Books Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed

UK publication date bumped to 13 June

 

A few mild spoiler observations on Alphabet Squadron so far, about 100 pages in.
(in case you didn't see the post on the previous page - it's already on sale in certain shops in the UK)

Spoiler

Not yet specified how long after Endor the book is set, but looks to be a few months. Yrica joins the Alliance/New Republic in the "second wave" of post-Endor defectors - basically those driven to leave due to Operation Cinder.
Nacronis, the planet from the excerpt, is being destroyed by Operation Cinder when Yrica deserts.
We've not seen much of "Shadow Wing" yet, other than a bit with Grandmother and lots of stories about what they've done.
New Republic Intelligence Agent, Caern Adan, a Balosar, recruits Yrica from Traitor's Remorse, a refugee camp where tens of thousands of Imperial defectors are living. Yrica has sessions with a "therapy droid", which is a reprogrammed Imperial IT-O Interrogation droid (from A New Hope).
We've so far met all five of the main pilots, but they haven't come together as one yet. Two are based with the Nebulon-B Frigate Hellion's Dare, which is a medical frigate repurposed as a carrier.
There's an excerpt of the first issue of the TIE Fighter comic in the centre of the book.

 

For us in the UK Forbidden Planet Newcastle are doing this book for £10 offer ! this month only just picked it up ! so think other FP stores should be the same

 

That’s how I got it. Think it only went up on the shelves yesterday.

 

FP will have likely nabbed the US edition.

 

Definitely the UK edition - published by Penguin’s Century imprint rather than Del Rey, address on Vauxhall Bridge Road.

 

To be honest, I can't say I've ever cared much about that aspect - covers are identical so..... Prior post was an off-hand comment true but not a negative one.

 

Had it sat on my Kindle for a few days now. Not sure if it was an early delivery. Uk based

 

I’m little bit into it now, and it’s so far one of the more gritty Star Wars books I’ve read in some time. Really enjoying it.

 

Finished it last night and I really enjoyed it. I’ve always been more of a fan of the comics than the novels as the latter sometimes stray a little too into “filler”. Alphabet Squadron certainly doesn’t - I’d have been happy to read another 400 pages! There’s a couple of chapters that I thought were heading towards filler, but they get their pay-off.

There’s a few nice twists, and we learn a lot about each member of the Squadron but not everything, meaning it works as a stand-alone book and as the first third of a trilogy.

A few mild Fleet Junkie spoilers:

Spoiler

We see the ISD Pursuer, from the TIE Fighter comic series. It’s in a very rough state by now.

Huntsman and Kalpana are two rebel star cruisers that “lost all hands” in an attack by Shadow Wing.

Hellion’s Dare, Nebulon-B frigate, that Wyl and Chass are assigned to escort, is a carrier that holds at least two squadrons.

It is pursued and ultimately destroyed by the Shadow Wing squadrons aboard Aerie, Imperial Quasar Fire cruiser-carrier.

Buried Treasure is a New Republic bulk freighter with a small escort of X-Wings docked on its hull.

Unyielding, Imperial vessel (possibly an ISD?) commanded by Colonel Madrighast.

The flagship of Hera’s battle group is the Lodestar, Acclamator class battleship converted as a fighter carrier.

Lancer, Imperial corvette

ISD Sanction, present at the battle for the Trenchenovu shipyards

New Republic medical frigate, No Harm.

 

Thanks for the heads up that this was put on-sale early.

 

I’ve seen a few people on social media, all look to be in the UK, who’ve had it since at least Wednesday, including as an e-book, though when I checked Kindle earlier in the week, it had next week listed as the release date. Forbidden Planet’s website listed Thursday 6th as the release date.

 

TFN Main has a review up. Note - it has a spoiler warning at the beginning.

 

I'm going into town tomorrow if the weather is dry - I'll see if Waterstones has it out yet. (I'd wait til Thursday but it looks wet and I can't go Friday.)

 

For those who've read it, is this set pre-Aftermath?

 

Yes it is. See the updated timeline.




Korpil
http://sequart.org/books/47

 

Thanks!

 

A couple of months ago I was lucky enough to read a screenplay of a movie that’s in production right now called Ruin, which was the story of a former SS officer teaming up with a Holocaust survivor to track down and get revenge on a man in the inferno of the immediate aftermath of WW2. Its was one of the most confronting and harrowing things I’ve ever read. Alphabet Squadron felt kind of like the Star Wars equvilant of that.

So, in other words...I kind of love this book. It took a little while for all the pieces to truly click for me, but when they did I was utterly entranced. Pretty much all the cast, with the possible exception of Hera, are screwed up in deeply human and relatable ways...the guilt and grief, the stupidity and bravery they all show...I was floored and I don’t think I’ve read a better novel that captures the “war” aspect of Star Wars.

This is probably my favourite of the current canon novels. Thank Cthulhu that it’s just the beginning.

 

https://www.starwars.com/news/alphabet-squadron-alexander-freed-interview

Spoiler

StarWars.com: When we first meet Yrica Quell, it’s difficult for the New Republic to determine which side she’s on. Why do you feel that the story of a former Imperial, someone who’s very late to the Rebellion, is a meaningful one to tell?

Alexander Freed: No one doubts that Emperor Palpatine was an evil man who needed to be deposed. But he was willingly served by millions of Imperial citizens — some true believers and some not — who were, in their way, complicit in the Empire’s crimes.

One of the first questions the New Republic has to face is what to do with all those ex-Imperials. Do you imprison them all? Put them on trial? Give them a second chance? It’s a hard question without an easy answer, and Quell is right in the thick of it. She is, as you say, very late to the Rebellion. But is she too late to absolve herself? Too late to become a hero? And if she is too late to set things right…what does she do next?

I’ve got plenty of thoughts about how these questions relate to life in the modern world, but I’ll let readers debate that themselves. Fundamentally, though, I think Star Wars works best when it’s full of both characters we can aspire to be like…and characters who may be flawed, and whose failures we can empathize with.

StarWars.com: Chass loves to blast music in the cockpit of her B-wing. How did you arrive at this particular character trait?

Alexander Freed: We see (and hear) lots of music in the Star Wars films — cantina bands, Ewok celebrations, Coruscant opera companies — but we rarely see characters talking about it! I try to make sure my characters have interests beyond what’s immediately plot relevant, and it seemed a nice way to give her texture.

I don’t recommend listening to music at full volume while flying a starfighter, by the way. But Chass has never been the most disciplined pilot.

StarWars.com: We’ve seen a few dark figures wearing a mask in Star Wars, but none on the Rebellion’s side, until we meet Kairos. How challenging is it to make a character with no expressions and almost no voice feel like part of the story?

Alexander Freed: The funny thing is, it’s not hard at all. Because Kairos tends to lurk quietly in the background, it means every time she steps into the spotlight it’s immediately clear that she’s up to something important.

And, of course, unlike in a film, we can also dip into her head on occasion and get an entirely different perspective on the action.

StarWars.com: Alphabet Squadron has a major tie-in to the story of Star Wars Battlefront II with Operation: Cinder and its red-robed messengers. Why did you want to bridge these stories?

Alexander Freed: I first encountered Operation: Cinder in Greg Rucka’s Shattered Empire comic books, and thought it was a fantastic concept — the notion that the Emperor would order acts of terror and devastation after his death felt utterly appropriate for a wicked narcissist like Palpatine. But neither Shattered Empire nor Battlefront II really had space to dig into what significance Cinder had for the galaxy at large, and I wanted to take advantage of the space a novel provides to explore the subject in more depth.

StarWars.com: Speaking of connections to other stories, there’s also a shared character with Jody Houser’s TIE Fighter comic series, Commander Nuress. How did you collaborate together on the two books?

Alexander Freed: Carefully! We wanted TIE Fighter and Alphabet Squadron to be complementary works, so a reader could pick up either and feel satisfied but also feel like reading both rewarded them with a broader view of our corner of the galaxy.

Jody and I wrote lengthy emails to one another looking for places to intertwine the comic and novel while also working very hard to give one another enough space to not be creatively “boxed in.”

StarWars.com: Were there any particular space battles from the films that inspired you when writing your own?

Alexander Freed: All of them in their way, of course, but the battle over Scarif at the end of Rogue One is beautiful in how many elements it puts into play and adeptly juggles. Starfighters! Rebel capital ships! Imperial capital ships! Bombing runs! Ramming attacks! Space stations! Energy shields! It encapsulates so much of what’s viscerally thrilling about Star Wars space combat.

StarWars.com: Although this isn’t your first Star Wars novel, you’ll be making a huge impact on the universe with three books to tell this story. What does it feel like to be a part of the growing story of Star Wars?

Alexander Freed: Between video games, comics, and novels, I’ve been dipping in and out of the Star Wars galaxy for well over a decade now. I feel pretty comfortable here! But Alphabet Squadron is my first time working post-Return of the Jedi, and that’s exciting for me — there’s so much to say about a society where the underdogs have finally won and need to figure out how to rebuild.

On top of that, having three books to work with is an enormous privilege — I haven’t been part of a Star Wars story of this scope since Star Wars: The Old Republic, and I’m doing my best to use all that room as effectively as possible.

StarWars.com: Finally, if Chass listened to the music of our galaxy, which songs or artists do you think would be on her cockpit playlist?

Alexander Freed: A lot of Chass’s music collection is inspired by songs from the real world, but I dare not give specifics! It’s safe to say that her tastes are eclectic and that she’s (let’s be honest) not overly choosy. I imagine she would scoop up lots of obscure reggae and punk, some mainstream pop hits in a variety of languages, a smattering of rap albums, techno club remixes of all the above, the occasional novelty tune, and whatever else she could get her hands on.

My real hope is that some enterprising fans compile a Chass playlist or two. I’d much rather see other folks’ interpretations than inflict mine on the world!

 

So to anyone who has the book, what does it say about the Battle of Endor?

Spoiler tags apply I wanna know though.

 

No luck finding this today - maybe next week when I'm in town again.

 

Spoiler

"Sata Neek is an idiot," Chass said, "and I love his stories. But I want to know about Endor."

...

"It feels a long time ago now, far away from here. There were more ships than there were stars..."

She had heard stories of the Battle of Endor before. She'd read reports and seen broadcasts and even viewed grainy holo-footage of the battle station's explosion. Wyl didn't talk about the Death Star or the fall of the Emperor, though. He talked about the joy of the flight through hyperspace, knowing that their commanders hoped to end the war in a single stroke. He spoke of wonder at seeing so many ships, flown by so many species, all together and working toward a common goal. He spoke of fear and desperation as the battle seemed to go wrong; as the Emperor sprang a trap, and all appeared lost. He named his colleagues who died.

He told the story of men and women who gave everything in a fight against the ultimate terror. The story of sacrifices. He went on into the night, after even Sata Neek had gone, and Chass listened.

 

Per Amazon, my copy is nine stops away I can't remember the last time I actually managed to snag a new novel this close to the release date. I only just picked up Master and Apprentice, Queen's Shadow, and Pirate's Price this past Monday. And I'm so far behind I have no idea when I'll actually get to read the thing. Very excited to (eventually) dive into it though!