Jeff_Ferguson posted:but it must have been a dream, else we'd have the next issue by now, wouldn't we? Yeah, I'm going with dream.
Cash_Fendar posted:I picked up the first Empire TPB kind of as an impulse buy a couple of days ago. I have'nt gotten around to reading any of it yet. Is it worth the time? I have the first Rebellion TPB too. I read that first not knowing that Empire actually turns into Rebellion or something like that.
The2ndQuest posted:Jeff_Ferguson posted:but it must have been a dream, else we'd have the next issue by now, wouldn't we? Yeah, I'm going with dream. Next issue will be out next week, I believe. Cash_Fendar posted:I picked up the first Empire TPB kind of as an impulse buy a couple of days ago. I have'nt gotten around to reading any of it yet. Is it worth the time? I have the first Rebellion TPB too. I read that first not knowing that Empire actually turns into Rebellion or something like that. ire Vol 1 gets varying opinions depending on who you talk to. When it first came out, that first storyline got really positive reviews, but in the years since some people have come to dislike it. I think it's worth reading cause you might like it. It isn't, however, relevant to Rebellion Vol 1. Empire Volumes 3, 6 & 7 are most relevant to Rebellion (though Vol 2 is a great read by itself and some minor characters are introduced in ok-to-awful issues found in Vol 5 that appear in Rebellion. 4 is fully skippable unless your a Leia fan).
Havac posted:Empire Vol. 1: Betrayal: Several rogue Grand Moffs, Moffs, officers and the like hatch a coup plot against Vader and Palpatine. Both of the aforementioned Sith factor heavily into the story. The ideas behind the story are solid, but it suffers from not enough space (it should have had six issues instead of four) and needed a better writer to make those concepts work. Not a great TPB, but not entirely without merit either if you're really looking for a Vader fix. Empire Vol. 2: Darklighter: Collects the "Darklighter" arc, telling the story of Biggs's defection and time in the Rebellion. Well-written, gorgeous art from Wheatley, highly recommended. Also collects "The Short, Happy Life of Roons Sewell", the story of a young Rebel general's rise to command and untimely death, which is also well-written and well-illustrated. It's an excellent TPB with lots of good old X-wing action and I'd recommend you pick it up. Empire Vol. 3: The Imperial Perspective: Collects several stories. One is "What Sin Loyalty?", a beautifully written tale of one stormtrooper's confidence in the Empire. One is "The Savage Heart", a dialogue-light story of Vader crashing his TIE on a backwater planet after Yavin and making his way across the plains. The art isn't my style and the story is light, but it has its brief Vader-moments. Another is "To the Last Man", which is a fantastic arc built around Imperial Lieutenant Janek Sunber, an earnest young man with a firm yet naive belief in Imperial order, leading his troops while besieged by hostile natives. The art is by Davide Fabbri, and no one draws the Empire like Fabbri. His style is rather line-centric, angular, and watery in color, but it's perfectly suited to the war machines, armor, and strong-jawed young men of the Empire. This, like Darklighter and What Sin Loyalty, is one of the highlights of Empire. The final story is "Target: Vader", about some Falleen attempting to assassinate Vader for his destruction of their homeworld; good art of Vader but a rather throw-away story that's just an excuse for Vader badassery -- but who complains about that? Overall, this volume is worth getting for What Sin Loyalty and To the Last Man alone, though you'll probably get enjoyment from the Vader stories as well. Empire Vol. 4: The Heart of the Rebellion: This is the Leia-centric TPB, and I honestly think it's pretty weak. There's the story of Leia on Ralltiir just before ANH, which is illustrated by Fabbri and easily the best in the volume, there's the unimpressive story you've come across, and then there's one or two more that are just plain forgettable. Skip it. Empire Vol. 5: Allies and Adversaries: Opens with another excellent story, "The Bravery of Being Out of Range". You may remember BoShek from Tales of the Mos Eisley Cantina -- this is a gorgeously illustrated and very-well-written story about him, a classic scoundrel tale. There's also "Idiot's Array" which is a rather lame story about Han on a supply run that goes south, and "General Skywalker", which is an OK story about Luke and some of his fellow pilots being found on a jungle world by the Empire and encountering a clone trooper marooned since the Clone Wars. Not the best TPB, but I'm a huge fan of the BoShek story. If you feel that and the other stories appeal to you enough to risk it, then go for it; otherwise, ignore it. Empire Vol. 6: In the Shadows of Their Fathers: Luke and Leia and friends head to Jabiim to recruit it into the Alliance, where we find a world still gripped by war between the Separatists and the Republic faction, just with their names changed. Luke's connection to Anakin leads to mistrust as the Empire (Papa Vader included) comes calling. It's a solid arc and the first TPB to pick up a general "storyline" for Empire as opposed to the more anthology style that had dominated previously. I'd recommend you pick it up. Empire Vol. 7: The Wrong Side of the War: This is the one with a big twist that I'll try not to spoil, but it's a continuation of the previous storyline, with Luke traveling to a world disguised as an Imperial for supplies and finding Jabiimi slaves at the base there. Sunber, from To the Last Man, is at that base and his story continues here as well. It's definitely one of the better arcs and I'd suggest you get it. Rebellion Vol. 1: My Brother, My Enemy: Great art and strong writing continuing the previous ongoing plotline -- and saying much more would mean spoiling things, so I won't. If Empire 7 has you hooked, get this. So, there's Empire and Rebellion, as of now. I'd recommend you pick up 2, 3, 6, and 7, myself, and Rebellion 1. Also, you mentioned X-wing. Those have recently come out in Omnibus form, collecting several TPBs in each volume for what's essentially half-off in price. The first Omni contains one decent story about Luke and the Rogues with decent art, one decent story with crap art, and one really good story with pretty good art. Omni 2 contains three stories, all reasonably enjoyable yet isolated, one-off stories, and Omni 3 is the best of the bunch, with several strong stories and good art that tie in more directly to later EU. I'd recommend buying Omni 3, which really doesn't rely on any previous backstory, and if you like it, checking out 1 and then maybe 2.
Manisphere posted:Jeff_Ferguson posted:No, I'm pretty sure I dreamt it. I remember buying, reading, and posting here about it... but it must have been a dream, else we'd have the next issue by now, wouldn't we? Yeah, I'm going with dream. Can you post spoilers then?
Jeff_Ferguson posted:No, I'm pretty sure I dreamt it. I remember buying, reading, and posting here about it... but it must have been a dream, else we'd have the next issue by now, wouldn't we? Yeah, I'm going with dream.
Manisphere posted:The2ndQuest posted:Jeff_Ferguson posted:but it must have been a dream, else we'd have the next issue by now, wouldn't we? Yeah, I'm going with dream. Next issue will be out next week, I believe. Cash_Fendar posted:I picked up the first Empire TPB kind of as an impulse buy a couple of days ago. I have'nt gotten around to reading any of it yet. Is it worth the time? I have the first Rebellion TPB too. I read that first not knowing that Empire actually turns into Rebellion or something like that. ire Vol 1 gets varying opinions depending on who you talk to. When it first came out, that first storyline got really positive reviews, but in the years since some people have come to dislike it. I think it's worth reading cause you might like it. It isn't, however, relevant to Rebellion Vol 1. Empire Volumes 3, 6 & 7 are most relevant to Rebellion (though Vol 2 is a great read by itself and some minor characters are introduced in ok-to-awful issues found in Vol 5 that appear in Rebellion. 4 is fully skippable unless your a Leia fan). Quest hit it on the nose there. He and Havac are both responsible for my TPB shelf. Looking back to a long lost thread I found this breakdown of Empire by Havac that I found indispensable and still use in situations like this. It doesn't differ from how Quest just advised you. (Just some more detail is all.) And for the record, I liked Empire Vol. 1 and totally adored Rebellion Vol 2. Havac posted:Empire Vol. 1: Betrayal: Several rogue Grand Moffs, Moffs, officers and the like hatch a coup plot against Vader and Palpatine. Both of the aforementioned Sith factor heavily into the story. The ideas behind the story are solid, but it suffers from not enough space (it should have had six issues instead of four) and needed a better writer to make those concepts work. Not a great TPB, but not entirely without merit either if you're really looking for a Vader fix. Empire Vol. 2: Darklighter: Collects the "Darklighter" arc, telling the story of Biggs's defection and time in the Rebellion. Well-written, gorgeous art from Wheatley, highly recommended. Also collects "The Short, Happy Life of Roons Sewell", the story of a young Rebel general's rise to command and untimely death, which is also well-written and well-illustrated. It's an excellent TPB with lots of good old X-wing action and I'd recommend you pick it up. Empire Vol. 3: The Imperial Perspective: Collects several stories. One is "What Sin Loyalty?", a beautifully written tale of one stormtrooper's confidence in the Empire. One is "The Savage Heart", a dialogue-light story of Vader crashing his TIE on a backwater planet after Yavin and making his way across the plains. The art isn't my style and the story is light, but it has its brief Vader-moments. Another is "To the Last Man", which is a fantastic arc built around Imperial Lieutenant Janek Sunber, an earnest young man with a firm yet naive belief in Imperial order, leading his troops while besieged by hostile natives. The art is by Davide Fabbri, and no one draws the Empire like Fabbri. His style is rather line-centric, angular, and watery in color, but it's perfectly suited to the war machines, armor, and strong-jawed young men of the Empire. This, like Darklighter and What Sin Loyalty, is one of the highlights of Empire. The final story is "Target: Vader", about some Falleen attempting to assassinate Vader for his destruction of their homeworld; good art of Vader but a rather throw-away story that's just an excuse for Vader badassery -- but who complains about that? Overall, this volume is worth getting for What Sin Loyalty and To the Last Man alone, though you'll probably get enjoyment from the Vader stories as well. Empire Vol. 4: The Heart of the Rebellion: This is the Leia-centric TPB, and I honestly think it's pretty weak. There's the story of Leia on Ralltiir just before ANH, which is illustrated by Fabbri and easily the best in the volume, there's the unimpressive story you've come across, and then there's one or two more that are just plain forgettable. Skip it. Empire Vol. 5: Allies and Adversaries: Opens with another excellent story, "The Bravery of Being Out of Range". You may remember BoShek from Tales of the Mos Eisley Cantina -- this is a gorgeously illustrated and very-well-written story about him, a classic scoundrel tale. There's also "Idiot's Array" which is a rather lame story about Han on a supply run that goes south, and "General Skywalker", which is an OK story about Luke and some of his fellow pilots being found on a jungle world by the Empire and encountering a clone trooper marooned since the Clone Wars. Not the best TPB, but I'm a huge fan of the BoShek story. If you feel that and the other stories appeal to you enough to risk it, then go for it; otherwise, ignore it. Empire Vol. 6: In the Shadows of Their Fathers: Luke and Leia and friends head to Jabiim to recruit it into the Alliance, where we find a world still gripped by war between the Separatists and the Republic faction, just with their names changed. Luke's connection to Anakin leads to mistrust as the Empire (Papa Vader included) comes calling. It's a solid arc and the first TPB to pick up a general "storyline" for Empire as opposed to the more anthology style that had dominated previously. I'd recommend you pick it up. Empire Vol. 7: The Wrong Side of the War: This is the one with a big twist that I'll try not to spoil, but it's a continuation of the previous storyline, with Luke traveling to a world disguised as an Imperial for supplies and finding Jabiimi slaves at the base there. Sunber, from To the Last Man, is at that base and his story continues here as well. It's definitely one of the better arcs and I'd suggest you get it. Rebellion Vol. 1: My Brother, My Enemy: Great art and strong writing continuing the previous ongoing plotline -- and saying much more would mean spoiling things, so I won't. If Empire 7 has you hooked, get this. So, there's Empire and Rebellion, as of now. I'd recommend you pick up 2, 3, 6, and 7, myself, and Rebellion 1. Also, you mentioned X-wing. Those have recently come out in Omnibus form, collecting several TPBs in each volume for what's essentially half-off in price. The first Omni contains one decent story about Luke and the Rogues with decent art, one decent story with crap art, and one really good story with pretty good art. Omni 2 contains three stories, all reasonably enjoyable yet isolated, one-off stories, and Omni 3 is the best of the bunch, with several strong stories and good art that tie in more directly to later EU. I'd recommend buying Omni 3, which really doesn't rely on any previous backstory, and if you like it, checking out 1 and then maybe 2.
Havac posted:You keep busting that out all the time -- I should update it for the later releases.
Cash_Fendar posted:I've read the first 3 books in the NJO series, but I don't know if I have the fortitude to stick it out for the whole 9 zillion book series. What books in the NJO are acceptable to skip? Which ones are considered "must reads" in order for me to not be completely lost once I get around to the LOTF books? I'd hate to miss anything pivotal, but I'm also ready to get the whole Vong storyline behind me.
Manisphere posted:I'm going to repost this, which is my opinion on each of the NJO books. These are my favorite books and most are actually really worth reading. An "essential" list would be a bit shorter. I'll mark the books that are more "essential" though I maintain that essential doesn't necessarily mean "the best" in the NJO. Vector Prime R.A. Salvatore-It's the first book so missing the setup for the whole series would be a mistake. Read it. *Essential* Dark Tide I: Onslaught Michael Stackpole- Dark Tide II: Ruin Michael Stackpole- This series is truly excellent and important in setting up and understanding things to come. Many love this duology. A few don't think it's Stackpole at his best. Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial James Luceno Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse James Luceno-Fine books that center on Han and overcoming his grief. Not a 'Must read" for this series. I read them years later though. Very fun books! Balance Point Kathy Tyers-I skipped this one as well first time around. Although it was a hardcover it was skippable as the next series which is amazing recaps Balance Point quite well. (You can skip this one if you plan on reading Edge of Victory I&II) Edge of Victory I: Conquest Greg Keyes Edge of Victory II: Rebirth Greg Keyes-Get both of these and read 'em. They are both amazing and Anakincentric. *Essential*. Star by Star Troy Denning-This monster of a book is dead center in the series and it is NOT to be missed under any circumstances.*Essential* Dark Journey Elaine Cunningham-Skip it. Its events are recapped in the next series which is a great one. This is a Jaina novel but little happens. It's a tad more adolescent in theme than some of the other books. Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream Aaron Allston Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand Aaron Allston-This series brings back much needed laughs. It has the most old fashioned Star Wars feel to them of all books in this series. Don't skip them. They may not be technically essential but they are among the best in the NJO. Traitor Matthew Stover- Don't miss this one. It's one of the most important books in the EU altogether and it's genius. *Essential* Destiny's Way Walter Jon Williams-Not a gigantic fan of the book but it's necessary in beginning to wrap up this arc. *Essential* Force Heretic I: Remnant Sean Williams & Shane Dix Force Heretic II: Refugee Sean Williams & Shane Dix Force Heretic III: Reunion Sean Williams & Shane Dix -I skipped all of the Force Heretic novels and missed nothing. They just weren't really my thing. (skippable) The Final Prophecy Greg Keyes- Second Last book. You Can't miss it!*Essential* The Unifying Force- James Luceno. This is where it all comes together and ends. Last book so you can't miss this one either. *Essential*
Manisphere posted:Cash_Fendar posted:I've read the first 3 books in the NJO series, but I don't know if I have the fortitude to stick it out for the whole 9 zillion book series. What books in the NJO are acceptable to skip? Which ones are considered "must reads" in order for me to not be completely lost once I get around to the LOTF books? I'd hate to miss anything pivotal, but I'm also ready to get the whole Vong storyline behind me. I"m now busting out this oldie but goodie. Manisphere posted:I'm going to repost this, which is my opinion on each of the NJO books. These are my favorite books and most are actually really worth reading. An "essential" list would be a bit shorter. I'll mark the books that are more "essential" though I maintain that essential doesn't necessarily mean "the best" in the NJO. Vector Prime R.A. Salvatore-It's the first book so missing the setup for the whole series would be a mistake. Read it. *Essential* Dark Tide I: Onslaught Michael Stackpole- Dark Tide II: Ruin Michael Stackpole- This series is truly excellent and important in setting up and understanding things to come. Many love this duology. A few don't think it's Stackpole at his best. Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial James Luceno Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse James Luceno-Fine books that center on Han and overcoming his grief. Not a 'Must read" for this series. I read them years later though. Very fun books! Balance Point Kathy Tyers-I skipped this one as well first time around. Although it was a hardcover it was skippable as the next series which is amazing recaps Balance Point quite well. (You can skip this one if you plan on reading Edge of Victory I&II) Edge of Victory I: Conquest Greg Keyes Edge of Victory II: Rebirth Greg Keyes-Get both of these and read 'em. They are both amazing and Anakincentric. *Essential*. Star by Star Troy Denning-This monster of a book is dead center in the series and it is NOT to be missed under any circumstances.*Essential* Dark Journey Elaine Cunningham-Skip it. Its events are recapped in the next series which is a great one. This is a Jaina novel but little happens. It's a tad more adolescent in theme than some of the other books. Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream Aaron Allston Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand Aaron Allston-This series brings back much needed laughs. It has the most old fashioned Star Wars feel to them of all books in this series. Don't skip them. They may not be technically essential but they are among the best in the NJO. Traitor Matthew Stover- Don't miss this one. It's one of the most important books in the EU altogether and it's genius. *Essential* Destiny's Way Walter Jon Williams-Not a gigantic fan of the book but it's necessary in beginning to wrap up this arc. *Essential* Force Heretic I: Remnant Sean Williams & Shane Dix Force Heretic II: Refugee Sean Williams & Shane Dix Force Heretic III: Reunion Sean Williams & Shane Dix -I skipped all of the Force Heretic novels and missed nothing. They just weren't really my thing. (skippable) The Final Prophecy Greg Keyes- Second Last book. You Can't miss it!*Essential* The Unifying Force- James Luceno. This is where it all comes together and ends. Last book so you can't miss this one either. *Essential*
Arruda posted: I wonder if you originally made that list for me Manisphere =) About 14 months ago. That list had slightly fewer comments on each novel, so I guessed it got kind of fleshed out as time passed. The original list also had the Dark Tide duology marked as "essential". You will be happy to know that I brought that list with me to my local sci-fi/fantasy book store , and got the ones you recommended. And after finishing up my pre-NJO list (At the time I had only read TTT, JAT and the Darth Bane novels. Followed up with I, Jedi, Hand of Thrawn duology, Survivors Quest and Outbound Flight), I am now currently reading Star By Star and loving it! Was wondering about legacy of the force btw. Are there novels in that series less essential than others ?
russelguppy posted:I still want to see a pay off of Anakin Solo's lightsabre being put in the tree on the Wookiee homeworld sword in the stone style from the New Jedi Order series - when will it happen?????