STAR WARS: REBEL FORCE
BOOK 5: TRAPPED
By Alex Wheeler
Published by SCHOLASTIC BOOKS UK
Reviewed by Scott Weller
Is this X-7’s end game against Luke Skywalker?
The question of identity-of who and what we are, and how that reality can be re-shaped and manipulated- is the primary focus of the penultimate book in the REBEL FORCE series, TRAPPED, featuring our Classic Trilogy heroes, from the continuing pensmanship of accomplished young children’s novel storyteller, Alex Wheeler.
Under orders from the dreaded Darth Vader, three of his agents infiltrate the planet Yavin’s Rebel base defenses during a diversionary TIE fighter attack. Meanwhile, in a kind-of friendly lockdown by the Rebels after their encounter on Kamino (during previous events in FIREFIGHT), Lune Divinian, a space pilot for hire to the highest bidder-friend or foe- and whose latent Force friendly powers and abilities he has deliberately hidden from use, is now being questioned by a frustrated Luke Skywalker for information in finding the elusive and highly adaptive Imperial known only as X-7, a fearsome assassin who has been trying to kill the young Jedi-to-be on and off these past months.
As the Imperial diversion begins, however, Div is quickly kidnapped under the Rebel’s noses and Luke’s bravado in finding him and his captors in the dense Yavin forests soon shines through, though his lack of ability at using the Force lands him in hot water as the enemy ship they are eventually trapped in makes an unexpected jump to hyperspace and they end up in an unknown location surrounded by an Imperial Star Destroyer and TIE fighter pursuit ships. Not the kind of start to a day that anyone would really want!
Meanwhile, X-7, previously escaped from his Rebel pursuers, is painfully discovering that his prior conditioning, which had made him the perfect assassin, is now starting to break down, and memories of a previous life, thought extinguished after mental firewalls were placed in his brain by top Imperial technicians, are starting to break through. Having previously disobeyed his master, the shadowy and thirsty for power Commander Resi Soresh, X-7 returns to Coruscant to confront him. Intriguingly, though, X-7’s mission isn’t about further revenge or retaliation against his Master. Instead, he seemingly wants to find out more about the memories and feelings that have been haunting him? Does X-7 wish to be free from his life as a killer? Or is this all just a further part of the assassin’s plan to complete his final purpose in destroying Luke Skywalker? Soresh soon points his servant onwards to a set of co-ordinates believed to be linked to a mysterious project code-named Omega. Just what is it? And what future destiny will it have for X-7?
Finally, with all this Imperial machination going on, the storm of darkness in the form of the Sith Lord Darth Vader becomes embroiled in all things Skywalker related, as the Emperor’s feared servant decides to keep a close eye on his rival Soresh. Like Luke, Vader is also determined to find X-7 and stop him from interfering in the Dark Lord’s own personal plans for the boy, in a story which has some pre-shading to Steve Perry’s late nineties book SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE (only that was with Xizor, and his Black Sun organization competing for Luke against the Dark Lord).
Meanwhile, events leading Div into helping the Rebel Alliance soon begin to occur, and the full history of his character is revealed-a Jedi who still grieves over the death of his family by the Empire, as well as the rest of the Jedi Order, which has ultimately led him to a new life in which he has had no choice but to abandon the Force. Until now…
As well as Div, it seems the return of the Jedi within the story continues further, as Ferus, the bulky ex-Alderaanian courtier to the Organa household (from book two in the series-HOSTAGE), also becomes embroiled in the action, in order to fulfill his promise to Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi that he will protect and shepherd Luke and Leia to their eventual destinies. Ferus has a more subdued role in the book but, wherever he is, fireworks of the personal and action kind are sure to ensue, especially when his past linked to Div is revealed to the readers, within a complex web of character frailties and very human mistakes. Now, two Jedi -one in hiding, one in a hiding denial- must patch up their emotional difficulties from twenty years previously if they are to help Luke and our heroes in defeating the Empire’s plans. Emotions run high, and failure is not an option in this dangerous time and testing time, as the pair take part in a clever plan to capture X-7 and use him against his Imperial masters. It’s an assignment initiated by our heroes that’s almost like a MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE episode (with a few Machiavellian twists here and there), and feels much more a shade of grey in the morals department than the normally black versus white, good versus evil, strategies that have been previously played out in the battle for freedom.
Added to that, the Rebels have a parallel plan to infiltrate an Imperial garrison on Belazura – a planet that holds significance for Div and Ferus- with a weapons development facility in which Luke and the gang must steal some vital blueprints and then, a short time later, destroy it, with the co-incidal arrival on that world of a very special Imperial dignitary…a personage too important to ignore.
However, with identities pursued and revelations rushing to the surface amidst the battles to come, is it possible that the Rebels might be unintentionally ignoring an even greater trap being sprung around them?
This tale of revenge and double brainwashing reminds me a lot of the espionage and thriller elements of the aforementioned MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE and also THE BOURNE IDENTITY, with a hint of STAR WARS in the background, rather than sitting comfortably side by side with it. Wheeler, as ever, spins a good yarn, with lots of action (there’s a nice speeder bike chase scenes (as depicted on the book’s lovely cover)), and it all moves well enough, but it just doesn’t feel either epic enough or STAR WARS enough for my individual tastes, and this does not have a plot as strong as earlier books in the series.
Overall, I’ve liked a lot of the Prequel elements that have been inserted into this particular book series-most of the time quite inventively and imaginatively by Wheeler- but the idea of other Jedi in this part of the time-line, beyond and in addition to Luke, not only affects the continuity of the series too much –both established by the movies and other media that have told the Classic Trilogy’s central story and separate stories within it- but also dilutes and diminishes our Classic Trilogy heroes actions further, especially Luke, who, despite early inabilities as a Jedi between EPISODEs IV and V, is still the lead character of all this. I think it would have been better for Wheeler to have had a cut off point in his series plotting in the way he mixed his new characters into the stories, and focused more on Luke in this penultimate book than he ultimately does- to be honest, I would have preferred our original heroes going up against X-7- who’s proved a great addition to the STAR WARS rogues gallery list- without the additional Expanded Universe characters. The all-important finale to TRAPPED disappointed me as Luke should have been a bit more involved in it action-wise but couldn’t because the ramifications of his partaking would have affected Classic Trilogy continuity and Wheeler has had to write around him with other characters-this hampered my enjoyment of the action-packed finale.
Though X-7 has done a fine job of keeping the villains shoes warm, Darth Vader’s arrival in the series after a notable absence is most welcome. In TRAPPED, his presence is subtly felt in its first half but fortunately there’s more of him by its end. Rather than being pushed into the forefront, his slow but sure return is a welcome shot of adrenaline to the series, which I was worried was starting to run out of steam. The significant discovery Vader makes by the books end has me anticipating what will hopefully be a strong finale to the series, and one which I hope doesn’t disappoint (there’s also a few plot strands unresolved, too- I’m assuming deliberately so- that will lead into it?).
AFICIONADO RATING: Not one of the best books in the REBEL FORCE series, but as a general adventure story set in the STAR WARS universe it works well enough, and is plotted with energetic zeal and action that young readers/fans will definitely enjoy. And Vader’s in it-that helps a lot! 3.5 out of 5
