This is Jay13x hijacking this first post (sorry, Poring). Click here for my summaries of the Expanded Universe (now 'Legends' imprint), or click here if you're interested in learning about the new Star Wars Canon.
Hello everyone!
I'm looking for good novels which cover the Star Wars expanded universe, and I am open for suggestions. There's a lot of material out there, so I don't know where to begin, really.
When I was younger I began with the "Wars of the Bounty Hunters" trilogy and thought it was pretty good, but I'd like to know what else is out there, and if it's any good before I invest in buying any.
If anyone could recommend some good books they've read and maybe a short write up on why it was awesome, I would appreciate it very much.
In particular, I was wondering if the EU material on the Old Republic is any good. Any books about the history of the Sith, Yoda's younger years or works about the adventures of the old Jedi order would be great... or even recommendations if these books are to be stayed away from, and if I should stick to New Republic material instead.
I'm looking forward to hearing your opinions... so, which SW:EU books have you read or found interesting?
I participate yearly in a survival challenge in which I am dropped off in the wilderness with 1 days rations, a knife, and no other supplies, and have to find my way home. This is typically several weeks hiking from civilization.
I have personally killed several bears in the course of this challenge, with the use of snares and other traps.
Moved from Water Cooler Talk to Entertainment -> Printed Media
I'm more of a short story fan, so I enjoyed Tales of the Bounty Hunters (a collection of short stories giving the origins for the 5 bounty hunters that Darth Vader assembles) and Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina (a collection of short stories about some of the minor characters from Mos Eisley).
My favorite trilogy in the Star Wars expanded universe involves Darth Bane. The first book is called "Path of Destruction". The Darth Bane trilogy involves the anti hero Darth Bane and his rise to the top of the Syth order. He was the first to institute the rule of one Lord and one Apprentice. All three books are pretty good with the first being the most interesting.
I assume you want post-Return of the Jedi, right? Here is my required reading for the EU (at least to get you all caught up):
It's in reading order:
The Truce at Bakura (read the summary)
The Courtship of Princess Leia (I don't like it, but it establishes several key parts of the EU)
The Thrawn Trilogy -
Heir to the Empire
Dark Force Rising
The Last Command
The Jedi Academy Trilogy -
Jedi Search
Dark Apprentice
Champions of the Force
I, Jedi (Partially overlaps the Jedi Academy Trilogy, establishes one of the most important non-movie characters)
Read the Wiki Summaries of (they have important info, but are basically unreadable):
Children of the Jedi
Darksaber
Planet of Twilight
The Correlian Trilogy -
Ambush at Correllia
Assault at Selonia
Showdown at Centerpoint
The Hand of Thrawn Duology -
Specter of the Past
Vision of the Future
Survivor's Quest
Boba Fett - A Practical Man (Ebook)
New Jedi Order Series There are 20 books in this series, so it may be intimidating. I recommend reading them all, but the key books are:
Vector Prime
Balance Point
Star by Star
Traitor
(Rogue Planet)
Destiny's Way
The Final Prophecy
The Unifying Force
Read the Wiki Summaries of the Dark Nest Trilogy (It's necessary to move from the New Jedi Order to The Legacy of the Force, but I don't really like them):
The Dark Nest Trilogy -
The Joiner King
The Unseen Queen
The Swarm War
The Legacy of the Force series
(9 books, I won't name them here, but they lead more or less right into one another)
The Fate of the Jedi series
(Another 9 books, I won't name them here, but they lead more or less right into one another also)
Here are some fun, but entirely optional books:
Shadows of the Empire (Between Empire and Return)
Outbound Flight (Prequel trilogy era)
Allegiance (Original Trilogy Era)
Choices of One (Original Trilogy Era)
Death Star (Concurrent with A New Hope)
Death Troopers (Star Wars Zombies)
The Darth Bane Trilogy (Old Republic Era)
Red Harvest (Prequel to Death Troopers set in the KOTOR Era)
Have fun, and Wookiepedia has great summaries of any books I skipped, or any of the ones you may want to skip.
I'll write more specifics later, I've already wasted enough time at work writing this up.
The Legacy of the Force series
(9 books, I won't name them here, but they lead more or less right into one another)
Oh god, the Legacy of the Force if i never read that narrative abomination again it'll be too soon. I actually managed to read all 9 books in order...which I think prepared me for survive torture that would break a Marine. I'd rather each Twilight book 3 times then read those 9 books again.
Oh the horror, I still recall moments from those books in flashbacks, they are so bad I think I got PTSD from them.
The following series the Fate of the Jedi had to be written to fix that story to explain why absolutely positively nothing the antagonist does makes sense. He was declared crazy by retcon. I considered reading FotJ but I am still too scarred from LotF to do it.
Oh god, the Legacy of the Force if i never read that narrative abomination again it'll be too soon. I actually managed to read all 9 books in order...which I think prepared me for survive torture that would break a Marine. I'd rather each Twilight book 3 times then read those 9 books again.
Oh the horror, I still recall moments from those books in flashbacks, they are so bad I think I got PTSD from them.
The following series the Fate of the Jedi had to be written to fix that story to explain why absolutely positively nothing the antagonist does makes sense. He was declared crazy by retcon. I considered reading FotJ but I am still too scarred from LotF to do it.
The OP may just want to read the summaries then. It's important to future events. I had no idea it was so reviled, though. I though it was bad in parts, or the reasoning was flimsy, but I enjoyed them over all as popcorn entertainment.
As a side note , jay you didn't like dark nest trilogy but you managed to read The Correlian Trilogy ..... Those 3 books made me want to give up starwars forever but that could be because I read them on the back of The Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy , The Crystal Star and The New Rebellion ..... 14ABY to 18ABY truly was a bad book era ><
I actually never read the Corellian Trilogy, but I know the events become imporant in later series. Those are probably the only books up there that I don't like. But my tastes are weird, and I'm always surprised to find I liked a book a lot of people hated.
Update 7/25 - Read Tales of the Jedi! This comic series takes place about 5,000 years before the main series, but much of the newer fiction is exploring the period between this comic and the prequel trilogy. It's also available for two handy volumes thanks to Dark Horses' Omnibus series. It's starting to become required reading.
Lost Tribe of the Sith
This is a free series of e-books (about 40 pages each) about a cargo ship of Sith that crashes on a planet with no real metal deposits, and spends the next 5,000 years developing their own society their. These are prequel novels to both Riptide and the Legacy of the Force Series. Definitely worth reading.
Update 7/25:PLAY KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC and KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC 2 - These books weren't previously mission critical, but it seems old-school stuff is being referenced more and more. The first game was recently on steam for $2.50, and you can probably find the CDs for the second game somewhere. Both games are a lot of fun, and the last (and in my opinion, best) example of the Western Table-top system-based RPG
The Old Republic: Revan
This is a follow-up to the KOTOR video game, and a prequel to the Old Republic MMO and it's associated books. Drew Karpyshyn (the former head writer for Bioware, responsible for the stories of every game from KOTOR to Mass Effect) provides a solid read.
Update 7/25: I actually just finished this book (I'm getting caught up on my SW novel back-log since I started also reading fantasy books). This book bridges the gaps between the following three books: KOTOR - KOTOR 2 - TOR. Without spoiling anything, it explains what happened to both Revan and the Exile. Having not played TOR all that much (I dislike MMOs, and while TOR was better than most, it would have been much better as KOTOR 3), I didn't know where it was leading. The plot points started in KOTOR and KOTOR 2 and bridged here into their conclusion in TOR. Ultimately this book was a bit disappointing, and I would recommend keeping the fates of Revan and the Exile a mystery rather than reading this and playing TOR.
The Old Republic: Deceived
This is a story about the fall of Coruscant from this video: http://youtu.be/bVyJP92TiVg
Its a fun read (as is any Star Wars book told from the Villain's point of view).
Red Harvest
The prequel to Death Troopers, it's about Zombies in the Star Wars universe, taking place primarily in a Sith Academy. Entertaining read.
The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance
This book is largely irrelevant. It was released before the MMO came out, and thus contained nothing that would spoil the game's plot. It's a nice little side adventure, but utterly skippable. It only provides a little back story on some characters from the MMO.
Update 7/25 - Read about The Old Republic! - This game is very plot heavy, which is great, except it's also an MMO, which means it was a huge let down fans of the first two games (like me), who didn't want our experience dependent on other people.
Knight Errant
The comic book is better. This is essentially the a Star Wars adaptation of 'Yojimbo', or 'A Fistful of Dollars'. Skippable.
Darth Bane Trilogy A solid set of books by Drew Karpyshyn. It’s basically about the Sith Lord that goes from the Sith Empires in the Old Republic Era, to the forms the Rule of Two seen in the movies. Lots of fun, as is (almost) every book about the Sith.
Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter
This book is essentially ‘The Terminator’ but replace Arnold with Darth Maul. Predictable, but entertaining. This book is important because it has characters and connections that carry through quite a few of the prequel and dark times eras (the Michael Reaves-verse characters, as I call them, because they only appear in his books).
Rogue Planet
This is a weird book. By itself it isn’t that great, but it has a connection to the New Jedi Order Series. It’s best read and appreciated after the first few books of the New Jedi Order. Combine it with them, and it’s satisfying, because by the end of the New Jedi Order there are pay-offs to what is set up in this book.
Outbound Flight
This is another weird one. On its own, it’s a simple side story. It’s best read after the Timothy Zahn novel ‘Survivor’s Quest’, as Outbound flight is a plot point in quite a few of his books. For those that don’t know, Zahn has a series of books that largely deal with the legacy of a character he created, Grand Admiral Thrawn. This is the earliest story chronological Zahn-verse story.
Republic Commando: Hard Contact
This is the only one of these books I could get through. I really want to like Karen Traviss’ writing, but I don’t. Give it a shot and if you do like it, there are four sequels or so.
Shatterpoint
This book is all about Mace Windu, and written by the guy that wrote Test of Metal. I liked it, but your mileage may vary.
Medstar I and II
These two books are essentially about a star wars M*A*S*H. Worth reading because they factor in to the Reaves-verse I mentioned earlier.
Yoda: Dark Rendevous
This book is all about Yoda. Your mileage may vary, but it’s worth seeing things from his point of view.
Dark Lord: The Rise of Lord Vader
This book is about Vader hunting down Jedi immediately after he becomes Vader (it picks up right around where Episode III left off. Again, since I love the Sith Lord POV books, I loved this one.
Coruscant Nights I, II and III
This book has characters from both Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter and Medstar I and II. It’s worth continuing their story. These are written more along the lines of a Star Wars noir, and are generally detective stories, with the added element that the main character detective was a Jedi Padawan before Order 66.
This is where books get weird, because every book I’ve listed before this was written after the 2000s, when the quality of Star Wars books skyrocketed while simultaneously having multiple releases a year. Now the books could have been written anywhere from the 70s to the present, so the quality and the knowledge of history may vary.
The Han Solo Trilogy and the Lando Calrissian Trilogy
These are mostly skippable. Lando’s series is from the early 80s, and reads like 70s sci-fi. The Han Solo Trilogy is up in the air.
The Force Unleashed
This was part of a major media push, which largely fell flat due to the game being B-list material. Play the game instead, it’s not that expensive and it’s only about 10 hours long.
Han Solo at Star’s End, Han Solo’s Revenge, Han Solo and the Lost Legacy
These three stories together are about one novel’s length. They are fun little pulp novels starring Han in some crazy adventures. They’re also from the 70s, and some of the earliest Star Wars books, so cut them some slack. I do love that they show how much of a jerk Han could be.
Shadow Games
This is a companion book to Shadows of the Empire, coming out 15ish years later. Starring Dash Rendar and involved Black Sun and Prince Xizor. It’s still sitting on my Nook waiting to be read, but I’d recommend reading Shadows of the Empire first. If they pump out another one of these, I’ll start referring to them as Shadows-verse.
Death Troopers
Read this before Red Harvest. It’s about zombies on an Imperial Prison Ship and Star Destroyer. It’s a lot of fun.
Dark Forces: Soldier of the Empire
This is the adaptation of the first Dark Forces game (the Star Wars ‘Doom’ style game), about the mercenary Kyle Katarn (my fav). If you can find this, it’s worth a read (check your library). If you’ve played the game, you know all you need to.
Death Star
Another Reaves-verse book, this one about the construction and subsequent destruction of the Death Star, from the point of view of the people slaved/hired to build it. Worth it just to read about the bureaucracy that allowed the fatal weakness to be built into the plans. I liked it.
Tales from the …
I recommend reading all the ‘Tales from the’ or ‘Tales of the’ books, although some of the stories are better than others. They are entirely skippable though, as they have no bearing on any other story and have varying levels of canonicity.
Allegiance and Choice of One
These two books are direct sequels to one another, about a squad of stormtroopers who steal an experimental ship and desert the Empire, but end up going around and righting wrongs. These are the most recent Zahn-verse books, and feature pre-Empire versions of Mara Jade and Luke and company. I like them a lot, but you can skip them and miss nothing.
ScoundrelsUPDATED 08/14/13
Worth a read, as are all of Zahn's books. This one takes place around the same time as Allegiance, Choices of One and Splinter of the Mind's Eye - but stars Han, Chewie and Lando. Han has recently lost the reward money he got from the Rebels gambling, and is looking for a score to be able to pay back Jabba. It's a Star Wars Ocean's 11, and a pretty entertaining one at that, even if the stakes are ultimately fairly low compared to other Star Wars books.
Splinter of the Mind’s Eye
Worth reading because this was written as a potential low-budget sequel to Star Wars if A New Hope had failed. Takes place essentially directly before Empire Strikes Back
Shadows of the Empire
This is the 90s version of The Force Unleashed’s media push. It was released as a game, a comic and a book, toys and even had commercials. It’s a good book though, and introduces the Han-replacement Dash Rendar, and Black Sun leader Prince Xizor. This is what Luke and company are doing between Empire and Return of the Jedi. It’s a good read.
Bounty Hunter Wars
These pick up immediately after Boba Fett is knocked into the Sarlacc Pit, and chronicles his escape and subsequent adventures. Fun, but entirely skippable as they are never referred to again.
The Truce at Bakura
I read this book when I was 14. It’s clumsily written, but interesting. It picks up immediately after Return of the Jedi, and forces an Imperial Garrison and the remains of the Rebel Fleet to face off against a new and unknown enemy. This is where I start recommending reading summaries even if you skip the books, as the plots can be important to the overall story without being worth reading themselves. It would be entirely skippable if it weren’t for the fact that Bakura is referred to once in a while.
Dark Forces: Rebel Agent and Jedi Knight
These pick up from the previous Dark Forces story and continue to adapt the story through the Jedi Knight video game. Again, Kyle Katarn is my favorite expanded universe character. They are quick reads, so if you can find them, do so. Even if you’ve played the games, although I recommend you play Dark Forces and Jedi Knight.
Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
This is a pretty good book. An interesting and different villain, and written in the style of the better 90s books. Worth a read! Also mostly skippable if you don’t want to, as since it is a very recent book, it’s almost never mentioned. You’ll find this is the case with most of the recent books that went back to fill in gaps between Return of the Jedi and the New Jedi Order Series.
X-Wing Books
I’m going to sum these all up here: Fun! I love Wedge Antilles, and the Rogue Squadron books are all entertaining.
The Courtship of Princess Leia
Worth reading the summary at least, because it establishes both the Hapans, a major player in later books, and the Night Sisters of Dathomir, which were recently featured in the Clone Wars cartoon and reappear quite a few times. I don’t remember it well enough to firmly recommend it (I read it over 15 years ago now).
Tatooine Ghost (and A Forest Apart ebook)
Read the summary. This book is essentially about Leia coming to terms with her father being Darth Vader (and no longer hating him). It’s also about the progression of Han and Leia’s relationship. It was written soon after Phantom Menace so It’s another ‘gap filler’, so like the Shadows of Mindor it’s mostly skippable, except a painting they try to recover on Tatooine (Killik Twilight) gets mentioned several times in later novels.
Thrawn Trilogy
MUST READ! These three books are mission critical, both to the Zahn-verse books and to the series as a whole. They are huge fan favorites, and probably the most popular of all time. If you are looking to get into post-Return of the Jedi books, you must read these. They are about Grand Admiral Thrawn, one of the best Star Wars villains, coming back from the Outer Regions to discover the Empire in ruins, and his attempt to restore it. Also, Han and Leia have twins (Jacen and Jaina).
Dark Empire
This isn’t a novel, but you must read this comic (or at least the summary). It’s one of the few Dark Horse Comics who’s plot factors into the main book series, and it’s mentioned. This comic is about Luke’s fall to the Dark Side, and the rise of a new Emperor.
Jedi Academy Trilogy
I love these books, but some people hate Kevin J. Anderson, so your mileage may vary. These are my favorite of the Star Wars books, and introduces a stable of regular EU characters. It’s about Luke’s establishment of a Jedi Academy on Yavin IV and his first class of Jedi, and the emergence of Admiral Daala, the special weapons developer who ran the facility that designed the Death Star. Also, Sun Crusher.
I, Jedi
Great book, told from the Point of View of Corran Horn, probably the most important non-Skywalker Clan EU character. Follows Corran during his time at the Jedi Academy and his mission to rescue his wife. Corran is a fun character because his family has very poor telekinetic power, but makes up for it with their mental powers. He’s also a complete and utter badass.
PLAY JEDI OUTCAST! I LOVE KYLE KATARN! (Also the plot of that game goes here, and the game is only like $10 now, just put in the dismemberment code and invincibility and run through if you have to)
Children of the Jed, Darksaber and Planet of Twilight
This is kind of an unofficial trilogy, and is about Luke and his first real love interest. These books are bad, I could barely get through any of them, and I’m pretty sure I never finished any of them. Read the summaries, because the love interest matters again later.
Play Jedi Academy! I LOVE KYLE KATARN! AND THE APPRENTICE STARS IN HIS OWN BOOKS LATER! (Also the plot of that game goes here)
The Crystal Star
This novel is complete and utter garbage, and the most universally reviled star wars book. The plot is like a bad episode of Star Trek. Just… ick.
The Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy
This trilogy had the most awesomely vicious villains until the New Jedi Order. Not essential reading, but definitely fun.
The New Rebellion
Meh. Read the summary, nothing to see here. It just isn’t very memorable.
The Corellian Trilogy
Meh. I only read the summaries, but some plot points are important later (like Centerpoint Station).
The Hand of Thrawn Duology
Great follow-up to plot points from the Thrawn Trilogy. Must read, more Zahn-verse stuff.
Junior Jedi Knights series
Read the summaries, it introduces some later important characters, but they are kid’s books. They are about Han and Leia’s youngest son, Anakin, and his love interest Tahiri.
Survivor’s Quest (and Fool’s Bargain novella)
The final (chronological) Zahn-verse books. Calls back to all of his previous books, plus the two new ones relate to this. Read Outbound Flight after this one.
Young Jedi Knights series
These have been rereleased as ‘plot arc’ collections, as these young adult novels generally spread out plot arcs amongst three or four books. Characters from this series are all featured in books beyond this, so if you like Kevin J. Anderson, I say read them. If you don’t, read the summaries.
Boba Fett: A Practical Man novella
Worth a read, if only because it reintroduced Boba to the main Star Wars universe, and relates to later books. Plus it’s not that long.
New Jedi Order Series
This is the series that changed the way Star Wars books came out. Each cluster of 4 or 5 books represents a year of in-universe time, and they were release every year, with a yearly hardcover book with major plot points or turning points. I won’t go into specifics on many of them (especially because there are some MAJOR events that I don’t want to spoil), here’s a quick series of short reactions:
Vector Prime – OMG! WTF! One of two Star Wars books to make me tear up.
Dark Tide I and II – Climax has an amazingly iconic moment
Agents of Chaos I and II – Read or read summary
Balance Point – Must read
Recovery novella - Meh
Edge of Victory I and II - Read
Star by Star - :’( This is the second star wars book to cause me to tear up. Amazing.
Dark Journey – Deals with the aftermath of previous book. Summary will do, but is a good read
Enemy Lines I and II – Wedge Antilles is a certified Grade-A Badass
Traitor – A must read. Be sure to read Rogue Planet before this. None shall pass.
Destiny’s Way – Must read
Ylesia novella - Meh
Force Heretic I, II and III – Read or Summary
The Final Prophecy – Must Read
The Unifying Force – Must Read
Dark Nest Trilogy
This series deals with the aftermath of the New Jedi Order series, and introduces plot points important for the Legacy of the Force Series. Take it or leave it, I found it interesting, but I would never re-read it. The plot is important though, because it leads into reasoning for certain character’s actions during Legacy of the Force, and there are plot points that are brought up in the Fate of the Jedi series.
Legacy of the Force series
I liked it, but your mileage may vary. Read the first few books, and if the plot turns you off, read the summaries of the rest. I really can’t talk about much more, because it’s very spoiler heavy to even reveal some of the plot.
Crosscurrent
Remember that big bold ‘Play Jedi Academy’? Yeah, the main character of that game (a Human Male in canon) stars in this book. Remember that Lost Tribe of the Sith Ebook series? They both matter here. This book is about a disturbance in the force, that turns out to be the companion ship of the one that crashed back in the Lost Tribe of the Sith. Something about a force-sensitive metal and a hyperdrive accident, pushes them forward in time. Stop thinking about it and enjoy popcorn entertainment. Also, half-light, half-dark clones.
Riptide
The follow up to Crosscurrent. Only read if you read and liked Crosscurrent.
Update 7/25: I finally finished reading this one as well. It was better than Crosscurrent, but was ultimately weird and created a complicated mythology who was ultimately a stand-in for Kyle Katarn in Jedi Academy. Between this book and Crosscurrent, it seemed like ideas were being thrown at the wall. It is quite literally an expanded Universe clearing house. Let's list them here:
References to the Great Hyperspace War
References to the One Sith (Star Wars Legacy)
References to the Empire of the Hand (Thrawn and Zahn books)
References to the Dark Forces series
References to the Legacy of the Force series
References to the Rakatan Empire (KOTOR)
Also, it seems like chapters weren't allowed to conclude without name-checking Thrawn-era cloning tech.
I'm not really sure what the point of this book was, unlike, say the next book in this list.
Millennium Falcon
Definitely worth reading. Han, Leia and their adopted daughter explore the history of the Millennium Falcon (with various side stories about the previous owners and the way the Falcon saved their lives), and ultimately leads in to the next series. Definitely one of the better stand-alone books.
Fate of the Jedi
Remember that Lost Tribe of the Sith? Yeah, they get a ship and get off that planet. Also, an ancient dark side incarnate being escapes her prison thanks to them. And young Jedi start losing their minds, thinking everyone they know has been replaced by spies. Yeah. I liked it a lot, especially because of the Sith point of view characters.
Update 7/25: I'm not sure how I feel about this series now. Read it and figure it out for yourself. Spoilers below:
I loved the early stuff about the Lost Tribe, but by the end I was sick of Abeloth, and the ending seemed desperate to make connections to other series (Namely the Clone Wars and the Star Wars Legacy comic).
Crucible
So, this may or may not have been intended this way but this book is more or less the Swan Song for the Lucasfilm Era of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. It was a fun read but largely unsubstantive, and serves as more of an extended epilogue to the Fate of the Jedi series than its own book. I enjoyed it.
Star Wars: LegacyUpdate 8/14/13
Dark Horse recently released a fantastic hardcover collection of this series (Volumer 1). Whether or not it's still 'canon' (as the end of Fate of the Jedi seems to imply that it isn't), it's a great look at the Star Wars Universe 100 years later.
Cliff Notes Catch-up for Skywalker Story
Courtship of Princess Leia Summary
Thrawn Trilogy (Must Read)
Jedi Academy Trilogy (Must Read)
Hand of Thrawn Duology summary
Young Jedi Knights Summary
New Jedi Order
Must read Vector Prime, Balance Point, Star By Star, The Final Prophecy, The Unifying Force, then read summary of the rest of the New Jedi Order Books
Dark Nest Summary
Legacy of the Force Summary
Fate of the Jedi – All Caught Up
Great Isolated Stories
The Reaves-verse books I mentioned, starting with Darth Maul: Saboteur
Shadows of the Empire and Shadow Games
Splinter of the Mind’s Eye
Death Troopers and Red Harvest
The Old Republic books
Darth Bane Trilogy
And there goes three hours of my life. I hope you appreciate it! I'm so OCD...
I'm more of a short story fan, so I enjoyed Tales of the Bounty Hunters (a collection of short stories giving the origins for the 5 bounty hunters that Darth Vader assembles) and Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina (a collection of short stories about some of the minor characters from Mos Eisley).
Thanks for moving the thread. Sorry about that.
I appreciate the Bounty Hunter Lore, too! Will look into that, thanks!
My favorite trilogy in the Star Wars expanded universe involves Darth Bane. The first book is called "Path of Destruction". The Darth Bane trilogy involves the anti hero Darth Bane and his rise to the top of the Syth order. He was the first to institute the rule of one Lord and one Apprentice. All three books are pretty good with the first being the most interesting.
My friend read that too and agreed it was epic! I will certainly look into it now. Thanks!
I would truly endorse reading all the Rogue squadron novels , especially the michael stackpole ones as he is fantastic author and I cannot speak high enough of them.
Interesting! That's an aspect of Star Wars I have yet to look into! Surely will look into that. Thanks!
MY GOD, JAY THAT WAS AMAZING. Rest assured that I will use this list not just personally but also as a reading list for a lot of my friends who are also going to be reading SW:EU books, and that your hours of work will be contributing to the entertainment of many, many enthusiasts for the next few years, myself and Believeinapathy included. On behalf of all of us, thank you so much! Your hard work is much appreciated! Can't wait to get my hands on these...
If anyone else has anything to add, feel free to contribute to this thread. I knew that the Lore was extensive, but now I know where to look. If any of you find other great novels, it would be great to share your opinions.
I participate yearly in a survival challenge in which I am dropped off in the wilderness with 1 days rations, a knife, and no other supplies, and have to find my way home. This is typically several weeks hiking from civilization.
I have personally killed several bears in the course of this challenge, with the use of snares and other traps.
I would truly endorse reading all the Rogue squadron novels , especially the michael stackpole ones as he is fantastic author and I cannot speak high enough of them.
Personally, I'm a fan of the Wraith Squadron sub-series plus Starfighters of Adumar. It's largely just for the fact that they don't take themselves very seriously and manage to be genuinely amusing while having good character development devoid of unnecessary drama. I'd rank Wraith Squadron over Rogue Squadron because Zsinj is a cooler and more entertaining villain than Isard, and Face is a more interesting character than Corran.
That and anything by Timothy Zahn are the only Star Wars books I find myself going back and rereading just for the fun of it (I also reread the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy periodically because the Yevetha plotline is amazingly written, the Lando plotline is a nice throwback to the pre-Zahn EU, and the Luke plotline... is best skipped over entirely). Although a lot of it has to do with the fact that I like Zahn's writing style—the focus on smugglers and other criminals might get a bit tiresome to those who prefer the spotlight always be on the movie heroes. That said, the Thrawn trilogy should be emphasized because it more or less created the EU in its current form. It was also very noticeably written before the prequel trilogy came out, but I think is much stronger for it—Zahn clearly knows what he's doing and is better at writing Star Wars than anyone else I've seen, and the less insipid canon he's constrained by, the better.
I'd also say avoid the New Jedi Order series like it's got the bad kind of plague, because it's what turned me off of reading the Star Wars EU (outside of specific books). It's just... it goes on too long, it's too melodramatic, and almost all the plot twists meant to be hard-hitting come off as painfully forced. The writing isn't as bad as the Jedi Academy trilogy (which was so bad that I Jedi had to spend a great deal of time retconning it), but it's really not worth the slog. It actually serves as the chronological cut-off point where I basically stop caring about the timeline.
MY GOD, JAY THAT WAS AMAZING. Rest assured that I will use this list not just personally but also as a reading list for a lot of my friends who are also going to be reading SW:EU books, and that your hours of work will be contributing to the entertainment of many, many enthusiasts for the next few years, myself and Believeinapathy included. On behalf of all of us, thank you so much! Your hard work is much appreciated! Can't wait to get my hands on these...
No problem. I hope other people weigh in too, because I tend to turn my brain off for books and just enjoy them for what they are - licensed products designed to make George Lucas even richer. Remember I read many of these over the last 15 years or so, so I may not have been as discerning as I would be now (and I tend to like books other people hate). But the Wiki I posted always has great summaries.
Personally, I'm a fan of the Wraith Squadron sub-series plus Starfighters of Adumar. It's largely just for the fact that they don't take themselves very seriously and manage to be genuinely amusing while having good character development devoid of unnecessary drama. I'd rank Wraith Squadron over Rogue Squadron because Zsinj is a cooler and more entertaining villain than Isard, and Face is a more interesting character than Corran.
They just released a new X-Wing Book that takes place at the end of the Fate of the Jedi Series, FYI. Starring Wraith Squadron. I'm going back and re-reading the books now. I, Jedi was largely written to include Stackpole's X-Wing Characters in the main continuity.
That and anything by Timothy Zahn are the only Star Wars books I find myself going back and rereading just for the fun of it (I also reread the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy periodically because the Yevetha plotline is amazingly written, the Lando plotline is a nice throwback to the pre-Zahn EU, and the Luke plotline... is best skipped over entirely). Although a lot of it has to do with the fact that I like Zahn's writing style—the focus on smugglers and other criminals might get a bit tiresome to those who prefer the spotlight always be on the movie heroes. That said, the Thrawn trilogy should be emphasized because it more or less created the EU in its current form. It was also very noticeably written before the prequel trilogy came out, but I think is much stronger for it—Zahn clearly knows what he's doing and is better at writing Star Wars than anyone else I've seen, and the less insipid canon he's constrained by, the better.
Zahn's stuff is great. If anyone wants to approach it, I recommend reading them in the order they were written. He has his own stable of characters like Michael Reaves does.
I'd also say avoid the New Jedi Order series like it's got the bad kind of plague, because it's what turned me off of reading the Star Wars EU (outside of specific books). It's just... it goes on too long, it's too melodramatic, and almost all the plot twists meant to be hard-hitting come off as painfully forced. The writing isn't as bad as the Jedi Academy trilogy (which was so bad that I Jedi had to spend a great deal of time retconning it), but it's really not worth the slog. It actually serves as the chronological cut-off point where I basically stop caring about the timeline.
That's fair enough. The villain is different than anything before, and the series itself is much darker than any of the other novels. The original idea for it was that the Yuuzhan Vong would be a group of dark Jedi, but that was scrapped. One of the major twists is taken straight from The Foundation, by Isaac Asimov. I'd recommend anyone read Vector Prime and one or two others before giving up on it for good, it has some great moments.
I, Jedi is a great book, but the Retcon was only mostly to make Corran Horn a Jedi, as he was 'undercover' during the Jedi Academy books.
Eh. The whole dark storyline thing was fine. I'm gonna spoiler some stuff just in case and go into more detail about my problems with that series:
Basically, it's the cheap drama shots the story takes that grate me. Chewbacca and Anakin Solo dying just kind of made me cringe since they weren't really done effectively—it was just a "hey look anyone can die [as long as they're not a main character]" thing. I admit, out of the entire series, Traitor was pretty cool, mostly because Vergere was awesome, right up until the point they started retconning it and saying "oh yeah Vergere was lying about basically everything." But aside from that, I can't remember actually liking any of the books, and I read the entire series.
So yeah, the series was just subpar on the whole. And then all the crap that goes on with Jacen Solo afterwards, it's like... their main problem with the EU, I'm finding, is basically that they just tried to keep upping the stakes and keeping everything all climactic, to the point where everything lost its impact (the galaxy never seems to leave a state of war, turmoil, upheaval, or, really, conflict of any kind). The EU has always had its share of bad storytelling, but it just kind of ramped up after they switched publishers.
Compare that to, for example, the Black Fleet Crisis (I'd compare it to the Zahn stuff or X-Wing series but that'd be a bit unfair). The danger was mostly relating to one star cluster exerting political and military pressure in one part of the galaxy. For the most part, they avoid open, large-scale conflict, and as a result, the larger conflicts that do erupt make more of an impact, rather than being all, "Oh, hey, it's another huge battle."
Eh. The whole dark storyline thing was fine. I'm gonna spoiler some stuff just in case and go into more detail about my problems with that series:
I can get that. Here is a quick response:
I agree with Chewie's death basically just to be a shocker.
I think Anakin's death is a little more meaningful. He was my favorite EU character at the time, and his sacrifice seemed more genuine to me, rather than just getting a moon thrown on him...
Ganner Rhysode's death was just badass. As was Borsk Fey'lya's.
they just tried to keep upping the stakes and keeping everything all climactic, to the point where everything lost its impact (the galaxy never seems to leave a state of war, turmoil, upheaval, or, really, conflict of any kind). The EU has always had its share of bad storytelling, but it just kind of ramped up after they switched publishers.
You have a point there as well. The best Star Wars books were the ones where the stakes were more personal, and they should get back to that. It's part of the reason I'm glad there are a lot of side stories and characters now.
Compare that to, for example, the Black Fleet Crisis (I'd compare it to the Zahn stuff or X-Wing series but that'd be a bit unfair). The danger was mostly relating to one star cluster exerting political and military pressure in one part of the galaxy. For the most part, they avoid open, large-scale conflict, and as a result, the larger conflicts that do erupt make more of an impact, rather than being all, "Oh, hey, it's another huge battle."
Here's a bit of discussion for you:
The one thing I can say about Legacy of the Force was that it had the most realistic reason for conflict in the series. The Corellians wanting their own fleet was very representative of a real political conflict, especially with part of the reason the Yuuzhan Vong did so much damage being that every powerful system kept their own fleet rather than contributing to the larger force. The rapid descent into tyranny by the GA and Terrorism by Corellians, not so much.
I just really want to vent after reading the last book in the Fate of the Jedi series.
Connecting Abeloth to the Clone Wars cartoon has seriously pissed me off. I like the cartoon for the fun of the show but I don't think it has any place as cannon.
I really like reading almost any Star Wars book, regardless of how bad it it (I am a fan of the Jedi Academy Trilogy) but I wanted to burn my Fate of the Jedi and the conclusion of the series. Why?!?!? Leave the Clone Wars cartoon where it should be, with the rest of the young adult fiction like the Junior Jedi Knight series. (Which I never read BTW)
I just really want to vent after reading the last book in the Fate of the Jedi series. Connecting Abeloth to the Clone Wars cartoon has seriously pissed me off. I like the cartoon for the fun of the show but I don't think it has any play as cannon.
I really like reading almost any Star Wars book, regardless of how bad it it (I am a fan of the Jedi Academy Trilogy) but I wanted to burn my Fate of the Jedi and the conclusion of the series. Why?!?!? Leave the Clone Wars cartoon where it should be, with the resy of the young adult fiction like the Junior Jedi Knight series. (Which I never read BTW)
First of all, use spoiler tags. I hadn't read the last book yet.
Second, the Clone Wars Cartoon is EU Cannon. And it's actually pretty good, and fairly dark. The EU books have tied in the video games (Kyle Katarn), Junior Jedi Knights (Tahiri, whoever that Jedi Master they discover is), the Young Jedi Knights (Which is basically half the cast of the EU at this point), and comic books. I don't see a problem with connecting it that Clone Wars episode.
First of all, use spoiler tags. I hadn't read the last book yet.
Second, the Clone Wars Cartoon is EU Cannon. And it's actually pretty good, and fairly dark. The EU books have tied in the video games (Kyle Katarn), Junior Jedi Knights (Tahiri, whoever that Jedi Master they discover is), the Young Jedi Knights (Which is basically half the cast of the EU at this point), and comic books. I don't see a problem with connecting it that Clone Wars episode.
My apologies. I have edited my post.
I understand The Clone Wars are cannon. That doesn't mean I have to like it. The video games are a stretch, and I played the crap out of the Dark Forces games. Expanding on Kyle Katarn was a great idea. Using the Clone Wars to promote their books is a great idea, but pushing cannon onto the Clone Wars is the most annoying to happen to Star Wars since Episode 1 (IMHO).
BTW your review of all the books was great, and even though I have re-read most of them multiple times, I liked seeing someone elses opinion.
No worries. The villain's origins aren't that great a spoiler, but I'll be honest, I was hoping for something better too. It wasn't my favorite episode of the cartoon.
I understand The Clone Wars are cannon. That doesn't mean I have to like it.
How much of the show have you watched, out of curiousity? Much like the Justice League cartoon a few years back, it's surprisingly dark and mature at times. The first season is hit or miss, but the last few have been pretty good.
The video games are a stretch, and I played the crap out of the Dark Forces games. Expanding on Kyle Katarn was a great idea.
We could be best friends based on this statement alone. As far as the games are concerned, I think any that have had a novelization or are mentioned elsewhere are considered EU canon. For Dark Forces, since they have two books based on the protagonist from Jedi Academy (the last game in the series), I'm going to assume all games in that series are canon (light side ending). KOTOR is canon. The Force Unleased is canon. Most of the other games are too, except where they contradict established canon (like Rebel Assault's Death Star trench run).
Using the Clone Wars to promote their books is a great idea, but pushing cannon onto the Clone Wars is the most annoying to happen to Star Wars since Episode 1 (IMHO).
Like I said, I would give Clone Wars another shot. It has gotten much, much better over time. The first season was hit or miss, the second less so, and the last two seasons were mostly great. Just skip any episodes that feature or star Jar Jar (which they stopped doing after season 1). Plus, the episodes are only 20 minutes, so you can watch the seasons pretty quickly. The show is really at it's best when the focus is off the main characters.
BTW your review of all the books was great, and even though I have re-read most of them multiple times, I liked seeing someone elses opinion.
I appreciate that. I'm the only one in my group of friends that is really passionate about reading. The rest are either really slow readers or haven't read a complete book without pictures since high school. They are amused by the fact that I've read 90% of the star wars section of the book store, but it's nice to talk about it with other people who like these too.
How much of the show have you watched, out of curiousity? Much like the Justice League cartoon a few years back, it's surprisingly dark and mature at times. The first season is hit or miss, but the last few have been pretty good.
I'm fairly certain I have watched them all. I agree this season has been better, but things like little Boba running his own crew of hounty hunters just rubs me the wrong way. I enjoy the show, I just find thats some things seem like too much of a stretch.
We could be best friends based on this statement alone. As far as the games are concerned, I think any that have had a novelization or are mentioned elsewhere are considered EU canon. For Dark Forces, since they have two books based on the protagonist from Jedi Academy (the last game in the series), I'm going to assume all games in that series are canon (light side ending). KOTOR is canon. The Force Unleased is canon. Most of the other games are too, except where they contradict established canon (like Rebel Assault's Death Star trench run).
I know, and maybe its because the games they incorporate were so good, I give them a pass. I still find myself thinking I should buy an N64 just to play Rouge Sqadron. Though I think you are right in thinking that any game paired with a novel is cannon. Part of why I think the Force Unleashed storyline is a joke. The game was fun, but the story.... ugh.
Like I said, I would give Clone Wars another shot. It has gotten much, much better over time. The first season was hit or miss, the second less so, and the last two seasons were mostly great. Just skip any episodes that feature or star Jar Jar (which they stopped doing after season 1). Plus, the episodes are only 20 minutes, so you can watch the seasons pretty quickly. The show is really at it's best when the focus is off the main characters.
This is funny thing, is that Jar Jar doesn't bother me like he does most. I can see why people think he so bad, but whether I have accepted it, or was too excited when I saw EP1 I don't find him intolerable.
I appreciate that. I'm the only one in my group of friends that is really passionate about reading. The rest are either really slow readers or haven't read a complete book without pictures since high school. They are amused by the fact that I've read 90% of the star wars section of the book store, but it's nice to talk about it with other people who like these too.
They only books I read are Star Wars. I have tried others and these are all that really keep me hooked. I read them because I love Star Wars and a few bad stories are not going to turn me away now.
They only books I read are Star Wars. I have tried others and these are all that really keep me hooked. I read them because I love Star Wars and a few bad stories are not going to turn me away now.
Let me know if you want to expand, I'll give you some recommendations. I started primarily reading Star Wars books, and the New Jedi Order books came out while I was in high school, so I constantly had one to read. After high school I diversified into other sci-fi, and after college I diversified again into Fantasy, even though I had vowed never to get into it.
Just letting you all know I've updated my big list of reviews/synopsis. The updates are marked out in bold, with the text in italics. I finally got around to reading two more SW books that have been sitting in my queue for a while, as well as finished the Fate of the Jedi series. Still got more to go, I'll update again when I've read them all.
Also - does anyone else feel like Star Wars Legacy was a huge mistake? It seems like all Star Wars book since that came out have been mired in the retcons it established.
Or does the ending of Legacy of the Force/Fate of the Jedi imply that the future established in Legacy has been changed?
Yea sadly the EU suffered a rise in popularity and hence was realised as a great tool for marketing all the modern tv and teen related stuff Lucas seems desperate to force down peoples throats.
The problem isn't the use of the EU - it's that the more recent books are becoming more and more EU heavy - and NOT their previous stories. It feels like other things and events are being name checked just because they exist, and it's pulling me out of the stories. For instance- the use of Rakatan tech in Riptide.
Legacy of the force seemed absolutely terrible to me. Fate of the Jedi was good though, if a bit drawn out. I think it would have been an awesome trilogy. Maybe even as many as six books. Nine was absolute overkill.
My favorite books from the EU so far have been:
Thrawn trilogy (Heir to the empire - Last command), along with the Hand of Thrawn Duo (Spectre of the past/Vision of the future).
Rouge Squadron + I, Jedi By Michael Stackpole. Zahn and Stackpole are my favorite EU authors by far. I haven't read Wraith squadron yet, but it's in the near future.
New Jedi Order drug on a bit long, but it contained some of the best non-Zahn/Stackpole books in the EU. Star by Star, Traitor, and Destiny's Way were all amazing. There were a few other good books in the series, but I've only read about a dozen from that cycle. Force Heretic: Remnant was quite good, although the other two in that cycle were a bit less interesting.
Legacy of the force was a massive retcon. I can only hope that the authors were force against their will to take the story where it went, because it completely reversed very meaningful plot development from the NJO series. Vergere and Jacen got screwed over, basically.
@Jay : hmmm yes Rakata plays rather excessively in SW:ToR game so I wouldn't expect it to go away.
I don't mind that, because Rakatans play a role in pretty much all the Old Republic games. They were created for KOTOR, after all.
What I don't want to see is them popping up all over the Legacy Era.
As a side note, I wish the Old Republic was a better game. It seems like for MMO fans there wasn't enough end game content there, and for non-MMO fans it felt like we were missing out on too much of the game by trying to solo it.
Hello everyone!
I'm looking for good novels which cover the Star Wars expanded universe, and I am open for suggestions. There's a lot of material out there, so I don't know where to begin, really.
When I was younger I began with the "Wars of the Bounty Hunters" trilogy and thought it was pretty good, but I'd like to know what else is out there, and if it's any good before I invest in buying any.
If anyone could recommend some good books they've read and maybe a short write up on why it was awesome, I would appreciate it very much.
In particular, I was wondering if the EU material on the Old Republic is any good. Any books about the history of the Sith, Yoda's younger years or works about the adventures of the old Jedi order would be great... or even recommendations if these books are to be stayed away from, and if I should stick to New Republic material instead.
I'm looking forward to hearing your opinions... so, which SW:EU books have you read or found interesting?
How well do you do against one?
I'm more of a short story fan, so I enjoyed Tales of the Bounty Hunters (a collection of short stories giving the origins for the 5 bounty hunters that Darth Vader assembles) and Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina (a collection of short stories about some of the minor characters from Mos Eisley).
It's in reading order:
The Truce at Bakura (read the summary)
The Courtship of Princess Leia (I don't like it, but it establishes several key parts of the EU)
The Thrawn Trilogy -
Heir to the Empire
Dark Force Rising
The Last Command
The Jedi Academy Trilogy -
Jedi Search
Dark Apprentice
Champions of the Force
I, Jedi (Partially overlaps the Jedi Academy Trilogy, establishes one of the most important non-movie characters)
Read the Wiki Summaries of (they have important info, but are basically unreadable):
Children of the Jedi
Darksaber
Planet of Twilight
The Correlian Trilogy -
Ambush at Correllia
Assault at Selonia
Showdown at Centerpoint
The Hand of Thrawn Duology -
Specter of the Past
Vision of the Future
Survivor's Quest
Boba Fett - A Practical Man (Ebook)
New Jedi Order Series
There are 20 books in this series, so it may be intimidating. I recommend reading them all, but the key books are:
Vector Prime
Balance Point
Star by Star
Traitor
(Rogue Planet)
Destiny's Way
The Final Prophecy
The Unifying Force
Read the Wiki Summaries of the Dark Nest Trilogy (It's necessary to move from the New Jedi Order to The Legacy of the Force, but I don't really like them):
The Dark Nest Trilogy -
The Joiner King
The Unseen Queen
The Swarm War
The Legacy of the Force series
(9 books, I won't name them here, but they lead more or less right into one another)
The Fate of the Jedi series
(Another 9 books, I won't name them here, but they lead more or less right into one another also)
That should bring you up to speed with everything mission-critical. Go here for Wiki Summaries of anything you skip:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_books
Here are some fun, but entirely optional books:
Shadows of the Empire (Between Empire and Return)
Outbound Flight (Prequel trilogy era)
Allegiance (Original Trilogy Era)
Choices of One (Original Trilogy Era)
Death Star (Concurrent with A New Hope)
Death Troopers (Star Wars Zombies)
The Darth Bane Trilogy (Old Republic Era)
Red Harvest (Prequel to Death Troopers set in the KOTOR Era)
Have fun, and Wookiepedia has great summaries of any books I skipped, or any of the ones you may want to skip.
I'll write more specifics later, I've already wasted enough time at work writing this up.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Oh god, the Legacy of the Force if i never read that narrative abomination again it'll be too soon. I actually managed to read all 9 books in order...which I think prepared me for survive torture that would break a Marine. I'd rather each Twilight book 3 times then read those 9 books again.
Oh the horror, I still recall moments from those books in flashbacks, they are so bad I think I got PTSD from them.
The following series the Fate of the Jedi had to be written to fix that story to explain why absolutely positively nothing the antagonist does makes sense. He was declared crazy by retcon. I considered reading FotJ but I am still too scarred from LotF to do it.
Control is the ultimate expression of power.
The OP may just want to read the summaries then. It's important to future events. I had no idea it was so reviled, though. I though it was bad in parts, or the reasoning was flimsy, but I enjoyed them over all as popcorn entertainment.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
I actually never read the Corellian Trilogy, but I know the events become imporant in later series. Those are probably the only books up there that I don't like. But my tastes are weird, and I'm always surprised to find I liked a book a lot of people hated.
TerribleBad at Magic since 1998.A Vorthos Guide to Magic Story | Twitter | Tumblr
[Primer] Krenko | Azor | Kess | Zacama | Kumena | Sram | The Ur-Dragon | Edgar Markov | Daretti | Marath
Standard:
GBWAggressive Junk TokensGBW
"Some convictions are so strong that the world must break to accommodate them."
Books are in the order of the timeline from here:
http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Timeline_of_books
Update 7/25 - Read Tales of the Jedi! This comic series takes place about 5,000 years before the main series, but much of the newer fiction is exploring the period between this comic and the prequel trilogy. It's also available for two handy volumes thanks to Dark Horses' Omnibus series. It's starting to become required reading.
Lost Tribe of the Sith
This is a free series of e-books (about 40 pages each) about a cargo ship of Sith that crashes on a planet with no real metal deposits, and spends the next 5,000 years developing their own society their. These are prequel novels to both Riptide and the Legacy of the Force Series. Definitely worth reading.
Update 7/25:PLAY KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC and KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC 2 - These books weren't previously mission critical, but it seems old-school stuff is being referenced more and more. The first game was recently on steam for $2.50, and you can probably find the CDs for the second game somewhere. Both games are a lot of fun, and the last (and in my opinion, best) example of the Western Table-top system-based RPG
The Old Republic: Revan
This is a follow-up to the KOTOR video game, and a prequel to the Old Republic MMO and it's associated books. Drew Karpyshyn (the former head writer for Bioware, responsible for the stories of every game from KOTOR to Mass Effect) provides a solid read.
Update 7/25: I actually just finished this book (I'm getting caught up on my SW novel back-log since I started also reading fantasy books). This book bridges the gaps between the following three books: KOTOR - KOTOR 2 - TOR. Without spoiling anything, it explains what happened to both Revan and the Exile. Having not played TOR all that much (I dislike MMOs, and while TOR was better than most, it would have been much better as KOTOR 3), I didn't know where it was leading. The plot points started in KOTOR and KOTOR 2 and bridged here into their conclusion in TOR. Ultimately this book was a bit disappointing, and I would recommend keeping the fates of Revan and the Exile a mystery rather than reading this and playing TOR.
The Old Republic: Deceived
This is a story about the fall of Coruscant from this video:
http://youtu.be/bVyJP92TiVg
Its a fun read (as is any Star Wars book told from the Villain's point of view).
Red Harvest
The prequel to Death Troopers, it's about Zombies in the Star Wars universe, taking place primarily in a Sith Academy. Entertaining read.
The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance
This book is largely irrelevant. It was released before the MMO came out, and thus contained nothing that would spoil the game's plot. It's a nice little side adventure, but utterly skippable. It only provides a little back story on some characters from the MMO.
Update 7/25 - Read about The Old Republic! - This game is very plot heavy, which is great, except it's also an MMO, which means it was a huge let down fans of the first two games (like me), who didn't want our experience dependent on other people.
Knight Errant
The comic book is better. This is essentially the a Star Wars adaptation of 'Yojimbo', or 'A Fistful of Dollars'. Skippable.
Darth Bane Trilogy
A solid set of books by Drew Karpyshyn. It’s basically about the Sith Lord that goes from the Sith Empires in the Old Republic Era, to the forms the Rule of Two seen in the movies. Lots of fun, as is (almost) every book about the Sith.
Darth Plagueis
Haven’t actually read this one, but I’ve heard awful things about it. See this review from Penny Arcade:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/2012/01/25/star-wars-crap
Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter
This book is essentially ‘The Terminator’ but replace Arnold with Darth Maul. Predictable, but entertaining. This book is important because it has characters and connections that carry through quite a few of the prequel and dark times eras (the Michael Reaves-verse characters, as I call them, because they only appear in his books).
Rogue Planet
This is a weird book. By itself it isn’t that great, but it has a connection to the New Jedi Order Series. It’s best read and appreciated after the first few books of the New Jedi Order. Combine it with them, and it’s satisfying, because by the end of the New Jedi Order there are pay-offs to what is set up in this book.
Outbound Flight
This is another weird one. On its own, it’s a simple side story. It’s best read after the Timothy Zahn novel ‘Survivor’s Quest’, as Outbound flight is a plot point in quite a few of his books. For those that don’t know, Zahn has a series of books that largely deal with the legacy of a character he created, Grand Admiral Thrawn. This is the earliest story chronological Zahn-verse story.
Republic Commando: Hard Contact
This is the only one of these books I could get through. I really want to like Karen Traviss’ writing, but I don’t. Give it a shot and if you do like it, there are four sequels or so.
Shatterpoint
This book is all about Mace Windu, and written by the guy that wrote Test of Metal. I liked it, but your mileage may vary.
Medstar I and II
These two books are essentially about a star wars M*A*S*H. Worth reading because they factor in to the Reaves-verse I mentioned earlier.
Yoda: Dark Rendevous
This book is all about Yoda. Your mileage may vary, but it’s worth seeing things from his point of view.
Dark Lord: The Rise of Lord Vader
This book is about Vader hunting down Jedi immediately after he becomes Vader (it picks up right around where Episode III left off. Again, since I love the Sith Lord POV books, I loved this one.
Coruscant Nights I, II and III
This book has characters from both Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter and Medstar I and II. It’s worth continuing their story. These are written more along the lines of a Star Wars noir, and are generally detective stories, with the added element that the main character detective was a Jedi Padawan before Order 66.
This is where books get weird, because every book I’ve listed before this was written after the 2000s, when the quality of Star Wars books skyrocketed while simultaneously having multiple releases a year. Now the books could have been written anywhere from the 70s to the present, so the quality and the knowledge of history may vary.
The Han Solo Trilogy and the Lando Calrissian Trilogy
These are mostly skippable. Lando’s series is from the early 80s, and reads like 70s sci-fi. The Han Solo Trilogy is up in the air.
The Force Unleashed
This was part of a major media push, which largely fell flat due to the game being B-list material. Play the game instead, it’s not that expensive and it’s only about 10 hours long.
Han Solo at Star’s End, Han Solo’s Revenge, Han Solo and the Lost Legacy
These three stories together are about one novel’s length. They are fun little pulp novels starring Han in some crazy adventures. They’re also from the 70s, and some of the earliest Star Wars books, so cut them some slack. I do love that they show how much of a jerk Han could be.
Shadow Games
This is a companion book to Shadows of the Empire, coming out 15ish years later. Starring Dash Rendar and involved Black Sun and Prince Xizor. It’s still sitting on my Nook waiting to be read, but I’d recommend reading Shadows of the Empire first. If they pump out another one of these, I’ll start referring to them as Shadows-verse.
Death Troopers
Read this before Red Harvest. It’s about zombies on an Imperial Prison Ship and Star Destroyer. It’s a lot of fun.
Dark Forces: Soldier of the Empire
This is the adaptation of the first Dark Forces game (the Star Wars ‘Doom’ style game), about the mercenary Kyle Katarn (my fav). If you can find this, it’s worth a read (check your library). If you’ve played the game, you know all you need to.
Death Star
Another Reaves-verse book, this one about the construction and subsequent destruction of the Death Star, from the point of view of the people slaved/hired to build it. Worth it just to read about the bureaucracy that allowed the fatal weakness to be built into the plans. I liked it.
Tales from the …
I recommend reading all the ‘Tales from the’ or ‘Tales of the’ books, although some of the stories are better than others. They are entirely skippable though, as they have no bearing on any other story and have varying levels of canonicity.
Allegiance and Choice of One
These two books are direct sequels to one another, about a squad of stormtroopers who steal an experimental ship and desert the Empire, but end up going around and righting wrongs. These are the most recent Zahn-verse books, and feature pre-Empire versions of Mara Jade and Luke and company. I like them a lot, but you can skip them and miss nothing.
Scoundrels UPDATED 08/14/13
Worth a read, as are all of Zahn's books. This one takes place around the same time as Allegiance, Choices of One and Splinter of the Mind's Eye - but stars Han, Chewie and Lando. Han has recently lost the reward money he got from the Rebels gambling, and is looking for a score to be able to pay back Jabba. It's a Star Wars Ocean's 11, and a pretty entertaining one at that, even if the stakes are ultimately fairly low compared to other Star Wars books.
Splinter of the Mind’s Eye
Worth reading because this was written as a potential low-budget sequel to Star Wars if A New Hope had failed. Takes place essentially directly before Empire Strikes Back
Shadows of the Empire
This is the 90s version of The Force Unleashed’s media push. It was released as a game, a comic and a book, toys and even had commercials. It’s a good book though, and introduces the Han-replacement Dash Rendar, and Black Sun leader Prince Xizor. This is what Luke and company are doing between Empire and Return of the Jedi. It’s a good read.
Bounty Hunter Wars
These pick up immediately after Boba Fett is knocked into the Sarlacc Pit, and chronicles his escape and subsequent adventures. Fun, but entirely skippable as they are never referred to again.
The Truce at Bakura
I read this book when I was 14. It’s clumsily written, but interesting. It picks up immediately after Return of the Jedi, and forces an Imperial Garrison and the remains of the Rebel Fleet to face off against a new and unknown enemy. This is where I start recommending reading summaries even if you skip the books, as the plots can be important to the overall story without being worth reading themselves. It would be entirely skippable if it weren’t for the fact that Bakura is referred to once in a while.
Dark Forces: Rebel Agent and Jedi Knight
These pick up from the previous Dark Forces story and continue to adapt the story through the Jedi Knight video game. Again, Kyle Katarn is my favorite expanded universe character. They are quick reads, so if you can find them, do so. Even if you’ve played the games, although I recommend you play Dark Forces and Jedi Knight.
Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
This is a pretty good book. An interesting and different villain, and written in the style of the better 90s books. Worth a read! Also mostly skippable if you don’t want to, as since it is a very recent book, it’s almost never mentioned. You’ll find this is the case with most of the recent books that went back to fill in gaps between Return of the Jedi and the New Jedi Order Series.
X-Wing Books
I’m going to sum these all up here: Fun! I love Wedge Antilles, and the Rogue Squadron books are all entertaining.
The Courtship of Princess Leia
Worth reading the summary at least, because it establishes both the Hapans, a major player in later books, and the Night Sisters of Dathomir, which were recently featured in the Clone Wars cartoon and reappear quite a few times. I don’t remember it well enough to firmly recommend it (I read it over 15 years ago now).
Tatooine Ghost (and A Forest Apart ebook)
Read the summary. This book is essentially about Leia coming to terms with her father being Darth Vader (and no longer hating him). It’s also about the progression of Han and Leia’s relationship. It was written soon after Phantom Menace so It’s another ‘gap filler’, so like the Shadows of Mindor it’s mostly skippable, except a painting they try to recover on Tatooine (Killik Twilight) gets mentioned several times in later novels.
Thrawn Trilogy
MUST READ! These three books are mission critical, both to the Zahn-verse books and to the series as a whole. They are huge fan favorites, and probably the most popular of all time. If you are looking to get into post-Return of the Jedi books, you must read these. They are about Grand Admiral Thrawn, one of the best Star Wars villains, coming back from the Outer Regions to discover the Empire in ruins, and his attempt to restore it. Also, Han and Leia have twins (Jacen and Jaina).
Dark Empire
This isn’t a novel, but you must read this comic (or at least the summary). It’s one of the few Dark Horse Comics who’s plot factors into the main book series, and it’s mentioned. This comic is about Luke’s fall to the Dark Side, and the rise of a new Emperor.
Jedi Academy Trilogy
I love these books, but some people hate Kevin J. Anderson, so your mileage may vary. These are my favorite of the Star Wars books, and introduces a stable of regular EU characters. It’s about Luke’s establishment of a Jedi Academy on Yavin IV and his first class of Jedi, and the emergence of Admiral Daala, the special weapons developer who ran the facility that designed the Death Star. Also, Sun Crusher.
I, Jedi
Great book, told from the Point of View of Corran Horn, probably the most important non-Skywalker Clan EU character. Follows Corran during his time at the Jedi Academy and his mission to rescue his wife. Corran is a fun character because his family has very poor telekinetic power, but makes up for it with their mental powers. He’s also a complete and utter badass.
PLAY JEDI OUTCAST! I LOVE KYLE KATARN! (Also the plot of that game goes here, and the game is only like $10 now, just put in the dismemberment code and invincibility and run through if you have to)
Children of the Jed, Darksaber and Planet of Twilight
This is kind of an unofficial trilogy, and is about Luke and his first real love interest. These books are bad, I could barely get through any of them, and I’m pretty sure I never finished any of them. Read the summaries, because the love interest matters again later.
Play Jedi Academy! I LOVE KYLE KATARN! AND THE APPRENTICE STARS IN HIS OWN BOOKS LATER! (Also the plot of that game goes here)
The Crystal Star
This novel is complete and utter garbage, and the most universally reviled star wars book. The plot is like a bad episode of Star Trek. Just… ick.
The Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy
This trilogy had the most awesomely vicious villains until the New Jedi Order. Not essential reading, but definitely fun.
The New Rebellion
Meh. Read the summary, nothing to see here. It just isn’t very memorable.
The Corellian Trilogy
Meh. I only read the summaries, but some plot points are important later (like Centerpoint Station).
The Hand of Thrawn Duology
Great follow-up to plot points from the Thrawn Trilogy. Must read, more Zahn-verse stuff.
Junior Jedi Knights series
Read the summaries, it introduces some later important characters, but they are kid’s books. They are about Han and Leia’s youngest son, Anakin, and his love interest Tahiri.
Survivor’s Quest (and Fool’s Bargain novella)
The final (chronological) Zahn-verse books. Calls back to all of his previous books, plus the two new ones relate to this. Read Outbound Flight after this one.
Young Jedi Knights series
These have been rereleased as ‘plot arc’ collections, as these young adult novels generally spread out plot arcs amongst three or four books. Characters from this series are all featured in books beyond this, so if you like Kevin J. Anderson, I say read them. If you don’t, read the summaries.
Boba Fett: A Practical Man novella
Worth a read, if only because it reintroduced Boba to the main Star Wars universe, and relates to later books. Plus it’s not that long.
New Jedi Order Series
This is the series that changed the way Star Wars books came out. Each cluster of 4 or 5 books represents a year of in-universe time, and they were release every year, with a yearly hardcover book with major plot points or turning points. I won’t go into specifics on many of them (especially because there are some MAJOR events that I don’t want to spoil), here’s a quick series of short reactions:
Vector Prime – OMG! WTF! One of two Star Wars books to make me tear up.
Dark Tide I and II – Climax has an amazingly iconic moment
Agents of Chaos I and II – Read or read summary
Balance Point – Must read
Recovery novella - Meh
Edge of Victory I and II - Read
Star by Star - :’( This is the second star wars book to cause me to tear up. Amazing.
Dark Journey – Deals with the aftermath of previous book. Summary will do, but is a good read
Enemy Lines I and II – Wedge Antilles is a certified Grade-A Badass
Traitor – A must read. Be sure to read Rogue Planet before this. None shall pass.
Destiny’s Way – Must read
Ylesia novella - Meh
Force Heretic I, II and III – Read or Summary
The Final Prophecy – Must Read
The Unifying Force – Must Read
Dark Nest Trilogy
This series deals with the aftermath of the New Jedi Order series, and introduces plot points important for the Legacy of the Force Series. Take it or leave it, I found it interesting, but I would never re-read it. The plot is important though, because it leads into reasoning for certain character’s actions during Legacy of the Force, and there are plot points that are brought up in the Fate of the Jedi series.
Legacy of the Force series
I liked it, but your mileage may vary. Read the first few books, and if the plot turns you off, read the summaries of the rest. I really can’t talk about much more, because it’s very spoiler heavy to even reveal some of the plot.
Crosscurrent
Remember that big bold ‘Play Jedi Academy’? Yeah, the main character of that game (a Human Male in canon) stars in this book. Remember that Lost Tribe of the Sith Ebook series? They both matter here. This book is about a disturbance in the force, that turns out to be the companion ship of the one that crashed back in the Lost Tribe of the Sith. Something about a force-sensitive metal and a hyperdrive accident, pushes them forward in time. Stop thinking about it and enjoy popcorn entertainment. Also, half-light, half-dark clones.
Riptide
The follow up to Crosscurrent. Only read if you read and liked Crosscurrent.
Update 7/25: I finally finished reading this one as well. It was better than Crosscurrent, but was ultimately weird and created a complicated mythology who was ultimately a stand-in for Kyle Katarn in Jedi Academy. Between this book and Crosscurrent, it seemed like ideas were being thrown at the wall. It is quite literally an expanded Universe clearing house. Let's list them here:
References to the One Sith (Star Wars Legacy)
References to the Empire of the Hand (Thrawn and Zahn books)
References to the Dark Forces series
References to the Legacy of the Force series
References to the Rakatan Empire (KOTOR)
Also, it seems like chapters weren't allowed to conclude without name-checking Thrawn-era cloning tech.
I'm not really sure what the point of this book was, unlike, say the next book in this list.
Millennium Falcon
Definitely worth reading. Han, Leia and their adopted daughter explore the history of the Millennium Falcon (with various side stories about the previous owners and the way the Falcon saved their lives), and ultimately leads in to the next series. Definitely one of the better stand-alone books.
Fate of the Jedi
Remember that Lost Tribe of the Sith? Yeah, they get a ship and get off that planet. Also, an ancient dark side incarnate being escapes her prison thanks to them. And young Jedi start losing their minds, thinking everyone they know has been replaced by spies. Yeah. I liked it a lot, especially because of the Sith point of view characters.
Update 7/25: I'm not sure how I feel about this series now. Read it and figure it out for yourself. Spoilers below:
Crucible
So, this may or may not have been intended this way but this book is more or less the Swan Song for the Lucasfilm Era of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. It was a fun read but largely unsubstantive, and serves as more of an extended epilogue to the Fate of the Jedi series than its own book. I enjoyed it.
Star Wars: Legacy Update 8/14/13
Dark Horse recently released a fantastic hardcover collection of this series (Volumer 1). Whether or not it's still 'canon' (as the end of Fate of the Jedi seems to imply that it isn't), it's a great look at the Star Wars Universe 100 years later.
Cliff Notes Catch-up for Skywalker Story
Courtship of Princess Leia Summary
Thrawn Trilogy (Must Read)
Jedi Academy Trilogy (Must Read)
Hand of Thrawn Duology summary
Young Jedi Knights Summary
New Jedi Order
Must read Vector Prime, Balance Point, Star By Star, The Final Prophecy, The Unifying Force, then read summary of the rest of the New Jedi Order Books
Dark Nest Summary
Legacy of the Force Summary
Fate of the Jedi – All Caught Up
Great Isolated Stories
The Reaves-verse books I mentioned, starting with Darth Maul: Saboteur
Shadows of the Empire and Shadow Games
Splinter of the Mind’s Eye
Death Troopers and Red Harvest
The Old Republic books
Darth Bane Trilogy
And there goes three hours of my life. I hope you appreciate it! I'm so OCD...
My Brain feels funny.
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Thanks for moving the thread. Sorry about that.
I appreciate the Bounty Hunter Lore, too! Will look into that, thanks!
My friend read that too and agreed it was epic! I will certainly look into it now. Thanks!
Interesting! That's an aspect of Star Wars I have yet to look into! Surely will look into that. Thanks!
They certainly sound awesome, and I am amazed by the input given here (especially by Jay13x!)! Looks like we've got a whole reading list up!
MY GOD, JAY THAT WAS AMAZING. Rest assured that I will use this list not just personally but also as a reading list for a lot of my friends who are also going to be reading SW:EU books, and that your hours of work will be contributing to the entertainment of many, many enthusiasts for the next few years, myself and Believeinapathy included. On behalf of all of us, thank you so much! Your hard work is much appreciated! Can't wait to get my hands on these...
If anyone else has anything to add, feel free to contribute to this thread. I knew that the Lore was extensive, but now I know where to look. If any of you find other great novels, it would be great to share your opinions.
How well do you do against one?
Personally, I'm a fan of the Wraith Squadron sub-series plus Starfighters of Adumar. It's largely just for the fact that they don't take themselves very seriously and manage to be genuinely amusing while having good character development devoid of unnecessary drama. I'd rank Wraith Squadron over Rogue Squadron because Zsinj is a cooler and more entertaining villain than Isard, and Face is a more interesting character than Corran.
That and anything by Timothy Zahn are the only Star Wars books I find myself going back and rereading just for the fun of it (I also reread the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy periodically because the Yevetha plotline is amazingly written, the Lando plotline is a nice throwback to the pre-Zahn EU, and the Luke plotline... is best skipped over entirely). Although a lot of it has to do with the fact that I like Zahn's writing style—the focus on smugglers and other criminals might get a bit tiresome to those who prefer the spotlight always be on the movie heroes. That said, the Thrawn trilogy should be emphasized because it more or less created the EU in its current form. It was also very noticeably written before the prequel trilogy came out, but I think is much stronger for it—Zahn clearly knows what he's doing and is better at writing Star Wars than anyone else I've seen, and the less insipid canon he's constrained by, the better.
I'd also say avoid the New Jedi Order series like it's got the bad kind of plague, because it's what turned me off of reading the Star Wars EU (outside of specific books). It's just... it goes on too long, it's too melodramatic, and almost all the plot twists meant to be hard-hitting come off as painfully forced. The writing isn't as bad as the Jedi Academy trilogy (which was so bad that I Jedi had to spend a great deal of time retconning it), but it's really not worth the slog. It actually serves as the chronological cut-off point where I basically stop caring about the timeline.
No problem. I hope other people weigh in too, because I tend to turn my brain off for books and just enjoy them for what they are - licensed products designed to make George Lucas even richer. Remember I read many of these over the last 15 years or so, so I may not have been as discerning as I would be now (and I tend to like books other people hate). But the Wiki I posted always has great summaries.
They just released a new X-Wing Book that takes place at the end of the Fate of the Jedi Series, FYI. Starring Wraith Squadron. I'm going back and re-reading the books now. I, Jedi was largely written to include Stackpole's X-Wing Characters in the main continuity.
Zahn's stuff is great. If anyone wants to approach it, I recommend reading them in the order they were written. He has his own stable of characters like Michael Reaves does.
That's fair enough. The villain is different than anything before, and the series itself is much darker than any of the other novels. The original idea for it was that the Yuuzhan Vong would be a group of dark Jedi, but that was scrapped. One of the major twists is taken straight from The Foundation, by Isaac Asimov. I'd recommend anyone read Vector Prime and one or two others before giving up on it for good, it has some great moments.
I, Jedi is a great book, but the Retcon was only mostly to make Corran Horn a Jedi, as he was 'undercover' during the Jedi Academy books.
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So yeah, the series was just subpar on the whole. And then all the crap that goes on with Jacen Solo afterwards, it's like... their main problem with the EU, I'm finding, is basically that they just tried to keep upping the stakes and keeping everything all climactic, to the point where everything lost its impact (the galaxy never seems to leave a state of war, turmoil, upheaval, or, really, conflict of any kind). The EU has always had its share of bad storytelling, but it just kind of ramped up after they switched publishers.
Compare that to, for example, the Black Fleet Crisis (I'd compare it to the Zahn stuff or X-Wing series but that'd be a bit unfair). The danger was mostly relating to one star cluster exerting political and military pressure in one part of the galaxy. For the most part, they avoid open, large-scale conflict, and as a result, the larger conflicts that do erupt make more of an impact, rather than being all, "Oh, hey, it's another huge battle."
I can get that. Here is a quick response:
I think Anakin's death is a little more meaningful. He was my favorite EU character at the time, and his sacrifice seemed more genuine to me, rather than just getting a moon thrown on him...
Ganner Rhysode's death was just badass. As was Borsk Fey'lya's.
You have a point there as well. The best Star Wars books were the ones where the stakes were more personal, and they should get back to that. It's part of the reason I'm glad there are a lot of side stories and characters now.
Here's a bit of discussion for you:
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I really like reading almost any Star Wars book, regardless of how bad it it (I am a fan of the Jedi Academy Trilogy) but I wanted to burn my Fate of the Jedi and the conclusion of the series. Why?!?!? Leave the Clone Wars cartoon where it should be, with the rest of the young adult fiction like the Junior Jedi Knight series. (Which I never read BTW)
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Great Quotes
"Luck is statistics taken personally." - X DarkAngel X
First of all, use spoiler tags. I hadn't read the last book yet.
Second, the Clone Wars Cartoon is EU Cannon. And it's actually pretty good, and fairly dark. The EU books have tied in the video games (Kyle Katarn), Junior Jedi Knights (Tahiri, whoever that Jedi Master they discover is), the Young Jedi Knights (Which is basically half the cast of the EU at this point), and comic books. I don't see a problem with connecting it that Clone Wars episode.
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My apologies. I have edited my post.
I understand The Clone Wars are cannon. That doesn't mean I have to like it. The video games are a stretch, and I played the crap out of the Dark Forces games. Expanding on Kyle Katarn was a great idea. Using the Clone Wars to promote their books is a great idea, but pushing cannon onto the Clone Wars is the most annoying to happen to Star Wars since Episode 1 (IMHO).
BTW your review of all the books was great, and even though I have re-read most of them multiple times, I liked seeing someone elses opinion.
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Great Quotes
"Luck is statistics taken personally." - X DarkAngel X
No worries. The villain's origins aren't that great a spoiler, but I'll be honest, I was hoping for something better too. It wasn't my favorite episode of the cartoon.
How much of the show have you watched, out of curiousity? Much like the Justice League cartoon a few years back, it's surprisingly dark and mature at times. The first season is hit or miss, but the last few have been pretty good.
We could be best friends based on this statement alone. As far as the games are concerned, I think any that have had a novelization or are mentioned elsewhere are considered EU canon. For Dark Forces, since they have two books based on the protagonist from Jedi Academy (the last game in the series), I'm going to assume all games in that series are canon (light side ending). KOTOR is canon. The Force Unleased is canon. Most of the other games are too, except where they contradict established canon (like Rebel Assault's Death Star trench run).
Like I said, I would give Clone Wars another shot. It has gotten much, much better over time. The first season was hit or miss, the second less so, and the last two seasons were mostly great. Just skip any episodes that feature or star Jar Jar (which they stopped doing after season 1). Plus, the episodes are only 20 minutes, so you can watch the seasons pretty quickly. The show is really at it's best when the focus is off the main characters.
I appreciate that. I'm the only one in my group of friends that is really passionate about reading. The rest are either really slow readers or haven't read a complete book without pictures since high school. They are amused by the fact that I've read 90% of the star wars section of the book store, but it's nice to talk about it with other people who like these too.
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I'm fairly certain I have watched them all. I agree this season has been better, but things like little Boba running his own crew of hounty hunters just rubs me the wrong way. I enjoy the show, I just find thats some things seem like too much of a stretch.
I know, and maybe its because the games they incorporate were so good, I give them a pass. I still find myself thinking I should buy an N64 just to play Rouge Sqadron. Though I think you are right in thinking that any game paired with a novel is cannon. Part of why I think the Force Unleashed storyline is a joke. The game was fun, but the story.... ugh.
This is funny thing, is that Jar Jar doesn't bother me like he does most. I can see why people think he so bad, but whether I have accepted it, or was too excited when I saw EP1 I don't find him intolerable.
They only books I read are Star Wars. I have tried others and these are all that really keep me hooked. I read them because I love Star Wars and a few bad stories are not going to turn me away now.
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Great Quotes
"Luck is statistics taken personally." - X DarkAngel X
Let me know if you want to expand, I'll give you some recommendations. I started primarily reading Star Wars books, and the New Jedi Order books came out while I was in high school, so I constantly had one to read. After high school I diversified into other sci-fi, and after college I diversified again into Fantasy, even though I had vowed never to get into it.
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Also - does anyone else feel like Star Wars Legacy was a huge mistake? It seems like all Star Wars book since that came out have been mired in the retcons it established.
Or does the ending of Legacy of the Force/Fate of the Jedi imply that the future established in Legacy has been changed?
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The problem isn't the use of the EU - it's that the more recent books are becoming more and more EU heavy - and NOT their previous stories. It feels like other things and events are being name checked just because they exist, and it's pulling me out of the stories. For instance- the use of Rakatan tech in Riptide.
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My favorite books from the EU so far have been:
Thrawn trilogy (Heir to the empire - Last command), along with the Hand of Thrawn Duo (Spectre of the past/Vision of the future).
Rouge Squadron + I, Jedi By Michael Stackpole. Zahn and Stackpole are my favorite EU authors by far. I haven't read Wraith squadron yet, but it's in the near future.
New Jedi Order drug on a bit long, but it contained some of the best non-Zahn/Stackpole books in the EU. Star by Star, Traitor, and Destiny's Way were all amazing. There were a few other good books in the series, but I've only read about a dozen from that cycle. Force Heretic: Remnant was quite good, although the other two in that cycle were a bit less interesting.
Legacy of the force was a massive retcon. I can only hope that the authors were force against their will to take the story where it went, because it completely reversed very meaningful plot development from the NJO series. Vergere and Jacen got screwed over, basically.
I don't mind that, because Rakatans play a role in pretty much all the Old Republic games. They were created for KOTOR, after all.
What I don't want to see is them popping up all over the Legacy Era.
As a side note, I wish the Old Republic was a better game. It seems like for MMO fans there wasn't enough end game content there, and for non-MMO fans it felt like we were missing out on too much of the game by trying to solo it.
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