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Wedge's Gamble (Star Wars: X-Wing Series, Book 2) | 
 enlarge | Author: Michael A. Stackpole
Publisher: Spectra
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
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You Save: $6.98 (100%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  57 reviews
Sales Rank: 221566
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 384
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.1 x 1.1
ISBN: 0553568027
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780553568028
ASIN: 0553568027
Publication Date: May 2, 1996
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Product Description
Sleek, swift, and deadly, they are the X-wing fighters. And as the battle against the Empire rages across the vastness of space, the pilots risk both their lives and their machines for the cause of the Rebel Alliance. Now they must embark on a dangerous espionage mission, braving betrayal and death on the Imperial homeworld to smash the power of a ruthless foe!It is the evil heart of a battered and reeling Empire: Coruscant, the giant city-world from whose massive towers the Imperial High Command directs the war. The Rebels will invade this mighty citadel in a daring move to bring the Empire to its knees. But first Wedge Antilles and his X-wing pilots must infiltrate
Coruscant to gain vital intelligence information. Capture means death, or worse--enslavement by the vicious leader known as "Iceheart," Ysanne Isard, now
Emperor in all but name. And one of Rogue Squadron's own is already her slave, a traitor hidden behind a mask of innocence, working to betray both colleagues and the Rebellion itself.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 52 more reviews...
 Worst Book in the Series July 11, 2008
I read the book and I still couldn't figure out what the "Gamble" was that Wedge took. When Stackpole takes X-wing pilots out of the cockpit and tries to turn them into commandos, this book really slows down. I really hate a book that doesn't resolve even one detail of the plot. This is a continuation of what is really just 1 long book that doesn't end until book 3.
 No discredit to the series but this book I found was pretty bad June 15, 2008
I enjoyed Rogue Squadron vol.1 and was astounded by how good a book Krytos Trap vol.3 was, however Wedge Gamble vol.2 I was let down. Before I give this book to bad a review I will admit you cannot quite enjoy the next book until you read this one.
First off (I will not give any spoiling detials) however all though the plan to capture Coruscant was clever in concept the execution of the thing made me feel more like Stackpole didn't know what to write about to fill up this book. The book starts out great with good old X-wing action, and then gets better with some politics and then some more X-wing action. Then the book died, lets just say you don't see an X-wing for the rest of the novel!!! True there were very necessary and interesting additions to the charcters and plot of the series but that doesn't mean I enjoyed enjoyed this book at all. Perhaps other readers were not bothered by this but I felt like there was too much emphasis on the characters thoughts that after almost half of the book you realize not much as happened. Corrans romances from the 1st book got more pages but still didn't go anywhere at the end of the novel and that I found pretty annoying. The climax was good and the imperial threat was very creative however by the time the excitiment finally started rolling around it was way too late to redeem how boring the book was. I did not fully realize my dissapointment until I read probably the dumbest line I have read in a book in a long time which is
"I am IceHeart, I do not burn."
I mean come on, I almost shred the book in pieces after that line. It was only was accompianied by a whole lot of other dialogue that really could have gotten to the point alot quicker.
I personally do not like this book but I do recommend it because you need to know everything from this book to enjoy the vol.3. This book does not by any means ruin the series but it will dissapoint you I think. If you can get passed this book Stackpole will really make up for it in vol.3.
If you are not interested in this series pass it by.
 The saga continues on with Wedge's Gamble! April 19, 2008
''Wedge's Gamble'' is the 2nd book in the series called X-wing. The same SURVIVING characters from the 1st book are all back and ready to fight. This time, Wedge hatches a plan to take over Coruscant from the Empire. He needs Rogue Squadron and other helpers to find out data about the Imperial Bases and shut down the shields. Then the Rebels will take over Coruscant and shove the Empire to it's knees. But there's always a problem,isn't there? Corran meets an old enemy and Gavin Darklighter is taken by the Alien Combine. Also, the Imperials are creating a disease called the Krytos that effectively kills off aliens. What will happen? Who will win? All of these questions will be answered in this book. Oh, and don't forget to read the next book titled ''The Krytos Trap''!
Book #2 in an outstanding series April 2, 2008
X-wing: Wedge's Gamble by Michael Stackpole is the second book in the X-wing series that got off to such a rousing start with Rogue Squadron. In this book the Rebels are continuing with their campaign to capture Coruscant, the heart of the Empire. We are about three years after the Battle of Endor, and Wedge Antilles and his band of X-wing pilots are selected to infiltrate Coruscant to obtain vital intelligence information. Capture would mean death or enslavement by Ysanne Isard ("Iceheart"), the Director of Imperial Intelligence by job title but actually the de facto Emperor. The odds for success are heavily stacked against Rogue Squadron as they are not flying the X-wings in battle but are clearly outside their comfort zones skulking through the intrigues of Coruscant in disguise. However, as Corran Horn would say - "Never tell me the odds." Also, to add to their challenges, one of Rogue Squadron's members is a slave to Iceheart and a traitor to the squadron.
To further complicate matters, Rogue Squadron earlier had been sent to the spice mines of Kessel to arrange for the freedom of sixteen of the galaxy's worst criminals. These freed criminals were then let loose on Coruscant with hopes that they would foster chaos. This turns out later on to have been a shaky decision. Rogue Squadron spends the majority of the book setting up and carrying out an extremely complicated plan to knock out Coruscant's shields and allow an armada led by Admiral Ackbar to attack the planet.
Wedge's Gamble is an excellent follow-up to the first book. The by-play among the squadron members is great fun; the action scenes are extremely well done: and Mr. Stackpole leaves you at the end of the book wondering what has happened to Corran Horn and ready to move straight on in to the third book in the series. Don't miss this one.
Superb second book in a great series February 22, 2008
Picking up one month after the Rebels take the planet of Borleias, Wedge's Gamble not only successfully follows the first volume Rogue Squadron as a worthy sequel but manages to significantly ratchet up the stakes and the excitement. The Rebels defeated the Emperor and the second Death Star II at the Battle of Endor, but however critical this victory may have been, it did not assure the Rebels a place as a legitimate galactic government. In the two and a half years since Endor, the Rebel leadership has toured the galaxy, winning hearts and minds, but they will never be able to assert real control without owning the heart of the galaxy: it is time for the Rebellion to take Coruscant.
The primary conceit of this plotline is somewhat curious: Rogue Squadron, the most elite group of fighter pilots in the Rebellion, is tasked with what is essentially a reconnaissance and espionage mission. The Rebel leaders, notably including Admiral Ackbar, Princess Leia, Mon Mothma, and the shifty Bothan Borsk Fey'lya, disagree frequently on strategy but are in alignment over the need to invade Coruscant. Wedge and his Rogues are split into cells (unaware of each other) and go in to see what they can learn and to take any action they can to undermine the Imperial government led by Ysanne Isard. I found the set up of the mission fascinating, and Fey'lya, first introduced by Timothy Zahn in the Thrawn Trilogy, brings a wonderful uncertainty to the proceedings. He's essentially a good guy, but his methods and vision along with his untamable ambition make him hard to trust and like.
Speaking of trust, Tycho Celchu, a pilot introduced in the first book, assumes a more important role in this sequel. Tycho was a valued member of the Rebellion until his imprisonment at Lusankya, an infamous Imperial facility noted for producing sleeper agents. After his release, the Rebel leaders have been unable to extend much trust to him, as they fear he may betray them despite his affirmations that he will not. The truth behind Tycho's character is building into a compelling central plotline of the series (and is not resolved in Wedge's Gamble).
Agent Loor continues in his antagonist role, trying to do Isard's bidding while staying alive himself. Stackpole focused heavily on the conflict between Loor and Corran Horn (well, the books focus heavily on Corran overall, really), which brings a degree of personalization to a battle that involves planets and governments warring on a galactic scale. Stackpole also does a nice job of weaving in Warlord Zsinj as a somewhat distant but still impossible-to-ignore third party in the conflict. Zsinj is interested in what benefits Zsinj, and the Rebels and Imperials are both forced to keep an eye on his activities while slugging it out.
Isard's strategy for defeating the Rebels is intricately woven and will likely surprise readers with the twists it takes. A key component is the Krytos virus, a horrific Empire-designed superbug that only afflicts non-humans and that brings further tension and moral complexity to the battle for Coruscant. The end battle itself is absolutely spectacular. One of the best compliments I can pay the Expanded Universe novels is to say a scene reads like the movies, and it is extremely easy to visualize this climax as a film. The last page of Chapter 43 (p. 332 in my edition) has a scene depicted in a single sentence that brought home to me the end of the Dark Times and the Empire and the hope of the New Republic in a way that nothing else except for the explosion of the second Death Star and the defeat of the Emperor in Return of the Jedi did. Major kudos to Stackpole.
I thoroughly enjoyed Wedge's Gamble. It took all the promise of the first volume and delivered upon it in an absolutely satisfying way. I had a few minor quibbles, such as the bizarre ability of Rogue Squadron to bump into each other on a planet with a population numbering in the trillions, but I'm not going to detail them all here. This is a great book and a page-turner that I wholeheartedly recommend.
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