Star Wars Books

[DisneyFanatic411]

Since Disney has just announced that Star Wars land will be coming in the near future, I would like to learn more about Star Wars. I know there are a lot of books. What book should I start with? Is there a specific order???

 

[BrianL]

Well, that's a complicated question. With the Disney acquisition of Lucasfilm, all the previous "Expanded Universe" books are no longer considered canon. Of course, some of these books are very good and well regarded, but they needed to free up the post ROTJ timeline so they could tell their own story. These older titles are now referred to as "Star Wars Legends" and any newly released copies will contain this branding.

There really haven't been a lot of new books released under the new canon yet. The new Marvel comics are considered canon and take place at various points in the timeline, with the main book happening after "A New Hope" (the original Star Wars film). The big push coming is "Shattered Empire" which will have numerous comics and novels that take place after "Return of the Jedi" and before Episode 7, to lay the groundwork for the new movie.

Honestly, everything you "need" to know is contained in the 6 movies. If you are into animation, Clone Wars and Rebels are also canon and quite entertaining (all of Clone Wars is available on Netflix I believe). There's plenty of Star Wars out there to absorb, so have fun!

 

[BDL]

Unfortunately, Lucusfilms has said that the books of the expanded universe (EU for short), may non be canon any more. But that's not to say that there are some really good reads. I'll list some of my favorites:

Thrawn Trilogy (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, Last Command) by Timothy Zahn - This is arguably the gold standard of the EU. It was also the run the re-invigorated interest in the Star Wars universe.

X-Wing: Rogue Squadron (Rogue Squadron, Wedge's Gamble, Krytos Trap, Isard's Revenge, Starfighters of Adumar) by Michael Stackpole - These books are where the expanded universe, really gets expanded. There is very little focus on the Big 3 (Luke, Leia, Han). It is about Wedge rebuilding Rogue Squadron and introducing new/lesser know characters and species.

X-Wing: Wraith Squadron (Wraith Squadron, Iron Fist, Solo Command, Mercy Kill) by Aaron Allston - This series is my favorite. It is about a unit that Wedge puts together to act as both a starfighter squadron and commando unit. You really get into the characters, their back stories and their interactions. The late Aaron Allston does an amazing job. You may wish to avoid Mercy Kill. It takes place in a future scenario and you may have to be really invested in the previous books to enjoy.

Hand of Judgement (Allegiance, Choices of One) by Timothy Zahn - I just started getting into this series, and I really like it. It is heavy on the action and morality. It's about a squad of stormtroopers that go AWOL after failing to comply with an immoral order. This series is almost right after Star Wars: A New Hope. It includes 1 of Mara Jade's (very prominent character in the EU) 1st missions for the Emperor.

Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno - This takes place immediately after Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Shows the new status of the galaxy, the hunting of the Jedi, and the inner workings of Anakin now that he is encased in the Darth Vader suit.

Those are my picks. I'm sure others will add their favorites.

 

[Chaitali]

I agree with BrianL that the best place to go after the movies are the animated series. The Clone Wars had 5 seasons I think. And the current series, Rebels, finished its first season and should be starting season 2 soon. Most of the books are no longer considered canon but some of the new ones are still canon. Some of the books that are still canon (Dark Disciple, Lords of the Sith, and A New Dawn) I feel like will be more enjoyable after having seen the animated series.

 

[supernova]

Not sure what else you'd be looking to "learn". For the upcoming lands, the movies should suffice. Outside of the films, the rest is just random author's imaginations.

 

[DisneyFanatic411]

I really have not had a major interest in Star Wars and have not read nor saw any movies and would like to know a lot about Star Wars. I mean I at least know the basics of Star Wars.

 

[BrianL]

Okay, so in that case I would start by watching all 6 films, and I would probably watch in order of release (i.e. start with Episodes IV - VI and then watch I - III). That should really tell you everything. If you're enjoying them and the overall universe then seek out some books, etc.

 

[BDL]

Okay, so in that case I would start by watching all 6 films, and I would probably watch in order of release (i.e. start with Episodes IV - VI and then watch I - III). That should really tell you everything. If you're enjoying them and the overall universe then seek out some books, etc.

I agree.

I have actually had some very HEATED arguments about the way to see the series. For me, it's IV, V, VI, then I, II, III.

 

[BrianL]

^ For a first timer I think it has to be that way. These days, I like to go 1-6 but I've seen them all so many times at this point it doesn't have an impact on me. Empire completely loses its punch to a newcomer if you have watched the prequels.

 

[supernova]

Heck, if the poor guy starts off with episode 1, he'll never bother making it to 2 much less 4.

 

[Sith]

Heck, if the poor guy starts off with episode 1, he'll never bother making it to 2 much less 4.

That's definitely a possibility. Plus, the prequels have tons of spoilers that would really lessen the experience for an Original Trilogy first timer.

 

[supernova]

That's definitely a possibility. Plus, the prequels have tons of spoilers that would really lessen the experience for an Original Trilogy first timer.

Parts 1 and 2 have enough Ambien in them that he'll sleep right through to Episode 7's release.

 

[BrianL]

OP, try to give all the movies a shot. The prequels are not nearly as bad as their reputation. You may or may not like them, but try to go in without any preconceived notions. I'd still watch the Original Trilogy first.

 

[supernova]

OP, try to give all the movies a shot. The prequels are not nearly as bad as their reputation. You may or may not like them, but try to go in without any preconceived notions. I'd still watch the Original Trilogy first.

If somone told me thirty years ago that one day, the Episode II would have a romantic picnic scene in it, I'd have told them they were nuts. ***.

 

[JRawkSteady]

Whether Disney recognizes the Star Wars novels as canon or not means nothing to me, personally. I still own all the novels (even the horrendous ones) and they will always make up a great expanded story of the Star Wars Universe. If the films from now on don't coincide with the books, I'm not going to complain, because I understand their stance...but I find it so odd how the public could just disregard everything they have read in the past just because the new company says to. Please.

Furthermore, The Old Republic MMORPG is still running in the hands of Disney...so does that mean it's now canon? Or because it was created before Disney acquired it, is it not? Well if the latter is the case, than Disney is not telling the truth when they say that moving forward everything created will be part of the "official" canon. They just released a huge expansion of SWTOR - so that was clearly created by Disney.

I guess my extremely long-winded point is that there are several books and games that are not "officially" part of the canon anymore, but they are phenomenal in their own respect. The Thrawn Trilogy, The Han Solo Trilogy (Paradise Snare, The Hutt Gambit and Rebel Dawn), The Darth Bane Trilogy, and one of my personal favorites, The Death Star novel are some of my favorites.

 

[BrianL]

I think, in reference to the OP's statement that they wanted to learn about Star Wars to get an idea of what the new attractions will be like, then sticking to the canon is the best way to do that. It certainly doesn't matter if Disney recognizes the old EU or not as far as one's personal enjoyment of it goes. They're still great stories (some of them anyway) and still exist as like a parallel universe. They are still publishing some of those older books, just with Legends labeling. There's no reason anyone should disregard them, but they're more for the "advanced" Star Wars fan, not someone rather new to the franchise.

 

[TheTexasKid]

I'd stick with the books that are "canon." So far, there are 7 of 'em and counting.

Dark Disciple
which follows
The Clone Wars

Lords of the Sith
Tarkin
A New Dawn
which follow
Revenge of the Sith

Heir to the Jedi
Battlefront : the Twilight Company
which follow
A New Hope

and

Aftermath
which follows Return of the Jedi

So far, I've read only "A New Dawn," excerpts from "Dark Disciple" and "Battlefront : the Twilight Company," and I am 41 p. into "Tarkin," but . . .?! they all so far have seem to be extremely well written.

Christie Golden. The writer of "Dark Disciple," I know her writings from her days of writing fantasy horror, and (IMHO) she's one of the best writers out there.

The only problem, so far, I have found is the villains, including Tarkin, are far more interesting than the heroes.

There is also a series of "canon" comic books from Marvel Comics. So far, there appears to be a dozen titles in the series, featuring . . .

Darth Vader
Kanan
Lando
Princess Leia
etc.

So far, I have yet to read any of those, but . . .?! I'd be interested in seeing whether they are as good as the earliest Star Wars comic books.

Whatever you choose to read. Enjoy!

 

[Sith]

The only problem, so far, I have found is the villains, including Tarkin, are far more interesting than the heroes.

Agreed.

 

[ChrisLyne]

Like others have said, start with the movies and go from there. If you enjoy the films give Clone Wars and Rebels a try.

I've only read 2 of the new canon books (A New Dawn, the prequel to Rebels, and Dark Disciple which was 8 u produced season 7/8 episodes from Clone Wars) but both were enjoyable reads.

The best Star Wars books, in my opinion, are the New Jedi Order. It's 19 books so it has some ups and downs but overall it's a brilliant series, just keep in mind it's no longer canon and is likely VERY different to what Disney is going to do with the Sequel Trilogy. And if you enjoy it, don't under any circumstances read the follow on novels, they only ruin it.

Other than that anything with Matthew Stover's name on it is a great read (so Shatterpoint, the Revenge of the Sith adaptation which was better than the film, Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, and the New Jedi Order novel Traitor)

 

[Xenith22]

And if you enjoy it, don't under any circumstances read thell follow on novels, they only ruin it.

So much this....Legacy of the Force was just a hideous recycle of the prequels set in the post NJO universe (which can be partly explained by the fact that it was originally intended to occur in the prequel timeline...but then it was stupidly decided to move it up in the timeline for more drama. Instead it just meant having to essentially force Galactic War related events to happen identically to the first time but with different characters. (90% of the characters created for it seemingly existed solely to be cannon fodder...get attached to none of them) Now combine that with the story of an character going down the road to becoming a full psychotic Sith to mirror the Anakin story from the prequels only with even dumber reasoning for the turn (although to be fair this plot actually started in the trainwreck known as the Dark Nest Trilogy) with a heavy dash of plot inconsistency, and throw in that one of the writers had an EXTREME fetish for Mandalorians So incredibly stupid...and it only went downhill from there with Fate of the Jedi (aka everyone makes as many stupid decisions as possible + inconsistently written evil people-eating shape shifting Oogie Boogie Force goddess + an absurdly depressing ending which implies that things will only get worse and there will never be an happily ever after for any of the characters we care about ever.) The lone exception was the final X-Wing series book Mercy Kill...which thankfully stands on its own and basically does not require reading any of the other FotJ dreck to understand and it even amazingly acknowledges the aftermath of the NJO series which was basically just glossed over by the rest of LotF and FotJ.

Really though I would avoid reading any of the the non-canon post RotJ stuff until after you've seen the new movies. That way you will be able to go into the new stuff with an fully open mind, and be able to better enjoy it without personally comparing plot and characters to the likes of the Zahn's Admiral Thrawn trilogy (which was indeed a fantastic continuation of the original trilogy.) among other now non-canon material. Because yeah I know for a fact when I see the first movie I'm absolutely going to be comparing characters to their former counterparts, mourning stupid things like any indication of the main characters having kids that aren't named Jacen/Jaina/Anakin/Ben or Luke getting an inevitable love interest that is not Mara Jade, and just wondering what could have been had certain plot element been retained from the books which in the end is all just unfortunately likely to effect my ability to fully love the new movies on first viewing no matter how good they are.