Review : Allegiance

The premise of 5 rogue stormtroopers sounds great at first but it was not to be. That's what Allegiance is all about, a story of the 5 rogue troopers intertwining with three sub plots, first of which being the story of Mara Jade (the Emperor's Hand) on a trail of treason, second of Han/Luke/Chewie on a pirate hunt and lastly, Leia on a recruiting mission for the blossoming rebellion. The troopers story stitching all plots together and closes them nicely on a little planet called Shelkonwa. That's Star Wars tale for you... After one of the stormtroopers accidently killed an ISB officer due to a clashing ideologies of what the Empire was to be and has become. La Rone and 4 other stormtrooper witnesses ended up being fugitives. While making their escape, they stole a freighter, chockful of ISB armament and what nots. What I didn't like was the voice of reasoning that was batted to and fro amongst them, in whether to hide or become vigilantes for the Original Empire doctrines that they signed up for. On some situation, they debated in earnest of running away and disappearing in some backwater planet. However on most times, they ended up gallivanting across the galaxy going on a crusade of sorts to right things from wrongs and even naming themselves the Hand of Judgment. To me everything was too neatly put into place. I mean for all military training that the 5 troopers had, all of them closed a blind eye to Han and Luke even though they knew they were rebel sympathizers and trying to rescue another rebel in Shelkonwa. Not a peep to inform other stormie outfit, Mara Jade or even Vader. What? You telling me that just because of the episode of civilian massacre, they opted to hunt down the person who ordered it and just couldn't care a hoot ass on the rebellion. And showing Mara in having a sympathetic heart was also quite off. I mean she is the Emperor's Hand. She should be ruthless and sorts. I give this 3.5 out of 5. It's the allegiance I have for Timothy Zahn.