Star Wars Novels

amen

So I like Star Wars but never read any of the Novels as after reading some Star Trek novels I was out off from readings novels the expand a movie universe.

Bu I thought I might give them a go again.

So what would people recommend and in what order?

Are they all cannon?

Mr. K

I suggested Stickying a topic about this before! Start with Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy: Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command.

These got the ball rolling on the Expanded Universe and their popularity paved the way for the prequel trilogy. They're set five years after ROTJ, but since they were the first of the modern novels, you won't be confused.

AnCapaillMor

Followed by Kevin J Andersons jedi academy trilogy, introduces some new jedi, the first 4 of stackpoles X-wing books, introduces alot of non jedi characters. Then start the new jedi order. There's alot of books in between, but they're not really that good, crap even. Might be woth gettting the other x-wing books but there's not that many new essenial characters in them, still good books tho.

amen

Thanks for that, I;ll start with Mr K's and come back for more when finished.

49ers fan

Agree with Mr.K on this, Thrawn Trilogy is a very good start, I have a few of these books including the Complete Thrawn Trilogy for sale in the adverts section here if your having any hassle picking them up, Cheers

dyl10

Mr. K wrote: »

Start with Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy: Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command.

That's the best advice you can get, after reading those you can find what you like.

Mr. K

amen wrote: »

Thanks for that, I;ll start with Mr K's and come back for more when finished.

Let us know what you think! I haven't read them in years.

Twigster

anyone any suggestions as to the best place to be buying these books?

edit: found them kennys.ie €20 for the three thrawn books.

Twigster

Hey guys, im making fairly good progress through the books, so far i've read the thrawn trilogy and im a good bit of the way through the han solo trilogy. next up i already have jedi academy picked out, but where to after that? should i go for NJO or should i read young jedi knights series first? I read somewhere that young jedi knights is targeted at kids so is is worth the read for adults?

Thanks.

Zapho

Twigster wrote: »

Hey guys, im making fairly good progress through the books, so far i've read the thrawn trilogy and im a good bit of the way through the han solo trilogy. next up i already have jedi academy picked out, but where to after that? should i go for NJO or should i read young jedi knights series first? I read somewhere that young jedi knights is targeted at kids so is is worth the read for adults?

Thanks.

Well, I would highly recommend M. Stackpole's X-wing series, despite being a sort of side-series and being placed earlier than the ones you've read already. Aaron Allston's books are a very enjoyable read too.

Geez, this brings me back, its been years since I've read these books!

Mr. K

After the Jedi Academy Trilogy, read I, Jedi. It's a told from a first person perspective and covers the time of the Jedi Academy Trilogy (as well as bits before and after), telling the story of Corran Horn, a prominent EU character.

After that, you'd probably be best off reading The Hand of Thrawn Duology (also by Timothy Zahn), which ends pretty close to the beginning the NJO.

There are loads of bad EU books (I found Planet of Twilight particularly painful), so be careful what you decide to pick up! The Young Jedi Knights series is indeed targeted at kids and loads of silly stuff happens, so I wouldn't bother.

Here's a timeline of the books:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Timeline_of_books

If you want an idea of the quality of a book, check out the reviews section here:

http://www.theforce.net/books/

Mr. K

Zapho wrote: »

Well, I would highly recommend M. Stackpole's X-wing series, despite being a sort of side-series and being placed earlier than the ones you've read already. Aaron Allston's books are a very enjoyable read too.

Geez, this brings me back, its been years since I've read these books!

+1. Corran Horn is introduced in this series.

Twigster

cheers guys, yeah i've looked at those sites, but just looking for an opinion of where to head based on someone who's read them, not too bothered about what timeline order i read them in, so i might give the x-wing series a look. Thanks again.

Mr. K

Oh, I forgot to mention the Revenge of the Sith novelisation; it's really good. It expands that movie excellently and some scenes (particularly the duel with Dooku at the start) have layers of added depth.

Like Hayden Christensen's acting :pac:.

AnCapaillMor

X-wing is a must as it'll give more info on alot of the characters that'll appear often in the NJO series. Definately read x-wing before you read i,jedi. you can skip the last 2 isards revenge and the starfighters of adumar.

thegreengoblin

Twigster wrote: »

cheers guys, yeah i've looked at those sites, but just looking for an opinion of where to head based on someone who's read them, not too bothered about what timeline order i read them in, so i might give the x-wing series a look. Thanks again.

Great to see people picking up the books. There are some great reads out there. A few dodgy ones of course but given the sheer number of books that have been written I think most of them are very enjoyable.

Depending on how big a fan you are and the amount of time you have at your disposal I would recommend reading as many as you can, there are very few absolute stinkers.

Starting from after Return Of The Jedi.........deep breath......the Thrawn trilogy is considered by many SW fans to be the greatest of all the Expanded Universe books and I wouldn't disagree. It's a perfect starting point. Jedi Academy trilogy is just as essential.

After that it's a case of pick and mix. Children of the Jedi, Darksaber, Planet of Twilight and The Crystal Star you could skip and not miss a whole lot. Same with the Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy.

I would definitely recommend the Corellian Trilogy and The Hand of Thrawn duology.

After that you're into the New Jedi Order and while there is a lot of reading to be done here I would plough through them all.

Skip the Dark Nest Trilogy and after that you're into the Legacy of the Force series, which are all must-read books and bring you up to the current Fate of the Jedi series.

Having waded through that lot there are plenty of other books out there. The Han Solo 'Rebel Dawn' trilogy by AC Crispin are possibly my three favourite of all the books. They really go into great detail about Han Solo's life before he met Luke are cracking yarns. Brian Daley's Solo books are more of a curiosity thing but are enjoyable all the same.

I would recommend the Tales from.....series which includes the Mos Eisley Cantina, Jabba's Palace, Empire and New Republic. They reveal lots of details about the peripheral characters that we see in the films and they really open up the Star Wars universe.

Also, you can't miss Shadows of the Empire, which fills in the gap between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. It's a great read, especially as we get a good insight into Vader's head.

The Bounty Hunter Wars, featuring a certain Mr Fett, are also excellent.

Hope that all helps!

Show Time

Twigster wrote: »

Hey guys, im making fairly good progress through the books, so far i've read the thrawn trilogy and im a good bit of the way through the han solo trilogy. next up i already have jedi academy picked out, but where to after that? should i go for NJO or should i read young jedi knights series first? I read somewhere that young jedi knights is targeted at kids so is is worth the read for adults?

Thanks.

From Jedi Academy to New Jedi Order to Legacy of The Force i have enjoyed reading the lot.
My nephew use to love Jacen Solo so the journey he undertakes in all the books is well worth the read.

Twigster

thegreengoblin wrote: »

The Han Solo 'Rebel Dawn' trilogy by AC Crispin are possibly my three favourite of all the books.

Thanks guys, just reading the second of the han solo trilogy by crispin at the moment, i've barely blinked and i'm through two of the books in no time, I don't know why it's taken me so long to read them, but from what I'm gathering here I've plenty to keep me occupied for a while! It was announced during the week that the back catalogue of books is getting released on e-book format, so that could be my next dilemma, keep going the old fashion way or see about getting me a kindle or the like. it might be the easiest way to find them all if nothing else.

http://starwars.com/vault/books/ebookprogram/index.html

VinLieger

Dont forget the X-Wing series, great characters in there and Allston manages to bring some brilliant humour that fits prefectly in. All of them great books although you could probably skip Isards Revenge(book 8), but do not miss Starfighters of Adumar(book 9).
They do need to be read in order.
Also once youve read these you should pickup I Jedi, which features Corran Horn and is a fantastic book.
I do think you need to try read in order, specifically try and get through everything you can pre New Jedi Order before starting it as its a huge set of books and brings together basically every charcter you can think of from the previous books in the timeline and its better to know who they all are

Show Time

VinLieger wrote: »

Dont forget the X-Wing series, great characters in there and Allston manages to bring some brilliant humour that fits prefectly in. All of them great books although you could probably skip Isards Revenge(book 8), but do not miss Starfighters of Adumar(book 9).
They do need to be read in order.
Also once youve read these you should pickup I Jedi, which features Corran Horn and is a fantastic book.
I do think you need to try read in order, specifically try and get through everything you can pre New Jedi Order before starting it as its a huge set of books and brings together basically every charcter you can think of from the previous books in the timeline and its better to know who they all are

The first few books of X-Wing series are a great read and it was nice to get away from the main heroes of the Star Wars universe for a bit.

AnCapaillMor

Show Time wrote: »

The first few books of X-Wing series are a great read and it was nice to get away from the main heroes of the Star Wars universe for a bit.

Wedge and Corran Horn were 2 great characters to come out of those books. 2 of my favourite books from the NJO series were the enemy lines books which had a huge wedge presence.

Show Time

AnCapaillMor wrote: »

Wedge and Corran Horn were 2 great characters to come out of those books. 2 of my favourite books from the NJO series were the enemy lines books which had a huge wedge presence.

Michael A Stackpole and Aaron Allston made Wedge and Corran their own when writing for them all the way from X-Wing to New Jedi Order.

I am also a big fan of the Darth Bane books and the Sith history from the Rule of two onwards.

AnCapaillMor

Wasn't a huge fan of the bane books, not a big fan of the author. If you want sith, try and dig up the tales of the jedi graphic novels with the Exar Kun and Naga sadow sith wars. The jedi vs sith graphic novel that the original bane book was based was pretty good too.

thegreengoblin

I thought the Bane books were really good. The Tales of the Jedi comics/graphic novels are fantastic too. It's a pity they didn't get a few novels out of that whole era, there were some brilliant storylines which could have been fleshed out more.

Show Time

AnCapaillMor wrote: »

Wasn't a huge fan of the bane books, not a big fan of the author. If you want sith, try and dig up the tales of the jedi graphic novels with the Exar Kun and Naga sadow sith wars. The jedi vs sith graphic novel that the original bane book was based was pretty good too.

As a smalllie i was always a sith fan and i cried bitter tears in 83' when Darth Vader died. Thanks for the advice on the graphic novel i will have to start a hunt.

Mr. K

For more insights into the Sith, check out Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter (takes place shortly before TPM) and Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader (occurs directly after RotS).

Show Time

Mr. K wrote: »

For more insights into the Sith, check out Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter (takes place shortly before TPM) and Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader (occurs directly after RotS).

Both are in my collection. Not to big a fan of Darth Maul but i loved Dark Lord which was a great story.

Must also add Karen Traviss and her brilliant Republic/Imperial Commando series to the must read list of Star Wars.

darklighter

Got to agree with most of the sentiment here twigster, the thrawn thrilogy is the pick of the books.

I've read nearly everything from Cloak of deception to the end of the legacy of the force series and would recommend reading nearly everything in order if possible.....there are a few turkeys though(planet of twilight imo stinks the most), but on the whole, they are enjoyable. If your sad like me, Go for the kindle option coz they take up alot of space!

Havent gotten round to the old republic stuff (bar the old graphic novels) or the fate of the jedi series yet!

Ive also read a good deal of the comics/graphic novels and would recommend these too.

In particular, the novels and comics around the prequel trilogy make the films make an awful lot more sense (imho) :cool:

Twigster

darklighter wrote: »

Got to agree with most of the sentiment here twigster, the thrawn thrilogy is the pick of the books.

I've read nearly everything from Cloak of deception to the end of the legacy of the force series and would recommend reading nearly everything in order if possible.....there are a few turkeys though(planet of twilight imo stinks the most), but on the whole, they are enjoyable. If your sad like me, Go for the kindle option coz they take up alot of space!

Havent gotten round to the old republic stuff (bar the old graphic novels) or the fate of the jedi series yet!

Ive also read a good deal of the comics/graphic novels and would recommend these too.

In particular, the novels and comics around the prequel trilogy make the films make an awful lot more sense (imho) :cool:

Thanks darklighter, i've gone for the kindle option alright, it's just a matter of finding them all now! reckon it'll be a lot handier anyway not having to wait around for books to arrive by post, ordered the hand of thrawn books end of may, the second one arrived at the end of last week, still no sign of the first one, tearing my hair out waiting! read shadows of the empire in the meantime though which i enjoyed.

xxshebeexx

Anyone else read Timothy Zahn's new one, Choices of One? Just finished it today (oh, the agony of pre-ordering.. all the waiting for it to be published, then pouncing on it and reading it in a couple of hours!). It's .. better than some of Zahn's more recent books, and it's actually strange having Luke back to being a gawky teenager without any experience of the universe and not knowing one end of a lightsaber to the other (it's set between ANH and ESB). Some lovely Pellaeon moments (sniff) and some great setting up for ESB (ahhh that's why the Rebels chose Hoth!)

Finished it this morning and the new Fate of the Jedi was waiting for me when I got home from work.. perfect! I'm about three chapters in though, and it's snooze-worthy so far! It's all been weird Sith-speak and rituals.. I want to know what's happening with Ben and Vestara and Jaina. We were doing pretty well with Legacy of the Force (I love EU books based on politics and clever minds and a few well placed battles and some excellent spying - Aaron Allston, I'm looking at your Wraiths!), so I'm disappointed we're back to the realm of super-power mystical creatures who can do all sorts. Oh well.

Oh, and speaking of the Wraiths, I cannot wait for Allston's new Wraith book next year!

darklighter

Havent read it yet, its in my basket on amazon at d mo!!

When you say Wraiths, do you mean Wraith Squadron? I loved those X-Wing books!

By the way, whats your take on the Fate of the Jedi series? Heard mixed reviews on them...

xxshebeexx

darklighter wrote: »

Havent read it yet, its in my basket on amazon at d mo!!

It's very good, tell Amazon to hurry up and deliver it Love reading Mara as the Emperor's Hand.. although she doesn't strike me as particularly evil or Dark Side-y..! Although she has a healthy disdain for young Luke hehe.

darklighter wrote: »

When you say Wraiths, do you mean Wraith Squadron? I loved those X-Wing books!

Yep, the Wraith Squadron books Can't say I'm a huge fan of Michael A. Stackpole's contributions to the X-Wing books, but gosh I love Allston's! His books are by far the grubbiest ones on my shelf, they've been read the most often! I still laugh out loud at the yub, yub Ewok jokes and sniffle away when Ton Phanan dies and beg Myn to forgive Lara.. seriously, it doesn't get any better than the Wraith books! Hence my excitement that there's going to be a new one I hope it's just as good!

darklighter wrote: »

By the way, whats your take on the Fate of the Jedi series? Heard mixed reviews on them...

Mm, I have mixed feelings towards them too! It doesn't help that it's the same format at Legacy of the Force, the three rotating authors. The different writing styles really jar together and none of the authors can write to their own strengths (although this doesn't really work either.. too much Mandolorians going on in LotF when Karen Traviss gets going, but then they're completely forgotten by the other two authors!). As I've said, I love Aaron Allston, but I'm not a huge fan of his FotJ stuff.. but that's because the story isn't all that great. Like I mentioned in a previous post, it's all about some mysterious Dark Side Force user (called Abeloth) who can do crazy things with the Force (or magic.. she makes an entire Sith city just melt.. people and all!). In essence, the idea started well.. Jedi Knights going mysteriously insane, a Lost Tribe of the Sith appearing on the scene, political tensions and backstabbing and some tenuous alliances between these new Sith and the Jedi. But it's become so ... messy Half the time I can't remember the names of the politicians or the Sith or why they're important. The Sith are so full of themselves and their rituals (Christie Golden, I'm looking at your writing - seriously!), the aforementioned Abeloth, the side-lining of major characters and lots of bad portrayals and out-of-character stuff. The writing in general isn't great too. And I wish they would just sort out Jag and Jaina once and for all. The plus side is Ben Skywalker. He's a major player in the series and contrary to many of the other characters, he's generally been well written It's great getting to see him come to life and take on his role as a Jedi.. his adventuring with his father and his attempts to bring a young Sith girl to the light side is actually quite refreshing.

So, basically, it depends on what you're looking for. I don't really like the direction that this series is heading, nor do I really like the writing. Some of the characters and plotlines are done well, others are just big messes. I'll read anything Star Wars though, no matter how bad it is!

AnCapaillMor

Got pissed off with FOTJ when they started bringing out everything in hardback, bit of a ripoff in my opinion, got about 3 into it and said screw that. what really annoys me is the kindle price is astronomical. Legacy was a huge let down for me after the brilliant NJO. Fate actually seemed good but the hardback\kindle thing really pissed me off.

Agree with your previous post on darkside places or powerful\mythical creatures.

xxshebeexx

AnCapaillMor wrote: »

Got pissed off with FOTJ when they started bringing out everything in hardback, bit of a ripoff in my opinion, got about 3 into it and said screw that. what really annoys me is the kindle price is astronomical. Legacy was a huge let down for me after the brilliant NJO. Fate actually seemed good but the hardback\kindle thing really pissed me off.

Agree with your previous post on darkside places or powerful\mythical creatures.

I prefer a series to be all hardback or all paperback.. otherwise it looks messy on the shelf

You can get the hardbacks for €14 with free delivery on bookdepository

tro81

well i thought zahn out bound flight and the other one (i forgot its name) that deal with luke and mara finding outbound flight was great.
really expanded on a great character Grand admiral Thrawn.

As regards some of the books that dont add much to the series. some are still a good read. I was very supprised with the courtship of princess liea, and i think it was planet if twilight(the one with the little bugs that bite everyone) was still good.

to be honest i found i jedi great but jedi academy boring, same as kevin j anderson other book dark sabre. Just found he treats his readers with a memory span of a gold fish. continually repeating himself and reminding you.

enjoyed the new jedi order massively

Been picking up loads of books over the year and final got round to picking up the x-wing series. currently on book 3.

Lord Pounder

If you are interested in the prequals try Labyrinth of Evil, Star Wars III Revenge of the Sith and then Dark Lord: Rise of Darth Vader. That's the prequal trilogy that should have been.

Echoing others you can't go wrong with Zahn's work and the X-Wing books are excellent. I felt the Wraith books were better. In all my life I've never laughed out loud reading a book until I read Iron Fist, conversely the same book almost reduced me to tears when my favourite EU character ever died.

Greylor

X-Wing books = Epicness.

Why?
- They are easy to read
- Well written
- Good individual stories for each book
- You get to see characters, factions and groups develop over time, so you get quite attached to the story arcs.
- Wedge "Pilot my X-Wing like a BOSS" Antilles
- Corran Horn as a newbie.
- Has everything from special ops, to major ground combat, to epic space battles, to love stories, to politics....just everything.

Many Bothans died to bring you this information.

The Imperials didn't kill them...I just don't like furries and they were nearby when I was bringing you this information.

thegreengoblin

Just a heads up that the eagerly-anticipated new SW novel Darth Plagueis by James Luceno is out this week. It's getting great reviews already, I can't wait to start it. Hodges Figgis don't have it at the moment but the chap said they should have it within a few days.

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Plagueis-James-Luceno/dp/034551128X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326546287&sr=8-1

xxshebeexx

thegreengoblin wrote: »

Just a heads up that the eagerly-anticipated new SW novel Darth Plagueis by James Luceno is out this week. It's getting great reviews already, I can't wait to start it. Hodges Figgis don't have it at the moment but the chap said they should have it within a few days.

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Plagueis-James-Luceno/dp/034551128X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326546287&sr=8-1

Mine arrived in the post from the Book Depository today.. joy of preordering!

Venom

Darth Plagueisis is one of if not the best SW novels I'v ever read.

Mr. K

thegreengoblin wrote: »

Just a heads up that the eagerly-anticipated new SW novel Darth Plagueis by James Luceno is out this week.

I didn't realise this was back on the cards! I haven't read a SW novel in years...but I might have to check this one out!

marko93

Lads, really want to start reading into the SW world, just ordered the First of the Jedi Academy, I have the Thrawn Triology on the cards aswell, but is there any books(probably a stupid question) that involve a lot of jedi and a lot of sith just going at each other, like with a lot battles and such? Also books with insights in to the Sith and possibly becoming one?
Thanks,
Mark

thegreengoblin

marko93 wrote: »

Lads, really want to start reading into the SW world, just ordered the First of the Jedi Academy, I have the Thrawn Triology on the cards aswell, but is there any books(probably a stupid question) that involve a lot of jedi and a lot of sith just going at each other, like with a lot battles and such? Also books with insights in to the Sith and possibly becoming one?
Thanks,
Mark

If you take a look at Darth Bane: Path of Destruction that should cover both your areas of interest. It covers Bane's rise to becoming a Sith and also features some classic Jedi v Sith battles. If you like that there are two further Bane books. There is also a comic series called Jedi v Sith which can be read as a kind of companion piece. The Bane books are a great launch into the SW novels for someone who hasn't read any of them.

By the way, I presume you are starting out with the Thrawn trilogy before the Jedi Academy books? You have some great reading ahead, I envy you!

AnCapaillMor

marko93 wrote: »

Lads, really want to start reading into the SW world, just ordered the First of the Jedi Academy, I have the Thrawn Triology on the cards aswell, but is there any books(probably a stupid question) that involve a lot of jedi and a lot of sith just going at each other, like with a lot battles and such? Also books with insights in to the Sith and possibly becoming one?
Thanks,
Mark

Start with the thrawn trilogy, then maybe the jedi academy and most definately the x-wing series.

If you can get your hands on them, the tale of the jedi graphic novel series is set during and after the sith wars.

Twigster

Anyone got suggestions where to pick up books around ireland, new or second hand, i keep an eye on adverts and the like but has anyone found anywhere with good value for the books.

I'd agree with the thrawn trilogy and jedi academy to start with, I currently reading the x-wing series, great books, really enjoying them.

tro81

Twigster wrote: »

Anyone got suggestions where to pick up books around ireland, new or second hand, i keep an eye on adverts and the like but has anyone found anywhere with good value for the books.

I'd agree with the thrawn trilogy and jedi academy to start with, I currently reading the x-wing series, great books, really enjoying them.

well i get most of mine when im over in the uk as i find them hard to come by here. Im selling off all the ones i read on adverts myself. But if your ever in dublin city center, chapters on parnel st does have a second hand section upstairs. They usual have a few. there about 4e each.
Other then that charity shops or buy them new in the like of forbidden planet but it'll cost you about 10e a book

thegreengoblin

Big official announcement yesterday for Timothy Zahn's next SW novel, to be released in December. Han Solo, Chewie, Lando...sounds good so far!


http://www.theforce.net/latestnews/story/Zahns_Next_Novel_SW_Scoundrels_144425.asp

thegreengoblin

Finally got round to reading Darth Plagueis. It's one of the best SW books I've had the pleasure of reading. It joins up so many dots and gives us a brilliant insight into the machinations and plans of Darth Plagueis and his apprentice Darth Sidious. While there isn't a huge amount of dramatic tension compared to some other SW novels, we are allowed such a fascinating look at a key period in the SW timeline and that's something to celebrate.

My only complaint is that the book is too short. I felt it could have done with another hundred pages or so but that's just a minor quibble. If you haven't read this book, pick it up now and savour every word and dark deed contained within. You won't be disappointed!

AnCapaillMor

Has anyone continued with Fate of the Jedi? got as far as allies then got pissed off paying hardback prices on tiny books. the kindle prices are still insane.

tro81

AnCapaillMor wrote: »

Has anyone continued with Fate of the Jedi? got as far as allies then got pissed off paying hardback prices on tiny books. the kindle prices are still insane.

got 3 of those books on adverts for sale

Bubblefett

I just read the first of the Bane books and I loved it, especially the references to Revan throughout (Big KOTOR fan). Tracking down the next book now.

Just wondering, what's the selection like for SW books on kindle and the likes? Book shops nearly me have a tiny selection and I'm impacient when it comes to ordering online. Is it only the newer titles available or is there a decent selection of older titles? I've barely made a dent into the world of star wars books so would be reading back a bit.