I was unsure about the novels for some time, but with the hunger to know more about the WC universe I finally broke down and ordered End Run from the advice of you good forum goers. I'd like to give my impressions on the book from the perspective of someone new to the novel series.
From the very beginning I was hooked on the "Milk Run" introduction story. It shed new light on the life of the crew of a Corvette. I really apprecieated the emotional characters, the gritty atmosphere, and the heart wrenching ending. If the "End Run" section of the book was more like this, I told myself, I would have a thouroughly enjoyable read. I was completely unprepared for the story that awaited me.
I had started reading early in the morning, after "Milk Run" I put the book down for a while but shortly I found myself drawn back to the book, when I started reading "End Run" there was no putting the book down after that and it didn't touch a table top again until I was finished reading it. The characters, familiar and new, were all deeper and more emotional than the games ever managed to portray. The book made you feel so strongly for some of the characters that you felt as if you were part of the war, you had nothing but sympathy for the people fighting, both the humans and the Kilrathi in some cases. Which brings me to my next point, I really loved how the Kilrathi backstory was extened, how they guessed at Terran tactics made them seem so much more than just, "the bad guys."
How the action was going to be really had me worried but the combat was better than I could've hoped for, perhaps repetative at times, but completely enjoyable throughout the length of the book, you could almost feel the capital ships tearing apart during some of the more dangerous engagements. The Tarawa and it's little fleet's epic charge to Kilrah had me constantly wishing that the book was a game instead of a book. I would've loved to see Concordia and the other ships in action during their trap at Vukar Tag but I guess I'll see enough of similar combat in "Fleet Action" (which I have all ready ordered this morning).
The novel Towlyn was also a refreshing change, probably my favorite part of the book was the Concordia coming to Tarawa's rescue even if it was predictable.
The whole small-carrier doing massive damage and being such an underdog thing also reminded me a lot of my favorite missions in WCIII, the Ariel system where the Victory is out causing major damage against Kilrathi capships, the major difference is the Victory trying to remain hidden. Tarawa's mad dash to escape also stirred up memories of the Victory trying to get the out of Ariel.
All in all End Run is one of the best science fiction novels I've read in a long time, and I'm happy to have a whole new world of Wing Commander to discover.
From the very beginning I was hooked on the "Milk Run" introduction story. It shed new light on the life of the crew of a Corvette. I really apprecieated the emotional characters, the gritty atmosphere, and the heart wrenching ending. If the "End Run" section of the book was more like this, I told myself, I would have a thouroughly enjoyable read. I was completely unprepared for the story that awaited me.
I had started reading early in the morning, after "Milk Run" I put the book down for a while but shortly I found myself drawn back to the book, when I started reading "End Run" there was no putting the book down after that and it didn't touch a table top again until I was finished reading it. The characters, familiar and new, were all deeper and more emotional than the games ever managed to portray. The book made you feel so strongly for some of the characters that you felt as if you were part of the war, you had nothing but sympathy for the people fighting, both the humans and the Kilrathi in some cases. Which brings me to my next point, I really loved how the Kilrathi backstory was extened, how they guessed at Terran tactics made them seem so much more than just, "the bad guys."
How the action was going to be really had me worried but the combat was better than I could've hoped for, perhaps repetative at times, but completely enjoyable throughout the length of the book, you could almost feel the capital ships tearing apart during some of the more dangerous engagements. The Tarawa and it's little fleet's epic charge to Kilrah had me constantly wishing that the book was a game instead of a book. I would've loved to see Concordia and the other ships in action during their trap at Vukar Tag but I guess I'll see enough of similar combat in "Fleet Action" (which I have all ready ordered this morning).
The novel Towlyn was also a refreshing change, probably my favorite part of the book was the Concordia coming to Tarawa's rescue even if it was predictable.
The whole small-carrier doing massive damage and being such an underdog thing also reminded me a lot of my favorite missions in WCIII, the Ariel system where the Victory is out causing major damage against Kilrathi capships, the major difference is the Victory trying to remain hidden. Tarawa's mad dash to escape also stirred up memories of the Victory trying to get the out of Ariel.
All in all End Run is one of the best science fiction novels I've read in a long time, and I'm happy to have a whole new world of Wing Commander to discover.
