Wishes from 1999 now being granted.
I originally hopped online for a completely different reason, but having gotten word of the following I forgot all about it.
It is confirmed that Aaron Allston is writing a new X-Wing: Wraith Squadron novel.
THAT... IS... AWESOME.
Seriously, this is fantastic news. In my opinion, Aaron Allston's X-Wing novels are the best books that the Star Wars franchise has ever produced. They're the only books--franchise or not--that I re-read again and again every year for the past decade. Even now, I still think that Allston's the best writer that Star Wars has ever had. He even produces good books when he writes for a series that I hate. He's good at action, great at drama and fantastic at comedy. He excels at ensembles, giving every character in a large and unique cast plenty of attention and agency. He can turn other writers' pathetic villains into intelligent, witty villains that you love to hate. His heroes come up with these brilliant, crazy, creative and devious plans that feel like something my friends and I would come up with around a gaming table.
This is something that I've hoped would happen for more than a decade, and now it will.
(Apparently the opportunity has arisen because Karen Traviss' ongoing conniption fit has left an opening for a "non-jedi" book. That's a trade I would have made in a heartbeat even before she started to squick me out. Quitting in a huff is the best thing she's done for the franchise since Hard Contact.)
So while I'm not literally dancing a jig (because that would be very unprofessional to do at work, and also probably uncomfortable to do in a ballistic vest, and anyway this time I never declared I would), I'm very pleased with this news.