati and Erisi, haven't made much of an impression on me yet. In fact, I'm getting them slightly confused with Lujayne but then remember she is the one that is from Kessel and initiated conversation with Corran, convincing him to be sociable. There are a few others mentioned, even Biggs Darklighter's brother, Gavin, but we don't hear much from them yet.
All that and then there's the the XO, the other General with Ackbar, and all the Imperials.

So yes, I definitely needed that character list in the book. LOL!!

I liked that there's a pilot named Aril Nunb, sister to the smuggler from RoTJ who was also mentioned in Twilight Company. The way these stories can all thread together is very appealing to me.

For a bit there, I worried there was going to be a bit too much focus on the ships and simulated battles, but the book didn't spend too much on it and introduced us to characters and threw in some nuggets of where the plot was going. I'm liking it so far.

From:

brokenmnemonic

I read the first 10 chapters to day! Witness the power of actually being on leave! ;) I would've read more, but I wanted to put my thoughts down here first, and there were important naps to take.

So... when Stackpole was given the first BattleTech trilogy to write, which was also the novel series that drove the game timeline forward from the initial starter books through to the first big campaign, he was responsible for both pushing the timeline forward and covering all of the major factions, while also making the game universe accessible to more readers. I don't think Rogue Squadron is as important a series to the plot of the Star Wars universe as the BattleTech Warrior trilogy was, but I see familiar touches here, like the way he goes into how some of the tech that is going to be in the game a lot works. I enjoyed him doing things like showing us Wedge checking out his X-wing, and the mentions of all the little symbols. I also liked learning about Ooryl's society, and CorSec, and their relationship wiht the Kessel smugglers. I really enjoy seeing little bits of background universe dropped in. While I don't think I know much about Ooryl as a person, I like that they've established already a culture where names and identity have a different basis to that the reader might expect. I like the insectoid tech engineer Zraii the Verpine too - although if there's a lot of things involving base-6 maths, I may have to stop and check numbers to make sure I'm following along ;)

It definitely feels like Corran Horn is going to be the central character, doesn't it? I'm not sure how much we're supposed to like him, but it does feel as if the opening quarter of the book is about teaching him things to make him grow as a character. I do like the way that although most of the characters are people I've not heard of (although for all I know, they could have a huge presence in the EU) there are characters that are linked to existing, known characters. On the one hand, it feels a bit "power of coincidence" but on the other, I... like it? I mean, I can picture Biggs having a younger brother really motivated to become a pilot, and seeing Aril Numb was great. Go Numbs!

I did find Stackpole's description of Erisi to be very male-gaze-y. I'm not sure I would've noticed reading it in a BattleTech book in my teens, but I did notice it this time, which was a shame.

The focus on the ship training exercises and the various manoeuvres performed by the pilots - especially Corran - makes me think that Stackpole looked into the same sort of flying tactics and doctrine the writers of Top Gun did, to make it feel plausible to people who read a lot of military fiction. I'm glad he's not going overboard, but I did notice that I found the Redemption scenario easier to follow than I did the battle at the end of the Last Shot, and easier to visualise, which I liked.

It's not been a book with a lot of laughs in yet, although it is working on the team bonding within the unit, even if Corran's hogging a lot of the limelight, which I like. I did like Wedge's reference to trying to deal with a difficult 3P0 bot, and not having a sister to pass it off too, unlike Luke!

From:

colls

I hadn't noticed a lot of the male-gazy things in the 90's that I notice today. Partially I've matured (one hopes) and partially society has gotten a bit more cognizant of it - it does make older media harder to judge objectively sometimes.

I'm not sure how much we're supposed to like him
Interesting. I gathered he was to be The. Guy. You know, the one that the author's imagined fans adore (aka. self-insert). That sounds rather harsh and I don't really intend it to be - just that I immediately assumed he's the one the author wants us to connect with.
Although, when I google to refresh myself on character names, Tycho (the XO) comes up a lot - which tells me I might be wrong about Corran? IDK.

From:

brokenmnemonic

I'm going to be somewhat embarassingly late on this one, I'm afraid. With the prep work for VidUKon I'd forgotten to check what the book for this month was, and having been reminded today, I've discovered that Rogue Squadron is out of print here at the moment. I've tracked down a secondhand copy and ordered it, but the eta is 12-16 June. I should catch up quickly when it arrives though, as I'm taking time off after the con...

I know Michael Stackpole's work from his books in the BattleTech universe, where he's the author who produced two of the most important trilogies in the early history of the franchise. One of the things that I've seen come up a lot in conversations about those Battletech books is comparisons with his Star Wars work, and that his early BattleTech books were really good when they came out, but don't feel particularly nuanced now, 30+ years later, and that his blend of good vs evil and heroes vs villains works much better for Star Wars novels. I'm very keen to be able to do a comparison at last :)