– Spoiler Review –
The second book in the Alphabet Squadron trilogy, Shadow Wing, written again by Alexander Freed, is another excellent entry, capitalizing on all of the first book’s strengths and finding ways to improve and expand. It’s one of those rare sequels that rises above the first, like Empire after A New Hope!
There were outright and visible terrors to face in the first novel, especially with the fiery conclusion, but Shadow Fall takes things far more introspective than the first’s already deep dive, with its own focused battle that takes its toll in unique ways for each character. After the devastation of Pandem Nai, our lovable but damaged Alphabet Squadron is both haunted by their previous encounter with Shadow Wing and still ready to continue the fight. Alphabet is searching for Shadow while on the offensive, taking over the planet Troithe alongside General Hera Syndulla’s battle group, and decides to set a trap for them. Yrica Quell has become comfortable with Caern Adan and her squadron, but the possibility the truth of her Operation Cinder involvement could come out hangs over all her interactions. Chass Na Chadic realizes her desire to go out in a blaze of glory like Jyn Erso is foolish considering the current climate of the New Republic no longer being the underdog, but is thankfully still playing her crazy music. Wyl Lark has taken Pandem Nai’s destruction to heart the most, though the partnership he’s sure he fostered with Shadow Wing to prevent the worst of it leaves him hoping a peaceful end is still attainable. Nath Tensent’s debts are paid and his vengeance achieved, leaving him wondering why he’s still with Alphabet. Caern is still eager as ever to find Shadow Wing, hoping to prove the importance of intelligence victories over military ones, a viewpoint I agreed with after the first book, as it probably could’ve prevented or lessened the growth of the First Order. And Kairos, well, she’s still as mysterious and silent as ever. It didn’t take long into reading SF when I realized how much I forgotten my love for these battered, damaged, but lovable pilots and characters, which SF exponentially grows my love for them again.
As is customary in the middle part of a trilogy, writer Alexander Freed splits up Alphabet, though he takes maximum advantage of it, providing some truly wonderful adventures and introspective journeys that build on all the character work from the first book and pushes everyone on even more intriguing and exciting paths for the final book. What makes these journeys and struggles so powerful in Shadow Fall is how natural they feel for both the story and the characters, as nothing feels contrived to bring them to new and strange places, as it all fits into the larger galaxy’s events, and each situation uniquely challenges the one stuck in it. Quell and Adan’s (and IT-O’s) odyssey is my favorite of the book, producing not only its best chapter (18), but also one of the best chapters in recent Star Wars novels, which even lived up to the hype I was seeing online about it. Quell has been one of the most complex protagonists in SW writing and the way she confronts herself, and the likes of IT-0 and Adan, lead to some profound revelations for her, those around her, and keep her as interesting and compelling as she was in the first book, if not even more so. I’m not sure how to feel about her final decision in the book, or really any of hers to be honest, but the fact I want to hold back judgment and see what happens next shows how sympathetically and compellingly written she has been; she is a war criminal, after all, but I can’t help but want to read how she reckons with that. The scenes with her and Ito, the former torture droid turned therapist, are highlights of the book for me, especially in Chapter 18, while Quell and Adan’s scenes, favorites from the first book, only get better. Chass’ own solo troubles, which tie into and twist into her own past with her mother and a cult, cement her as my favorite member of Alphabet and offers another new and interesting way to view the greater conflict of the galaxy, a specialty of Freed’s; I just barely enjoyed Quell’s part more than Chass’.
Wyl and Nath, surviving together with what little is left of the NR’s forces after Shadow’s assault, make for an absolute great duo, only enhancing both characters for me from their first appearance. These two work so well together, from Wyl inspiring Nath to try caring again and stick around, to Nath pushing Wyl to lead and see how his choices to negotiate with the enemy could haunt him even more than fighting them now, make me hope the final book ensures they aren’t far from one another; however, the ending seems to point towards them being split up, but I’ve got to hold out hope! While Kairos doesn’t feature too much in the novel, some of the mystery that literally and figuratively wraps around her is lifted and I’m even more intrigued to learn more about her now! Here’s hoping she comes to the forefront in the final novel. Altogether, these personal journeys and character arcs make Shadow Fall such a blast to read, keeping the characters in focus as the war grinds on around them, while also offering a sobering and raw way to see the effects of the war as well.
One of my biggest concerns coming out of the ending of the first book was if the threat represented by Shadow Wing was enough to warrant a whole trilogy; sure, I wanted a trilogy for Alphabet alone, but was their enemy worth all this trouble? What only added to the concern was the reveal the mysterious character Devon was Quell’s mentor, Soran Keize, but I didn’t quite understand how he’d change anything after “Grandmother” Nuress. Thankfully, Soran and the remnants of Shadow Wing made good on being a worthy threat, one even General Hera Syndulla wants to see vanquished by the end. With Soran, I quite enjoyed his POV, as he’s willing to admit his shortcomings, is calm and patient with his plans, but also unsure of his path ahead, wondering which of his choices were right in the past and which are right about the future of his pilots. His interactions with Troithe’s acting Governor, Fara Yadeez, are real highlights of his sections. And Shadow, from messing with Lark’s willingness to chat to purposefully crashing capital ships into a shield so they can get past it, are deadly and efficient; we still don’t get much time with their pilots, though it increases a tad in SF, especially with Lt. Seedia, whose expanded role I enjoyed. With the timeline of the trilogy bumping up against the Aftermath Trilogy, I’ll be curious to see how gaining the resources of Grand Admiral Rae Sloane’s contingent, despite her only offering a small bit of help, will do to make them even harder to take down in the final book. Could it take us up to Jakku…or even past it? Only time will tell!
Here are a few other things:
- Light on spoilers, there’s an interview with Alexander Freed over at the official site’s blog!
- The way Freed writes dog fighting/space battles is excellent, either giving just the right amount of detail or focusing on other parts since the actual minute-to-minute doesn’t matter as much as what’s happening to a character. My favorite part might be what Quell does to try to mess up Shadow Wing’s opening assault on Troithe.
- As I mentioned earlier, Hera Syndulla is back and gets just as much spotlight as the first book, maybe a tad more. There are some real killer lines from her, ones that evoke some big tears due to the implications from what happened in Star Wars Rebels, to ones full of sage of advice for someone like Quell. I appreciate her commitment to the Shadow Wing destruction cause and I’m happy she’ll continue to have a supporting role in the trilogy! However, this continues to make me question: where is Jacen Syndulla?! These books don’t have to answer it, but it makes my desire for an answer grow with every installment. I’m also excited Rae Sloane, one of my first favorites from the new canon, getting increased mentions and even being included towards the end; Soran’s thoughts on her were rather spot-on, from what we all know of her already, and I appreciated someone in-universe understanding the greatness that is RAE SLOANE.
- The first book had a comic miniseries tie-in called TIE Fighter, but beyond a few cameos, the two didn’t crossover. One of the main characters of the comic gets a few scenes in Shadow Fall, Lt. Broosh, but that’s the last remnants of their connection. However, the crossovers and tie-ins aren’t over, though I feel like Shadow Fall’s is already more fruitful and interesting than Alphabet Squadron’s: Hera leaves Troithe for a while, taking Vanguard Squadron with her on a special, secret mission. This is the part of the single-player campaign of the upcoming video game, Squadrons! A few characters and even a ship get name dropped in SF, and I’m hoping one part towards the end is a playable moment in the game! This crossover already feels better thought out than the previous because of how natural it felt and the importance of their mission (Ironic sidenote: the ship mentioned is incorrectly classified in the book. Easy fix later on though!)
- The Jedi temple retreat in the first book was a beautiful and memorable scene and now a Sith observatory takes center stage for the book’s finest chapter. Its placement and part in the story made sense, considering how they played into Palpatine’s Contingency plan. What I loved most was how there’s no waxing poetic about whether it’s right or wrong to use it, as there’s no Force users involved; it’s just a means to an end. I’m curious if we’ll have any more Sith or Jedi artifacts in involved with the finale.
- I liked the backstory and world-building of Troithe, though its connections and prominence in the past make me wonder if we’ll see it in the upcoming The High Republic books!
- We haven’t had many black holes to deal with in Star Wars canon, so I really loved how it was basically the center of the system of planets, and how Freed described it and used it within the story in minor, but intriguing ways.
- There’s a mynock mention in Chapter 16! We’re moving up in the world.
- It’s been quite fortuitous to be playing through The Last of Us Part II on PS4 while reading Shadow Fall, as the thematic connections have increased my enjoyment of each piece of media. Both ask readers or players to consider the violent actions of their respective characters, both offer a window into the what’s considered the enemy of their heroes, and both do it with considerable nuance and masterwork storytelling. I haven’t finished TLOUII quite yet, but considering the first is something I love more than even most movies or books, I’m already enjoying this one as much which should tell you enough about the experience.
Shadow Fall builds on the excellence of the first book, avoiding many pitfalls of a middle novel in a trilogy, to send us towards what is sure to be a truly memorable and unforgettable finale…I just don’t want there to be an end since I enjoy these characters so much!
+ Doubling down on the characters’ complexities
+ Characters split up make for truly entertaining journeys and character pieces, especially Quell’s
+ Soran and making Shadow Wing a worthy trilogy enemy
+ Ends with so much potential for the final book to explore
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 | 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