Review: VICTORY'S PRICE Wins It's Place In The Star Wars Universe
The Star Wars universe is getting complicated. And no, I don’t mean the characters or political plots, I mean the franchise as a whole. From critically acclaimed TV like the Mandalorian and the Clone Wars to critical flops like The Last Jedi and Solo, the fans and critics alike are either loving some things while hating others. Even the video games are just as polarizing, Fallen Order being praised for its story and cool combat while Star Wars Battlefront 2 dealt with months of backlash on loot boxes until they fundamentally change a number of parts of the game. No matter what, at this point in time, if you make anything in the Star Wars universe, get ready to have it be scrutinized and enjoyed by some and despised by others.
With all that said, the Alphabet Squadron Trilogy of books started out with a great premise and first book. Alphabet Squadron, the first book, introduced a lot of fun characters and took us through a winding story. The second book, Shadow Fall, made some surprising story choices that didn’t pay off as well as expected, but the dogfights and characters were still entertaining enough. In Victory’s Price, the third and final book, we got a satisfying conclusion to the story built up to this point.
As in the other books, Victory’s Price has excellent action sequences, which can be difficult for a book, but it is done well here. The dogfights feel intense, impactful, and don’t take too long or happen too often. But on the other side, the main conversations and storytelling outside of the cockpit still drag a bit like the other titles. There are just a few too many characters, jumps between scenes, and random rambles to make the read easy and pleasurable. Challenging reading can be fine if there is a point. But this is a Star Wars story, not a deep allegory of humanity, so it should be a bit easier to digest and read through, especially for its length.
While I do have complaints of its pacing and conversations, the actual story here is quite good. It is worth reading if you are a big Star Wars fan, but you’ll absolutely need to have read the first books. I won’t spoil anything, but the few name drops and character connections do tie well into the established universe and the books feel like a welcome addition to the franchise.
