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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Lit GENERAL QUESTION THREAD (What to read? Where to start? What's canon? What's not? Duros, etc.)

Discussion in 'Literature' started by Master_Keralys, Jun 4, 2008.

  1. Antlers

    Antlers Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Oct 30, 2012
    Thank you! I was thinking about sticking with Zahn novels, but I wasn't sure which one to tackle next. I'll continue with Survivor's Quest!
     
  2. Todd the Jedi

    Todd the Jedi Mod and Loving Tyrant of SWTV, Lit, & Collecting star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2008
    Sure thing. After Zahn, I'd suggest looking into the X-Wing books. They're great fun, with a focus on New Republic fighter pilots. And one of the authors, Michael Stackpole, was a frequent collaborator with Zahn, such as their novella in Tales from the Empire, so there's plenty of shoutouts to Zahn's books in X-Wing.

    There's lots of SW books, and I'm sure you'll find your way through them well enough, but always feel free to ask for suggestions here.[face_peace]
     
  3. Master Agoraphobia

    Master Agoraphobia Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2012
    Hello everyone, I'm new! This is my first post. :)

    There are a lot of posts in this thread so I apologize if my questions have already been answered. I've got a couple of questions, and it is probable that I'll have more. If anyone can answer these with any information I'd really appreciate it:

    1. It is my understanding that The Force Wars are the earliest recorded events in the Star Wars Universe (if not, please let me know). Is there any literature on The Force Wars? I really hope so, because I would love to read about the very beginnings of it all! If there is literature on events even before The Force Wars, let me know!

    2. I've skimmed through the posts on the The Old Republic: Revan book, and I'm glad to see that the reviews on this board are a little better than the reviews I've seen on Amazon (the reviews on Amazon had nothing but poor things to say about it), because I was really interested in learning about Revan and Malak. So, my question is, other than The Old Republic: Revan, is there any other literature involving Revan or Malak? And would you say the Old Republic: Revan novel is worth buying? I did thoroughly enjoy The Old Republic: Deceived.

    I know there are other questions that have escaped me at the moment, but I'll be sure to drop some more questions on y'all as they come to me.

    Lastly, apologies if this is the wrong thread to be asking these questions.

    Thanks!
     
  4. Todd the Jedi

    Todd the Jedi Mod and Loving Tyrant of SWTV, Lit, & Collecting star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2008
    Welcome! This is exactly the thread to make such inquiries, so feel free to ask anything, even if it's been asked before. Trust me, there's a lot of repeats. ;)

    You're pretty much right about the Force Wars being the earliest recorded events. Right now there's a comic series called Dawn of the Jedi, which takes place a little before the Force Wars and will probably either lead into them or outright cover them. Otherwise, there really isn't much literature from the distant ages of the Republic. I'd suggest reading the Tales of the Jedi comics if you're after that sort of mythic vibe. They take place 5000 and 4000 years before A New Hope (or 5000 BBY, Before the Battle of Yavin).

    As for Revan and Malak, there is not much about them beyond KOTOR the game. There's a comic series that takes place a few years before the game, also called Knight of the Old Republic, and Revan has a few cameos, while Malak is minor recurring character. Either way, I highly suggest this series. I liked the book Revan well enough, so I'd say buy it. I know a lot of people attached to the character have some major issues with it, so you might want to keep that in mind as well.
     
  5. Master Agoraphobia

    Master Agoraphobia Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2012
    Thank you Todd, this is great info! As I am into comic books very much, I'm going to check both of the titles out. I just want to get your clarification on the two titles (Dawn of the Jedi and Tales of the Jedi) if you could, just so I make sure I read them in the correct order. Chronologically, which came first?

    Dawn of the Jedi or Tales of the Jedi. I want to make sure that I read them in the correct order of events :D

    It is sounding like Dawn of the Jedi took place before Tales of the Jedi, correct?

    P.S.

    I'll check out that Revan book for sure. Thanks for the feeback!
     
  6. Todd the Jedi

    Todd the Jedi Mod and Loving Tyrant of SWTV, Lit, & Collecting star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2008
    Dawn of the Jedi is chronologically first, yes. However, it's a fairly new series and there's still much more to come, while Tales of the Jedi began and ended over a decade ago. They're also independent of each other, and by no means have to be read to understand each other, so you can really read them in any order.
     
  7. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 22, 2010
    Completely depends on what you are looking for. Know going in that Revan is a setup novel for TOR, and therefore things can not end well for Revan and the Exile. A lot of people are very attached to Revan, and were therefore pissed about the abrupt ending. I can definitely consider myself attached to the character- I played KOTOR when it first came out, before I even really cared for the SW movies, and loved it ever since- but I didn't hate the novel. Disappointed, absolutely, because it could have been so much more, but it had its moments. If you've looked into the old reviews, you may notice I wrote a fairly positive one. For the most part, I stand by it, as it's a very fun ride; it's when you let it settle that this is the only novel Revan and the Exile, two of my personal favorites, are ever going to get, that you begin to get a little disappointed at what could have been.

    Essentially, Revan is underwritten. People tend to dislike it not for what it is, but for what it doesn't have. You can tell Karpyshyn really had to rush to get it out, and at times reads more like a screenplay rather than a novel, and he leaves a lot of blanks in the story for your imagination to fill (like what Revan and the Exile spend a great deal of their time talking about, which dammit, I wanted to know). Also, a large portion of the book is centered around a new character, which many were disappointed to have to read about in a novel entitled "Revan". However, it does have some very stellar action scenes, and if you want to get the resolution to KOTOR and KOTOR II, I highly recommend you read it. Canderous is characterized very well (though oddly enough, Bastila is not), and the last fight (I, personally, highly enjoyed Revan's last stand) and subsequent final pages of the novel, I felt, weren't bad at all. It's not awful, but it could have been so much more.
     
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  8. JM_1977

    JM_1977 Jedi Grand Master star 6

    Registered:
    May 23, 2011
    I got a friend of mine that I got to watch the movies for the first time this week and she told me she might be interested in reading some of the books. What direction do I point her in? What books would be best to give to a newbie to the EU/book universe?
     
  9. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 22, 2010
    Lots of different options. Does she have a favorite character? Is she more interested in learning what happens after the movies, or what happens before?

    The most common starting point is Timothy Zahn's trilogy, often called the Thrawn Trilogy. It's pretty essential because it pretty much kickstarted the EU, and to this day remains enormously influential (to the point where articles about the Sequel trilogy actually mention it). Some don't like his style, but they're some of the most loved books in the EU. They take place five years after the end of Return of the Jedi. Luke is saddled with the responsibility of being the last Jedi in the galaxy, Leia is just beginning to learn to control the Force and becomes pregnant with twins, and Han gets to keep being Han but has matured quite exponentially. If she thinks that sounds interesting, go for it.
     
  10. Zeta1127

    Zeta1127 Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2012
    Five years after RotJ, not four.
     
  11. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 22, 2010
    Right, corrected.
     
  12. Master Agoraphobia

    Master Agoraphobia Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 9, 2012
    Thanks! I appreciate your taking the time to give some more detail on this! I'm going to go ahead and pick it up afterall, and look forward to it!

    Thanks again, instantdeath. And thanks again to Todd for the Dawn/Tales of the Jedi info!
     
  13. instantdeath

    instantdeath Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 22, 2010
    I found Revan was pretty enjoyable if you have your imagination fill in a lot of the blanks.
     
  14. Watcher07

    Watcher07 Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Nov 10, 2012
    I'm a bit new to SW:EU books. So far, I read only "The Thrawn Trilogy" & "Shadows of the Empire".

    What should I read next ? I like books that deal with ancient history & a bit more Sci-Fi than just adventure/action stories.

    Any suggestions ?

     
  15. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    Watcher07

    I'm going to merge this post into the sticky thread above.
     
  16. Darth_Kevin

    Darth_Kevin Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 30, 2001
    If you like "ancient history" of the Star Wars galaxy, there's lots of stories from thousands of years before the films. The novels about Darth Bane are about his rise to power and the establishment of the Rule of Two. The Old Republic novels and comics are set much earlier than that. in the 4000-5000 years before the films time period there is a series of graphic novels about the history of the early Sith the and the early Jedi (Tales of the Jedi series). Also a comic series call Knights of the Old Republic. A recent series of both books and comics titled Dawn of the Jedi is obviously about the beginnings of the Jedi. Knight Errant series of books and comics is also set in a very early time period. There's much more I think too that is just not coming to the top of my mind.
     
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  17. Watcher07

    Watcher07 Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Nov 10, 2012
    Thanks, these books sound very interesting. Will look for them in the bookstore.
     
  18. _Catherine_

    _Catherine_ Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 16, 2007
    Master Agoraphobia and Watcher07:

    This is what you're looking at in terms of "ancient history"/Old Republic stories. I've put the comics in green to differentiate them from the novels.

    Pre-Republic era
    Dawn of the Jedi Volume 1: Force Storm
    Dawn of the Jedi Volume 2: The Prisoner of Bogan (future release)
    Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void (future release)

    Old Sith Wars era
    Star Wars Omnibus: Tales of the Jedi Volumes 1-2
    Lost Tribe of the Sith: The Collected Stories
    Shadows & Light (published in Star Wars Tales Volume 6)
    Knights of the Old Republic Volumes 1-10 (vol. 5 was published as Star Wars: Vector Vol. 1)
    Labor Pains
    Interference
    The Secret Journal of Doctor Demagol
    Unseen, Unheard (published in Star Wars Tales Volume 6)

    TOR era
    The Old Republic: Revan
    The Old Republic Volume 1: Blood of the Empire
    The Old Republic: Smuggler's Vanguard
    The Old Republic: Deceived
    The Old Republic Volume 2: Threat of Peace
    Red Harvest
    The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance
    The Old Republic Volume 3: The Lost Suns
    The Old Republic: Annihilation

    New Sith Wars era
    Prototypes (published in Star Wars: Visionaries)
    Knight Errant: Influx
    Knight Errant Volume 1: Aflame
    Knight Errant
    Knight Errant Volume 2: Deluge
    Knight Errant Volume 3: Escape
    Jedi vs. Sith
    Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
    Darth Bane: Rule of Two
    Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil

    "Shadows & Light" and "Unseen, Unheard" are very short comics and by no means essential but if you're a fan of the KOTOR games I would recommend reading them if you get the chance. The first depicts the Great Hunt of the terentatek and the second shows the first meeting between Darth Nihilus and Visas Marr.

    Part of the novel Crosscurrent also takes place in this time period but most of it is set 40-some years after the movies. There is also a handful of short stories set here that hasn't been collected anywhere, so you probably won't be able to find most of them. I'll include them anyway for completion's sake:

    "The Most Dangerous Foe" by Angela Philips
    "The Old Republic: The Third Lesson" by Paul S. Kemp
    "The Last Battle of Colonel Jace Malcom" by Alexander Freed
    "Darkness Shared" by Bill Slavicsek
    "Bane of the Sith" by Kevin J. Anderson
     
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  19. Watcher07

    Watcher07 Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Nov 10, 2012
    wow, thanks for the list. I wasn't thinking much about the comics but now, I guess that I need to read them as well. I'm getting really excited about reading some of the books/comics mentioned in the list.
     
  20. _Catherine_

    _Catherine_ Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 16, 2007
    Oh, also I forgot the Lost Tribe of the Sith: Spiral comic, which is a follow-up to the other Lost Tribe stories. Don't think it's been collected in a trade paperback yet, though.
     
  21. Antlers

    Antlers Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Oct 30, 2012
    I'm sure I might get a wealth of different answers, but are there any EU books (not talking comics right now) that one shouldn't read? Or perhaps better phrased, could do without?
     
  22. _Catherine_

    _Catherine_ Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 16, 2007
    LOL, probably most of them.
     
  23. Sinrebirth

    Sinrebirth Mod-Emperor of the EUC, Lit, RPF and SWC star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 15, 2004
    You're going to get a heap of opinions, but I'm generally of the opinion that you should come to your own conclusions. The only novel universally (ish) agreed on to avoid is Ruins of Dantooine... and maybe The Approaching Storm. Everything else has differing mileage. We do have 'Review' threads which see books scored, so that will give you some feedback.

    Most recent one is below, which includes a list of books.
    http://boards.theforce.net/threads/the-jc-lit-reviews-special-x-wing-mercy-kill-spoilers.50003218/
     
  24. Todd the Jedi

    Todd the Jedi Mod and Loving Tyrant of SWTV, Lit, & Collecting star 6 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Oct 16, 2008
    Whatever anyone tells you, Antlers, The Crystal Star is not to be missed. You should definitely read it.
     
  25. Sinrebirth

    Sinrebirth Mod-Emperor of the EUC, Lit, RPF and SWC star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 15, 2004
    Though I'd be remiss not to mention that it's in the 'so bad it's good' category :p
     
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