Lit Most important Star Wars novels

Hello! I am new to the board, sorry if the question has already been asked.

There is hundreds of books in the EU and I won't read them all. What I would like to read are the most important, relevant, significant novels in the EU. The prequel trilogy and the original trilogy is the core of star wars. So what other novels are vital to the EU?

For example, it seems that Cloak of Deception would be really important, since The Phantom Menace drops you in the middle of a complex plot, and Cloak of Deception helps you understand the movie. Darth Maul's Shadow Hunter on the other hand seems like a side story. Same thing with Courtship of princess Leia, while it appears important because it tells the story of Han and Leia' marriage, there is really no need for this story. At the end of Return of the Jedi, they end up together, and in the Thrawn Trilogy, they are married. It's an obvious story arc that don't require explanation.

Also Thrawn trilogy is vital, but Shadows of Mindor and Shadows of the Empire I would qualify as "The Many adventures of Luke Skywalker".

And Shatterpoint, which is said to be a great novel, doesn't seem really important. It's just some more info on a secondary character of the prequel trilogy.

So can you help me?

Thanks!​

 

Well, if you don't count COPL as important, then the only really "important" novels besides the Thrawn trilogy would probably be the Jedi Academy trilogy, because it has Luke establishing the New Jedi Order, the Hand of Thrawn duology, because it has Luke getting engaged. After that I would argue the entire NJO but if you don't want to read all of that, then I really don't know what to tell you. Whatever you do, avoid LOTF and FOTJ like the plague. As to pre-ROTJ novels, there's nothing really essential. But you need to read Kenobi and Yoda: Dark Rendezvous even if they aren't that "important."

 

Shatterpoint, Kenobi, YDR, and Shadows of Mindor are important because they are character studies.

 

I second that; especially the NJO, I believe it's the highpoint of the EU and the perfect end to the saga. I'd also say Labyrinth of Evil is essential. It leads right into the start of Episode 3 and has a great portrayal of Anakin and Obi-Wan's relationship. Also, you should check out Shatterpoint. While it isn't essential, it's one of the better written books. The characterization of Mace Windu is npt to be missed. In addition, I'd say you need to read the ROTS novelization. It might not be EU, but it is a vast improvement upon the movie. Again Anakin and Obi-Wan are handled well. The former's fall has added depth and his motivations are clearer. In addition, every other character is more fleshed out. It gives so much lofe to the movie. Lastly, I'd suggest reading I Jedi. It briefly covers the start of the new Jedi Order. This event is the focus of the Jedi Academy Trilogy, but those books aren't that good. I Jedi, will give you a glimpse of this, but it is a superior book. Sadly, you see the beginning of a plot from the JAT, but not it's conclusion. Although, it's pretty obvious and I Jedi breaks off for a more interesting conflict. Thus it's not to great of a loss. The book is also the only 1st person Star Wars novel, which makes it even more noteworthy.

There are some other, nonessential books I'd highly recommend. Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor is written in the spirit of the movies. Also, the Medstar Duology is a fun read. They aren't recommended often, but they are some of my favorites. You may also want to check out the X-wing series. They are fairly good and include some important battles. The first four and the eighth introduced the protagonist for I Jedi, so they're important in that respect. But the other four have more interesting characters in general.

 

Han Solo trilogy by AC Crispin!

 

Whatever you don't do skip Jedi Trial, it's about Anakin Skywalker's Jedi Trial, it's MAJORLY important and it's one of the best written books in the EU.

 

Actually I enjoy Jedi Trial unlike most people, but only because it's a war story that was still good enough for me to read at 13 or so. That's actually probably why I like it so much; because I read it when I was young and thus didn't realize how silly it was, literary-wise. It's a fun story, to be sure. But even the MedStar books are better, and Shatterpoint and Dark Rendezvous blow it out of the water. In fact, JT is probably the worst part of the Clone Wars marketing push of 2002-2005. But it's still fun to me.

 

I agree. I always forget to suggest these, but they are another of my favorites. Great books with great characterizations. It's bathe best portrayal of Han in the Eu.

That's mean lol . The book is important, but terribly written. It's the worst book I've read. I only finished it because I read it in one day. After a couple hours you become numb to the writing
Until then, it is painful.

 

What about Dooku and Grievous? They just appear out of nowhere in the movies. I always felt like I missed an episode somewhere.

 

Ugh, good job running with the joke, guys. That lasted all of twenty minutes.

Imagine how funny it would have been if this guy actually bought Jedi Trial, read it and came back here to scream at me. Then he would have been officially "in", it would have been his initiation into the EU and the forum.

Or he would have quit the EU.

Either way, potential hysterics ruined.

 

Yoda: Dark Rendezvous is good for Dooku, and I can't believe no one's mentioned Darth Plagueis yet (unless I've missed it); that expounds on both Palpatine and Dooku. As for Grievous, his backstory is expounded upon in Labyrinth of Evil.

 

Ok, thanks. That's mostly what I meant by important. In the Phantom Menace, you are dropped in the middle of things, and there is some needed explanation. In AOTC, Dooku appears a bit out of nowhere. In ROTS, it's Grievous. So I felt there was a lot of important explanation missing from those movies.

 

For a good intro to Greivous I strongly suggest Labyrinth of Evil. Ans yes Plaguis is amazing and will go along great with Cloak of Deception.

 

For Grievous, watch the microseries (and perhaps read his comic). That's all the intro for him you'll ever need.

 

I would say the Thrawn trilogy is the most important group to start out with if all you've ever done is seen the movies. Introduces a great character and deals with galaxy several years after ROTJ. There are books that come before it that are important, sure, but I believe these provide a good foundation to launch into the EU.

 

Probably biased, but I'll say my two favorites. Darth Plagueis and Revenge of the Sith.

Also this is probably an unpopular opinion, but Attack of the Clones. You get a much a better view of whats going on in the characters' heads. Also backstory and other important that did not make the movie or were cut.

 

So here's the list of main events novel so far:
Darth Plagueis
Cloak of deception
The Phantom Menace
Attack of the clones
Yoda: Dark Rendez-vous
Labyrinth of evil
Revenge of the Sith

A new hope
The empire strikes back
Return of the Jedi

Thrawn Trilogy
Jedi Academy
Hand of Thrawn duology
New Jedi Order
Legacy of the force.

 

Ignore LotF and FotJ, well really all of the main novels from after the NJO, otherwise, you will be disappointed.

 

So true. On the other hand, if you end with the NJO you'll have the most satisfying conclusion for the saga. It's amazing.

 

I have to wonder how fans would react to a hypothetical EU reboot if The Unifying Force was the last novel published in the continuity?

 

If we didn't get more books after 2003 until now I would have been ticked. Or are we talking about a reboot back then? It wasn't until recently that I would settle for TUF as the end point. Still an optimist that someone (Not Denning, and Crucible doesn't count) will wrap up the books after that though. No idea how.

 

Hypothetically say NJO was being published a decade later than it was and The Unifying Force was the last novel published last November 2013.

And I'll reframe my hypothetical by saying the circumstances are otherwise identical, except TUF was the last post-ROTJ instead of Crucible, but were still getting the stuff we are currently getting like the Maul novel.

 

Ok, legacy of the force removed from them list

 

My recommendations (and I'm scaling this back somewhat, because I'd recommend stuff like Shadow Hunter ordinarily):

Darth Plagueis
Cloak of Deception
Rogue Planet
Shatterpoint
Yoda: Dark Rendezvous
Labyrinth of Evil
Revenge of the Sith
Shadows of the Empire
Return of the Jedi
Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
Heir to the Empire
Dark Force Rising
The Last Command
Dark Empire
Specter of the Past
Vision of the Future
The NJO

This is the bare bones list that arises out of my viewing of Star Wars as two overlapping stories: the film saga and its brief epilogue in the EU, and the Yuuzhan Vong invasion.

 

This is a great list. Outbound Flight may be a good addition because of its connection with the Thrawn Trilogy and the appearance of Anakin and Obi-Wan. Also, it should include either I Jedi or the Jedi Academy Trilogy; mainly because of the foundation of the new Jedi Order. That's a pretty important event in the saga.

The hard thing about making these lists is that everyone has a different view of what books define and add a worthwhile expansion to the universe. There are some common ones like Thrawn, the Yoda novel, and Cloak of Deception. And some are widely disliked like LOTF. But overall opinions will vary. So while we can provide you with a good starting point it would be a good idea to explore the EU eventually. With DigitalMessiah's list you'll have a fantastic starting point and I think you'll find that it includes most if not everything you're looking for. Good luck!