With The Skywalker Saga, Star Wars: Rebels and The Mandalorian either completed or in production, I imagine there’s a lot of Star Wars fans stumbling around aimlessly at the moment, a sort of geek apocalypse if you will. Sure there’s The High Republic book/comic series to look forward to, but they are still months away. What is a nerd to do? Luckily Century and New York Times Best Selling author Alexander Freed foresaw this predicament and have unleashed the follow up to 2019’s Alphabet Squadron to keep the Star Wars universe ticking over.

Shadow Fall is set post Return of the Jedi and sees The Alphabet Squadron seeking out the last remnants of the fallen Empire and the elusive Shadow Wing. The elite squadron of X-Wing fighter pilots are led by the incomparable Yrica Quell, a character we got to know very well in the aforementioned prequel, who’s past association with the Empire may come back to haunt her. The Shadow Wing represent the most dangerous of all of the Imperial Tie Fighter units and with her former mentor Soran Keize now at the helm, they have a renewed sense of vengeance about them. Those looking for a familiar character to connect the dots will be happy to hear that, Quell has assistance from the legendary general and former captain of the Ghost, Herra Syndulla from Rebels fame. The question is, will this duo be enough to spring the trap for the Shadow Wing and crush the last of the Empire’s elite.

The book is fast-paced and chock full of action, much like its prequel and Freed, with his rich history in the Star Wars universe, is clearly very comfortable with storytelling within these confines. Shadow Fall further pushes the stories we know and love, offering little tidbits and insights into events beyond the movies showing that the canon reset wasn’t a bad thing at all. But more than just something to pass the time, Shadow Fall is damn near essential reading for even the most casual of Star Wars fans… Chris Andrews