Lit Advice for someone struggling to get into the NU?

I devoured the old EU. I read every new book, I have piles and piles of Dark Horse comics. I want to become invested in the NU so badly, but I continue to find it difficult to enjoy the stories. Does anyone have any advice? Has this phenomenon happened to anyone else?

For the record I got through about half of the first Aftermath and I tried to start both Tarkin and Bloodline and couldn't really get into either. I read Shattered Empire and I tried to read the Poe Dameron comic but found it incredibly cringe-inducing (at least the first issue). Help! I need to enjoy wasting tons of money on Star Wars again!

 

A New Dawn is really a great intro. Was also the real world intro of RAE SLOANE. That, plus the Servants of the Empire series by Fry are all very good, fun reads.

And after that, if you still aren't into it? That's cool. They'll still let you into the theater to watch the movies, afaik.

 

Maybe start off reading technical books and sourcebooks...?

all that encyclopedic knowledge will then create thirst to fill this new world with living, breathing, emotional beings, with agendas, experiencing adventures.. and youll soak up the fiction more easily...

 

What were your expectations for each of the ones you tried?

 

The combo of Catalyst and Rogue One might make for a good on-ramp, since there's a lot less "unlearn what you have learned" required.

 

One word: Lando

 

I got nothing, since TFA completely turned me off of the universe. Unfortunately, I don't really see how there can be less unlearn what you have learned, when every little thing has changed and the universe after Endor has been taken in such a cynical and depressing direction.

 

And there it is.

 

Yep, the voice of ... something

My advice would be to try LOST STARS and then struggle through AFTERMATH so you can then get to LIFE DEBT which is a completely different experience even though it's by the same author.

And Zeta, come on man, please. In the old EU Chewie died, Leia and Han lost two kids, Luke lost a wife (I know that was after NJO so you were annoyed by then) and the galaxy had not one year without conflict, be it Thrawn, Corelia, Vong or something else. And then of course there was Legacy which basically had the Sith on the rise again 137 ABY

So really, there never was this utopian post-Endor universe people seem to think has been ruined. It was never there.

 

Ord Sorrel's suggestion seems like a good one. I like the visual dictionary, which is fun to dip into, and read about what interests me. For myself, I'm easing myself into it very slowly. One shot comics or a mini series that can be collected in a single trade paperback. Short stories, one at a time. What I mean by that, from the standpoint of what I'm doing is that I have the anthologies Before the Awakening and Tales from a Galaxy Far Far away (the one that focuses on the alien characters), and I'll read a single story, and then read other things, and eventually read another story. Small steps. I'm a third of the way through Before the Awakening, having read through Rey and Finn's story. I still have Poe to look forward to. But I'm not going to force it. Next time the SW slot comes up, I will choose between a short story from the back of the paperback print of Survivor's Quest, or a story from one of the old WEG Adventures Journals, or the Poe Dameron story from Before the Awakening (so, leaving myself the option of old or new EU, without pressure that one or the other matters more).

These small excursions keep me a little connected with the old EU, and a little connected with the new EU. Spending time here helps, too. Holding off, and my own curiosity and the excitement of posters here help to build interest. When I'm ready for more bulky fictional content, I feel like I want to tackle Aftermath. People's reactions here have helped me to moderate my expectations, so I will go into it with perspective in mind. I've often gone in to a book in a similar way, and been pleasantly surprised. We'll see. I'm also excited to read Bloodline, Twilight Company and Lost Stars.

We can't force ourselves to get excited. Give yourself time, and small doses of new EU if possible. Maybe revisit old EU a little, and go back and forth between the old and the new. Maybe try those Luke, Han, and Leia young reader books? I've heard those are good, and in some cases better than the "adult" fiction...they came out about the same time as Aftermath, so that's what they were being compared to, and they were coming out on top, IIRC. Keep an eye out for what other posters here are saying are great. Bloodlines didn't work...this time. Maybe later on you'll find yourself able to get into it. Or maybe the next new author, who posters here like even better than Claudia Gray, will be the one who will work for you.

 

Twilight Company. it's new canon but barely contradicts anything EU, and it's a great book.


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That would be why I stop after the NJO. Sorry, I just don't see the appeal in a post-Endor universe where virtually nothing good happens and all of the expectations for what happens after RotJ simply aren't met. Combined with TCW, and I have literally nothing to look forward to from the canon universe.

 

I'm reasonably certain you were going to read the Legacy comics Zeta?

 

What I mean with stopping after the NJO is I stop there at present. The Legacy comics are still part of the plan eventually, though I am probably going to be a bit disappointed, mainly by their rushed conclusion due to reasons, and I just can't afford anything right now.

 

Rushed though they were, the conclusions were still good.

As to how you find them, it very much depends on what you think Luke's greatest legacy to the galaxy was.

 

Dammit You're making the urge stronger!

I wanted to read the EU in order!

 

You can, but without giving the game away, doing the jump from The Unifying Force to Legacy: Volume 1: Broken really works!

Also, for anyone with any interest in the Legacy comics, Riptide is well worth a look.

(The only books I've read in the TUF-Legacy gap are Crosscurrent, Riptide and X-Wing: Mercy Kill)

 

Zeta, we should hang out, or get an apartment together. We should make sweet Legends threads together. I'll be your wing man in Legends threads, if you'll be mine. Seriously, start a thread on something you've read, like that guy did with TTT. I'll post in it and we'll get something started.

After 12 straight hours of Kinect Star Wars, you'll forget all about the reboot, the new EU, and even TFA.

Hopefully we'll enjoy one of the new movies.

Oh, thread topic.

My advice for people struggling to get into new EU? Don't. Wait for something to spark a passion in you, then you won't have to struggle and waste your money on things you're not really interested in.

 

The audio books may help.

 

Lost Stars. Probably the most liked book in NU in general, this far. Comics? Darth Vader or main star wars. Or you could always.. Lando?

 

I have been slow to get to the books, ashamedly so, having only read A New Dawn and Tarkin. I liked both but Tarkin did feel a bit thin on the worldbuilding. I'm mostly up to date on the Marvel comics TPBs and highly recommend those. Thus far, the most fun I've had was the Lando mini-series and the Anakin and Obi-Wan miniseries, though all are pretty fun. I've been meaning to catch up on the new EU, but I'm loathe to try to get to Aftermath again since that writing style is so freaking horrid (2nd person, present tense, sentence fragments, throw up in my mouth).

 

I also really like the Servants of the Empire series, which everyone seems to ignore because it's "young adult".


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*Deep breath*

VaderVaderVaderVaderVaderVaderVaderVader...

Comics!

 

Best books in the NEU imo.