Review: Enjoyable Imperial slice-of-life story
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 09 24, 2010
Timothy Zahn's Fool's Bargain is a short story originally published in e-book form and set before the events of his novel Survivor's Quest. This tale covers an assignment Aurek Company of the Imperial 501st receives on the embattled planet Kariek. The focus is on the four troopers who comprise Aurek-Seven and in particular their leader Twister. This is the same squad that plays a part in Survivor's Quest, minus one personnel change which is detailed in this story. There aren't many Expanded Universe stories that take the Imperial point of view, so this is a welcome perspective here. By this stage in the galaxy's history, years after the Battle of Endor, certain elements of the Empire have developed a more enlightened perspective of the universe around them. These troopers are honorable soldiers fighting for a government they believe in, one that no longer ruthlessly oppresses subject populations but rather plays more of a protector role.The Empire of the films is notably a human-centric organization. Zahn opens the door to alien Imperials in this story with the introduction of Su-mil, an Eickarie and a Kariek native swept up in a civil war. There is a clever bit of deception on Su-mils part involving the Eickarie concept of a lie (they term a lie "left-handed," vs. a truth which is "right-handed" - this must be awkward for the native left-handed Eickaries!). By fighting together, Twister sees a potentially valuable ally in Su-mil and we get a perspective of how a stormtrooper unit might be something a soldier would actually aspire to join, rather than simply being cannon fodder for Rebel heroes.All in all, Fool's Bargain is an enjoyable vignette of Imperial life that expands a bit on characters from Survivor's Quest and also provides an interesting preview of the Imperial perspective Zahn went on to explore more thoroughly in his novel Allegiance. It can be purchased in electronic form and is also available in the paperback version ofSurvivor's Quest (Star Wars).