Where Is The Best Place To Start in The EU?

I have not read any EU books or graphic novels before and was wondering about people's thoughts on a good place to start?

Should I aim to go chronological story wise or chronological release wise or just in some kind of random order?

I welcome your suggestions.

 

that depends. what aspects of the movies do you like best? which characters are your favorites? do you like the space battles, or the Jedi stuff, or character-driven dramatic aspects, or what? what time period interests you most?

everyone and their uncle is going to tell you to read the Thrawn Trilogy first, but just to get my $0.02 in: it's overrated and, IMHO, not very good.

my personal favorites in the Eu are the prequel-era comics. specifically, the following trade paperbacks:

SW: Twilight
SW: Darkness
SW: Jango Fett: Open Seasons
SW: Rite of Passage
the Clone Wars series of trade paperbacks (not Clone Wars Adventures)

that's what i usually recommend to EU newbies.

 

Thrawn Trilogy, or if your going in order Cloak of Deception. If you read kids books to Legacy of the Jedi and Jedi Apprentice.

 

I personally would say start with Cloak of Deception and read chronilogically.

If you arent into prequel and just into Original Movies, than start with A Truce at Bakura and read on.

 

What I would like is to go through as much of the history as I can borrow from friends and then try and fill in some gaps. I come more from a fantasy background than sci-fi if that makes any difference. Probably looking to have some link with characters who I know(PT or OT).

 

Thrawn trilogy should give you a good grounding in the new characters and locations. Rogue Squadron is good, it starts earlier than TTT but it does have new characters that are introduced in TTT.

Courtship of Princess Leia is also a good place to start, so is Truce at Bakura.

Don't get into New Jedi Order until you're atleast read Jedi Academy Trilogy and Hand of Thrawn duology.

 

Even if you aren't into the Prequel era, I think you should atleast give those early books a try. Cloak of Deception and Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter are among the best Star Wars books I've ever read.

 

The Approaching Storm is quite good too

 

I started out with Thrawn Trilogy, then Shadows of the Empire, then Courtship of Princess Leia. I recommend those for a launch point.

 

What I would like is to go through as much of the history as I can borrow from friends and then try and fill in some gaps. I come more from a fantasy background than sci-fi if that makes any difference. Probably looking to have some link with characters who I know(PT or OT).

if you're interested in the history and backstory of characters that you know from the PT and OT, i would suggest that you go like this:

first, The Stark Hyperspace War Comics trade paperback set twelve years before TPM, you get to see one of Tarkin's ancestors push for a centralized Republic military, Plo Koon ascend to the Jedi Council, early interactions between Qui-Gon Jinn and Nute Gunray, and the very young Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi making friends with fellow Padawan Quinlan Vos (a major PT-era EU character).

then Cloak of Deception and Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, two novels which are basically prequels for TPM, setting up the Trade Federation blockade of Naboo and stuff like that. Cloak of Deception is especially good, so good that it can almost make TPM not suck.

rewatch The Phantom Menace

then the Jango Fett: Open Seasons comics trade paperback. this sets up the relationship between Count Dooku and Jango Fett and his taking the contract to be the Prime Clone.

afterwards, the comics trade paperbacks Twilight, Darkness, and Rite of Passage, which are, frankly, probably the best overall sequence of stories in the entire EU. they introduce Quinlan Vos as an adult, as well as his Padawan Aayla Secura (who appears in AOTC in the Geonosian arena battle and will also be in ROTS). it's basically their journey through a series of confrontations with the Dark Side and the story of how she became a Jedi Knight and he became a Jedi Master. really, do yourself a favor and read these.

that will set you up for the novel The Approaching Storm, which is the set-up for Attack of the Clones. when Mace Windu says that Master Kenobi has just returned from a border dispute on Ansion, this is the border dispute on Ansion.

after that, you can segue right into re-watching Attack of the Clones, then refer to TUCWS for the chronology of the Clone Wars comics, novels, and cartoons. that will take you right into ROTS.

don't listen to everybody who's telling you to read any of the post-ROTJ books, like The Thrawn Trilogy or Truce at Bakura. the time period between ROTJ and the New Jedi Order novels (which happen a few decades after Endor) is, by far, the weakest part of the EU. there's some good stuff in there, but it's not really worth wading through all the crap. the Prequel-era EU is much, much better and i would start there.

when you start out, your rule of thumb should be: Original Trilogy characters in movies good and books bad, and Prequel Trilogy characters in movies bad and books good.

 

diz, i have to agree with you there. the EU post ROTJ doesn't get strong until Hand of Thrawn, and even that was a bit on the bad side.

Han Solo trilogy is quite good too, if you like that sorta stuff

 

Han Solo trilogy is quite good too, if you like that sorta stuff

do you mean the old ones by Brian Daly (Han Solo at Stars' End, Han Solo's Revenge, and Han Solo and the Lost Legacy) or the newer ones? i like the older ones better, personally.

 

A.C.Crispin i mean, i haven't read the brian daley ones yet even though i have them

 

L. Neil Smith's LANDO trilogy is pretty good, I've always felt.

 

I haven't read it yet, I haven't even finished NJO yet

 

I'd suggest starting with Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy. It was what got me hooked on the EU.