Black Fleet Crisis ?

Personally, the only good book in the trilogy is Tyrant's Test. The other two, however, are so bad that they bring this one down with them.

 

BFC, along with the Corellian Trilogy, were those few breakthrough books that sought to go BEYOND the empire/alliance conflict. I think that also contributed to a lot of the poo-pooing it got, because fans were (perhaps subconsciously) always thinking "yeah, and where's the EMPIRE, DAMMIT!"

 

That brings up an interesting point: since a new "expanded" eddition of the Guide to Characters is being released, featuring characters from the prequel era and NJO, will a revamped Guide to Vehicles and Vessels be on the horizon?
I for one hope so; I'd love it if it included the Yuuzhan Vong ships, the Chiss claw-craft thing, and Anakin's "hotrod" from AotC.

 

when i first read the BFC (the first EU novels i ever read) i thought they were pretty good. they've since dropped to so-so status after i began reading more of the EU. the Luke plotline goes absolutely no where. the Lando plotline was absolutely boring to me, although it was interesting getting to see so much from Lando's perspective. the Yvetha (sp) were an interesting race and a worthy (not laughably ridiculous as some) enemy to the NR. Nil Spaar was an interesting character.

overall, they don't have that Star Wars feel to them. looking back, they're much more serious than i like in a Star Wars novel. the whole thing is just weird to me now, and i tried rereading them and i didn't get past the first two chapters of the first book.

so: undertake them if you dare. it might be worth it to plow through if you *really* want to know the storyarc, etc., but i don't find them highly entertaining.

 

I *think* that the plan is to go through and ultimated redo the whole essential guide series.

 

Believe it or not, but the BFC contains some of the worst of StarWars and some of the best of StarWars at the same time.

Fortunately it is divided in parts and you will soon recognize which are the good ones and which the bad ones.

My advise is to read them and ignore the bad stuff.

 

The 2nd Quest...
There was a transition ship between the Y-Wing and the B-Wing. It was the little-seen H-Wing from SWRPG:

The BTS-A2 Long-Range Strike Fighter/Bomber

The BTS-A2 Long-Range Strike Fighter/Bomber (the Alliance designation is H-Wing) is a recent addition to rebel flight bays. Now
manufactured by Koensayr and made famous for its rugged Y-Wing
starfighter, it could only have been a matter of time before the Alliance
military leaders chose to include the H-Wing in the rebel starfighter
arsenal. Even so, the number in Alliance service is likely to remain
low, as almost any two single-seat fighters can be purchased at a cost
equal to that of one H-Wing.
The H-Wing is a stable weapons platform capable of delivering a
hard-hitting punch. Indeed, only the B-Wing is more heavily armed. The
fighter's primary long-range weapon is a heavy laser cannon mounted in a
fully rotating dorsal turret. This laser can only be fired from the
turret's gunnery chair; no fire control for the top mount is included in
the piloting cockpit.
As in the Y-Wing, the H-Wing carries two Arakyd proton torpedo
launchers. However, the H-Wing boasts a complete magazine of eight
torpedos for each launcher - twice the payload carried by the earlier
Y-Wing. The magazines are identical to those used in Y-Wings, making
heavy ordinance standard for the two craft. This ordinance is benefited
by an elaborately complex, improved fire control system, quite necessary
for the craft to efficiently serve in its primary role as a strike
fighter/bomber.
The H-Wing's primary weapons systems are complemented by two light
ion cannons (fire linked for greater effect), which are mounted in the
starboard nose of the fighter's twin-nose hull. This weaponry has a
maximum rotation and vertical pivot span of 40 degrees, which allows the
gunner to engage forward targets independent of the craft's flight path.
The H-Wing can survive intended combat engagements and multiple hits
by using a heavily reinforced armoured hull, with added protection
provided by strong, high-energy shields. But, weapons capability and
hull integrity do not come without cost. Both maneuverability and
sublight speed have been sacrificed for increased battle worthiness, thus
creating a distinct disadvantage in that the H-Wing has very little
chance of outrunning a numerically superior enemy or of disengaging prior
to retreat.
Though the H-Wing has obvious speed and maneuverability
disadvantages, Alliance military planners believe it has a decided
advantage in combat due to its full combat crew of three. Rebel pilots
of advanced, single-seat fighters have often complained that they cannot
make full use of their craft's various systems; with evasive maneuvering,
operating several weapons systems, and angling shields, they are simply
overtaxed. The H-Wing's three-man crew provides extremely efficient use
of the ship's systems. The forward cockpit contains two crew stations:
primary and secondary. Piloting controls are installed only at the
primary station, but shield control, ion cannon, and torpedo fire control
are installed at both stations. A common practice is to have shield
control provided by the pilot, leaving torpedo and ion cannon control to
the weapons officer at the secondary station.
Many of the components used in the Y-Wing were adapted for use in
the H-Wing, such as an improved Fabritech ANx-y sensor package and
Koensayr Ion Jet engines - complete with thrust vectrals, though larger
engines are employed on the H-Wing. Many components were not used. For
instance, instead of using an R2 unit to provide nav data, a limited man
computer similiar to that used in the B-Wing is employed, although the
H-Wing has a higher data storage capacity. Also, the H-Wing does not
employ ballistic ejection seats. That option simply isn't feasible in
the tight space remaining after all systems are installed. The fight