– Spoiler Review –
Alphabet Squadron, written by Alexander Freed, is the beginning of a trilogy involving a unique, ragtag group of pilots hunting down one of the Empire’s most feared TIE Fighter Wings, Shadow Wing, in a post-Return of the Jedi world. Its micro-level view of the larger conflict, with a focus on multifaceted, psychologically complex characters makes it a fresh and unique start to a larger trilogy.
Much like the start of the Aftermath Trilogy, the previous trilogy of post-RotJ novels, Alphabet Squadron begins with an isolated part of the crumbling Empire making a stance in the early days of the New Republic’s struggles with being the victor, letting us see the micro-level of the larger conflict by focusing on a diverse group of characters. It remains to be seen if Alphabet will go more macro as Aftermath did, but I kind of hope not as Freed’s strength of writing the relatable, boots on the ground view of the Galaxy Far, Far Away is second to none and his boldness in diving into the psychological fallout of big events, like the Empire’s defeat at Endor/Rebellion’s victory and the spiteful Operation Cinder, pays off in dividends, as it’s one of the highlights and biggest strengths of the novel, making Alphabet a distinct, uncompromising tale.
To do so, Alphabet has a very unique set of main characters who, regardless of their less than heroic actions and dubious intentions of joining the fight, are absolutely complex but totally worthy getting to know. Whereas I strongly enjoyed most of and latched onto faster Aftermath’s characters, though wasn’t sold on a few, I enjoyed all of Alphabet’s about the same, but it took a bit longer. Yrica Quell (X-wing), an Imperial defector swept up in a New Republic Intelligence agent’s crusade against her former comrades in Shadow Wing, is unlike any protagonist we’ve had before, as she’s struggling mentally with her first-hand experience in Cinder, unsure of her qualifications to lead a squadron and a severe helping of introversion. Be it the doubt or the other myriad of mental fallout she’s dealing with, Freed manages to make her struggles relatable in the sense that her estrangement from her squad or slow assimilation in the New Republic is full of her raw feelings, and the unflinchingly real POV opens a window for readers to comprehend and sympathize with it despite the book constantly asking you to question her story. In the end, the real story didn’t change how I viewed her anyways, rendering the reveal nothing terribly special, but it does add some intrigue for what’s ahead and only complicates Quell’s life further. Quell’s squad mates are all troubled in their own ways too and Freed is also able to bring their motives to the forefront and make you want to know more about them, as their less than heroic mindsets also buck traditional protagonists and become intriguing characters because of it.
They all (besides one, maybe) share a thread regarding Shadow Wing destroying their squadrons until they are their last surviving members, though revenge doesn’t fuel all of them. There’s Chass Na Chadic (B-wing), a Theelin who jams out to music in her ship and has aspirations of being a hero like Jyn Erso, including the part where she goes out in a blaze of glory, and her push to do so puts her at odds with Wyl Lark. Lark (A-wing) comes from a planet he refers to as Home (though it’s known as Polyneus), an enigmatic planet the galaxy knows little about beyond their reputation for riding their native flying creatures, while his empathy causes him to steal a heroic death from Chass when Shadow Wing picks them apart. Then there’s Nath Tensent (Y-wing), another defector who ran some rather shady protection racketeering as a TIE pilot and then for the Rebellion, until he too lost his squad to Shadow Wing, but his reasons for joining are far more complex and involve deals we are kept from learning about, though aren’t terribly surprising when they come to light. Lastly there’s Kairos (U-wing), a woman shrouded in wrappings and a helmet, who remains completely silent beyond chirps from her comms unit. She possesses a frightening strength and commitment to the New Republic cause, but her story, beyond being told in one of the most imaginative ways I ever remember seeing in Star Wars, remains undefined. Of the group, she’s the one I’m most intrigued to learn more about, simply because of all the mystery still wrapped around her by novel’s end.
Caern Adan is the Intelligence officer who decides to bring all these individuals together, having Quell do the legwork of recruiting them, while his reasoning for this working group and their mission against Shadow Wing is eerily prescient, making him the character I wished we got to spend more time with, even though the book does its best to make you not want to like him. Adan wants to prove the NR Intelligence branch’s worth because he doesn’t trust the New Republic will know what to do now it isn’t basically concerned with military victories up to and including the Emperor’s death, believing a stronger Intelligence unit would mean less Operation Cinder’s and more protection and governing for the NR to focus on, transitioning to its new role instead of continuing on despite their new place in the galaxy. Adan concerns are valid, but with the Battle of Jakku coming, it tinges this entire trilogy with a pending sense of doom to some extent, as the NR’s victory at Jakku is exactly the type of event which makes Intelligence seem unnecessary, as they took out the main remaining Imperial forces and prevented anymore of the Emperor’s Contingency plan from going through. This leads to Rae Sloane (can’t wait to see her again soon!)and others slipping through the NR’s fingers and into the Unknown Regions to rebuild the Empire, but had military victories taken second place to Intelligence gathering in the year after Endor, maybe those who disappeared would’ve been caught and the First Order would never rise. I know the book has a potential answer for Operation Cinder’s purpose, as did the Aftermath Trilogy before it, but what if it was to make the galaxy hate the Empire/love the Rebellion, so they could go overlooked for decades because a giant, final victory would make the NR feel complacent/everyone would think them destroyed? Adan’s mission of putting Intelligence first doesn’t get any easier by the end of the novel, and with what we already know from canon, it looks like it doesn’t get much better in the next two books, though my theory could be proven incorrect but it certainly feels like it’s headed this way. Like I said, Adan might be the character the book wants you to hate the most, but it’s to hide some surprisingly predictive concepts. Otherwise, his repurposed Imperial torture droid, IT-O, as a therapist is a big highlight of the novel, providing humor, plenty of it apprehension on if he’ll revert or not; canon has been slaying memorable, unique droids so far!
On Shadow Wing’s side, we do get to spend some time with Commander Shakara Nuress, nicknamed Grandmother for several reasons, including her age and her protective, but fierce nature. She bunkers down on Pandem Nai, a planet with a unique, gas-rich atmosphere which helps protect her and her people due to its highly incendiary nature, while its Tibanna Gas mining is an integral aspect to restocking the scattered Empire. This stronghold, couple with Shadow Wing’s proficiency, is a worthy target and a great goal for the novel to build up to, much like Freed’s Twilight Company, where a bunch of minor skirmishes and plans lead to a big, military finale. In Alphabet alone, Shadow Wing, as led by Nuress, feels like a solid, important enemy, but after how the novel ends, I don’t quite know if it warrants an entire trilogy. There’s a ‘twist’ with the identity of a random stranger we follow throughout the book which ties into how Shadow Wing could strike again, be a palpable threat once more, but it didn’t quite make more books feel necessary.
However, this bodes well for my hopes the trilogy will stay focused on both the micro conflicts and small quirks of the New Republic struggling with learning how to lead, while ensuring the psychological aspect of these characters remains at the forefront, as despite my feelings about not necessarily needing another two books, I’m eager to have them. How complete Alphabet alone feels in the end means I wouldn’t have minded this only being one book, something I say in the most positive way possible, but getting to see how these characters continue to grow and evolve, especially delving into their psychological battles, more than warrants more novels.
Here are a few other things:
- Developed alongside the novel, there’s a TIE-in comic (I’m not tired of that pun at all!) called TIE Fighter, from writer Jody Houser. It follows a squadron of Shadow Wing in the days leading up to and into the Battle of Endor. Yrica and Grandmother can be seen in an issue or two, while a major (*wink wink*) character for the rest of the trilogy shows up a few times.
- Hera Syndulla’s inclusion in the novel was absolutely terrific, reminding me of how much I missed the character, even though she was recently in the Doctor Aphra comic too. I felt like Freed did an amazing job of bringing her to life, as it felt like a naturally continuation of Hera from her time in Rebels; Her short thoughts about her Ghostfamily just about slayed me, while getting to see the burgeoning New Republic through her eyes, considering her time with the early days of the Rebellion, shows how these victors are out of their depth.
- Two of my favorite scenes are: Yrica’s flight through the phenomena in the Jendorn system, which contains dust clouds that are basically a living holo-recording of things which pass through it; and the squad’s time together at the Jedi Temple Hera sends them to. Otherwise other little bits I enjoyed: the mention of purrgil; the spookiness of the Oridol Cluster Chass and Wyl survive, including how creepy a momentary cease fire turns; how they found an in-universe way to make the joke about the squad’s name due to the identification of their ships; glad we finally got to see where the Abednedo come from; a reference to Accresker jail, as seen in “The Catastrophe Con” arc in Doctor Aphra; and The Hatch that “Devon” works with for a while.
- Operation: Cinder, and its ruby red-robed Messengers, was first revealed in 2015’s Shattered Empire and later expanded upon a bit in 2017’s Battlefront II, though I appreciated how this novel acknowledge the fallout from it a bit more and what it meant to be as a perpetrator of it.
- There are a few interviews with Freed about the novel. For starters, the official site’s has him discussing working with Jody Houser on the comic tie-in, his reasons for Quell’s story, getting to expand on Cinder, so much more. Over at Den of Geek, he gets into how excited he is to explore the morally grey aspects to both the Rebellion and Empire, trying not to imitate the Legend’s X-Wing novels, and capturing Hera at an interesting time of her life.
- Over at Eleven Thirty-Eight, there are a few articles diving deeper into certain aspects of Alphabet Squadron. From Nicholas, there’s a look at how the book begins to solidify events with the year between Endor and Jakku; while Jay focused on how different Quell’s defection, and the book’s handling of such storylines, is unlike anything we’ve gotten before.
- UPDATE: My review of Shadow Fall, book two of the trilogy, is here!
Alphabet Squadron is the start of what should be a very unique and memorable trilogy thanks to writer Alexander Freed’s excellent ability to bring complex characters to life, as well as show the relatable, boots on the ground side of the Saga.
+ Multi-faceted, complex characters
+ Micro-level, boots on the ground focus
+ Dealing with Operation Cinder fallout
+ Hera Syndulla’s spot-on appearance
– Enemy was good for one book…but 2 more?
– Revelations didn’t always hit
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him on Twitter @BrushYourTeeth. You can follow the website on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor.
ALPHABET SQUADRON TRILOGY:
Alphabet Squadron – Shadow Fall | Alphabet Squadron – Victory’s Price
ALSO BY ALEXANDER FREED:
“The Man Who Built Cloud City” – From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back (novel) | “Contingency Plan” – From a Certain Point of View (novel) | Battlefront: Twilight Company (novel) | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (novel) by Chris