New Star Wars EU books

geecee

Hi All
I seem to remember there being a discussion about a book that would fill in all the gaps between ROTJ and TFA was due out around now...

But I can't remember its title. It was due to be official Post Disney EU canon.
Anyone point me in the right direction for some light xmas reading?

Also is there a book version of TFA? I remember reading the Book version of ROTJ the same time as it cam out (all those years ago!)

Mr. K

The main one is Aftermath, which takes place in the months after ROTJ. Here's my review.

However, the best "Journey to The Force Awakens" novel is Lost Stars. It's marketed as a Young Adult novel, but it's much better than you'd expect. It explains a certain crashed ship on Jakku too.

Finally, there's Marvel's Shattered Empire comic series. There are four issues and they follow the parents of a TFA character.

The novelization of TFA is out today digitally and the physical novel is out on January 5th.

geecee

Thanks Mr. K - more than I had hoped for!
Much appreciated!

thegreengoblin

Mr. K wrote: »

The main one is Aftermath, which takes place in the months after ROTJ. Here's my review.

However, the best "Journey to The Force Awakens" novel is Lost Stars. It's marketed as a Young Adult novel, but it's much better than you'd expect. It explains a certain crashed ship on Jakku too.

Finally, there's Marvel's Shattered Empire comic series. There are four issues and they follow the parents of a TFA character.

The novelization of TFA is out today digitally and the physical novel is out on January 5th.

Thanks for the tip on 'Lost Stars', I'll have to check it out.

Have to say I strongly disagree with your opinion of 'Aftermath'. I found Wendig's style totally off-putting and jarring. I was really looking forward to the book as it was supposed to be a significant story in the new canon and even if there was something interesting in there it got lost amid Wendig's 'wacky' style.

I'm aware that it's the first in a trilogy but I think he falls so far short of the standard required that I wouldn't have high hopes for the other two.

TerrorFirmer

I read Shattered Empire and it was an embarrassment - I'm shocked that QA would let it through in that state given it's such an important publication. Art is good but the writing is like a 12 years old fan fiction. Really disappointing.

alex.middleton

agree with above poster that lost stars is by far the most enjoyable read even if apparently aimed at a younger audience

cowboyBuilder

I was going to start a thread actually on this but may as well ask here, I've never read a star wars novel, but can someone recommend a good one, I'm not too bothered about the timeline - but approved Disney canon would be best - presumably all the pre-prequel stuff is still canon ?

I was thinking of the Darth Plagueis one ? is that a good read ?

looks really good ..http://www.bookdepository.com/Darth-Plagueis-Star-Wars-James-Luceno/9780345511294

thegreengoblin

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

I was going to start a thread actually on this but may as well ask here, I've never read a star wars novel, but can someone recommend a good one, I'm not too bothered about the timeline - but approved Disney canon would be best - presumably all the pre-prequel stuff is still canon ?

I was thinking of the Darth Plagueis one ? is that a good read ?

looks really good ..http://www.bookdepository.com/Darth-Plagueis-Star-Wars-James-Luceno/9780345511294

Darth Plagueis is a brilliant book, I highly recommend it. James Luceno has a real understanding of the Star Wars universe and knows how to tell a story. He also wrote 'Dark Lord: the Rise of Darth Vader' which gives you a fascinating glimpse into Vader's mind as he struggles to shake off his old self. I'm currently reading his 'Tarkin' novel which is excellent also.

There aren't that many 'new canon' books around so far. And even if they are no longer canon there are some some fantastic EU books that are well worth a read. Timothy Zahn's 'Heir to the Empire' trilogy is superb. It may be non-canon now but a good book is a good book. Same goes for the Han Solo trilogy by A.C. Crispin, very enjoyable.

cowboyBuilder

thegreengoblin wrote: »

Darth Plagueis is a brilliant book, I highly recommend it. James Luceno has a real understanding of the Star Wars universe and knows how to tell a story. He also wrote 'Dark Lord: the Rise of Darth Vader' which gives you a fascinating glimpse into Vader's mind as he struggles to shake off his old self. I'm currently reading his 'Tarkin' novel which is excellent also.

There aren't that many 'new canon' books around so far. And even if they are no longer canon there are some some fantastic EU books that are well worth a read. Timothy Zahn's 'Heir to the Empire' trilogy is superb. It may be non-canon now but a good book is a good book. Same goes for the Han Solo trilogy by A.C. Crispin, very enjoyable.

Thanks a lot , I have it ordered, but surely it still must be canon ? since its before the prequels.

I´ll check out the others by Luceno

thegreengoblin

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

Thanks a lot , I have it ordered, but surely it still must be canon ? since its before the prequels.

I´ll check out the others by Luceno

Yeah, the non-canon books I was referring to was the Heir to the Empire trilogy. Luceno also wrote Labyrinth of Evil, which is set just before Revenge of the Sith and is another fine read. I'm no fan of the prequels on film but some of the fiction from that era is really good.

cowboyBuilder

Must say I'm really really enjoying the Darth Plageuis book by James Luceno.

I will for sure check his others out.

1st time I´ve ever read a Star Wars book too

Any other authors to recommend ? or stay away from

cowboyBuilder

I'm also looking at

* Cloak of Deception
* Labyrinth of Evil
* Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader

All by James Luceno, he has a great writing style (at least for Darth Plageuis)
And these are set at a time that I like in the EU.

chrislad

I've been working my way through the EU now. I read a lot, if not all, of the previous EU, so I had a fairly good knowledge of the previous universe.

Firstly, the comics. The ongoings, Star Wars and Darth Vader, are fantastic. Really, really great reads, though the overall plot can be a bit slow. Some fantastic scenes like Vader learning about Padme etc. The side characters, particularly the droids with Vader, are fantastic and a lot of fun. The other comics, Lando, Princess Leia, Shattered Empire, Chewbacca are fairly good too, especially Lando. The only series that is falling a bit flat for me is Kanan.

Novel wise, I'm in the middle of Aftermath at the moment. I don't like the writing style at all. It's obtuse, lacking focus, and it's introducing too many, different characters, too soon, with little to know background. I'm 8 or 9 chapters in, and it's just going to be one of those I have to get through, of which there were many in the previous EU so that experience helps!! The Lords of the Sith book was very good, very enjoyable and had some great scenes between the Emperor and Vader, as well as tying back into the Clone Wars series, as well as looking forward to the Rebels series. The Kanan book, A New Dawn, was quite good too. A bit slow in places, but an otherwise decent read. I've not read Dark Disciple yet, as I want to get through the Clone Wars show first and I'm only on Season 3 in that.

But, as was already said, Lost Stars, the "young adult" book, so far, has been the best read of the new EU. Yeah, it's a star crossed lovers story, but the characters are really fleshed out, especially the two leads. There's cameos with main characters, like Tarkin, Vader etc, and it goes all the way from about 15 years before Yavin to the Battle of Jakku so a fairly wide spread of events. It's a really easy read, it's gripping, and very well written, and I'm delighted that the new book out in May is being written by the same author, Claudia Grey.

As for the previous EU, there's a lot of good/bad stuff. Going in fresh, I don't know if I'd bother, as there's a lot of things in the EU that look like they influenced current events (Han and Leias, as well as Lukes, children, for example). The Rogue Squadron series of books are really good, but that era may be fleshed out fresh again when Rogue One is released this year.

Gbear

chrislad wrote: »

Firstly, the comics. The ongoings, Star Wars and Darth Vader, are fantastic. Really, really great reads, though the overall plot can be a bit slow. Some fantastic scenes like Vader learning about Padme etc. The side characters, particularly the droids with Vader, are fantastic and a lot of fun. The other comics, Lando, Princess Leia, Shattered Empire, Chewbacca are fairly good too, especially Lando. The only series that is falling a bit flat for me is Kanan.

How do you go about getting them?

chrislad wrote: »

I've not read Dark Disciple yet, as I want to get through the Clone Wars show first and I'm only on Season 3 in that.

Something to look forward to.
I thought it was excellent. The best of the bunch so far IMO.

cowboyBuilder

So authors are writing in their own EU, or do they sync ?

For example does James Luceno's Dark Lord trilogy match with Paul S. Kemp's Lords of the Sith ?

Gbear

cowboyBuilder wrote: »

So authors are writing in their own EU, or do they sync ?

For example does James Luceno's Dark Lord trilogy match with Paul S. Kemp's Lords of the Sith ?

Luceno's Dark Lord books are no longer canon.

However, anything that hasn't been contradicted hasn't been binned entirely just yet.

It's officially "Legends" but as time goes on bits and pieces of what were in that category are being recanonised by the newer stuff.

cowboyBuilder

Gbear wrote: »

Luceno's Dark Lord books are no longer canon.

However, anything that hasn't been contradicted hasn't been binned entirely just yet.

It's officially "Legends" but as time goes on bits and pieces of what were in that category are being recanonised by the newer stuff.

ah bollix!

I was really enjoying Darth Plageuis ...

chrislad

Gbear wrote: »

How do you go about getting them?



Something to look forward to.
I thought it was excellent. The best of the bunch so far IMO.

I get them monthly from Big Bang Comics in Dublin. They offer a postal service. At this stage, there's a few trades out collecting a number of issues. Most of the non ongoing are only 5 issues so will be one trade only.

thegreengoblin

There's also Sub City comics on Dame Street and Forbidden Planet beside the Ha'penny bridge. But most book shops will have the trades in stock.

I'm really enjoying what Marvel are doing with Star Wars. I collected pretty much every Dark Horse comic, going all the way back to Dark Empire in 1991 and they did a mostly excellent job so I was initially a bit skeptical about the move to Marvel but there was no need to be.

The ongoing Star Wars series is consistently superb. The 'Vader Down' story was fantastic, with issue 1 possibly my favourite single Star Wars issue ever. I didn't think the Kanan series would be great but it's turned out to be quite good, some nice flashback stuff to the pre-Order 66 era.

chrislad

Wow, Aftermath is really turning into a grind. I'm really struggling with it. I flew through Lords of the Sith, Lost Stars and even that Heir of the Jedi, which wasn't great, but this one just is not grabbing me, and worse, it's the first of a trilogy!

Varik

chrislad wrote: »

Wow, Aftermath is really turning into a grind. I'm really struggling with it. I flew through Lords of the Sith, Lost Stars and even that Heir of the Jedi, which wasn't great, but this one just is not grabbing me, and worse, it's the first of a trilogy!

They all have the 1 thing I look for in a Star wars book, and that's no abeloth.

chrislad

Varik wrote: »

They all have the 1 thing I look for in a Star wars book, and that's no abeloth.

Yeah, the EU really went crazy after the whole Legacy of the Force series, which I enjoyed as a whole.

chrislad

Aftermath picked up towards the end. The first half was a slog, but it picked up towards the ends and sowed enough seeds of interest to make me look forward to the next one.

I could do without the whole 'dead-not dead-dead-not dead again' style of plot though

david75

Has anyone read Bloodline and Princess Leia of Alderaan? Both by Claudia grey. Really really good reads about Leia at two very different points in her life. Definitely worth your time.

Also the noverlisation of The Last Jedi is out this week and it’s ‘expanded’ on what’s in the film. Can’t wait to get stuck into it.

chrislad

I've read Bloodlines. Thought it was fairly okay. I've a bit behind on the books at the moment.

Rogue One (Novelization)
Rebel Rising
Leia, Princess of Alderaan
Phasma

All on my backlog, but I'm reading the Dark Tower at the moment. There's 4 more, I think, by the end of June too.

david75

I haven’t read any of those others you listed. Must look them up.
The Legends of Luke Skywalker has a ton of great stuff in it and some crazy stuff. Worth a read.
Tarkin and Lords of the Sith were both really good.
Aftermath I just gave up. Such a chore.

david75

Also dark disciple was good but I did th audiobook of perfect weapon and it’s really really good as it ties into TFA.

david75

Just finished the audiobook of the last Jedi noverlisation. Really good. Expanded scenes mainly between Rey and Luke that really flesh out their time on the island. Some fairly shocking revelations and cool insights throughout.
Well worth checking out.

david75

Was totally unaware of this one. Weapon of a Jedi. All about Luke after the battle of Yavin and training himself as a Jedi and finding a Jedi temple. It’s by Jason Fry. Apparently it really captures Luke well and although it’s YA all the other YA books like Lost Stars have been excellent so gonna pick this one up.

wp_rathead

New Thrawn book coming out next summer

"If I were to serve the Empire, you would command my allegiance.”

Such was the promise Grand Admiral Thrawn made to Emperor Palpatine at their first meeting. Since then, Thrawn has been one of the Empire’s most effective instruments, pursuing its enemies to the very edges of the known galaxy. But as keen a weapon as Thrawn has become, the Emperor dreams of something far more destructive.

Now, as Thrawn’s TIE defender program is halted in favor of Director Krennic’s secret Death Star project, he realizes that the balance of power in the Empire is measured by more than just military acumen or tactical efficiency. Even the greatest intellect can hardly compete with the power to annihilate entire planets.

As Thrawn works to secure his place in the Imperial hierarchy, his former protégé Eli Vanto returns with a dire warning about Thrawn’s homeworld. Thrawn’s mastery of strategy must guide him through an impossible choice: duty to the Chiss Ascendancy, or fealty to the Empire he has sworn to serve. Even if the right choice means committing treason.

Gonna be set during Season 4 of Rebels

thegreengoblin

Does anyone ever listen to the audiobooks? I signed up for a free trial on Audible recently and downloaded Thrawn: Alliances ,narrated by Marc Thompson. I had been meaning to buy the novel but I thought I'd give the audiobook a try. It's wrecking my head.

It can't be an easy job having to voice several characters so I don't want to be too harsh on Thompson. But his young Anakin makes me want to scream. I know young Anakin is meant to be brattish and moody but I had enough of it in the prequels. Thrawn's voice is also incredibly annoying. I hadn't heard him in Rebels so I wasn't even familiar with what he's supposed to sound like but it's so distracting. And as for Padme...well, she's so hilariously awful that she sounds like a pantomime character.

I'm not sure I can actually listen to it anymore so maybe I'll go back to reading it with my own eyes!

chrislad

I actually bought it, got about halfway through it, and refunded it. I didn't actually like the story much, which only made the voice acting worse. I've really gone off the novels in this new EU. I think I'm 4 behind at the moment.

thegreengoblin

Yeah, they've definitely been a disappointment lately. I'm nearly finished Last Shot, the Han and Lando book, and it's been a real struggle. I miss reading about Luke but it seems they're not allowed near him for the moment.

wp_rathead

thegreengoblin wrote: »

Yeah, they've definitely been a disappointment lately. I'm nearly finished Last Shot, the Han and Lando book, and it's been a real struggle. I miss reading about Luke but it seems they're not allowed near him for the moment.

I really liked "The Legends of Luke Skywalker" that came out - not a full novel as such but should feed your Luke cravings

thegreengoblin

Isn't that aimed at a YA readership? Not that it's a bad thing, just that I'd be more into something with a bit more substance to it.

Going back to Last Shot, it's easily the worst book I've read since the reboot of the EU. The constant jumping back and forth in the timeline is incredibly annoying. I think I'll just start from Heir to the Empire and make my way through the good books all over again!

wp_rathead

thegreengoblin wrote: »

Isn't that aimed at a YA readership? Not that it's a bad thing, just that I'd be more into something with a bit more substance to it.

Going back to Last Shot, it's easily the worst book I've read since the reboot of the EU. The constant jumping back and forth in the timeline is incredibly annoying. I think I'll just start from Heir to the Empire and make my way through the good books all over again!

It is, but alot of the YA books have been the most enjoyable I've found
Lost Stars, Asohka, Leia: Princesses of Alderaan & Rebel Rising are all YA but great reads

thegreengoblin

This looks interesting. But 'Alphabet Squadron' sounds a little lame!

http://www.theforce.net/story/front/Star_Wars_Alphabet_Squadron_Will_Be_A_Trilogy_182898.asp

chrislad

wp_rathead wrote: »

It is, but alot of the YA books have been the most enjoyable I've found
Lost Stars, Asohka, Leia: Princesses of Alderaan & Rebel Rising are all YA but great reads

Agreed. Lost Stars was actually a really enjoyable read, and the story went through a big chunk of the Star Wars timeline, from pre ANH to post RotJ.

Ashoka was also pretty enjoyable if you know the character in advance.

Hector Savage

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Master-Apprentice-Star-Wars-Claudia/dp/1780899882/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=star+wars+books&qid=1555415606&s=gateway&sr=8-1

Will this be considered Canon ?

I like them going back to this time in the whole SW universe.

Hector Savage

thegreengoblin wrote: »

Does anyone ever listen to the audiobooks? I signed up for a free trial on Audible recently and downloaded Thrawn: Alliances ,narrated by Marc Thompson. I had been meaning to buy the novel but I thought I'd give the audiobook a try. It's wrecking my head.

It can't be an easy job having to voice several characters so I don't want to be too harsh on Thompson. But his young Anakin makes me want to scream. I know young Anakin is meant to be brattish and moody but I had enough of it in the prequels. Thrawn's voice is also incredibly annoying. I hadn't heard him in Rebels so I wasn't even familiar with what he's supposed to sound like but it's so distracting. And as for Padme...well, she's so hilariously awful that she sounds like a pantomime character.

I'm not sure I can actually listen to it anymore so maybe I'll go back to reading it with my own eyes!

Speaking of audiobooks, the Darth Plageuis one is really cool, I really like the voice of the reader on that one, and it has some mood music and sound effects - not too much, but just enough to really up the atmosphere.

I did read that book a few years ago, but I have been listening to the audiobook lately - it's great.

It's on YouTube, don't wanna link, just in case of copyright

thegreengoblin

Dark Disciple was one of the books that slipped away from me after it was released, just caught it recently on audio. Great story although I did find the idea of the Jedi Council authorising assassination quite laughable! But Quinlan Vos is a great character.

wp_rathead

thegreengoblin wrote: »

Dark Disciple was one of the books that slipped away from me after it was released, just caught it recently on audio. Great story although I did find the idea of the Jedi Council authorising assassination quite laughable! But Quinlan Vos is a great character.

would have been a brilliant Clone Wars arc

wp_rathead

anyone got their hands on Alphabet Squad yet?
i've heard good things about it