Lit NEU - which books would you recommend?

While I have loved the films since since I was a kid and saw every one at the cinema (I was 8 in 1977) I have never seen any of the TV series or read any EU material. That is generally because most tie in fiction is pretty poor (with the exception of some of the Black Library/Games Workshop stuff for Warhammer 40k).

However, TLJ has brought me back into the excitement of Star Wars and I am intrigued enough to maybe read a few of the recent novels (partly to flesh out what happened between VI and VII) but also intrigued by "Tarkin" for example.

What would you recommend? Are the books of variable quality?

Thanks

 

This quote, stated from a point of affirmation will be exactly your conclusion after having read them.

 

Ok but would you recommend any?

 

The Path to the Force Awakens and Path to the Last Jedi fill in some gaps. The latter much more than the former. Particularly Lost Stars if you want to know where all those shipwrecks on Jakkuu came from.

 

Thanks

 

The new canon's novels aren't really it's greatest strengths imo. Tarkin is the only really impressive one to me. Bloodline is okay and it ties in with TLJ. I remember enjoying Heir to the Jedi. I didn't like Catalyst or Rogue One but they are heavily tied together.

 

My personal favorites are A New Dawn which is a great book that ties into Rebels quite well and Bloodline which is a truly phenomenal Leia story set several years before ep VII that also fleshes out the political situation in the New Republic before it gets starkillered.

 

Bloodline is the best novel in between ROTJ and TFA so far. I highly recommend it if you're interest is in that era.

 

If you want to read adult novels, which I presume you do, I highly recommend A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller. If you are a fanboy, you could pick up Lords of the Sith, just for the concept of Vader and Palpatine being stranded on a planet by Paul S. Kemp. Also if you like well-written books, Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson, is also a good start. However, I think both of the latter aren't that great in terms of storyline.


Just read A New Dawn. Books are super-expensive and you shouldn't buy them unless they are worth it. As an avid reader, I tend to read books in one shot in the Barnes and Nobles (when my neighborhood still had one)

 

I back up recs for Bloodline and Phasma. The second and third Aftermath books are good, but I wasn’t crazy about the first, so the trilogy takes some time to get going.
Twilight Company was also good, but not much tie-in the the new films.


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For the time between OT and ST, the Aftermath Trilogy, Bloodline, and Phasma are all really good and do a lot to develop the galaxy and lead into TFA. Aftermath is about the end of the Empire during the year after the Battle of Endor. It introduces a new cast of great characters, but Han and Leia also have significant roles and are handled well. The trilogy hints at what we see in the ST. Bloodline is about Leia's political career prior to leading the Resistance. It's a good book and gives us a look into New Republic politics. Phasma is fairly self contained, but we see a little of the First Order. Also it's just a great story.

A New Dawn is also a good book and introduces the main antagonist from the Aftermath Trilogy. It's not essential reading but it's a great book. Catalyst is a Rogue One prequel and is a fantastic novel. It shows the transition from Republic to Empire. Rogue One is even better having read this book. Both Battlefront novels provide a good look at a soldiers perspective. They include great characters. I also enjoyed Thrawn a lot. Lastly, I'd highly recommend Lost Stars, it was a fairly complex look at the Galactic Civil War.

 

Thanks everyone I really appreciate the recommendations. Cheers!

 

- Lords of the Sith
- Tarkin
- Catalyst
- Bloodlines

Are the only four adult novels I really enjoyed (unless I'm making a glaring omission). Lost Stars and Leia: Princess of Alderaan are great too.

 

In Legends, any and all by Timothy Zahn
In the new canon:
Razor's Edge
Honor Among Thieves
Ahsoka
Rogue One Novelization
Leia, Princess of Alderaan

Have not read it yet but probably will recommend Lost Stars.

 

Razor's Edge and Honor Among Thieves are both Legends aren't they?

 

One very distinct difference between the old and new books has been the quality of the YA material, that has authors like Jason Fry, Greg Rucka and Claudia Gray contributing.

There's a lot of enjoyable stuff to read here, which you'd miss if you go by the age rating alone - my recommendation is to ignore that element.

 

First of all, if a book is a paperback that has a gold stipe that has "legends" written on it, ignore it. Legends books were removed from the timeline years ago. I would recommend Bloodline. One that i am currently and enjoying is Leia: Princess of Alderaan. And if your into comic i would recommend the main Marvel comics Star Wars line.

 

Yes, they are.

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"Young Adult" really just means "teens and college students", so it's far from kiddy fare. "Adult" vs. "Young Adult" has become an increasingly arbitrary distinction in recent years.

 

There's a sex scene in Lost Stars so I don't even really see any distinction at all.

 

Personally, I would strongly recommend Catalyst, and even though this is a YA novel, I still strongly recommend Rebel Rising, it gives you a lot, and I mean a lot of context for who Jyn is. The Aftermath Trilogy is also something you should look into since it's the biggest series of canon novels to date. Bloodline is amazing and worth checking out, it helps a lot with the world building of the ST. Battlefront Inferno Squad is another good one, especially if you want to play Battlefront 2. Lost Stars is great, and so is Leia Princess of Alderaan. Heir to the Jedi isn't that bad of a novel, it isn't the best, but it's not the worst either. Phasma is almost a must read due to how much damage control the book does for the Phasma character. Legends of Luke Skywalker is a fun read. I like to say that Lords of the Sith is basically just Vader and Palpatine go on a road-trip, but it really is a good book, it was the first book I read in the new canon and I loved it. Both Thrawn A New Dawn are both great books if you ever want to get into Rebels.

 

Again everyone thanks all good recommendations.

I am in a quandry about the Aftermath trilogy! The premise/plot sounds great but I have seen a lot of reviews saying the writing is not very good. Thoughts?

 

Aftermath is written horribly.

Yes. Avoid it. It is a slog to read and really the reward isn't worth it.