Shadow Fall Part 2

[colls]

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

This month’s book is Shadow Fall (Alphabet Squadron #2) by Alexander Freed
Chapters 7-12

Shadow Fall

1. Were you expecting Quell's secret to come to light just before the battle? Will her actions during the battle save her from being brought up on charges (assuming she survives the battle)?

2. Any predictions on how the current battle will be resolved?

3. Any hopes/fears for members of the Alphabet Squadron?




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 II of the book.

Comments

[brokenmnemonic]

1. I wasn't expecting Quell's secret to come out before the battle, although with hindsight I probably should've been. I'm honestly a bit disappointed that Adan apparently presumed that if he died or vanished, it would be because of her. The timing feels like one of those things that was needed to suit the plot, but I don't begrudge that as I was interested in the reactions from the others in her squadron. I wonder what Kairos would've said or done, if she'd been there...

2. It feels like Shadow Squadron have the initiative in the battle. I'm rather relieved that the General isn't in-system, so that I don't have to worry about her getting killed by Shadow Squadron. Given that this is book 2 of the trilogy, my suspicions are that Shadow Squadron will do a lot of damage, and find a way for enough of the squadron to escape, possibly after inflicting enough casualties that they can't be pursued for a while.

3. This can't be the end for Alphabet Squadron, but I'm wondering if this means that the squadron's going to be stood down for a while. It's not a squadron with just 3 active pilots, after all, and I'm wondering if there'll be pressure to disband the squadron, or fold it into one of the other squadrons. As this is the middle book in the trilogy, I'm thinking that things are going to be bad for the squadron - I think that there's a risk that Kairos will end up dying or her injuries being severe enough that she can no longer fly, a risk that Quell will be pushed out of the squadron, and a risk that Chass' self-destructive streak will go into overdrive and lead to her dying.

[colls]

I'm really enjoying this book (even if I've not had much time to comment thoroughly). The whole thing with Adan seems confusing though. What was the message? Why was he still on the freighter? What is happening?
Ugh.

I feel like Alphabet Squadron is in for a pretty heavy loss, but their team is already thin, so I'm not sure what shape that loss is going to take. Kairos dying is a possibility, but I like to think she's going to survive or she'd already have been killed off. Maybe that's wishful thinking?
Chass is on the cover, so I'm going to suspect she lives? My basis is that Quell was on the cover of book 1 and lived, so my logic is possibly flawed. She does have a self-destructive streak though - I will give you that - and it's probably going to cause more problems than her running out of fuel.

(I also laugh at how we tend to predict who will live or die more than any other predictions - are we morbid?)

[brokenmnemonic]

are we morbid?

I think we've been influenced heavily by Rogue One ;)