An EU Newbie Needs Some Directions

Hello, all!

I am brand new to the EU aspect of StarWars. I have never read a single SW novel.

I bet this has been posted before, so let me know and I will lock this, but I was wondering if some of the resident experts out there could list some the of the really good EU books to read. I am interested in getting started in reading some of the EU and I have no idea where to start!

Thanks!

G-S

 

Heir to the Empire Trilogy and The Hand of Thrawn duology are a great read. If you're after a bit a humour, anything written by Aaron Alliston.

 

yeah, I would recomend Starfighters of Adumar by Allston. It's completely stand alone in terms of plotline, so there's no prior knowledge needed.

It's full of chuckles, the only problem with that being that when you read the rest of the books, they might seem a bit dour!

 

Okay, I see two main options, although they're open to interpretation :

1. You want to quickly catach up with what "everyone"'s reading and discussing right now, that is the New Jedi Order series. Simple : first, read the Essential Chronology Guide, which will summarize very well what happened to Luke & co. during the many years after the Battle of Endor (and even add some info about what happenned before the prequels). Then you can start on Vector Prime, and move on through the rest of the series. Once you've caught up, you can go back and read what seemed interesting to you in the Essential Guide. Favorites are usually The Thrawn Trilogy (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command) and the X-Wing series.

2. Start with 'classic EU', and go through it more or less chronologically, which is next to impossible. I'd say that right now, it's the harder option. I'd start with The Thrawn Trilogy as a general introduction, and then go back to 'bridge' movie-EU novels (The Approaching Storm, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, Shadows of teh Empire), the post-movies novels, like The Truce at Bakura, etc... until you've caught up with TTT, and then on to the NJO. But with that course of action, you'd miss what happenned before the movies, and you'd have to go back anyway for important stuff like the Tales of the Jedi comics, and the Ongoing series (which are less important, but very good). So at the end you'd end up going back and forth anyway - especially with new releases -, that's why I say reading it chronologically is next to impossible.

Well, that's for my recommandations. Now you can check the EU-Lit FAQ, located here, which gives various other 'directions' you could follow.

 

There's probably an official thread to this in the literature index- but I'd rather give my two cents than hunt around for that.

I think there are a few good starting points if you want to get into the EU.

TTT- Starting with 'Heir To The Empire', this trilogy by Timothy Zahn is unofficially know as "THE THRAWN TRILOGY" and is probably the most widely respected set of EU novels. They really kicked life back into the EU, and heralded the dawn of the new EU under Bantam Spectra publishing.

NJO- Starting with 'Vector Prime' by RA Salvatore, the NJO is the current major EU story arc. Set about 20 years or so after the battle of yavin. Even though nearly all the main characters were introduced in the Bantam published novels, you can get by without reading them.

The X-wing novels by Micheal Stackpole and Aaron Allston are also great. With no real impact on subsequent novels, it might be percieved as a waste of time if you just want to catch up with the NJO. But I think they are excellent if you've got both time and money on your hands and you aren't too fussed about keeping up to date with the novels currently being released

If I had not much money and not much time? I'd personally read the following.

Truce At Bakura

Heir To The Empire
Dark Force Rising
The Last Command

XWing: Rogue Squadron
Xwing: Wedge's Gamble
Xwing: Krytos Trap
Xwing: Bacta War
Xwing: Wraith Squadron
Xwing: Iron Fist
Xwing: Solo Command
Xwing: Isards Revenge
Xwing: Starfighters of Adumar

Vision of the Past
Spectre of the Future

The latter two finish of the Bantam novels and (sort of) lead into the events of the NJO.

And then onto the NJO starting with Vector Prime

 

I started with Courtship of Princess Leia, i haven't read Zahn's yet..moved on to X-Wing and then the NJO..stuff makes sense to me, if they dont, i just look em up on the starwars.com databank.
Nice colors on your username =/

 

OK. Thanks for the great feedback!

2 more questions:

#1) What is the "Han Solo Trilogy"? Is it good?

#2) If I wanted to start reading EU novels from the end of ROTJ, what do I read first and what it the proper progression with the books as far as the timeline? I want to read them all, but I don't want to be out of sequence and not know what is going on in one book or the next.

 

Han Solo trilogy was written by Miss Crispin, from what i hear it is a good trilogy and explains how Han Solo grew up..
If you wanted to read post NJO, start with Truce at Bakura and move on towards Thrawn trilogy and then to Hand of Thrawn..then to Jedi academy trilogy and finally NJO, i believe i covered them all in the storyline.
X-Wing series comes after truce at bakura btw.

 

If you pick up any NJO, it has a timeline in the front cover, I'll root it out for you if I can, it shows how everything fits timeline-wise. My recommendation would be, if you want to 'catch up quick', pick the main ones (these are the ones I count as main, so no worries if anyone disagrees - different ppl, different opinions!)

The Thrawn Trilogy
Referred to by a few others, these are very much foundational in the EU.

The Jedi Academy Trilogy
Some dislike (I don't, I like 'em, although as someone said, "Anderson never met a superweapon he didn't elope with"), but they set up some crucial themes in the EU.

NJO
Now these, theoretically, you're supposed to be able to read just the harbacks if you so choose -
Vector Prime
Balance Point
Star by Star
Destiny's Way

Emphasis on *supposed*, the paperbacks are still vitally important to the plotline. Especially, ooh, let's see, Onslaught, Ruin, Conquest, Traitor (imo).

 

Here are my suggestions:

Shadows of the Empire
The Thrawn Trilogy
I, Jedi
The Correlian Trilogy
The Hand of Thrawn Duology

 

I started with the Thrawn trilogy, then the Hand of Thrawn duo, then started the NJO. I would suggest starting with the Thrawn trio or Shadows of the Empire.

 

i jumped into the deep end of EU straight into NJO after reading YJK... i came out just fine

er, maybe not...



~Ñ¡Kë, Ðå®K LåÐÿ Ø? ?Hë §¡?H~

 

I would suggest reading the movie novelizations first. That's what I did, and it gave me a little more stuff on what I already knew. This is where you're most likely to have the least amount of complaints with EU. All the rest has at least some points where you either have to not care that it's a little crazy or suspend your disbelief to enjoy it. Hey, I'm being honest here!

Then I stumbled across the Thrawn Trilogy, by Timothy Zahn. Some people liked this the most out of all the books, so it's probably a good bet. If you don't mind blue-colored, tactical genius baddies then this is a good bet. Hey, I liked it for the most part, and I was eleven with a short attention span when I read it. If you're an adult you'll probably get more out of it.

The next thing I really got into was the Jedi Academy Trilogy. These books are controversial because some love the writing style and some think it's too juvenille. I, along with many others, think that the style of storytelling comes very close to the movies, and therefore liked it. Even so, Kevin J Anderson does love his superweapons. . .

I, Jedi by Michael Stackpole is a good book that happens during the Jedi Academy Trilogy. You can probably read both at the same time or you can read this one if you end up liking Stackpole's X-wing books and Corran Horn. It is a bit of a "Corran Show", since it's written in the first person from his point of view, but if you like the guy then it's not a problem. Probably the only first person book I've read that I've liked.

There are a lot of other stand-alone books that came along. Most didn't really thrill me but I think "Truce at Bakura" and "Darksaber" were some of the best. Stay away from "The Crystal Star" and "Children of the Jedi" (even though Darksaber is the sequel to "Children" it still struck me as a better book because it had a different author.)

I haven't read the Hand of Thrawn Duology. I was a little wary of another book with Thrawn in it. Like I said, some people like him.

After that my only recommendation is the NJO. It's a little controversial but makes for good discussion and interesting reading. If you're a fan of "gritty" stories then you'll probably love it. Start with Vector Prime and continue on.

Hope that helps! Just check it out and see what you like. If you're worried about not liking some of it, check it out at your public library. There's nothing wrong with reading stuff that's mediocre as long as you don't shell out 25 bucks for a hardcover before reading it.

Jae Angel

 

I'd highly recommend you read the Dark Empire comic serries, it's one of the most important as events there effect future books. You'll be lost without it.

 

i've never read them and i'm not lost

~Ñ¡Kë, Ðå®K LåÐÿ Ø? ?Hë §¡?H~

 

G-S, you have seen the light.

#1) What is the "Han Solo Trilogy"? Is it good?

#2) If I wanted to start reading EU novels from the end of ROTJ, what do I read first and what it the proper progression with the books as far as the timeline? I want to read them all, but I don't want to be out of sequence and not know what is going on in one book or the next.

1) The Han Solo Trilogy, is a fantastic series of books, set before ANH, that tell of how Han made it to the Cantina in ANH. You know Bria? She (the Name, not the Mod ) is a character in this series.

2) After ROTJ, there is a book set the next day, call the Truce at Bakura, which is a fantasy read. Then you can head over to TF.N books, and they give a timline, as well as reviews.

3) Upload my icons.

That is all.

 

If you really want to catch up to the NJO, which like someone mentioned is the main topic of conversation these days (and also the best EU books yet, IMO), I'd go with these:

("The Thrawn Trilogy")
Heir to the Empire
Dark Force Rising
The Last Command

("The Jedi Academy Trilogy")
Jedi Search
Dark Apprentice
Champions of the Force

("The Hand of Thrawn Duology")
Specter of the Past
Vision of the Future


All the other books people have recommended here are all very good, but you can still catch up to the NJO without reading them, especially if you use one of the timelines out there to fill you in on what you missed.

"The Han Solo Trilogy" was terrific, some of my favorite EU novels. The X-Wing books and "I, Jedi" just weren't my cup of tea, but they seem to be very popular.

HTH

 

Grilled Sarlacc, you're a PSAer, right? I suggest staying away from anything that has Mara, Thrawn, and Corran in it. At least at first... you should be eased into it...

In fact, do you like comics? I suggest you check out the comic series Republic and Empire. Empire no 1 and 2 are already out. Republic just came out this month. As long as you allow for artistic liberties, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. In fact, you'll enjoy Empire a lot. Try it out.

 

I concur with Trias. Empire is one of the best pieces of Star Wars fiction to be published by anyone since the ongoing series by Marvel Comics ended.

In fact, I'd recommend to you this series as well, which is curently being reprinted in its entirety by Dark Horse Comics in collected trade paperback editions.

I also would reiterate the advice to stay away from anything with Thrawn or Mara Jade in it until you're use to the EU's idiosynchrosies (like advancing EU characters at the expense of movie characters, and other rather annoying issues). When you read The Thrawn Trilogy (and moreso with Hand of Thrawn duology), you're getting that author's universe, not a logical extension of the Star Wars universe.

For a PSA'er, this may be enough shock to turn you against the EU forever.

Another series I would strongly recommend is the Tales of the Jedi series:
Tales of the Jedi: Knights of the Old Republic
Tales of the Jedi: Freedon Nadd Uprising (tough to find)
Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith
Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War
Tales of the Jedi: Redemption

If you can't get all of them, the final three are the most important, with Redemption being another one of the best pieces of Star Wars publishing ever created.

From there, Dark Empire is a logical extension of the Tales of the Jedi series, and is fairly important in the post-ROTJ scheme of things.

 

Mara, Thrawn, and Corran are considered by soem to be the worst charecters, and by some, some of the best EU charecters. All we can do is give you the names of books in order, or the names of books that affected the EU in a big way.

IGNORE US IN ANYTHING THAT IS OPINION ON GOOD OR BAD. Some like them some doen't. Personally, those are 3 of my favorite charecters.

I also would reiterate the advice to stay away from anything with Thrawn or Mara Jade in it until you're use to the EU's idiosynchrosies (like advancing EU characters at the expense of movie characters, and other rather annoying issues). When you read The Thrawn Trilogy (and moreso with Hand of Thrawn duology), you're getting that author's universe, not a logical extension of the Star Wars universe.

That is one mans opinion, I happan to find him horribly wrong. I say that the TTT is infact some of the best EU out there. Read a good chunk of it, then comback and tell us what you think. All we are trually quallified to do is ti tell you when a book takes place, adn how important it is to the EU. Wich most agreee on.

Oh...whats a PSAer...?

 

Also, you should read

The Crystal Star, Children of the Jedi, Darksaber, and Planet of Twilight. This is some of the best EU out there.

PSA = Prequels, Spoilers Allowed.

People who want to be spoiled for the PT.

 

IMHO, you should avoid the following books:


The Crystal Star, Children of the Jedi, Darksaber, and Planet of Twilight



Check them from the library if you must read them. THey aren't worth wasting your $$$.


Zahn's books are some of the best. The x-wing novels are good if you like pilot stories.


I'd start with Zahn's books - but if you want to start with the beginning, there are a few books written about Han solo and Lando that take place before the movies I believe.


It depends on your tastes - do you want to read about Luke, Leia and Han? start with zahn or Truce at Bakura (one day after ROTJ).


Hope that helps!



p.s. The Zahn books were written before much was known about the clone wars. He did pretty well with his guesswork. It's up to YOU to make a decision on if you like the books and storylines.

I doubt the books would turn you off from the EU completely.

 

The ultra simple path to the NJO:

Read Zahn's Thrawn trilogy.
Read I, Jedi. (If you're under 14 years old, you may enjoy the Jedi Academy trilogy)

Start the NJO, with Vector Prime!

See, wasn't that easy? You may also want to read Specter of the Past and Vision of the Future (Hand of Thrawn duology) but they are not really critical. Luke finally gets his woman, that's all.

 

Check out the Timeline link at the top of the page for some help with the order

¤Night