a question from a new EU reader

read them in the order they were published. that way continuity errors make sense.

 

vw_Jedi - Herbert didn't write them all did he ? If he did then he has no life. I'm sure there are crummy Dune books and there is some crummy SW stuff. However, i know of plenty of top quality SW stuff, whereas i haven't read Dune, so i'll have to second guess.

Hmmmm....<thinks> vw_Jedi reads EU, even though he thinks it is crummy, hence he must like crummy things. Or he could be looking for a break from consistent high quality books. Hmmmm.... all good, or all terrible. Difficult decision this is.

ALL BAD

 

Dune has a far more complex and rich plot than Star Wars, but they aren't exactly the same types of stories...they just have similarities.

Most people would consider Dune books, quite obviously, to be far better literature than any EU book. But that doesn't matter, to me.

Just because Hometown Buffett is great, doesn't mean I don't like my McDonalds.

 

Indeed, just because many things are good, does not mean i won't have McDs.

 

I agree with DL; read them in the order they were written. That way you'll see how the EU took off with Zahn, and subsequently developed. You will also see the new characters introduced by the authors they were originally created by (some characters may appear in a book set earlier in the GFFA but written later). Whatever you do, don't go straight to the NJO, you won't have a clue who most of the characters are.

 

Read them in Chronological Order

Prequel:
Rogue Planet
The Phantom Menace
Cloak Of Deception
The Approching Storm

Quasi sequel: Bounty Hunter Wars

Sequel:
Truce At Bakura
X-Wing 1-7
Courtship Of Princess Leia
Thrawn Trilogy
Isard's Revenge (X-Wing 8)
Dark Empire etc.
Jedi Academy Trilogy
I, Jedi
Children Of The Jedi (can skip this one if you want to)
Darksaber
Planet Of Twilight
Starfighters of Adumar (X-Wing 9)
Black Fleet Crisis
Corellian Trilogy
Hand Of Thrawn
New Jedi Order (1-ongoing)

Also read all the Tales books (helps with the continuity)

 

There are plenty of timelines about, but just in case you feel the urge to use the one that Lord Riven just gave you, i'll post one that's more correct (sorry Lord Riven)(i'll also give you more or less the important comics) :

Tales of the Jedi era (1000s of years before movies)

Golden Age of the Sith (comic)
Fall of the Sith Empire (comic)
Knights of the Old Republic (comic)
Freedon Nadd Uprising (comic)
Dark Lords of the Sith (comic)
The Sith War (comic)
Redemption (comic)

Sort of in-between (about 1000 years before movies)

Jedi vs. Sith (comic)

Prequels era

Cloak of Deception
Ongoing : Prelude to Rebellion (comic)
Darth Maul : Shadow Hunter
Episode 1 : The Phantom Menace
Ongoing : Outlander (comic)
Ongoing : Emissaries to Malastare (comic)
Ongoing : Twilight (comic)
Ongoing : Infinity's End (comic)
Ongoing : Star Temples of Dathomir (comic)
(i may have those last 3 muddled up order)
Ongoing : Starcrash (single comic)
Ongoing : The Hunt for Aurra Sing (comic)
Rogue Planet
The Approaching Storm
Episode 2 : Attack of the Clones

In-between Prequel and Classic eras (between Eps 3 and 4)

Han Solo Trilogy
Lando Carlissian Adventures (3 books, takes place during HS Trilogy)
Han Solo Adventures (3 books, takes place during HS trilogy)
Dark Forces : Soldier for the Empire (comic, sort of)

The Classic era (Eps 4-6)

Episode 4 : A New Hope
Tales From the Mos Eisley Cantina
Marvel #7 - #33 (approx.) (comics)
Vader's Quest (comic)
Classic SW (4 comic books)
Splinter of the Mind's Eye (never sure where this takes place)
Episode 5 : The Empire Strikes Back
Tales of the Bounty Hunters
Marvel #40-something - #80 (comics)
Shadows of the Empire (really good, takes place during above entry)
Episode 6 : Return of the Jedi
Tales from Jabba's Palace
Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy (takes place during Ep 6 and after Ep 4)

The Bantam Era

Truce at Bakura
Marvel #81 - #107 (comics)
X-wing Rogue Squadron #1-#36 (comics)
Shadows of the Empire : Evolution (comic)
Dark Forces : Rebel Agent (sort of comic)
Dark Forces : Jedi Knight (sort of comic)
X-wing (books 1-7)
The Courtship of Princess Leia
Thrawn trilogy
X-wing book 8
Dark Empire trilogy (comics, much important)
Crimson Empire 1 and 2 (comics)
Jedi Academy trilogy
I,Jedi (before, during and after JAT)
Children of the Jedi (can skip, or just read end)
Darksaber
Planet of Twilight (again, can skip)
X-wing book 9
Crystal Star (can skip)
Black Fleet Crisis trilogy
New Rebellion (probably can skip)
Corellian trilogy
Hand of Thrawn (2 books)
Union (comic)
Junior Jedi Knights (6 books)(can read summary)(good for characters)
Young Jedi Knights (14 books)(can read summary)(good for characters)

And finally, the New Jedi Order era

The Crystal (short story)
Vector Prime
Chewbacca (comic)
Dark Tide 1 and 2
Agents of Chaos 1 and 2
Balance Point
Recovery (e-book)
Edge of Victory 1 and 2
Star by Star
Dark Journey
The Apprentice (short story, takes place during Dark Journey)
Red Sky, Blue Flame (short story, not sure exactly where placed)
Emissaries of the Void (short story, not sure exactly where placed, also called something else)
Enemy Lines 1 and 2 (upcoming)
Traitor (upcoming)
Destiny's Way (upcoming)
Force Heretic trilogy (upcoming)

Hope that helps

 

Lord riven's has a serious flaw in the first section. Rogue planet doesn't come before TPM, and cloak of deception, doesn't come after TPM. Just reverse those 2 and everything should be fine in that section.

 

id start with the X-Wing series. but im only saying that because you said not to say: all of them.(witch you should)

 

wow...

u have some nice guys here

thanks for all the help

side note: dune is probably one of the best ever

 

The Galaxy of Fear series is worth a read if you don't take everything so seriously. They can be enjoyable if for no other reason than seeing favorite characters and solving mysteries with a touch or horror to them.

 

Dialect, I see you've had a lot of responses to your question. You've seen a lot of other peoples' preferences and a complete chronological listing of the time periods that exist. I guess you should ask yourself: what sounds appealing? Are you interested in reading about the long ago Jedi and Sith? Then I'd go with those comics. If you're interested in the prequel happenings, go with books set in that time period (I personally recommend the Jedi Apprentice series). If it's post-ROTJ, take a look at what's out there in this time period and read it.

My recommendations for post-ROTJ:

First, don't read NJO until you've read quite a few of the books in the Bantam line or you will most likely be lost. Even though there are books that take place before Heir to the Empire chronologically, I still recommend starting with those because that book and the two that follow it kicked off the resurgence in SW EU and are very important to the entire EU. After the Thrawn trilogy, I would suggest the Jedi Academy trilogy as they are also very important to the EU. With those two trilogies out of the way, you could probably start looking at what's left and decide what sounds appealing to you. I personally recommend giving the X-Wing books a try, as the authors have more freedom with the characters in this series than the majority of the authors did with the main 7 (can't kill off the main 7 in the Bantam line).

I also personally highly recommend I, Jedi. It might not be very important in the long-term view of the EU, but it is a well-written book and gives you a first-hand account of what it is like to train and experience the Force. Again, as some have recommended, I would read the X-wing series first because that's where Corran Horn debuts. You will get more out of I, Jedi if you go into it already knowing who Corran is and what he's all about.

If you intend to read the NJO eventually, then you should probably read Crispin's and Daley's Han Solo trilogies and the YJK and JJK series. Although I read NJO and have not read Daley's trilogy yet (I intend to) or the YJK and JJK series (I read book one of YJK and was bored).

I could do a list of books to stay away from, but what one person doesn't like is a book that another person could defend heavily. Although a lot of people don't like books by Barbara Hambly, there are some Callista fans around, so not everyone can hate her books. The one author I haven't heard too many rousing recommendations for is Vonda McIntyre, although I personally cannot comment on her because I haven't read her SW book.

When you're done playing around with the Bantam line, then you must finish it off with the Hand of Thrawn duology by Timothy Zahn. They are also very important. After that, you are all set to read the NJO, if that is your desire.

Hope this helps.

 

I agree with Darth Ludicrous. Reading the books in order of publication allows you to better understand any continuity mishaps that crept into the EU.

If you just want the basics so you can move on to read the NJO books, you could just read the Essential Chronology, but you would ruin a lot of the stories that it covers.