Wedge's Gamble is the Michael A. Stackpole's second entry in the X-Wing series, and this is where the reading of Rogue Squadron begins to pay off. The Rogues, now a cohesive working unit, undertake their hardest mission since the Death Stars: the taking of Coruscant.
Rogue Squadron may be best known for its action sequences, especially when it comes to dogfighting. Wedge's Gamble also has some dogfighting, but the bulk of the action this time is ground based as the squadron works more as a commando unit on Coruscant, evaluating various aspects of the planet's defense and even the citizenry's feelings towards both the Empire and the New Republic. I personally enjoyed this aspect more, as we got to see the characters interact with each other on a more frequent basis in many different situations. Rogue Squadron did a good job of introducing us to the characters, and that pays off now as we get to know them at least twice as better as we did before.
Another thing I found fascinating in this book the mission planning itself. We see the intricate details of the squadron's various insertions onto Coruscant, Isard's plans to leave the New Republic a gruesome surprise on the planet when she gives it to them, Loor's plans to eventually become free of Isard, and even the political maneuvering of Fey'lya. Unlike many books, where the good guys' plans have holes you could drive a Death Star through and the bad guys' plans amount to, "Kill the good guys. Let none survive!", both sides are treated intelligently and the plans are complex enough that the reader is actively engaged trying to figure them out.
Following that trend, the bad guys are also developed. It would have been so easy for Kirtan Loor to remain simply a stooge who lives only to do his master's bidding, maybe to delight in it. Instead, we see him grow and change as much as any of the pilots. Isard may have pointed out his deficiencies to him, but once he is aware of what they are, he genuinely works to counteract them, and by doing so, begins treading the path to becoming his own person. Already at the end of this book, Loor realizes that he is no longer crippled by his own fear, leaving him able to better choose his own actions and fate.
And then we have the traitor. Tycho is the obvious choice, so obvious that the reader can be sure that he is not the traitor. Thus, the reader can allow him/herself to care about him and what happens to him. The thing I liked about the whole traitor thing is that this person is not a very obvious one on a first read. I personally had no idea who it was, and I've seen comments that many thought it was either Emtrey or Gavin. To be honest, I never thought it was either one of these, but then again, I never really had any one person under suspicion. Upon rereads of this book, however, it becomes pretty obvious who it really is. I get this urge to just slap this girl silly everytime she asks one of her information gathering questions. "Well, we're all going in, right? You wouldn't just send the two of us." "But you're at least going in, Commander, aren't you?" Grrrr! Plus it seems to me she was being pretty darn annoying when she was trying to seduce Corran, but it's hard to know if it's just because she was annoying anyway or because we know why she really wants to sleep with him.
Another thing in this book's favor is the ending. At the end of Rogue Squadron, we're left with Isard inviting Corran and his friends to come to Coruscant, because she'd be waiting for them. An ominous statement, sure, and alerting us to the fact that she'd be keeping an eye out for any attempt made by the NR to take the planet. Although the reader would probably pick up the next book, it's not 100% guaranteed. Things otherwise were pretty nicely resolved at the end of that book, meaning that the reader could theoretically wait a few years before buying the next book without too much trouble.
On the other hand, the ending of this book is guaranteed to make the reader now just want to, but almost have to, buy the next book. The epilogue shows Corran a captive of Isard, with her threatening to turn him into one of her agents. But even before we see this, we are told that Tycho has been arrested for treason and murder. If he is found guilty, although we are not told this, the reader can figure out without any trouble that Tycho, a man obviously innocent to the reader's eyes, will be executed. At least one of these two things is practically guaranteed to make the reader come back for more.
Not all was perfect with this book. One thing that made me raise my eyebrows a little is how all the insertion groups managed to meet up with each other on Coruscant. I have no problems with how Mirax met up with Wedge's group. That was logical and made sense. The only thing about that is it's never really explained why she was not able to get offplanet. Erisi didn't know she was there, so she couldn't mess it up. It's never really indicated that Isard or anyone else working for her knew about Mirax and wanted her to stay. Is it just coincidence? (More on the whole coincidence thing later.)
And then there's the whole Corran-on-a-speederbike bit. He's running away from guys who want to kill him. He tries to get rid of the car that's attached to his bike, slowing him down. So he smashes it into what he thought was a billboard sign but was really a window. But not just any window. It's the window to the room where Wedge's group is sitting. Then he flies some more and has to bail. What do you know? He bails right into Gavin's group, just in time to make it possible for them to get out of a fix of their own. How convenient. And let's not forget what he saw before he was forced to run. None other than Wedge's ace in the hole having a conversation in a tapcafe that Corran himself would not have normally walked in.
There's only one logical reason for all of this happening storywise: the Force wanted it to happen. Now, I'm not one who has problems with stories using the Force. What I don't like is stories that have so many coincidences that are absolutely necessary for the story to end the way the author has planned that it can only be chalked up to the Force. I mean, if one character feels they have to be somewhere, or may even be unconsciously led to a place, because of the Force (and this applies only to Force-sensitive characters), that's fine. But this was just a little too much.
In other words, I can accept that Mirax somehow happened to miss her exit vector. Could've just been pure bad luck. It happens. I can accept Corran maybe being unknowingly led to that tapcafe by the Force. After all, he wasn't really paying any attention to where he was going, so it could easily have done that. Maybe it wanted him to see Thyne and/or Tycho. I could also accept that maybe he genuinely did stumble into that tapcafe because he was so lost in his thoughts he wasn't paying attention to his surroundings. It happens. But how often does it happen that you then end up being chased by speederbikes throughout town, and during the course of this chase, you end up running into all of your undercover friends?
Aside from that chapter or so, I really enjoyed this book much more than Rogue Squadron. There was less emphasis on, "Cut to the left. I'll take the leader." and more on action that also promoted character interaction. This allowed the reader to know the characters that much better and care about them more, both things that are important for the reader to have if the third book is to succeed. Plans on both sides of the war are intricately crafted. The end is more or less a cliffhanger, guaranteed to make people want to keep reading the series. All in all, far better than the first book, and a high-paced, excellent read.
Reviewed June 6, 2001 by Kelly M. Grosskreutz.
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