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Wing Commander #1
Freedom Flight
A disreputable gang of misfits comprised of Ralgha nar Hhallas, Captain K'Kai of Firekka, Captain Ian St. John, and Rikik fly among the stars on a mission to save the world. Original.
304 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 1992
34 people are currently reading
581 people want to read
About the author
Mercedes Lackey
441 books9,544 followersMercedes entered this world on June 24, 1950, in Chicago, had a normal childhood and graduated from Purdue University in 1972. During the late 70's she worked as an artist's model and then went into the computer programming field, ending up with American Airlines in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to her fantasy writing, she has written lyrics for and recorded nearly fifty songs for Firebird Arts & Music, a small recording company specializing in science fiction folk music.
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
"I'm a storyteller; that's what I see as 'my job'. My stories come out of my characters; how those characters would react to the given situation. Maybe that's why I get letters from readers as young as thirteen and as old as sixty-odd. One of the reasons I write song lyrics is because I see songs as a kind of 'story pill' -- they reduce a story to the barest essentials or encapsulate a particular crucial moment in time. I frequently will write a lyric when I am attempting to get to the heart of a crucial scene; I find that when I have done so, the scene has become absolutely clear in my mind, and I can write exactly what I wanted to say. Another reason is because of the kind of novels I am writing: that is, fantasy, set in an other-world semi-medieval atmosphere. Music is very important to medieval peoples; bards are the chief newsbringers. When I write the 'folk music' of these peoples, I am enriching my whole world, whether I actually use the song in the text or not.
"I began writing out of boredom; I continue out of addiction. I can't 'not' write, and as a result I have no social life! I began writing fantasy because I love it, but I try to construct my fantasy worlds with all the care of a 'high-tech' science fiction writer. I apply the principle of TANSTAAFL ['There ain't no such thing as free lunch', credited to Robert Heinlein) to magic, for instance; in my worlds, magic is paid for, and the cost to the magician is frequently a high one. I try to keep my world as solid and real as possible; people deal with stubborn pumps, bugs in the porridge, and love-lives that refuse to become untangled, right along with invading armies and evil magicians. And I try to make all of my characters, even the 'evil magicians,' something more than flat stereotypes. Even evil magicians get up in the night and look for cookies, sometimes.
"I suppose that in everything I write I try to expound the creed I gave my character Diana Tregarde in Burning Water:
"There's no such thing as 'one, true way'; the only answers worth having are the ones you find for yourself; leave the world better than you found it. Love, freedom, and the chance to do some good -- they're the things worth living and dying for, and if you aren't willing to die for the things worth living for, you might as well turn in your membership in the human race."
Also writes as Misty Lackey
Author's website
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
April 20, 2023
INCREDIBLY rough. I feel like this was banged out over a week with very little heart put into it. Essentially a tale of a couple of Kilrathi defecting & Hunter being involved with that, while also helping liberate a planet of bird aliens. It's mostly paint-by-the-numbers, with characters alternatively holding the idiot ball &/or doing things terribly outside of their character, as the plot demands it.
Would not recommend, but at least it's short.
Would not recommend, but at least it's short.
January 25, 2018
Though I have yet to play a game from the Wing Commander series, this book has gotten me interested in the universe and has started me looking for a sale on Origin to buy a copy. I enjoyed how the book takes some time in delving into the characteristics of the cultures and differences between the Humans, Kilrathi, and Firekkans without full on derailing the story. Also seeing how they interact with each each other and the believable gaps of culture that makes initial conversations awkward as the characters get to know each other's cultures. I also enjoyed how Kilrathi religion and politics play into how they fought and how some Kilrathi end up becoming dissatisfied with how the war with the Human led Federation become a eternal stalemate and decide to start a coup with the end goal to make peace, a believable cause to end up following and useful to drive the plot. Not to mention the fact that the pilots the book follows are actually effected by the war they fight and the lose of friend that comes with it instead being killing machines with quirky personalities that are far easier to portray in fiction. All in all I found it an enjoyable read, and would recommend it to my friends how enjoy Video Games and Science fiction as much as I do.
April 11, 2024
I think more recent books treat the science of space with more respect. This has the science all over the place and the is detracted from my enjoyment and basically stopped me finishing the story. Could have been good with more thought. I have read many of the Thor’s other stories with great enjoyment but this one was a miss.
November 30, 2024
DNF. Love Wing Commander, love old licensed novels, love old spec fic written by women. But Freedom Flight is a scattered mess, meandering its way through a series of events toward a plot that finally appears in the last third or so, too late to hold my interest.
May 31, 2023
Only good for nostalgia. Story is basic and characters’ motivations only act to serve that story, regardless of consistency.
March 17, 2024
Pretty meh if I'm honest.
January 11, 2018
As a fan of the games I enjoyed getting some more detail on some of the events going on during and after Secret Missions 2. Several game characters appear, some with more substantial roles, others as cameos. It was nice - made it feel like the in-game world.
The most interesting parts of this book dealt entirely with the Kilrathi. Two of the main characters of the story are Kilrathi and through them we get glimpses at the sociology and theology of the Kilrathi Empire. It is quite fascinating and left me wanting more. A pity there was not a book written entirely with Kilrathi characters; Rahlga and Kirah are both interesting and understandably different from the humans.
The Firekkans are also fairly well developed as a distinct race in and of themselves. Not as deep as the Kilrathi but there's enough to get invested.
Unfortunately I found myself pushing myself through the read. Barring a few select sections much of the gravity of the situations was lacking descriptions. Hunter is portrayed as far more of an Ace than he ever was in the games (for me, anyway) and he pushes the realms of plausibility in this book for what he gets away with (both in and out of the cockpit).
Overall, I would only recommend this to a fan of Wing Commander 1. If you have not played WC1, you will be unfamiliar with a lot of the characters and ship designs; and the book does not go into much detail explaining what they look like or what they can do.
The most interesting parts of this book dealt entirely with the Kilrathi. Two of the main characters of the story are Kilrathi and through them we get glimpses at the sociology and theology of the Kilrathi Empire. It is quite fascinating and left me wanting more. A pity there was not a book written entirely with Kilrathi characters; Rahlga and Kirah are both interesting and understandably different from the humans.
The Firekkans are also fairly well developed as a distinct race in and of themselves. Not as deep as the Kilrathi but there's enough to get invested.
Unfortunately I found myself pushing myself through the read. Barring a few select sections much of the gravity of the situations was lacking descriptions. Hunter is portrayed as far more of an Ace than he ever was in the games (for me, anyway) and he pushes the realms of plausibility in this book for what he gets away with (both in and out of the cockpit).
Overall, I would only recommend this to a fan of Wing Commander 1. If you have not played WC1, you will be unfamiliar with a lot of the characters and ship designs; and the book does not go into much detail explaining what they look like or what they can do.
January 21, 2012
When I picked this up (ooooh, spaceship!) I totally expected a real stink-burger. While the characters might have been a little flat, and the plot straightforward (but not boring), I enjoyed the story. Hunter, K'Kai, and Kirha made a good team, and their adventures were entertaining.
I did kinda chuckle every time I remembered it was set in the Wing Commander universe. Not sure why. All in all, not too bad :)
I did kinda chuckle every time I remembered it was set in the Wing Commander universe. Not sure why. All in all, not too bad :)
February 22, 2010
A bit basic. But then, I'm not a huge Mercedes Lackey fan, so there you go. The story was sort of flat and the characters weren't super detailed, but it was a good enough read to keep me going in the series.
Thing about this series is that it's so hard to figure out where the books go in the timeline!
Thing about this series is that it's so hard to figure out where the books go in the timeline!
November 28, 2013
Being a huge Wing Commander fan, there was never any way that I wasn't going to enjoy this book. I found it was well written and meshed well with what I've seen of the WC universe via the games. Characters display the same "Top Gun" bravado while dealing with the pain of countless deaths of their fellows.
June 21, 2017
Cheesy sci fi schlock that is only of interest for nostalgia purposes because I played the Wing Commander games as a kid. It's basically just a story of the Pacific Theatre of WW2, set in space. Cat aliens based on the Japanese fight the humans/Americans on space aircraft carriers. Cliches abound. And there are lots of "I struggle to understand you humans" jokes that fall flat.
January 3, 2013
A decent story, but the lack of military discipline shown by Capt. Ian St. John was completely unbelievable. At another point in the book Paladin breaks character rather abruptly and becomes extremely melodramatic leading to a surreal scene that just didn't belong.
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August 16, 2009Filed under F. with other Wing commander books
March 15, 2013
Good airplane trash. Well written, not as formulaic as much of the series, only the initiative of the characters is acredible. But that makes it fiction, doesn't it?
March 25, 2016
Wing commander mind candy. Fighting big cats in space. Woo.
September 13, 2016
Quite a romp and fun so long as I disconnected my "but he'd be in such trouble for that!" sensor in my head.
March 31, 2016
Fun mind candy from a video game universe. Big cats!
April 23, 2017
Cat aliens fight humans who have a treaty with bird aliens. So this is a weird book, but the characters are likeable and the story was good enough to keep me turning the pages.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews