Book 22 - A Mercy Kill (and other things!)

Book 22 - Mercy Kill by Aaron Allston.

This one is another Star Wars book, picking up the story of Wraith Squadron in the old (non-canon) Expanded Universe about 10 years after the conclusion of the Yuuzhan Vong war. I have to admit, I stopped reading the Expanded Universe books sometime around the middle of the Yuuzhan Vong books, so I've missed a lot.

But that doesn't really matter that much here. There are a series of flashbacks that bridge the gap from the earlier (up to about 5 years after RotJ) books up to this one and it's centred after one returning character in particular with a couple of cameos from older characters as well.

I really enjoyed this one. It's a worthy successor to the earlier books and is a great addition to the series. The really sad thing is : the author died a few years ago at an early 53 so there won't be any more ! He didn't write many books outside of Star Wars EU but this book made me remember the earlier Wraith Squadron books and I'll be reading those again sometime soon.

What is Wraith Squadron ?

Whereas the normal Star Wars thing is about heroes, this one is about the misfits. The original trilogy picked up from the earlier Rogue Squadron books, by having Wedge Antilles (ace pilot) recruit a set of misfit characters who were decent pilots but what he really wanted was intrusion specialists. So whereas Rogue Squadron had elite pilots with average intrusion skills, these were characters who could operate behind enemy lines with minimal support and get the job done.

And along the way, much fun is had with these very special characters. You get attached to them, you laugh at the unexpected japes that pop up throughout the books and the books always surprise you with their humour. And then they'll also surprise you with how you feel for the characters when they get hurt, trapped or ... die ... Yep. While the normal Star Wars characters like Han Solo, Luke, Leia, Chewie have a certain plot armour*, these characters definitely don't ... And that adds a certain tension to the books.

*Chewie's end in the first Yuuzhan Vong book is spectacular - you're unlikely to read it so spoilers : he's left behind on a planet which is having a MOON dropped on it by the Yuuzhan Vong. The Falcon leaves, with Han Solo unable to rescue his life buddy leading to PTSD through the next few books. Chewie howls his rage at the moon before being engulfed.

Yep. Wraith Squadron Mercy Kill - great book. I'd thoroughly recommend it for the Star Wars fan but .... definitely read the earlier Rogue Squadron books by Michael Stackpole and the other Wraith Squadron books first.

Other things ? Here's a taster :

And ....

 Shiny things were looked at yesterday. It is darn hot though :

See that 34 degrees C ? I've seen hotter temperatures from the sensors in the car but not that much hotter. To be fair, this was taken when coming back to the car after Bristol Aerospace and the car was facing the sun.

Let's just say I checked phone stuff for a few minutes before attempting to drive so that the cooling systems could cool the cabin (and the steering wheel) down a bit. Safety note - picture was taken while the car was technically engine on (Ready light) but if you take a peek, the P says it's in Park mode (not going anywhere) and the red indicator is for the parking brake. Oh and the EV on the left is declaring that the engine isn't on too ! Running on battery at that point.

I have a few posts lined up for writing too - I'm almost through Book 23, which is a Heinlein book and I have a good few more pics to show from Bristol Aerospace.

Apart from that - busy viewing today with cricket, Formula 1 and .... perhaps even football on. Oh and the new washing machine has arrived !