Star Wars: Shadow Fall, written by Alexander Freed, is a thrilling and action-packed addition to the Star Wars franchise that will captivate fans of the series. Freed's writing is immersive and authentic, taking readers on a journey through a galaxy far, far away that is filled with adventure and danger.

The book is a sequel to the highly acclaimed Alphabet Squadron, following the continuing journey of its eponymous characters as they struggle against the remnants of the Empire in the aftermath of the Galactic Civil War. Freed masterfully weaves together the characters' individual stories and the larger narrative of the Star Wars universe, creating a gripping and suspenseful tale that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.

The novel is filled with epic space battles, complex political machinations, and thrilling action sequences that will appeal to fans of all ages. Overall, Star Wars: Shadow Fall is an exceptional addition to the Star Wars canon that is not to be missed. Freed has crafted an extraordinary and compelling story that will leave fans eagerly anticipating the next installment of the series.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this book to review.

I adore Star Wars but I do not think that I am into Star Wars books. I will say this book is well written and I think many Star Wars fans who are into the expanded canon universe will like this book.

Hopefully one day I will read this book and get into more of the Star Wars books and if I do then I will update my review accordingly.

The Star Wars galaxy continues to expand, delving into the saga and developing it further. This new release by Alexander Freed, best known for his 2017 release Battlefront: Twilight Company, heads from the trenches to the stars as the fighter squadrons of the GFFA are featured, in this case a unit brought together by Hera Syndulla, now a general and in charge of bringing a crack squadron together to fight tyranny across the galaxy.

Any Star Wars book with ‘squadron’ in the title is inevitably going to be compared to the much-loved X-Wing series of the ‘90s, that nine-book series by Mike Stackpole and the late Aaron Allston that occupied the now empty period after Return of the Jedi when the post-Endor galaxy was a broiling pot of conflict and uncertainty. Step forward to 2019 and Freed’s novel is also set post-Endor as the New Republic brings together Alphabet Squadron, tasking them to track down and destroy the 204th Imperial Fighter Wing, a mysterious TIE fighters squadron, also known as Shadow Wing.

Alphabet Squadron comprises of former TIE pilot Yrica Quell who has defected from the Empire to the New Republic, finding herself surrounded by understandable mistrust. She’s joined by pilots Chassna Chadic, Nath Tencent, and Wyl Lark, all with grudges against Shadow Wing, and the mysterious New Republic agent Kairos. The opening of the story is frenetic, jumping from new character to new character so fast we don’t get a chance to get a hold of them or emotionally connect. It’s necessary – the squadron are being brought together for a specific purpose - but the lack of familiar characters sometimes makes for a tough read. By the midway point the pace eases, and as Quell works to bring the unit together, we finally get to know the crew and what drives them. Freed is in his element here, fleshing out their backstories and rounding them out into unique and memorable characters. In addition, the presence of Hera, a character we know well from Star Wars Rebels, is a bonus. Further into her career than when we saw her in the animated show, she’s the centrepiece of the book and let’s hope the rest of the trilogy continues to use her.

The final third of the novel returns to the fast pace of the first, and while jarring after a more measured centre section we now know the characters, so the pace and peril aren’t a problem. That said, to know the enemy better would be welcome (Marvel Comics’ current series TIE Fighter crosses over with this novel to focus on the 204th), but at the very least this sets the scene for what should be a fascinating sequel with more in the balance. With his central players set, Freed should have more latitude to develop character as well as plot.

Unlike book one Shadow Fall starts right in the middle of the action. I wondered if the pace would end up slowing down and dwindling into endless politics and was pleasantly surprised when it didn’t. If anything it kept ramping up. From start to finish Alphabet Squadron are in the thick of it as they lay a trap for their Imperial nemesis’, and like any good plan, there are always bumps along the way. These bumps allow us to get to know the characters, to watch them grow and work through what’s happening.

There are also delayed reactions to what happened in the first book and in my opinion, this is as much to do with the circumstances as it is to do with the better characterisation in this novel. Despite there being action the author has made space for the characters to get retrospective with themselves and each other. The main cast isn’t fighting over space in the novel with twenty other characters, and as I’d hoped, the line between minor and major characters is much clearer. The minor characters pop in and out like scenery, adding to the story, adjacent to Alphabet Squadron but never taking the attention away from them as they did in the first novel.

There is so much improvement in this novel that I honestly wondered at one point if it was written by a ghostwriter. However, as I continued to work my way through the book I began to see familiar patterns in the writing style that dispelled that idea. For one, the author continues to write as though striving to impress someone way too hard. This is particularly noticeable through long rambling sentence structures which would probably make J.R.Tolkien proud. In a science fiction novel that is already filled to the hilt with jargon, it just feels out of place and clunky. I ended up skimming quite a few sections of description due to the long sentence instruction because I lost interest in the lacklustre description which essentially wasn’t telling me anything I needed to know.

In the end, it was the characters and the plot that shone through, and I was pulled into the action eager to find out what would happen to the Squadron as I became emotionally attached to them at last. There are highs and lows, and there were finally moments where they said things to each other that had me laughing or made my heart squeeze with emotion.

Shadow Fall opens with both the New Republic’s Alphabet Squadron and the remnant Empire’s Shadow Wing reeling from the vicious attack at Pandem Nie. The pilots of Alphabet are determined to finally end this ongoing confrontation while those of Shadow Wing want revenge after the death of their leader Shakara Nuress.

With assistance from General Hera Syndulla, Alphabet leader and Imperial defector Yrica Quell and her mentor Caern Adan create a scheme to lure Shadow Wing out of the darkness on their own terms, but when things don’t go to plan, the squadron finds themselves thrown to the four winds. Chass is struggling with her drinking (she can stop whenever she likes ok?) Nath is wondering what’s left in this for him, Wyl just wants to return to Home, and Quell lives in fear of her team discovering the truth about her defection. Can they find one another again or is defeating Shadow Wing too much for these already strained relationships to handle?

As with Alphabet Squadron, I struggled with Shadow Wing. Rather than this being because the book was inherently “bad” – I don’t think it is – it was largely because I never really connected to the characters in the first book and thus I found it difficult to really care about the stakes they found themselves up against. Wyl is the only character I had any real affection for and even he comes across as something of a wet blanket in this second outing. When Quell finds herself face to face with a situation that literally forces all her nightmares to the surface, I found myself reading what should have been emotionally fraught scenes with almost total indifference.

I also found that the book had too much going on. The POV switches between at least five characters at random, often covering several per chapter, and particularly during the long sections of the book where almost everyone is separate, there’s just too many characters, plot points, planets, and other groups to keep track of. There were times when I even lost track of which planet a character was on, let alone what they were doing there. This isn’t helped by the way characters’ overall motivations are often hard to follow.

On the plus side, there was some really great writing here when it was given the chance to emerge. Freed gets exceptionally lyrical, especially for a book about fighter pilots, and his chapter titles, in particular, are practically poetic with titles such as “The Joyous Togetherness of Shared Suffering” or “The Illuminating Brilliance of Starlight”. I also started to like the droid character IT-O a lot. Apparently, I have a “thing” for droids with – for want of a better phrase – mental health problems because my favorite droid characters include D-O (The Rise of Skywalker), Mr. Bones (the Aftermath trilogy by Chuck Wendig), and 0-0-0 (Doctor Aphra), none of whom could reasonably be considered emotionally stable!

Shadow Fall is het tweede deel in de Alphabet Squadron trilogie van Alexander Freed en speelt zich vlak na deel 1 af, ongeveer een jaar na Return of the Jedi. Het vervolgt de avonturen van het team dat nu Generaal Hera Syndulla helpt bij het veiligstellen van de planeten in het Cerberon systeem waar ze tegelijkertijd een val uitzetten voor Shadow Wing. Shadow Wing is ondergedoken nabij de planeet Troithe, een planeet die om een zwart gat cirkelt en geregeerd wordt door een gouverneur die loyaal is aan de Empire. Hera en Alphabet Squadron zetten een plan op om Shadow Wing uit hun schuilplek te lokken en ze uit te schakelen, maar uiteraard verloopt alles voor beide partijen anders dan gehoopt.

Net als in Alphabet Squadron verspringt het perspectief ieder hoofdstuk naar een ander personage, maar waar in Alphabet Squadron altijd heel duidelijk was wie je nou eigenlijk volgde is dat in Shadow Fall iets lastiger. Freed besteedde in Alphabet Squadron iets meer tijd aan de verschillende persoonlijkheden dan hij hier doet. Waarschijnlijk omdat dit het tweede deel in de serie is en er verwacht wordt dat we de personages inmiddels goed genoeg kennen, maar ik moest af en toe even terug kijken over wie ik nu ook alweer aan het lezen was. De personages lijken wat meer in elkaar over te lopen en wat minder een eigen stem te hebben deze keer. Wat hierbij niet helpt is dat het team het grootste gedeelte van het boek opgesplitst is en je bijna twee verschillende verhalen meemaakt. Al zijn beide verhaallijnen wel erg interessant. Maar was Chass of Yrica nou de gene op deze planeet?

Net als in Alphabet Squadron duwt Freed ons regelmatig de cockpits van de piloten in, waar we alle aspecten van de ruimte- en atmosfeergevechten mee krijgen. Van de manoeuvres die ze proberen uit te voeren tot de mentale staat en gedachtegang tijdens een gevecht. Maar daarnaast spenderen we ook weer tijd buiten de cockpit en leren we veel meer over de achtergrond van Chass, Wyl, Nath, Kairos en Yrica. Kairos blijft een mysterie, maar er wordt een tipje van de sluier opgelicht en ik verwacht dat we in het laatste deel van de trilogie, Victory's Price, meer over haar gaan leren.

Met 393 pagina’s is ook dit weer een aardig lang boek, maar de schrijfstijl van Freed blijft vrij vlot. Net als in Alphabet Squadron vlieg je door het verhaal heen, de afwisseling tussen de verschillende personages helpt daar zeker bij. En net als voorheen weet Freed de gevechten weer goed overzichtelijk te houden, wat voor veel schrijvers altijd een uitdaging blijft.

De toevoeging van Hera aan Alphabet Squadron was niet heel spectaculair, en hoewel het altijd leuk is haar te zien en we deze keer meer van haar zien is haar toevoeging hier ook weer geen hoogtepunt. Het is altijd leuk om wat scenes met Hera te krijgen, maar ook hier had ze vervangen kunnen worden door een willekeurige onbekende generaal zonder dat dit invloed op het verhaal had gehad.

Hoewel de insteek van de Alphabet Squadron trilogie in het begin leek om op ruimtegevechten te focussen blijkt de realiteit toch veel meer de onderlinge relaties tussen de piloten te zijn. We spenderen zeker meer dan genoeg tijd in de cockpits van de verschillende New Republic fighters van het team, maar hoe de teamleden met elkaar omgaan, meer over elkaar leren en elkaar leren vertrouwen is toch echt waar deze serie om draait. Elk van hen heeft een interessante achtergrond en naarmate ze meer tijd met elkaar, en hun vijanden, spenderen worden de relaties alleen maar interessanter.

Als je Alphabet Squadron interessant vond dan is Shadow Fall zeker een aanrader. Heb je Alphabet Squadron nog niet gelezen maar ben je benieuwd dan kun je beter met deel 1 van de trilogie beginnen, dit is niet een verhaal waar je eenvoudig halverwege kunt instappen.

Such a great continuation of this story, I love the Star Wars world and how each novel expands on the universe.

Like 'The Empire Strikes Back', Freed has managed to tell a wonderfully personal story for all of his characters amidst a seemingly impossible campaign.
George Lucas has often talked about how 'The Empire Strikes Back' has to bring the heroes to a dark place at the end, their victories from the first part almost forgotten due to the heavy losses in the second act, and that is exactly what 'Shadow Fall' accomplishes in spades.
Months after Alphabet Squadron's victory at Pandem Nai, the working group, along with General Syndulla are working to liberate the planet Troithe from the Empire.
Alphabet Squadron use this as an opportunity to lure Shadow Wing into a trap but when Caern Adan is captured, a series of events occurs that splinters Alphabet Squadron, with one member taken away to a medical facility, another disgraced and on a journey of self-discovery, leaving three to pick up the pieces and fight battles both for the New Republic and within themselves.
Freed changes the spotlight in this novel, where 'Alphabet Squadron' focused mainly on Yrica Quell, Caern Adan and Nath Tensent, this book changes the focus to Wyl Lark and Chass Na Chadic who both have to step up in their own way once the team is split. Wyl becomes a leader, not a position he ever thought he would be in, and despite some teething problems and some mistakes, he takes to the role well. Chass has to go on her own journey of self-discovery and ends up being taken in by a local cult called 'The Children of the Empty Sun' before finding her way back to the fight.
Quell does go on her own journey of self-discovery and ends up on a very different path to her comrades.
We also get to spend a lot of time with Soran Keize, Yrica Quell's former Commander in Shadow Wing who spent time away from the Empire under the alias 'Devon' but returned to duty after Shadow Wings defeat over Pandem Nai. He undergoes a swift rise to power through this novel and in the end is the leader of the 204th Fighter Wing. Whilst he is the main antagonist of the novel, he never comes across as evil, he's just a man with a vendetta against the ones who shamed his people. He doesn't fight for the Emperor's memory, nor the fledgling Empire, but he fights for his people, which is quite a noble trait for an Imperial Officer.
Like the first book in the trilogy, Hera Syndulla plays a minor role, but spends most of the book on another mission, working with Vanguard Squadron, who are the New Republic protagonists of the upcoming game 'Star Wars: Squadrons'. We've seen Hera in one of the trailers for the game so it's safe to assume that the story for 'Squadrons' will take place concurrently with the events of this book. Just a little tidbit that makes me even more excited for the game. I also wonder if part of the game will actually depict part of the book. Now that would be amazing.
Once again, Alexander Freed has delivered a great story. Not bogged down with getting to know the characters and the world they are living in like the previous instalment of the trilogy, this truly feels like a strong middle chapter, much like 'The Empire Strikes Back' and I honestly cannot wait for the third part, especially after the cliffhanger of this one. It better be out next year is all I'm saying.

An excellent addition to the Star Wars universe.

It took me a while to get through this book, but nevertheless it was a well written, interesting tale. As a huge Star Wars fan, I appreciate the addition to the more of this very complex universe, but especially that this story focuses on smaller/background characters rather than relying on more well known ones.

The shifting perspective a and intertwining storylines are intriguing and well crafted.

Alphabet Squadron is back - and it's no less ragtag or more coordinated than it was before. Quell continues to hide her war crimes from her own people, knowing that they will lose all faith in her once they found out what she has done. An attempt to trap Shadow Wing once and for all may end the conflict or it might just cost the squadron everything.

Alexander Freed's one main strength is his ability to write military engagements. I've always enjoyed that about his books, especially Twilight Company (which I consider his best). But his characters are secondary to this and always feel a tad flat and unapproachable. The first book in this series wasn't perfect, though it showed a lot of promise in developing the characters. This time I just didn't like any of them.

A frustrating bridging sequel with far more B story than an actual A story.

This was exactly what I wanted in a Star Wars novel; a ragtag bunch of misfits who are somehow at their best when forced to team up, a fast paced plot and plenty of space faring adventure. This was a great sequelto Alphabet Squadron. Highly recomend.

Star Wars: Shadow Fall was reviewed by me & my 10 year old son.
This was an action packed page turner from one of my sons favourites book series and he was gripped! Reading it was fun and very engaging. The story line & characters did not disappoint; his favourite character was Quell the tie fighter pilot.

An absolutely brilliant second book from Alexander Freed in the Alphabet Squadron trilogy. Exciting, intriguing, great characters and everything a Star Wars and/or Freed fan could possibly desire in a novel. And with the cliffhanger ending, it leaves the reader desperate for more and yearning for the third and final chapter in the story Freed has created.
I loved this book and have reread it already, it really is that good.

This the first book I ever read in a Star Wars series and the first one by this author.
It was an excellent read because the author writes very well and he does a great job with character development.
The plot, the world building and the characters are amazing and, even if I didn't read the previous book, it had no issue with the plot or the characters.
It's an engrossing and entertaining read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

If you look at the Star Wars timeline from afar it can seem a little depressing. An Old Republic falls only for an Empire to rise. That goes and you get The New Order. It seems that the rebels are always having to rebel against something. However, for the Sith to rise, there must be moments when the Rebel Alliance are in ascendance. A good example is after the events of The Return of the Jedi. The remnants of the Empire are splintered, and the New Republic is on the offensive, but when you are crushing your former oppressors what differentiates you from them?

The Alphabet Squadron are you typical Star Wars ragtag collection of heroes brought together for a common goal. In this case to aid the New Republic by ridding them of one of their fiercest enemies, The Shadow Wing. This shadowy outfit are an elite Tie Fighter squadron who have now gone underground and are fighting a guerrilla war. Can Alphabet Squadron draw them out into the open and at what cost?

Star Wars is always at its best when dealing with the grimier side of science fiction. You may think the series is a glossy space opera, but fans know that it is a dysfunctional universe often held together with spit and sawdust. The New Republic should be a new era and you could draw a line under what the Emperor did. We know this never happened as the movies surrounding The New Order are evidence that the former Empire gets its act together eventually. Shadow Fall by Alexander Freed sits in the short period that the rebels started to take control.

A lot of Shadow is set on Troithe, a Coruscant like planet. The Rebels are ridding it of the last remnants of the Empire, but in doing so are destroying the infrastructure. Unbeknownst to the ground troops, they are part of a plot to draw out the Shadow Wing. One of the most interest elements of the book is the thin line that separates the Rebels from the Empire. Some of the actions that they are now taking are not dissimilar to what went on before. If is ok to bomb a port if it happens to be full of Empire citizens, rather than Rebels?

In Alphabet Squadron, Freed introduced us to the various members of the squad. As these characters were numerous and new, it took a long time. The various threads of survivors from other squads and individuals had to be drawn together. By Shadow the core group are settled, and this allows Freed to really develop the crews. Quell is still the nominal main character and her story remains the most interesting. Events conspire in this outing that could jeopardise her life and position as squad leader.

Another great feature is that Freed alternates from Rebels to Empire. Shadow Wing are given almost as much development and I have a soft spot for learning why the Empire can be as evil as they are. At one point an action is brushed aside as they feel it is not dissimilar to how the Rebels treated them. By swapping the power dynamic between the two factions you get to learn more about true motivations. Are the Rebels and Empire that different?

I am someone who enjoys the deeper ideas and lore that comes in a Star Wars book and there is plenty to find here for fans. However, if you are just looking for a good action romp, you are also in luck. This is Star Wars at its most star fighting best. There are space battles aplenty. I lean more towards characterisation and there is plenty of that too. I feel the balance between the two is better in this outing as we have established characters and are not having to eliminate countless allies to get a core squad together. The series is developing nicely and is a respectable new version to the now de-cannoned Timothy Zhan books that dealt with the post Return of the Jedi universe.