Review - "X-Wing: The Bacta War" - by Michael Stackpole

X-Wing: The Bacta War - by Michael Stackpole - February, 1997

I do have a romantic soft spot for this book, because although the date says "February, 1997", it was actually released in January - and so, as I stood in line (4th down in Norman) to get tickets for the release of the Special Edition of Star Wars, this was the book that kept me company. The Bacta War is the 4th book by Stackpole in the X-Wing series, and it really closes off an arc, wraps things up, and leaves us with a nice, solid ending. Let's consider it.

The EU - Space Pirates - It's nice to know that this came out before the whole resurgence of Pirate lore. Stackpole wasn't just trying to follow some cultural trend - he just wrote a book that basically gave us a roving band of good hearted space pirates with X-Wing fighters. It sets Star Wars characters outside of the normal theme (the Rebels vs. the Empire) but in a setting that is close and related. There's no worry about legitimacy - just bringing down a tyrant through piracy. Neat approach.

The EU - The Errant Venture - This is the book that gives us what may be the most endearing Star Destroyer in the entire Expanded Universe - the Errant Venture. In some ways, Booster Terrik does a ton of scene stealing in this book, and the tale of how a known smuggler ends up getting his hands on a massive Star-Destroyer (soon to be casino and mobile Jedi school) is neat. And do you know how we can tell it was a good idea? It still shows up in books 14 years later and no one has tried to destroy it yet.

The Bad - The Insanity of Ysanne Isard - Isard had been a fantastic, cold, calculating villain for the previous three books. She had used and acquired minions (like Loor and Vorru) who were in themselves capable foils. But in this book... she falls apart - and I'm not sure what it adds to the story. Vorru and the treacherous Erisi see her insanity... but it doesn't move them to repentance, to a change of heart. They just jump ship, or try to at least. There's no redemption that stems from it, there's no turning on and bringing each other down (where it's a moral lesson) - it's just... there. The villain is weakened so the heroes' victory seems just slightly lessened... and Isard's own internal fall doesn't add anything.

The Grade - B+ I will always enjoy re-reading this book. I enjoy it quite a bit - it is fun. But the demise of a villain needs to be done artfully -- and Isard's fall just drops this one from out of the A range -- but still, it's a fun one to read.