Tie in novel for the upcoming video game 'Star Wars: Battlefront II', with the POV of the Empire and specifically the newly created Inferno Squad - Iden Versio, Gideon Hask, Del Meeko and Seyn Marana.
Christie Golden begins the novel during the Battle of Yavin, from 'A New Hope', with Versio piloting a TIE Fighter. I liked this new perspective of the battle, as we usually only see the battle from the viewpoint of the rebels, but was good to read it from the other side for a change, and from a TIE pilot involved in the skirmishes as well.
If you're a 'Star Wars' fan, then you know the outcome of that battle, but fate transpires that Iden Versio is far enough away from the eventual explosion to survive.
But survives she does and she makes her way back to Empire space and is recruited, along with three others at the top of their respective fields, by her father Admiral Garrick Versio, and Inferno Squad is born.
It's not long until the activities of the Dreamers, a Rebel splinter group of Saw Gerrera's partisans, gets the attention of the Inferno Squad, and they're sent in to infiltrate the group to bring them down.
I'd enjoyed the previous Battlefront tie in, written by Alexander Freed, which was a series of battles, not surprising since it was a tie in for a First Person Shooter game. This time around, there's actually more of a story, and a decent one at that, as we're treated to a glimpse of life on both sides of the Galactic Civil War.
Although Iden is the main protagonist, we get to see each of the other members of the Inferno Squad also fleshed out with their personalities and back stories, showing that, much like the YA 'Star Wars' novel 'Lost Stars', not everyone that is part of the Empire is evil, but just happens to born onto the 'other side' of the war. Makes one wonder what Leia Organa would've been like if she was surrounded by people that had sympathies for the Empire instead of for the Rebellion.
There's a few hints and Easter eggs for the more ardent 'Star Wars' fans within the novel, but not so much that will detract from the casual fans. If you've previously read the 'Rogue One' novelization and the Jyn Erso focused 'Rebel Rising', then you may pick up on some of the events hinted at in this book.
As the game that the book is a tie in for has a story campaign (unlike the first game) focusing on Iden Versio, reading 'Inferno Squad' will expand her back story so that you may end up more emotionally invested in the character, especially as she's on the 'other side' of the war.
Overall, it's a good fast paced read, with characters that grow on you, despite their backgrounds, as the story progresses, and that have to react to the tough situations and consequences that are presented before them. Another decent edition to the new Star Wars canon of stories.
****/5
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