Pretty darn good. ( )

This was pretty good. When reading this series it is clear in the second book that the series was designed from the start to be one big story. This is opposed to many series in which the first book did well and the publisher wants more so the author finds a loose thread to pull on and branch out another book or two.
Given the age of the book I will not worry about spoilers. This one ends with the fall of Coruscant and the leading up to it. While the actual fall of Coruscant might seem somewhat anti-climatic to some it is the work and machinations leading up to it that makes it all work. Good stuff.
( )

Marginally better than the first Rogue Squadron book, as the dogfights take a back seat to the drama. Still, Stackpole is juggling with too many Rebel characters who frankly all talk the same way. ( )

This was real fun. Yes, you need some suspension of disbelief for the plot and I would love for the characters to be a bit more fleshed out, but in the end, this is an action-adventure novel and I was immensely entertained reading it. And of course, there are the childhood memories, so I can't be totally objective here. ( )

It was inevitable that my recent immersion in the Star Wars Extended Universe/Legends media would lead me to Michael Stackpole's "X-Wing" series. Given the interconnected nature of the works, the references to events from it in Timothy Zahn's Hand of Thrawn duology left me wanting to read the characters and events mentioned. And the first book, [b:Rogue Squadron|513176|Rogue Squadron (Star Wars X-Wing, #1)|Michael A. Stackpole|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327860341l/513176._SY75_.jpg|987443], was enjoyable enough as an inaugural volume that introduced some appealing characters while laying the groundwork for future volumes.

By contrast, Wedge's Gamble is something of a ominous letdown. With the New Republic preparing to take the strategically important planet of Coruscant, the pilots of Rogue Squadron are infiltrated onto it as part of an intelligence-gathering mission. This was the first warning sign for me, for while I get the need to keep the story focused on the main characters, the need for pilots to serve as covert operatives seemed more than a stretch. Yet this was a minor complain when set against the plan hatched by Ysanne Isard, the former head of Imperial Intelligence and the main antagonist of the series. Her scheme to spread a virus designed to sicken and kill missions of non-humans was far too mustache-twirling for my taste. For a series known for its complex and nuanced villains, having one engaged in such an overly-complicated effort to commit genocide while sowing political discord over medical supplies is something of a letdown. Though I'm hoping that the later volumes move past this, the fact that the fourth one is entitled [b:The Bacta War|513201|The Bacta War (Star Wars X-Wing, #4)|Michael A. Stackpole|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327941683l/513201._SY75_.jpg|501178] suggests that the rest of Stackpole's series are going to be grounded in it, which is why I'm having trouble finding the motivation to pick up the next book. ( )