News of the New Republic’s victory still reverberates through the galaxy. In its wake, the capital ships of the newly legitimized galactic government journey to the farthest stars, seeking out and crushing the remnants of imperial tyranny. But some old ghosts are harder to banish than others. And none are more dangerous than Shadow Wing. 

Yrica Quell’s ragtag Alphabet Squadron still leads the search for Shadow Wing, but they’re no closer to their goal—and the pressure to find their quarry before it’s too late has begun to shake them apart. Determined to finish the fight once and for all, Quell works with New Republic Intelligence’s contentious Caern Adan and the legendary General Hera Syndulla to prepare the riskiest gambit of her starfighting career—a trap for Shadow Wing that could finish the chase once and for all. 

But in the darkness, their enemy has evolved. Soran Keize, last of the Imperial aces, has stepped into the power vacuum at the head of Shadow Wing, reinvigorating the faltering unit in their hour of need. Once adrift in the aftershocks of the war, Keize has found meaning again, leading the lost soldiers of his unit through to safety. The only thing standing in his way? The most mismatched squadron in the New Republic Navy, led by his former mentee: the traitor Yrica Quell.

I have a feeling this is going to mostly be a short, incoherent mess of a review, and I’m honestly just getting this written for posterity, and because I do want to finish Alexander Freed’s Alphabet Squadron trilogy.

But…Shadow Fall left me feeling…well, not much?

I honestly think when it comes to the new adult Star Wars novels, Freed has the strongest track record. Twilight Company surprised the hell out of me, and I can’t imagine another novelization ever brutalizing my emotions in quite the same way that his Rogue One did. And then I fucking loved Alphabet Squadron with my whole heart & couldn’t wait to carry on with the trilogy. But after finishing Shadow Fall, the book mostly just….poofed right out of my mind. It’s like a book that just happened, and it was fine, but I found it entirely unremarkable.

Chass na Chadic continues to be my favorite member of Alphabet Squadron, and so I was eagerly anticipating any chapters that featured her. There are massive sections of this book where the members of Alphabet Squadron are separated, and I guess I just didn’t love that aspect. There are some more strange & intriguing glimpses into Kairo’s nature, but as the most mysterious member of Alphabet Squadron, I was frustrated by Freed’s decision to sideline her for much of the book.

I don’t know what else to say. There are, of course, some pretty badass battle scenes in this book, something that Alexander Freed really excels at. And this trilogy is also shaping up to be intensely character driven. But something about the overall vibe of this one felt slightly off to me, and I think this could have been at least 75 pages shorter. Maybe it was just the wrong book at the wrong time for me…either way, still looking forward to the third book in the trilogy!