'Bleed and die! Yub, yub.'
- Quote from Iron Fist

Minor spoliers from the 7th book in the X-Wing Series ahead.

That quote is just awesome! If you have read the book hopefully that will bring back some memories. I am not going to explain how that quote comes about and let those of you who have not read the book experience it for yourselves. I will say that I finished Iron Fist about a month ago and almost everyday I find myself thinking about that quote - it just makes me laugh. Iron Fist is another tale of Wraith Squadron, I liked it more than Wraith Squadron. The story has a somewhat darker and grittier undertone than Wraith Squadron. The Wraiths are on the trail of Warlord Zsinj - a powerful threat facing the New Republic. The Wraiths out of the box thinking and tactics make them ideal candidates to find and track Zsinj who continually evades New Republic forces.

I think what makes this book better than Wraith Squadron is that many of the personal issues surrounding the Wraiths have been worked out in the previous book. There is a nice balance of personal drama around Face and Ton. Face was a child actor and the 'face' of imperial propaganda during the Galactic Civil War. Ton is a pilot with a bacta allergy that resulted in numerous cybernetic replacement parts to overcome injuries. Ton struggles with his lose of humanity due to the many cybernetic parts he accumulates. Face is still wracked with guilt over his work promoting the empire, and sees his role in Wraith Squadron as chance to make up for his past. There is some nice classic, getting over your demons, moments between these two Wraiths. Allston does not drag these moments out or make them overly dramatic.

Allston continues to spend time with Wedge, plunging into the character's motivations and concerns regarding his role in the military. I really enjoyed how Wedge is presented as a larger than life hero with more simple long term dreams and goals. I see maturity as a process of stripping away the preloaded goals of money and career success we grow up on, and replacing them with the more basic goals of happiness, love, and companionship. Wedge seems to be making steps in this direction during the book.

As with Wraith Squadron there is a lot of action both on the ground and behind the control yoke of the various fighters the Wraiths use to accomplish their missions. The action is nicely balanced between the character development. If you are looking for some fun action and adventure you should definitely consider getting into the X-Wing series.

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In honor of sharing blogs, as institued by Vil, here is a blog you may find interesting.