Discussion: Wraith Squadron
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I didn't forget; I've been holding off, since I didn't want to rush this post. Add to that the post-Camp NaNo trauma, and, well, I decided that my NaNo Post-Mortem took precedence.
So, that being said, you should technically be almost a week into reading Iron Fist, unless you're me, who's gone and picked up another old book she adores and has plowed through in 4 days.
Onwards!
I have a stronger memory of reading this book the first time around than I do of the others. The main reason is because this was the book that shook me out of my authorial comfort zone.
Let me explain: I came into the X-Wing series fresh off of an epic fantasy novel run, in which the florid prose and sweeping landscapes of worlds both distant and otherworldly had dominated much of my imagination. I still had a place for sci-fi, but it wasn't until I had to do research for a fan fic piece that I (a) discovered this series and (b) rekindled my passion for Star Wars. So I popped into the world of sci-fi novels with my hand firmly in Mike Stackpole's hand, and for four novels, he and I got well acquainted (figuratively speaking. I've never met Mike, though I hear he's awesome). So by the time I got to Wraith Squadron, I was a little confused and a little sad.
Sad, because Mike was leaving me to be replaced by some gent named Aaron Allston, of whom I had never heard. Confused, because I was wondering what the hell Rogue Squadron had to do with a story called Wraith Squadron.
It was the middle of summer, and I was sitting on the bus I normally took every day to and from school between September and June; I was on my way home from visiting Chapters so I could buy this book, which was supposedly the next in the series. And I began to read it.
I hated every word.
The writing style was so vastly different to me, having just come off a four-book run by a single author, that the change in voice and the minute differences in Wedge's characterization had me seething. Well, not seething, per se, but I seriously disliked this book and was questioning the wisdom behind swapping authors half-way through a series. Having just dropped $10 bucks that I had to scrape for on this thing, I decided to see how much worse it would get.
...And then Aaron brought the funny.
From the onset of the Ewok joke right through to the end of the book, I fell in love, and I fell hard. This was my squadron. I adored the Rogues, to be sure. They would always hold a place of honour in my heart, specially considering that they brought me back to the fandom, but I didn't really connect with them in the same way that I connected with the Wraiths. I guess it was because I was reading the series at a time in my life where I was still unsure of who I was and where I fit in. I was still exploring the aspects of my life, such as religion, sexuality, and personality, and the Rogues felt too....established, for lack of a better word. Despite Corran Sue Horn and his attempts to decipher his place in this new dynamic, I just didn't quite click with him, or the others, as they were basically a re-fit of an old design.
The newness of Wraith Squadron, and the hard-luck cases that make up its roster, resonated with me. I was basically bullshiting my way through high school, much the same way some of the characters had bs'd their way through life. I understood these guys, and they understood me.
And for that, this book and the next two that follow, to varying degrees, are the bright, shining beacon of the X-Wing Series for me. Over and above Starfighters, if you can believe it.
So, this book.
I despise Kell Tainer with all my heart in this book. Even more than I hated Corran. Looking back, and after re-reading it these past couple of weeks, I think it's because he is the very antithesis of Corran Horn. All the flaws that Corran should have had belong to Kell, while all of the virtues that Kell should have - at the very least - displayed to be capable of belong to Corran. I'm fairly certain that if you were to integrate both characters, along with averaging out the length of time it takes for them to clue into their faults and make serious changes that cause them to grow as characters, you would have a very well-rounded person.
It's almost as if Aaron was trying to compensate for Corran's Mary-Sue'ness by creating a person who was obviously flawed, but ended up over-doing it a bit. It was a very heavy-handed set-up for Kell's momentary lapse of sanity during the final battle that probably could have been done with a little more finesse.
I like seeing how this band of misfits pulls it together to the point where they're willing to be counter-balances and check-weighs to each other. Putting Grinder in his place with the glass prowler prank, and the tough love shown to Donos as he sinks into apathetic despondency are amazing displays of camaraderie shown by people who barely know each other and have their own personal hang-ups to overcome.
My only regret is not seeing the first moments of friendship between Face and Phanan. They just sort of show up together and are already well on their way to being BFFs. It would have been nice to see their first meeting and how that went down.
I had a little issue with Faylynn's attitude, since it's basically hand-waved and she's just a bitch who's trying hard to be #1 at something. We almost get a glimmer of her thought processes when we finally see things from her POV and she paints herself as second to everyone in every single skill she has. I wished we could have gone further into her past and really had her open up, but there's only so much space in a novel, and the relevant stuff take priority.
My one last note: If I have to read "Set Honesty to on" any time soon, I will spork my book. I like that Tyria and Kell have a "thing" for them to have srs conversations with but enough already. Then again, I've been feeling a lot more STFU-Couples-ish this week, since I finished reading the book, which may be contributing to my bile towards relationships, fictional or otherwise.
Saved these two for last, because I felt like it >:D --> Wes Janson, I love you. The almost-straight-man to Wedge's foil, in a relationship in which those two roles are often swapped to great effect. I see Wes as Wedge's connection to the Wraiths; it's mainly through Wes that Wedge seems to be able to bridge the gap between the cut-and-dry military world he knows and the mad-cap, off-the-cuff world that the Wraiths inhabit.
Wedge and Wes learn from each other, and the pair of hem learn from the rest of the squadron, and together they manage to come up with strange solutions to even stranger problems. I'm sure the Rogues, if they knew what really went on within the ranks of Wraith Squadron, would have a little more awe and respect reverence for their skills, rather than constantly ribbing them as the uncool baby brother.
A part of me hopes that Wedge took something of this sideways thinking back with him to Rogue Squadron and managed to shake them up a bit with it.
Aaaand, that's Wraith Squadron.
You next :)
This entry was also posted at http://obiwanken5.dreamwidth.org/421308.html.
I didn't forget; I've been holding off, since I didn't want to rush this post. Add to that the post-Camp NaNo trauma, and, well, I decided that my NaNo Post-Mortem took precedence.
So, that being said, you should technically be almost a week into reading Iron Fist, unless you're me, who's gone and picked up another old book she adores and has plowed through in 4 days.
Onwards!
I have a stronger memory of reading this book the first time around than I do of the others. The main reason is because this was the book that shook me out of my authorial comfort zone.
Let me explain: I came into the X-Wing series fresh off of an epic fantasy novel run, in which the florid prose and sweeping landscapes of worlds both distant and otherworldly had dominated much of my imagination. I still had a place for sci-fi, but it wasn't until I had to do research for a fan fic piece that I (a) discovered this series and (b) rekindled my passion for Star Wars. So I popped into the world of sci-fi novels with my hand firmly in Mike Stackpole's hand, and for four novels, he and I got well acquainted (figuratively speaking. I've never met Mike, though I hear he's awesome). So by the time I got to Wraith Squadron, I was a little confused and a little sad.
Sad, because Mike was leaving me to be replaced by some gent named Aaron Allston, of whom I had never heard. Confused, because I was wondering what the hell Rogue Squadron had to do with a story called Wraith Squadron.
It was the middle of summer, and I was sitting on the bus I normally took every day to and from school between September and June; I was on my way home from visiting Chapters so I could buy this book, which was supposedly the next in the series. And I began to read it.
I hated every word.
The writing style was so vastly different to me, having just come off a four-book run by a single author, that the change in voice and the minute differences in Wedge's characterization had me seething. Well, not seething, per se, but I seriously disliked this book and was questioning the wisdom behind swapping authors half-way through a series. Having just dropped $10 bucks that I had to scrape for on this thing, I decided to see how much worse it would get.
...And then Aaron brought the funny.
From the onset of the Ewok joke right through to the end of the book, I fell in love, and I fell hard. This was my squadron. I adored the Rogues, to be sure. They would always hold a place of honour in my heart, specially considering that they brought me back to the fandom, but I didn't really connect with them in the same way that I connected with the Wraiths. I guess it was because I was reading the series at a time in my life where I was still unsure of who I was and where I fit in. I was still exploring the aspects of my life, such as religion, sexuality, and personality, and the Rogues felt too....established, for lack of a better word. Despite Corran Sue Horn and his attempts to decipher his place in this new dynamic, I just didn't quite click with him, or the others, as they were basically a re-fit of an old design.
The newness of Wraith Squadron, and the hard-luck cases that make up its roster, resonated with me. I was basically bullshiting my way through high school, much the same way some of the characters had bs'd their way through life. I understood these guys, and they understood me.
And for that, this book and the next two that follow, to varying degrees, are the bright, shining beacon of the X-Wing Series for me. Over and above Starfighters, if you can believe it.
So, this book.
I despise Kell Tainer with all my heart in this book. Even more than I hated Corran. Looking back, and after re-reading it these past couple of weeks, I think it's because he is the very antithesis of Corran Horn. All the flaws that Corran should have had belong to Kell, while all of the virtues that Kell should have - at the very least - displayed to be capable of belong to Corran. I'm fairly certain that if you were to integrate both characters, along with averaging out the length of time it takes for them to clue into their faults and make serious changes that cause them to grow as characters, you would have a very well-rounded person.
It's almost as if Aaron was trying to compensate for Corran's Mary-Sue'ness by creating a person who was obviously flawed, but ended up over-doing it a bit. It was a very heavy-handed set-up for Kell's momentary lapse of sanity during the final battle that probably could have been done with a little more finesse.
I like seeing how this band of misfits pulls it together to the point where they're willing to be counter-balances and check-weighs to each other. Putting Grinder in his place with the glass prowler prank, and the tough love shown to Donos as he sinks into apathetic despondency are amazing displays of camaraderie shown by people who barely know each other and have their own personal hang-ups to overcome.
My only regret is not seeing the first moments of friendship between Face and Phanan. They just sort of show up together and are already well on their way to being BFFs. It would have been nice to see their first meeting and how that went down.
I had a little issue with Faylynn's attitude, since it's basically hand-waved and she's just a bitch who's trying hard to be #1 at something. We almost get a glimmer of her thought processes when we finally see things from her POV and she paints herself as second to everyone in every single skill she has. I wished we could have gone further into her past and really had her open up, but there's only so much space in a novel, and the relevant stuff take priority.
My one last note: If I have to read "Set Honesty to on" any time soon, I will spork my book. I like that Tyria and Kell have a "thing" for them to have srs conversations with but enough already. Then again, I've been feeling a lot more STFU-Couples-ish this week, since I finished reading the book, which may be contributing to my bile towards relationships, fictional or otherwise.
Saved these two for last, because I felt like it >:D --> Wes Janson, I love you. The almost-straight-man to Wedge's foil, in a relationship in which those two roles are often swapped to great effect. I see Wes as Wedge's connection to the Wraiths; it's mainly through Wes that Wedge seems to be able to bridge the gap between the cut-and-dry military world he knows and the mad-cap, off-the-cuff world that the Wraiths inhabit.
Wedge and Wes learn from each other, and the pair of hem learn from the rest of the squadron, and together they manage to come up with strange solutions to even stranger problems. I'm sure the Rogues, if they knew what really went on within the ranks of Wraith Squadron, would have a little more awe and respect reverence for their skills, rather than constantly ribbing them as the uncool baby brother.
A part of me hopes that Wedge took something of this sideways thinking back with him to Rogue Squadron and managed to shake them up a bit with it.
Aaaand, that's Wraith Squadron.
You next :)
This entry was also posted at http://obiwanken5.dreamwidth.org/421308.html.