If not, read "Isard's Revenge". In fact, read it anyway, then read it again, and still be surprised at the end.

"Isard's Revenge" is the eighth of nine planned "X-wing" books. It is also the last one in the second series.. The next one, "Starfighters of Adumar", which will be penned by Aaron Allston, will be a one-shot rather than part of the series. Because of that, this is the book to tie up all of those nasty little loose ends that have been collecting in the X-wing series for a few years now. There were so many of them that I didn’t know if even Michael Stackpole could pull it off in one book.

I apologize; I was wrong. He does it excellently.

When last we left the Rogues, they had just brought Ysanne Isard down in a…long term sort of way, and all but destroyed her prison ship, the Lusankya, the bits of which were carted off to parts unknown for supposed disposal. Its prisoners however, had been moved beforehand, and the Rogues vowed not to rest until they too had been located and rescued. At this time, Wedge and Wes temporarily leave the squadron in order to form Wraith Squadron.

Of course, if you want the full effect for this story, you'd best read the last few arcs of the X-wing comic series as well, in which we are introduced for the first time to future Prince-Admiral Krennel and his dealings with Ciutric. Stackpole does a good job of rehashing most of the important information in the book, but a paragraph or two are never a substitute for a good X-wing comic. Without giving too much away, in the "Mandatory Retirement" comic arc, Krennel is dispatched by Isard to deal with would-be Emperor Sate Pestage, who has sold out the Empire to the New Republic in return for amnesty for himself and his holdings - the Ciutric Hegemony. The Rogues are given bodyguard detail for Pestage, but Krennel gets to him anyway and claims Pestage's holdings as his own right from under the Alliance's nose. The Rogues don’t like it when that happens.

They really, really don’t.

As if that is not enough, guess where we find out the Lusankya prisoners have been hidden.

Talk about your two for one special.

But wait! There's more! Michael Stackpole has got to be one of only two authors who were ever able to get inside Wedge's head with any amount of success. Of course, this puts him in the perfect position to do such horrible things as figure out how the heck Wedge could be tricked into accepting a promotion, but hey, as long as he continues to fly Starfighters, I am not complaining.

Stackpole’s characterizations have always been one of his best points. His Borsk Fey'la is so delightfully slimy in trying to manipulate the squadron to his own ends that you have to wonder at times whether he is really not the true nemesis of the book. Corran, despite being Force sensitive, is still the cocky Corellian that he was in Book One, although he is now a cocky Corellian who has probably read The Force for Dummies a few times.

And then there is this other character. I think we've seen her in X-wing books before. In the "Mandatory Retirement" arc, Stackpole mentions something about her clone.

Surprise!

In true "confuse the hell out of you" fashion Stackpole resurrects arguably one of the best Star Wars baddies since Grand Admiral Thrawn. But is this Isard really a clone?

"Isard's Revenge" is just one of those books you have to read a few times too fully enjoy. It requires a good deal of mystery solving on the part of its characters, yet at the same time it’s a fun-filled romp through the universe. Every time I read one of Stackpole's books, I am always left wanting more, and even though this series of the X-wing books has been closed, I am still feverishly awaiting the announcement that there is another one in the works.