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The Rogues go rogue
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The Bacta War
by Michael Stackpole
[Ed. Note: The Bacta War is the fourth in a series of X-wing books following the exploits of Rogue Squadron. The novels are interconnected, and BW is the final installment of the current storyline.]
The story so far:
The New Republic has finally taken Coruscant, and become a legitimate goverment gaining recognition and loyalty. The only thing standing between them and success is bacta, the miracle substance that cures not only the Krytos virus still gnawing at Coruscant's alien populous, but also combat injuries and nearly every other disease know to the galaxy. Of course, the only thing standing between the New Republic and regular shipments of bacta is Ysanne "Iceheart" Isard, self-appointed leader of the Empire's tattered remains.
Upon escaping Coruscant with a Super Star Destroyer (in the previous installment of the series The Krytos Trap), Iceheart travelled to Thyferra, the one planet in the galaxy where bacta is produced, and convinced the local human population to appoint her their leader. She was assisted by Erisi Dlarit, one-time member of Rogue Squdron who betrayed the X-wing pilots by feeding information to the Imperials. Erisi was also a member of Xucphra family, one of the two fiercely competetive bacta dynasties on Thyferra. By casting Thyferra's conflict as a civil matter, Isard has tied the hands of the New Republic, which makes a point of non-interference in the internal affairs of planets. Isard inflates the price of bacta and orders an embargo against Coruscant, hoping to bring the New Republic to its knees.
The New Republic's reluctance to interfere isn't shared by the members of Rogue Squadron, however. They are ready for revenge: against Isard for capturing and torturing Tycho Celchu and Corran Horn, and against Dlarit, whose treachery was an unforgivable sin. Told that they cannot take Thyferra, the squadron resign their commissions and begin life anew as vigilantes, officially condemned by the government they once served, but in reception of some cleverly concealed assistance and support. Even Leia's close advisor and confidant, Winter, joins them in their efforts to overthrow Iceheart. [Ed. Note: Winter, or Agent "Targeter," also participated in Rogue Squadron adventures - often leading them - as chronicled in the "Rogue" comic book series from Dark Horse.]
The task is daunting; Isard has three fully-complemented Star Destroyers in addition to her Super Star Destroyer, Lusankya. When the Rogues resign their commissions, they only have Corran Horn's personal X-wing, a few million credits, and their own ingenuity to back them. The odds are vastly against them, but Wedge and Corran are Corellians and have no use for odds. The tale of their equipment acquisition is just as interesting as the story of their battles.
This is a nice, long book, and it covers a lot of plot territory; however, I didn't find it as confusing as the earlier books. This was partially because in The Bacta War, the fourth installment of the series, I am now more familiar with the characters and don't need to check the cast list in front as often. However, the dominant reason is that Stackpole concentrates on fewer characters as opposed to trying to flesh out every squad member. Even though more people are introduced, they are well-connected to the existing characters, and therefore easy to keep straight. The interpersonal stories on which Stackpole concentrates are nicely done. Watching Corran Horn struggle with his fledgling Jedi abilities is fascinating, though not satisfactorily resolved.
I'm more than a little tempted to refer to The Bacta
War as the fourth book in the "X-wing trilogy," not only because most Star Wars
series come out as trilogies, but because this book genuinely stands on its own. The story line
involving the New Republic's conquering of Coruscant is over, finished by the end of The
Krytos Trap. Even though the characters are the same, the story line is so self-contained that
one could read this book without reading the others. Stackpole's writing ability shines forth in
BW; his ability to create pertinent colloquialisms without sounding silly impressed me,
and parts of the book had me laughing out loud. The only weakness came from awkward
exposition at the beginning, when Stackpole too obviously puts words into his characters' mouths
so they can summarize the back story from the first three books for the readers. Fortunately this
lasts only a few lines, and The Bacta War makes for a stand-alone story worthy of the
Star Wars name. 
( Gini McDonagh is so inspired by the Star Wars universe that she has created her own brand of SW fan fiction; you just have to be old enough to read it.)
