Best Star Wars novel/graphic novel set before the OT?

I've read a lot of the star wars novels set during and after the OT, but none set before. Does anyone have suggestions/opinion on the best novel/graphic novel set before the OT?

 

Best novels, in my opinion:

1. Shatterpoint (Matthew W. Stover)
2. Cloak of Deception (James Luceno)
T2. Republic Commando: Hard Contact (Karen Traviss)
4. Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter (Michael Reaves)

I haven't read much of the comics, so I can't tell you the best, but Republic is widely acknowledged to be the best comics out there.

 

The best novel, in my opinion, would be Shatterpoint, set months after Attack of the Clones. The "Prequel Era" novels currently out would be:

Cloak of Deception(pre-TPM)
Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter(pre-TPM)
Rogue Planet(post-TPM, pre-AotC)
The Approaching Storm(immediately pre-AotC)
Shatterpoint(Clone Wars)
The Cestus Deception(Clone Wars)
Medstar I: Battle Surgeons(Clone Wars)
Medstar II: Jedi Healer(Clone Wars)
Jedi Trial(Clone Wars)
Republic Commando: Hard Contact(Clone Wars)

Prequel comics mostly consist of the Star Wars Ongoing/Republic series, and many of those issues are collected in TPBs. I'm not sure of all the names, but you could go to "The Clone War TPB Resource Thread."

If you want novels set before the OT but with OT characters:

-The Han Solo Adventures(Han Solo at Star's End, Han Solo and the Lost Legacy, and Han Solo's Revenge
-The Han Solo Trilogy (The Paradise Snare, The Hutt Gambit, Rebel Dawn)\
-The Lando Calrissian Trilogy(Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu, Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon, and Lando Calrissian and the StarCave of Thonboka)

Of course, whether you like these books/comics or not depends entirely on your tastes... or your level of insanity.

 

Guy, you left out RP and TAS.

Oh, and the Lando Calrissian Adventures are: Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu, Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon, and Lando Calrissian and the StarCave of Thonboka.

 

Fixed.

 

best prequel stuff....

1: Han Solo Trilogy (not to be confused with Han Solo adventures)
2: Republic Commando: Hard Contact
3: MedStar
4: Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter


well these are the cream of the crop

 

First off, both of us forgot Jedi Trial.

Second off, a more detailed list:

PT era:

Overall, see above.

Action based novels are Shadow Hunter and Republic Commando.
Character based novels are Approaching Storm, Rogue Planet, and the MedStars.
Mixes are Shatterpoint and Cloak of Deception.

Pre-OT Era:

Overall, Han Solo Adventures are far and away the best. HST can't hold a candle, in my opinion, though to be fair I stopped when I couldn't finish page 50 in TPS.

 

As for comics, the Republic series is sock-rockingly good these days. The Clone Wars-era installments are collected in the misleadingly-titled Clone Wars trade paperbacks. I suggest you read as many as you can. It's simply brilliant storytelling.

Jango Fett: Open Seasons is another essential read. It creates a very believable backstory for the bounty hunter. As with the Clone Wars material, it's ridiculously well-written and, of course, delightfully dark.

 

Best action based- Jedi Trial(we get two space battles and a great ground Campaign, we also get to see the war throught the eyes of some of the Freedoms Sons,and non clone members of the Republic Navy, plus Anakin shows us why he is the hero of the Clone Wars.)
Best Character based- DM-Shadow Hunter(Maul is awesome in this one)
Best espinonage- tie Cestus,and the post AOTC Quinlan Vos comics
Best mixed- tie Cloak of Deception and Shatterpoint.
Best overall- I'm torn between giving this to Shatterpoint or Jedi Trial.

 

Cloak of Deception.

 

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but any comic written by Hayden Blackman or John Ostrander seems like a very safe bet.

EDIT: ...And just to be different, Shatterpoint is brilliant. In my opinion, it's one of the EU's finest moments.

 

Republic Commando, Medstar Duology, Shadow Hunters, Cloak of Deception

 

The Cestus Deception is, IMO, the best book.

Clone Wars volumes 1-5 is just a great series. It really is Star Wars: Big, breathtaking,a bit cheesy..and, of course, delightfully dark.

 

Ah, forgot about the comics. All of the Clone Wars comics are excellent reads. There's some good material there. Avoid the Clone Wars Adventure Comics, they're just a load of crap.

 

Yarr

Republic is one of the best comic series I've ever read, honestly. Every friggin story is good!

 

how long has the Republic series been running? do they have graphic novel versions for the back issues?

 

Yes, they do. Check out the Republic index thread and the Clone Wars index thread.

I only have a couple but they are truly excellent.

 

Soldier for the Empire, its not set very long before the OT but is incredibly important to it when you think about it.

 

I highly recommend the "Tales of the Jedi" series...though not directly related to the OT, it has one of the first examples of a master/apprentice relationship between the Sith, long before Darth Bane and his infamous "Rule of Two" came about.

 

Having read it, I can say get Republic Commando any way you can. It is well worth your time. It IS good. It IS the Clone Wars. I can not recommend it enough.

 

>>"Soldier for the Empire, its not set very long before the OT but is incredibly important to it when you think about it."<<

Plus it's one of the best and most under rated books in the EU.

 

The Outlander comic , Medstar Duology.