– Spoiler Review –
Victory always has a price, but what will it be for Alphabet Squadron? Writer Alexander Freed sends off his trilogy with the fantastic, expansive, and fitting finale in Alphabet Squadron: Victory’s Price, where the battle to take down Shadow Wing, as the war barrels towards its conclusion, culminates in a reckoning for the misfit team of pilots and those on the other side, leaving us with the modern era’s best trilogy of novels; I don’t say it lightly, but it might be one of the best book trilogies in Star Wars publishing history, even.
When Shadow Fall surpassed the first novel, I was surprised and delighted, as it’s not very often we get a stronger sequel (books or movies), so I was concerned and anxious to see if Victory’s Price could do the even more difficult task: end the trilogy right. Alexander Freed pulls off the near impossible here, as Victory’s Price is not only the strongest book in the trilogy, but it also caps off this micro-focused exploration of war and its costs on those who fight it with such aplomb and finesse it’s a thrilling, compelling, and exhausting read…in the best way possible. There might be some familiarity to the composure of the book, like the Imperials’ Shadow Wing and General Hera Syndulla’s battle group locked in a battle with a unique planetary/system situation again or Wyl Lark attempting to contact and bridge the gap with the enemy, but thanks to how the familiarity naturally builds on what has come before, while Freed attaches an inescapable sense of finality to the proceedings, takes this from a potential retread to excellent payoff from all that’s come before. A lot of what makes Victory’s Price feel like the perfect payoff is the strength of the characters Freed has built for the trilogy, from their motivations, interpersonal relationship, and unique lives, and how those personalities react to the end of the war growing in sight as the Battle of Jakku approaches. Despite such a galaxy-changing moment looming over the book, Freed never loses the focus on the characters we’ve come to love and fear for, no matter their self-imploding impulses, keeping their trials and tribulations at the forefront of the novel. While there are snippets of the larger war unfolding, taking the focus away from Alphabet would be a disservice to these great and complex characters, and Freed balances these glimpses so well you don’t feel completely left out about what’s happening throughout the galaxy as you enjoy these personal journeys. As much fun as it is to see the macro-view, Freed’s distinct micro-view of the war has always led to some tense, spiritual, and deep novels, and the finale to the Alphabet Squadron Trilogy doesn’t disappoint on that front, especially as it digs into a character we’ve all long awaited to learn more about. Fans of the trilogy already know they’ll enjoy this one, especially if they’ve loved the second more than the first, though if you’re just curious what the fuss is about, I can tell you it’ll be well worth the investment, aided by a grand, sweeping, and still personal finale with Victory’s Price.
As always, the truth strength of the Alphabet Squadron Trilogy has been its characters, and even with an expanded role for Hera Syndulla and Soran Keize, everyone’s favorite dysfunctional, damaged, and lovable group of unique pilots receives the spotlight and introspective deep-dive they all deserve. In fact, it was hard to pick a favorite character’s journey, as they each have expansive, fitting tales, but if you’d ask me to make a choice, I’d say it’s a tie between Quell and Kairos. By the beginning of Victory’s Price, the group is more dysfunctional than ever before, as Yrica Quell’s perceived death, alongside Alphabet’s Intelligence Group Leader Caern Adan and torture droid turned therapist IT-O, hang over the group and the trials/revelations they all faced in the Cerberon system (as seen in Shadow Fall). Learning Quell’s secret, she aided Operation Cinder for the Empire, razing a planet to the ground, has hit everyone hard, breaking the spirit and comradery of Alphabet, while her ‘death’ robs them of closure. For Wyl Lark, the soft-boy of the group, always eager to find a peaceful end to events, reaching out to their enemies in the hopes they’ll agree, he has stepped up as leader of not only Alphabet, but the entire group of squadrons under Syndulla’s command. This doesn’t mean he still doesn’t want a peaceful resolution to their dogged pursuit of Shadow Wing, and the lengths he goes to attempt achieving that this time around show the strength of Wyl’s convictions and willingness to live with his decisions; his actions have often made me shake my head, mainly at the depth of his attempts, but his efforts here helped me understand him better and reframed my thoughts on all he’s done. The riff between Wyl and Nath Tensent, a reluctant hero now who does a great job making it look easy despite his internal struggles with others casting him in the role as hero, is a big focus for both of the characters, as they both go through their own problems and try to repair things after the events on Troithe. I’ve always enjoyed Nath, not just for his humor, but also for his practicality and how he’s always been able to help the rest of the group work through their own demons, though this leaves him alone with his own; Nath’s overall arc, and the end result, surprised me to a degree though in retrospect it shouldn’t have. As for Chass na Chadic, she’s easily my pick for second place with Victory’s Price’s personal journeys, mere parsecs under Quell/Kairos. Her time with the cult, originally an attempt to track down an enemy that led to her becoming more comfortable than she’d admit about the sense of belonging and purpose it gave her life much like the cults of her childhood did, mean the Theelin’s return to Alphabet puts all the peace and purpose out of reach. Her struggles with the seductive nature of the cult, her return to desiring an ending like Jyn Erso’s, and anger at being betrayed/left behind by Quell all bubble and boil over across Alphabet; it should be no surprise the most violate member of the group has this effect once again! Thanks to VP, Chass remains my favorite overall character of the Trilogy, as her struggle for purpose and coming to terms with being the victor instead of the underdog has been fun, thrilling, and emotional to watch. How Alphabet, including Kairos (whom I’ll talk about later), reacts to the news of Quell’s survival, and defection back to Shadow Wing, offers even more fertile drama that Freed capitalizes on, and then builds on as the story unfolds even more.
While the New Republic and Alphabet believe Quell dead at the end of the previous book, in reality she defected back to her old comrades, but for what purpose? Her gauntlet on the planetoid in the Cerberon system, covered in a hauntingly spectacular Chapter in Shadow Fall, left her with a newfound clarity about her past, but her future is still in question. Why did she rejoin her old Squadron? Why did she abandon her current one in their time of greatest need? Is she still fighting for the New Republic, a mole within her old team’s ranks? And how does she accomplish being a mole if she remembers why she cared about these people, no matter their offenses? Quell has always felt to me as the “main” character of Alphabet and her psychological journey is the one that frames the entire Trilogy, and just when you thought she couldn’t be more compelling or more troubled, Victory’s Price ratchets everything up to 11 for her, as her time with her old comrades, and eventually having to face her old ones, pushes and pulls her from duty, honor, friendship, and some of the most important decisions of the novel. It was hard to get a read on Quell in the first novel, and I wasn’t as big of a fan of her as a result, but both Shadow Fall and VP changed my mind considerably. She’s compelling alone, especially when she heads a secret top mission on Soran Keize’s request, her old mentor and Shadow’s current leader, but her time with Soran and especially with Alphabet again are absolute highlights of the book. Soran’s goals with the Messenger droid, first introduced to canon 6 years ago as the harbingers of Palpatine’s Operation Cinder plan, offer tons of intriguing debates about the futility of war and the struggles of attaining a true peaceful time once it’s over. I often found myself begrudgingly agreeing with Soran on his many philosophical ideas about how to attain true peace for both sides after the war, but the counters Quell and others make show Freed’s deftness and skill with characters believing they are the hero of their own stories. Quell’s sections were often the most riveting of the novel, not simply due to her situation, but more due to her mental state and the unpredictability of what she might do next, right up until the final moment. She’s a protagonist like none other and Victory’s Price only highlights why she’s been so compelling to watch,
Kairos’ journey is as compelling as Quell’s (if not more so at times), since we finally peel back the layers and dive into her life, story, and history. It’s easily the most fascinating part of the entire Trilogy for me, with the chapters centered on her story being even more memorable than the previous book’s Chapter 18. From book one, there’s been such a strong pull towards the mystery around who or what Kairos was, with her wordless story, told though a type of sign language on a pilot’s retreat Syndulla forces them on, really getting the ball rolling, while the reveal of what’s beneath her wrappings and helmet in book two made her story a must-learn. Victory’s Price doesn’t disappoint in bringing the mystery to an end, even as it leaves plenty open to interpretations/doesn’t answer every lingering question, to the point I want to stay as vaguely as possible about her section, even in the spoiler section below. In a way, what unfolds around Kairos and her story, and for those that join her on her journey, felt like something I can only remember now: an utter sense of fascination and unlimited potential with the Galaxy Far, Far Away when I first saw the original trilogy as a 5 year old. I know that’s heaping a lot of praise on Kairos’ story, and it might make one worried it’ll buckle under such expectations, but I don’t fear it will; it truly captures the wonder I recall from first being introduced to Star Wars, as it’s unique and memorable as any species’ story we’ve ever been told. Even more compelling is how the chapters uncovering her past both lead to her exceptional ending but also impact and affect the other characters along with her in profound and lasting ways that nudge them towards their final moments in the book as well. If Quell’s overall story didn’t end the way it does here, I’d argue I enjoyed Kairos more, but all the time we’ve already spent dealing with Quell and her complicated life is what will always give her the edge, since Kairos’ details have only just been uncovered, though they beg for an immediate reread of the entire Trilogy to see how it’ll add to her earlier appearances.
As I mentioned earlier, Hera Syndulla, Space Mom, General, Captain of the Ghost, Moral Center of the Universe, has an expanded role this entry, a steady increase per book, and it’s her best non-Star Wars Rebels appearance yet. As a big Rebels fan, Hera finally getting to talk about the past a bit more, and hint at some of her future, was refreshing, as it’s felt like Freed had to tip-toe around topics like that in the earlier books (for reasons likely beyond his control) and now Hera can really feel like…Hera. Freed manages to capture this specific time-frame for the character in a way which feels natural to her progression, and the hints at what she might be up to next after the war, be it her son or friends she wants to fight for instead of the galaxy (I’m sensing live-action/animated show with Hera soon), give Hera’s appearances an exciting sense of future but also weight from all she’s experienced. In a cast of characters who oscillate the moral grey (and darker) often, Hera is a moral center and rock, and having such an anchor throughout the Trilogy, and most prominently in Victory’s Price helps us see even the most outrageous actions by these characters in a more friendly light, as well helps the characters work through the feelings and torn ideals raging through them. Hera is such an excellent character overall and Freed has done her in justice in so many ways I’m glad we got this part of her story from him.
If it hasn’t been clear by now, Victory’s Price is an emotional journey for both the characters and the readers. These convincing, relatable, broken characters have strung us along through their ups and downs and Freed has made it continuously rewarding to invest in them, even against our best judgments. I’ve had tears, shouts of excitement or fear, absolute dread, shear wonderment, and more while reading every entry in the Alphabet Squadron Trilogy, and it’s ending is no different, though it capitalizes on those previous feelings and built-up trust with Freed, using them as a spring-board to deliver an emotionally complex, fitting, and rewarding finale for readers and characters alike. It’s honestly, as I said at the opening, the best trilogy of Star Wars books in not only a long time, but maybe ever.
IT’S TIME FOR SOME SPOILERS
SO LOCK YOUR RESPECTIVE S-FOILS IN ATTACK POSITION
AND CLICK BELOW!
Here are a few other things:
- There’s a droid colony one character visits with their team and I have to say, it was another section full of ideas and concepts I found strangely, and at times creepily intriguing. I wonder how L3-37 would feel about some of the droids’ behaviors.
- There’s a surprising moment where Wyl recounts a familiar scene from Return of the Jedi (one you wouldn’t think another person had seen) that speaks a lot to what’s going on with Quell and Alphabet and holy mother of moons, Freed, this was such a neat way to use/reframe that scene.
- There’s a character with the last name of Ro and I have to wonder, are they a distant relation of Marchion Ro of the Nihil, from The High Republic, or just a coincidence?!
- These extremely unique planetary systems/planets have added some great variety for the Galaxy Far, Far Away. I’m eager to learn how/why/who was behind the planet in this book, as it’s such an odd and neat situation; the black hole system in SF was a little more interesting, but this was definitely the second most captivating of the trilogy.
- Freed shares some poetic thoughts on closing out his trilogy over at Polygon, and it even comes with a bonus excerpt.
Alphabet Squadron: Victory’s Price is an exhaustively emotional (in the best way possible), utterly compelling, and ultimately rewarding finale for the Trilogy, taking the crown as best book of the Trilogy and ensuring it and writer Alexander Freed a spot in the annuals of Star Wars’ history.
+ Fitting, emotional, action-packed finale
+ Journey for all characters rewarding on so many different levels
+ Quell’s path
+ Kairos’ mystery unraveled, to some extent
+ Hera content is *chef’s kisses*
+ Soran’s plans/ideals make sense
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.
DISCLOSURE: I received a copy of this book from the publisher at no charge in order to provide a review. However, this did not affect the overall review content. All opinions are my own.
ALPHABET SQUADRON TRILOGY:
Alphabet Squadron | Alphabet Squadron – Shadow Fall
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