Books Rank the novels of the new canon

Dark Disciple
A New Dawn
Lost Stars
Moving Target
Lords of the Sith
Bloodline
Weapon of the Jedi
Heir to the Jedi
Battlefront:Twilight Company
Smuggler's Run
Tarkin
Aftermath

That's just the original novels. Might go back and add the short stories later.

 

This is my personal ranking of the Del Rey novels:

1. Aftermath (yea yea whatever)
2. Bloodline
3. Battlefront: Twilight Company
4. A New Dawn
5. Lords of the Sith
6. Dark Disciple
7. Tarkin
8. Heir to the Jedi

I also have the TFA novelization sitting on my shelf but I never actually got around to reading it...
Also, based on the reactions so far to Aftermath: Life Debt, I feel like that could top my list after I read it.

 

1) Tarkin
2) Battlefront: Twilight Company
3) Lords of the Sith
4) Bloodline
5) A New Dawn (JJM is one of my favorite authors but the connection to Rebels has a negative effect)
6) Dark Disciple (Hated canon Vos and ruined Ventress)
7) Aftermath
8) Heir to the Jedi

 

I haven't read everything yet but so far:
1. Lost Stars (absolutely the best loved everything about this book and I've already reread it twice)
2. Battlefront: Twilight Company (the biggest surprise bc I don't even play the game)
3. A New Dawn (overall very good with cool Kanan and interesting villains)
4. Bloodline (tbh no2-4 should be equal, I enjoyed those books a lot, Bloodline to me explains a lot of TFA)
5. Servants to the Empire (another surprise, very good read)
6. Dark Disciple (I liked it but it disturbed me sometimes - especially the behaviour of the Council)
7. TFA - Journey to Awakening (too short - but really nice stories)
8. Lords of the Sith (I fell asleep reading it... but I am not a fan of Cham Syndulla)
9. Aftermath (didn't finish it but mostly because of the writing style)

reading Tarkin now and it'll probably go just behind DD

 

I've only read 4, but I'll put in my two cents anyways. I'll update when I read more.

1. Lost Stars
2. Bloodline
3. TFA
4. Aftermath (I didn't hate it. It was just underwhelming compared to Lost Stars/Bloodline)

 

I'll rank the ones I've read.... keeping in mind Life Debt is about to drop.

1. Bloodline
2. Battlefront
3. Lost Stars
4. Aftermath (bring it on haters!)
5. Lords of the Sith
6. A New Dawn
All the above I consider at least good, if not VERY good.
Those below were kinda "meh"
7. Tarkin
8. Heir to the Jedi

I also read Journey to the Force Awakens, which was good for what it is, but not really comparable to the others, IMO.

 

1. Lost Stars (5/5) – Such a great novel. Despite the fact that we are covering events we have already seen on film, the new perspectives and the character's relationship really elevate OT events and give Jakku's wreckage extra weight when watching TFA. Really hoping we see a followup.
2. Bloodline (5/5) – The only novel, so far, where the events felt very important to the saga. We had a major character as the lead, and not as a cameo, and everything was just so engaging because it was leading into the political climate of the sequel trilogy. TFA dropped the ball on giving information on how politics functioned 30 years after ROTJ, but Bloodline does a good job remedying that. I also greatly enjoyed that we finally see how a crucial bit of info about Leia's past is revealed.
3. A New Dawn (4.5/5) – Just a great all around Star Wars story. Characters were fun, and as Rebels was in its infancy it was great to get to know how Kanan and Hera met. I loved the villain! One of the few new canon novels that I really want to re-read soon.
4. Dark Disciple (4/5) – As a The Clone Wars fan, I really enjoyed this book. I was half excited to finally read a story that was long teased as being lost episodes, and half letdown that we will never see this story animated. Such an important TCW character meets their end, and it will forever be in the confines of a book after years of being onscreen.
5. Tarkin (4/5) – The "present day" stuff was alright, but I loved the flashbacks to Tarkin's early years and how brutal they were. Would love to see a Dooku novel that does something similar.
6. Lords of the Sith (3.5/5) – A fun read, but quite forgettable. I only recall TCW connections and the weird bug fights. Royal Guards have some cool moments, and it is always fun to see Vader and Palpatine interact. Nothing really consequential occurs, but I liked this one.
7. Aftermath (3.5/5) – It took me a while to get into the present tense prose, but once I did I enjoyed the new characters well enough. The interludes were what I really enjoyed, and I was left wanting more. I would have much preferred a Tales from Mos Eisley Cantina style book that had an anthology of tales from across the galaxy following ROTJ.
8. Heir to the Jedi (1.5/5) – Forgettable. Very clearly written before the EU was wiped out. Very little happens in this book, and I sort of wish I never read it due to the insanely stupid "Vader's Many Prosthetic Parts" song. Such a shame that this was one of the novels that kicked off the new canon.

Haven't gotten around to reading Battlefront:Twilight Company yet, so I can't place it.

 

My rankings so far:

Surprised/Good:
Lost Stars, Battlefront, Bloodlines, A New Dawn

Decent:
Lords of the Sith, Tarkin, Dark Disciple

Meh/Didn't work for me:
Aftermath

 

1. Lost Stars
2. Bloodline
3. A New Dawn
4. Lords of the Sith
5. A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy
6. Heir to the Jedi
7. Dark Cisciple
8. Tarkin
9. Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side!
10. The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to Be a Jedi?
11. The Force Awakens (Novelization)
12. Aftermath
13. Battlefront: Twilight Company
14. Smuggler's Run
15. The Weapon of a Jedi
16. Moving Target
17. The Perfect Weapon

 

Is it premature to go ahead and rank the Thrawn novel number one?

 

1. Lost Stars
2. Bloodline
3. A New Dawn
4. Lords of the Sith
5. A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy
6. Heir to the Jedi
7. Dark Disciple
8. Tarkin
9. Aftermath: Life Debt
10. Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side!
11. The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to Be a Jedi?
12. The Force Awakens (Novelization)
13. Aftermath
14. Battlefront: Twilight Company
15. Smuggler's Run
16. The Weapon of a Jedi
17. Moving Target
18. The Perfect Weapon

 

1 Lords of the Sith
2 A New Dawn
3 Dark Disciple
4 Lost Stars
5 The Force Awakens novel
6 Tarkin

 

1. Lost Stars
2. Bloodline
3. A New Dawn
4. Lords of the Sith
5. A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy
6. Heir to the Jedi
7. Dark Disciple
8. Tarkin
9. Aftermath: Life Debt
10. Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side!
11. The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to Be a Jedi?
12. The Force Awakens (Novelization)
13. Aftermath
14. Battlefront: Twilight Company
15. Smuggler's Run
16. The Weapon of a Jedi
17. Moving Target
18. The Perfect Weapon
19. The Force Awakens: Rey's Story

 

1. Dark Disciple
2. Lords of the Sith
3. Lost Stars
4. Tarkin
5. Battlefront: Twilight Company
6. A New Dawn

 

1. Bloodline
2. Aftermath: Life Debt
3. Lost Stars
4. Battlefront: Twilight Company
5. A New Dawn
6-9. Servants of the Empire series
10. Moving Target
11. Lords of the Sith
12. Dark Disciple
13. Smuggler's Run
14. The Weapon of A Jedi
15. Aftermath
16. Tarkin
17. Ezra's Gamble
18. Heir to the Jedi
19. The Perfect Weapon

 

1. Blodline
2. Tarkin
3. The Force Awakens
4. Lords of the Sith
5. Heir to the Jedi

I haven't finished Life Debt yet so I'm not going to rank it just yet.

 

My top 5:
1. Return of the Jedi
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. A New Hope
4. Heir to the Jedi
5. Weapon of a Jedi

 

I'm having trouble keeping up with the different book types in the new canon, can someone shed some light on what types of novels the new canon is producing. There's adult, young adult, junior, and illustrated novels, is that correct?

Adult:

Bloodline, A New Dawn, Lords of the Sith, Heir to the Jedi, Dark Disciple, Tarkin, Aftermath, Aftermath: Life Debt, Aftermath: Empire's End, The Force Awakens, Battlefront: Twilight Company, Catalyst, Thrawn, Rogue One

Young Adult:

Ahsoka, Lost Stars

Junior:

Smuggler's Run, The Weapon of a Jedi, Moving Target

Illustrated:

A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy, Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side!, The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to Be a Jedi?

Aside from reading a few of the Jedi Prince books when I was young, I stuck to adult novels in Legends. I was going to do the same with the new canon but I'm going to read the young adult novels because of the amazing reviews people have given Lost Stars.

 

Revised list of best to worst adult canon novels

Heir to the Jedi
Battlefront: Twilight Company
A New Dawn
Aftermath: Life Debt
Bloodline
Lords of the Sith
Aftermath
Dark Disciple
Tarkin


I didn't read The Force Awakens novelization and most likely will not read the Rogue One novelization.

 

I agree that Lost Stars was great, and to be honest I'm not quite sure how they define Young Adult vs. Adult, because I did not notice a big difference between books like A New Dawn or Tarkin compared to Lost Stars. I remember reading someone saying YA books are just called that because the main characters are young adults, and it is relatable for young people.

 

I've addressed my opinions on this in a couple of threads, so I know that not everyone agrees with me. But there are some differences other than just the age of the main characters. These include simple things like formatting and line spacing, but they go as deep as thematic elements and the prose. Remember, just because a book uses SAT words doesn't mean it's for adults, but the complexity and design of sentence structure does tend to be a little more complicated in the adult novels than young adult. Of course, take that with a grain of salt for genre novels, which vary based on author and tend towards pulp regardless. The themes is a little more obvious, in my opinion. A New Dawn, using your first example, tackles themes of government spying on its citizens and being true to oneself. While these are obvious on the surface level, the degree to which they are explored is deeper and upon some more analysis is made more meaningful. In Lost Stars, however, the main themes are friendship and love. These are complex themes, but I do not find that they are explored much deeper thematically than as described in the text itself. So while the book itself actually addresses more adult themes (there was sex and abuse, as I recall), they are explored in a more explicit and more implicit manner.

Another difference that I personally have found with young adult books to regular novels is that the young adult books are easier to follow. They follow one or two main characters and a basically linear storytelling style. A New Dawn had chapters that focus on 5 or 6 different characters and storylines that weave back and forth and do not come together until the end. Tarkin followed basically just Tarkin, but skipped back and forth between three different time periods to draw a thematic and plot thread towards the end. Lost Stars, on the other hand, follows two characters who keep meeting throughout the course of the Galactic Civil War, and shows their progress through that.

This is not to criticize Lost Stars, which I loved, or the young adult genre, which, like any other genre, has both good and bad books. And I know that my opinions aren't shared by all. There's a number of people out there who think that the young adult label is just a marketing ploy. I haven't read a whole lot of young adult fiction, but what I have read is all true to what I've stated above, although I'm sure a couple of counterexamples exist.

 

Adding on to my list!

As you can see, Aftermath is right at the very bottom of my list, but I have to say, I actually enjoyed Life Debt quite a bit! I just thought the first one was boring. Really boring. The second one definitely held my attention better. I love Sinjir. I love Sloane. I loved that Leia, Han, Chewie, and even Wedge all played bigger roles in this one (didn't like Wedge's role in the first book). I liked it quite a bit and I can't wait for book three! Despite what a lot of people say, I actually really enjoy Wendig's writing style and look forward to reading more of his work in the Star Wars universe. The first book just didn't do anything for me.

 

Revised list.

1: Lost Stars
2: Aftermath Life Debt
3: Lords Of The Sith
4: Battlefront
5: Tarkin
6: Bloodline
7: Dark Disciple
8: Aftermath
9: A New Dawn
10: Before The Awakening
11: Aliens Vol 1
12: Heir To The Jedi

 

1. Lost Stars
2. Battlefront: Twilight Company
3. Bloodline
4. Aftermath
5. Tarkin
6. Weapon of a Jedi
7. Lords of the Sith

Haven't truly hated anything yet (though I've purposely stayed away from DD and HttJ). Looking forward to starting Life Debt this weekend. I'd be interested in seeing someone take this data and calculate a score for each book or something. Maybe I'll do it if I'm bored enough one of these days.

 

Bloodline
Lost Stars (YA)
Aftermath: Life Debt
A New Dawn
Battlefront: Twilight Company
Tarkin
Aftermath
Smuggler's Run (J)
Dark Disciple
Heir to the Jedi
The Weapon of a Jedi (J)
Before the Awakening (J)
Moving Target (J)
The Force Awakens (N)
Lords of the Sith