question on the books on star wars

voda_theforce_34 · Nov 20, 2002

ok i have been a big fan of star wars since i was little im 17 now. but the one thing i never really knew and i guess its b/c i never looked in to it i just watched the movies but was the star wars books. ok were there star wars books out before the star wars episode 4,5ect were made or were they done after the movies were made? b/c i would love to read all the books of star wars so i get a better understanding of the whole story line. how many are there? anyways i know yall prolly are all omg she doesnt know anything about star wars haha so sorry about the stupid question but yeah i hope some one will reply to this. and yes i meant to put yoda_theforce_34 not voda haha im fixing that later okk anywas thanks bye

Kyp_Constance · Nov 20, 2002

http://www.theforce.net/timeline/

This is the best place I know of to get a comprehensive list of Star Wars Books and Comics....etc.

Sturm Antilles · Nov 20, 2002

ok were there star wars books out before the star wars episode 4?

Yes. But just one. The original novelization of A New Hope was titled Star Wars : From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker. It was published in December of 1976.

In early 1977, Lucas planned with the guys at Marvel, and they released Star Wars # 1 in ( I think ) June of 1977, one month after the movie. Also in early '77, Lucas collaborated with Alan Dean Foster ( who ghostwrote his ANH novelization ) and planned for the first Star Wars spin-off, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, which - if Star Wars had not been a box office success - was originally concieved as a possible TV movie sequel. Instead, it became the first spin-off adult novel, released in 1978.

Not many other novels followed in those early years, but all were pretty successful. There was the Han Solo Adventures by Brian Daley, released in trilogy form from 1979 to 1980, shortly before The Empire Strikes Back was released. L. Neil Smith's Lando Calrissian Adventures trilogy followed in 1983, and the Marvel comics, in addition to other stories, filled out the timeline throughout the 70's and 80's.

Star Wars returned to adult fiction in 1991, with the stunning success of Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire.

how many are there?

There are hundreds of Star Wars books.

Narrowing it down to adult fiction, however, I think there is around 60 novels. Someone correct me on that.

voda_theforce_34 · Nov 20, 2002

you 2 have been a big help!! thanks a bunch i cant wait to start reading some of the books.

Sturm Antilles · Nov 20, 2002

Follow the link Kyp posted above, or click on the Books section at TheForce.Net main page and then check out "Reviews".

voda_theforce_34 · Nov 20, 2002

ok i have one more question. lets say i want to read the very first book that is the start of the story for star wars. what would that be..i was looking at the time line and i dont know but its just so many books and yeah its late so im tired and so i was tired of trying to figure out what books is the first one i should read or whats the one that is the start of everything..ok well thanks again

Darth_Kevin · Nov 20, 2002

See the FAQ. Several suggestions for reading order appear.

Some people suggest reading them in chronological order.

Others, like myself, suggest reading them in order of publication - or close to it.

Are you only interested in the books, or comics too?

voda_theforce_34 · Nov 20, 2002

thanks ill go take a look at that..right now im just interested in the books

The2ndQuest · Nov 20, 2002

As far as adult novels go, the novel that is set earliest is "Cloak of Deception", followed by "Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter", both of which take place shortly before (and leading up to) The Phantom Menace. Both are excellent, IMO.

There are, however, young adult books and comics that are set even earlier.

There was a young adult book series called Jedi Apprentice, which detailed Obi-wan's training under Qui-Gon.

There are several comic series that also took place before The Phantom Menace, all of which were collected into graphic novel trade paperback collections that are (for most of them) pretty easy to find either online or at a large bookstore.

The earliest star wars stories (chronologically) available were told in a series of comics called Tales of the Jedi, which was broken into two story arcs-

There was the original story arc set 4,000 years before Episode 4:

Tales of the Jedi: Knights of the Old Republic
Tales of the Jedi: The Freedon Nadd Uprising
Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith
Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War
Tales of the Jedi: Redemption

...and a prequel arc set 5,000 years before Episode 4.

Tales of the Jedi: The Golden Age of the Sith
Tales of the Jedi: The Fall of the Sith Empire

There is also a comic series called "Jedi vs. Sith" that was set 1,000 years before Episode 4, and that details the "extinction" of the Sith as mentioned in The Phantom Menace.

Beyond that, three more comic series were made that were set shortly before The Phantom Menace also:

Jedi Council: Acts of War
Prelude to Rebellion
Darth Maul.

So, those are all the major stories (for the most part) that are set the earliest in the Star Wars universe

Darth_Kevin · Nov 20, 2002

Also, go to the Del Rey site for a complete list of adult novels. Check out TheForce.Net Books page for a lot of book related information and reviews. JediNet Literature might also be a good place to get information. As I said before, the FAQ has some good information too (look above for "EU Index and FAQ" link and on that page go to the Literature FAQ).

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question on the books on star wars

voda_theforce_34 Jedi Youngling

Kyp_Constance Jedi Youngling

Sturm Antilles Former Manager

voda_theforce_34 Jedi Youngling

Sturm Antilles Former Manager

voda_theforce_34 Jedi Youngling

Darth_Kevin Jedi Grand Master

voda_theforce_34 Jedi Youngling

The2ndQuest Tri-Mod With a Mouth Staff Member Manager

Darth_Kevin Jedi Grand Master