I love Timothy Zahn's work! He does what no other writer, not even George Lucas himself can do. He takes the rank and file Storm Troopers and gives them personalities, talents, skills and makes them multi-dimensional characters that people can get invested in.Where most writers show the Storm Troopers as faceless cannon fodder who can't hit anything with their blasters, Zahn shows them as competent sharpshooting elite commandos who can think on their feet and adapt to any situation as well as follow orders.***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS***So the story is a pretty basic one. There is an alien warlord who is ruling a planet with an iron fist, and the Empire decides it is time to go and free the plant of his rule, so they dispatch the 501st Legion a.k.a. Vader's Fist to take him down.There is something I do wonder about though, this takes place after Vader is dead, and after Thrawn's rule has ended. So why does the 501st Legion keep calling themselves "Vader's Fist?" Vader's not around anymore? Do they keep the name just for the sake of nostalgia? It's not really a major gripe, just something that makes me scratch my head.Our main characters are three Storm Troopers who all have different skills and specialties. They infiltrate the warlord's fortress and meet up with some of the local freedom fighters and strike a deal with them. If the troopers help them free their imprisoned comrades, they will help the troopers get inside and take out the warlord's troops and bring him to justice.The troopers agree and they infiltrate the stronghold together. Later it seems the rebels have betrayed the Storm Troopers, but it turns out it is just a very elaborate ruse and the rebels were always on the side of the troopers and the prisoners are freed and the warlord is captured by the Empire and brought to justice.Later the head of the rebels is offered a position in the 501st Legion, which is awesome! It really helps to enforce the fact that the Empire has learned that just having humans in their military doesn't help, it's a hindrance and it was the main reason the Rebel Alliance was able to defeat them.***END SPOILERS*** ***END SPOILERS*** ***END SPOILERS***Zahn gives us action, gun fights, intrigue and a little bit of politics as well in this story. Any fan of Star Wars or Zahn's writing will enjoy this book very much!
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