Star Wars Book Review
Unless otherwise noted, the author is Michael A. Stackpole.

X-Wing Book 2: Wedge's Gamble.
ISBN: 0-553-56802-7
Book 2 takes a while to get up to speed. The heroic Rogue Squadron (no Luke!) plans to invade Coruscant in an effort to bring the Empire to it's knees! (Something is always being brought to their knees in Star Wars. The Empire, the Rebellion, Threepio...).
There's a pretty interesting plot about a traitor in the ranks of the squad. Thankfully this plot is only used once.
If you're a die-hard fan of the series, you gotta get this one. Otherwise...eh...

X-Wing Book 3: The Krytos Trap
ISBN: 0-553-56803-5
The Empire realizes that they are getting their asses kicked millitarily. So they decide to whip up a highly effective plan of bioterrorism and racisms.
Corran Horn, a squad member and Jedi in training gets stuck in prison. It starts a wonderful, riveting 'Great Escape' plotline. Also, they kill Ewoks for three chapters.
No, they don't but I gotta do something to spice up these reviews.

X-Wing Book 4: The Bacta War
ISBN: 0-553-56804-3
Here's where it starts zooooooming along. Bacta is that liquid goop Luke was hanging in after his latest suicidal escepade in the movies. Now here, the bacta factories have been seized by an evil female warlord. Since the galaxy depends on it to heal everything from blaster holes to hangnails, they all get into a tizzy. (Never heard of band-aids, folks?). The squadron gets deprived of Alliance support and even weapons. (The Alliance's powers that be are really a bunch of asses).
It really is a good read despite the G.I.Joe plot.

X-Wing Book 8: Isard's Revenge
ISBN 0-553-57903-7
The Imperial remnants are fighting against each other to eke out their pathetic scraps of space. Isard vs. Krennel in this go around. Krennel got some Rogue Squadron members and Isard offers to help out the Squad if they perform a mission for her. Obviously she's not be trusted but what can they do?
Once again, a simple plot, a sizzling action novel. (As always, Wedge does a snap-roll with his fighter but what can you do?). As in the recent books, the dogfights NEVER get stale and are always interesting. They way they face down legion after legion and defeat them in the fights (thought not always without casualties *sniff*) is nothing short of mind-boggling. In a good way.
But there is, yet again, the tendencey to have the evil villian *always* come back. The books like to strech things out. Here, the excellent writing saved it.

Star Wars: The New Jedi Order. Dark Tide 1
ISBN 0-345-42854-4
Having run out of Imperials to shoot out of the sky, the Alliance must face a ruthless enemy from beyond the galaxy. I was a bit hesitant going in...our Heroes always have to face some mind-boggling menace. Sometimes it just gets tired.
The enemy, the Yuuzhan Vong, are interesting. They can disguise themselves as humans and laugh off blaster shots. The Jedi corps, numbering around a hundred, are pressed into service against the Vong. Of course they are unaffected by the Force. Thankfully nearby rocks aren't. Still, it's hard going as the Vong invade planet after planet and convert the stragglers into monstrous things. The Vong hate technology and thus need mucho space to grow their appliances, weaponry and such.
The cover art looks like the Hoth scene in 'Rogue Squadron' for the N64. If you time it right, you can fry the pilots running for their landspeeders. Much fun.

Star Wars: The New Jedi Order. Dark Tide 2
ISBN 0-345-42856-0
The Vong are stumping the good guys left and right and blowing the shit out of more planets. Corran Horn, now a full Jedi and Jacen Solo, apprentice Jedi, head off on a spy mission and get in some deep shit. Yes, Jacen is the kid of Han and Leia. He has a twin sister and a younger brother named Anakin. The kids have inherited their uncle's whiny, bitchy, clueless, farmboy attitude so watch out for that going in. Jacen fucks up royally and has to be Dues Ex Machinaed out of most of his situations.

Star Wars: The New Jedi Order. Agents of Chaos 1
ISBN 0-345-42860-9
Author: James Luceno
With Chewie presumed dead (like he'll stay in that condition) a morose Han runs off to do his own thing against the Vong. He proves suprisingly effective. (Well, more then the rest of the Alliance). The Vong still pound planets like it was going out of style. Leia's power is slowly being stripped away and the entire Alliance is in danger of collapsing. (This time from legitimate, believable threats). Han finds a Chewie subsitute and stumbles across a plan to slay all the Jedi.
Right about now is when I'm wishing that the Vong would just be defeated already. Don't get your hopes yet. There's more agony to come.

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