STAR WARS: REBEL FORCE
BOOK FOUR-FIREFIGHT
By Alex Wheeler
Published in the UK by SCHOLASTIC BOOKS
Reviewed by Scott Weller
Note: this review contains plot spoilers
Escaping from the inner demons trying to break through his slave conditioning, and constantly reminded of his bitter failure at destroying his selected target, Luke Skywalker, the Rebel pilot who single handedly destroyed the Empire’s ultimate subjugation weapon, the DEATH STAR, the deadly Imperial controlled assassin, mysteriously known only as X-7, planning to avoid punishment from his shadowy Imperial master, Commander Rezi Soresh, has absconded to a secret base retreat on a far flung moon, more determined than ever that his prey will be destroyed at all costs, and initiating a bold new plan to kill Luke by recruiting a group of skilled space pilot mercenaries from across the farthest corners of the galaxy for a seek and destroy mission against the Rebel hero and his Red Squadron fighter wing. With his selected group quickly whittled down to the best of the best, this team mercenary soon reveal themselves as amongst the most hardened and mercilessly effective pilots operating outside Imperial jurisdictions-and certainly the most varied of characters-alien and humanoid- that the Imperial Assassin has ever been involved with, all with unique talents within a cockpit that should prove more than a match for the Rebel pilots.
Back on Yavin Four-amazingly still intact as a home for the Rebel Alliance (with no sign of any revenge filled Imperial retaliations yet!!)-Princess Leia undertakes a vital diplomatic mission to Mon Calamari space, whilst Luke, with the Red Flight (which also sees our ever popular smugglers Han and Chewie joining its members), are sent on a special mission to the water world of Kamino, home to the master cloners previously seen in ATTACK OF THE CLONES, to investigate why the Imperials have seemingly abandoned their research facility there-a facility rumoured to be a testing site for a dangerous new weapon.
Once arrived in Kamino space, difficulties double for our heroes when the group is soon engaged in battle against X-7’s mercenary space force. However, things don’t go according to plan for either side of the conflict, when a select force from each side ends up trapped on the water planets stilt city, its dark empty streets and eerily quiet and hastily abandoned buildings giving off the feeling of a dangerous situation having occurred, and one that the Kaminoans and Imperials had no defense against.
Stranded on the rain besieged outpost, friend and foe have no choice but to join forces to fight, and try to escape, from the silent, deadly terror that stalks and strikes the cities silent and foreboding corridors, before the deadly abomination that has been created can add them all to its menu of slaughter.
Interestingly, regular REBEL FORCE series writer Alex Wheeler takes the story off into a different tangent to the one I was expecting at its start (in fact, I was actually looking forward to reading a book that was basically one big space battle storyline-Luke’s abilities as a fighter pilot have been rarely used in the Expanded Universe books-well, at least the ones I’ve read over the years!!) Instead, it soon veers off from the concept and then becomes a creepy but perhaps slightly underwritten monster face-off, with some creepy horror moments that wouldn’t have been out of place in ALIEN or JAWS, mixed with an action/adventure story in the best STAR WARS tradition.
With X-7 out of the way for the majority of this adventure-no doubt up to no good in preparation for another book in the series!!-Wheeler instead introduces a replacement combatant for our Rebel heroes to square off against- the mercenary space pilot Div, who, like the Imperial Assassin, also has a past shrouded in mystery.
Despite the early scenes, however, Div’s villainous streak is largely muted through the book, proving not to be anywhere near as ruthless or highly dangerous as X-7, and it soon transpires that there’s much more to him than possibly meets the eye. Though he has some of Han Solo’s smuggling and shoot first ask questions later survival instincts, there’s more of a hint of A New Hope-like scenario to Div's secret past-almost a corrupted version of Luke Skywalker, who, unlike our beloved Jedi-to-be, suffered the depression of the emerging Galactic Empire and didn’t get the lucky and intuative breaks that the ex-Tatooine farm boy later would -an intriguing story element that could be built on with some success if the author brings the character back for a more than likely second adventure, though Div does need some more unique character development if he’s to stand out from our regular heroes.
As before, there’s fine continuity linking the Expanded Universe-in fact there’s even mention of Luke recently learning to swim-perhaps after his adventures in the Archie Goodwin/Carmine Infantino story DOOMWORLD from early 1978 MARVEL comics. I love touches like that-it brings me back to more innocent times related to STAR WARS when I was growing up, when nothing yet had been totally set in stone continuity wise-keep up the great work there, Mister Wheeler!! Old favourites from THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK also make appearances here and there, like Brian Daley’s radio play character, Rebel Fighter Commander Narra, pilot Zev Senesca, and distinctive blue protocol droid K-3PO. Artoo Detoo, always lovable, also has a little bit more to do in this story which is most welcome.
Elements of the Classic and Prequel Trilogy continue to be merged together within the series in a style that will controversially either please or offend the die hard fans of both sets of sagas, but there’s no doubt that the interweaving elements are put together with much thought, and with a clearly written enthusiasm by Wheeler. And it’s great to see scenes like Han and Chewie riding flying Aiwha beasts-now that’s a visual moment I’d liked to have seen visually achieved in the movies!! Additionally, it’s nice to see our loveable rogues getting to pilot vehicles beyond the Falcon-and Han gets to show why he’s one of the best pilots in the galaxy –that his abandoned academy fighter pilot experience wasn’t totally wasted after all, and now being used in the right way instead against the Empire and its crack TIE pilots. It’s a nice change of pace and inventiveness on the part of the author that keeps this series fresh and interesting to read, especially for its target younger readership.
On the Prequel side of the coin, there’s a return to the intriguing, mysteriously alien world of the Kamino, and its dark waters, constantly bombarding thunderstorms and unusual planetary ambience continue to live on in the books pages. Sadly, for such an intriguing race, we only see one member of its race in the tale-and not a benign one, either- who’s really there just to provide crucial storyline information and to push into effect some specific and necessary incidents by books end, rather than appear as a well drafted malignant character throughout the Kamino section of the book (which he could have been). As exposition, he alerts our heroes to the dark forces now lurking on this world, but, at the same time, this annoyingly leads to further unresolved questions about what happened to the planet and its inhabitants that aren’t truly resolved beyond a few simple answers and theories (perhaps the author was restrained a bit here by LUCAS BOOKS). It would have been nice to have found out a bit more of what happened to the race after the events of EPISODE III and before the timeline of this story. From my individual reading, the book indicates that there is only one city on the planet-I thought there were several of them, similar to Tipocca City, seen in EPISODE II. Forgive me if I haven’t read enough Expanded Universe material, but would someone care to fill me in on this?
Probably the most important character of the middle of the book, beyond our stranded principal heroes, is the dangerous stalking creature that lurks the Kaminoan city. The early build up to the unseen force is good, and some of the ideas Wheeler has created linked to the creature, and it’s natural abilities, prove original and well handled (intriguingly, both this and the recent DEATH TROOPERS Zombie Stormtroopers novel have creepy horror ideas which are most welcome within the STAR WARS book saga), though it’s a shame, once again, that there’s not more discovered about it. By the end of that middle section of the book, it becomes a bit more routine with its unveiling- sadly becoming the usual monster on the loose scenario when it could have been a little bit more than that, easily interesting enough to have been the subject of a whole book rather than being a secondary plot- before the tale reverts its way back to its earlier space battle origins as it sprints to a conclusion. On a positive note, though, FIREFIGHT ends in a satisfying manner, with a welcome note of defiance, and a promise, from Luke Skywalker. The saga continues…
Unlike the first two books in this REBEL FORCE series, FIREFIGHT, overall, needed a little more development-possibly one more refined treatment pass. Beyond the monster plotline- a welcome attempt to diversify the books series-the lack of a true villain in the book, which could have helped up the ante tension and adventure-wise, was a bit of a disappointment. I think that the heroes may have gotten out of the situation a little bit too easily. But, as the old adage goes, better to leave the audiences wanting more rather than less. Beyond my own personal expectations, which may have been too high from start, FIREFIGHT will work strongly for its target younger readership, and I hope that this, and the rest of the book series, continues to be a fine success for SCHOLASTIC.
And I still enjoyed reading it a lot more than some of the adult range novels from LUCAS BOOKS!!
AFICIONADO RATING: Not as well developed as hoped, this is nonetheless a fun adventure mixed with action, horror and space battles, with some occasional imaginative, well described sequences- all which I’m sure will be keenly absorbed by its readership. What more could a young STAR WARS fan want!
7.5 out of 10
