Lit Lead-Up to Heir to the Empire

I don't go into physical bookstores all that frequently anymore(though I may start again, and drop Kindle because it's another one of those bs license things), but the last times I went to B&N they had THR and Aphra books prominently in new release spots and a decent selection of Star Wars on the dedicated section. Mostly canon and reference books as I recall. They don't stock Legends like they used to. The section may be a little smaller, but the dedicated shelves for similar properties arent as robust as they would once have been either.

 

Sad to hear Doctor Who needed the assist, hope its sales are improving!

 

Might be more a comment on the state of Australian releases, as it doesn't seem like Glass Abyss has made it here.

 

I was asking for more Star Wars books at my local store three to four years ago but since probably the start of 2024, I really just stopped buying THR and other canon books, heck I didn't bother buying Timelines because it really sucked and the new Encyclopedia doesn't interest me at all because it is fitting WAY too much and yet providing absolutely VERY LITTLE in my opinion. Since then, those books have pretty stayed there. Not alot, maybe six or so titles and I really only bought the re-released Thrawn Trilogy books. My focus has been on locating the older Legends novels I've missed at second-hand book stores (where I'm starting to see quite a bit of the new stuff turning up) and maybe on Facebook Marketplace. Where I am, Star Wars doesn't really matter. Heck the Star Wars toys section is down to those cheap lightsabers with Mando characters and a single oversized figure of Ahsoka in Target, Big W, Kmart and Myer. The most Star Wars merchandise I see is at my local Zing and I stopped buying those as well.

 

I figure there's a cultural aspect in play at some level - not that I've ever really looked all that closely, but I can't remember ever seeing a Doctor Who book in my B&N's SF section. They have a surprisingly decent-sized selection of Aliens novels, though, so make of that what you will.

 

I've seen Doctor Who in the 'licensed novels' part of the SF section, but it doesn't have a distinct presence like Star Wars or Trek.

 

Yeah like I said, I'm sure SW is still vastly more popular in the US, but it's really dropped off the map internationally it seems.

I'll finish off THR just to see how it ends, and will read the Reign of the Empire trilogy I think, and Glass Abyss has my curiosity to see if it echos Shatterpoint a bit, but outside of that I'm with you that my interest in the DEU is dropping off a bit. I want to spend most of this year re-reading some of the older Legends books on my bookshelf that I haven't read in a while - starting maybe with Outbound Flight / Survivors Quest.

What books are you on the hunt for? I have no doubt I likely have them on my shelf!

 

Old Republic era
The Old Republic: Deceived
Red Harvest
The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance
The Old Republic: Annihilation
Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
Darth Bane: Rule of Two

Rise of the Empire era
Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil
Jedi Apprentice 10: The Shattered Peace
Jedi Apprentice Special Edition: Deception
Jedi Apprentice 11: The Deadly Hunter
Jedi Apprentice 12: The Evil Experiment
Jedi Apprentice 15: The Death of Hope
Jedi Apprentice 16: The Call to Vengeance
Episode 1 Adventures 6: The Hunt for Anakin Skywalker
Episode 1 Adventures 8: Trouble on Tatooine
Episode 1 Adventures 9: Rescue in the Core
Episode 1 Adventures 10: Festival of Warriors
Episode 1 Adventures 11: Pirates from Beyond the Sea
Episode 1 Adventures 12: The Bongo Rally
Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter
Star Wars Journal: Darth Maul
Episode 1 Adventures 13: Danger of Naboo
Episode 1 Adventures 14: Podrace to Freedom
Episode 1 Adventures 15: The Final Battle
Jedi Quest: Path to Truth
Outbount Flight
Jedi Quest 6: The Shadow Trap
Jedi Quest 7: The Moment of Truth
Star Wars Adventures 1: Hunt the Sun Runner
Star Wars Adventures 2: The Cavern of Screaming Skulls
Star Wars Adventures 3: The Hostage Princess
Star Wars Adventures 4: Jango Fett vs. the Razor Eaters
Star Wars Adventures 5: The Shape-Shifter Strikes
Star Wars Adventures 6: The Warlords of Balmorra
The Approaching Storm
Boba Fett 3: Maze of Deception
The Cestus Deception
Boba Fett 4: Hunted
Republic Commando: Hard Contact
Boba Fett 5: A New Threat
Republic Commando: Order 66
Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
Imperial Commando: 501st
Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight
Coruscant Nights II: Street of Shadows
Coruscant Nights III: Patterns of Force
The Last Jedi
The Paradise Snare
The Hutt Gambit
Death Star
Adventures in Hyperspace 1: Fire Ring Race
Adventures in Hyperspace 2: Shinbone Showdown
The Force Unleashed II
Dark Forces: Soldiers for the Empire

Rebellion era
Shadow Games
Journal: The Fight for Justice
Journal: Captive to Evil
Scoundrels
Star Wars Science Adventures 1: Emergency in Escape Pod Four
Star Wars Science Adventures 2: Journey Across Planet X
Galaxy of Fear 3: Planet Plague
Galaxy of Fear 4: The Nightmare Machine
Galaxy of Fear 5: Ghost of the Jedi
Galaxy of Fear 6: Army of Terror
Galaxy of Fear 7: The Brain Spiders
Galaxy of Fear 8: The Swarm
Galaxy of Fear 9: Spore
Galaxy of Fear 10: The Doomsday Machine
Galaxy of Fear 11: Clones
Galaxy of Fear 12: The Hunger
Honor Among Thieves
Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine
Journal: Hero for Hire

New Republic era
Dark Forces: Rebel Agent
Dark Forces: Jedi Knight
Junior Jedi Knights 2: Lyric's World
Junior Jedi Knights 3: Promises
Junior Jedi Knights 4: Anakin's Quest
Junior Jedi Knights 5: Vader's Fortress
Junior Jedi Knights 6: Kenobi's Blade
Survivor's Quest
Young Jedi Knights: Lightsabers
Young Jedi Knights: Shards of Alderaan
Young Jedi Knights: Diversity Alliance
Young Jedi Knights: Delusions of Grandeur
Young Jedi Knights: Jedi Bounty
Young Jedi Knights: The Emperor's Plague
Young Jedi Knights: Return to Ord Mantell
Young Jedi Knights: Trouble on Cloud City
Young Jedi Knights: Crisis at Crystal Reef

New Jedi Order era

Legacy era
Riptide
Millennium Falcon
Fate of the Jedi: Abyss
Fate of the Jedi: Backlash
Fate of the Jedi: Allies
Fate of the Jedi: Vortex
Fate of the Jedi: Conviction
Fate of the Jedi: Ascension

 

I've found a bunch of these at Half-Price books in the US or on Thriftbooks.

 

I'm in rural Victoria, Australia.

 

I have most of those, but let me look at which of those Jedi Apprentice, Boba Fett, etc. books I have as I'd probably be able to send them to you as they're boxed up in my garage. Send me a private message and I can try to track it down.

Would some of these be on Amazon? Or not.

 

I don't want to take away from your collection.

 

Perhaps it's an Australia thing, as suggested previously, since you and Noash_Retrac seem to be having similar experiences finding (or not finding) newer material at your bookstores. That makes me wonder if distribution issues are a factor.

 

Been like that for decades. Ironically it depends. When I was a kid, the town I was living in had tons of Star Wars books on the shelves -- I distinctly recall X-wing: Iron Fist because of the cover. Then I moved to another town across the Great Dividing Range and even the second-hand book stores were almost empty. Moved back here and now you are asking for the books since they aren't going to order them if there is no guarantee (and since the start of 2024 even I haven't made the effort).

 

The Jedi Apprentice, Boba Fett etc. are sitting in a box in my garage probably never to see the light of day so I'm not fussed. The adult novels certainly get re-read occasionally so I probably wouldn't part with those.

Is the price prohibitive to buy from Amazon or somewhere like that? I haven't looked lately and do know the YJK were pretty pricey on Amazon when I checked.

 

It could be that certain titles are not printed in other countries/territories.

As the market for reading has shifted, both in interest and medium (kindle, nook, phone, etc) the interest level and cost point at which a local publisher will pick up the title, print it and distribute it to a region/country are changing.

I would suspect Australia probably had a print house for Star Wars books back in the Legends era. Heck, they may have even had their own publisher licensing the titles from Bantam/Del Rey.

But these days, as readership declines, and more people just download, to get that portion of a portion by stocking the whole region/country with books may not be lucrative enough anymore.

Maybe any printed copies now are all shipped in from the US or UK? Maybe even online sales have a long lead to have them flown in from overseas.

Point is, with interest in paper on the decline and interest in Star Wars Lit on the decline...scarcity is likely the norm.

Even in the US, they don't stock like they used to. And I hardly ever see a restock of new stuff. Just Legends.

 

I was at B&N Saturday. The only Legends was Essential Collection. Almost everything else was Canon. It's only like 2-3 shelves in a bookcase though.

 

When I go through my B&N by me they usually have mostly canon titles as well. Some legends stuff but with the more canon has released over the years legends stock has declined.

People are probably simply more interested in buying things that have been released more recently.

As far as Star Wars Lit readership declining that is probably mainly just because there is far more onscreen Star Wars to intake these days. Also book sales generally always increase when movies are actively coming out and we haven't had a Star Wars movie now for five years. So that's a big part of it as well.

 

What's your source on this?

 

No source. It's just the way it was during the entire legends run. While the OT was going on comic sales were really good but after it was over it dwindled to the point they cancelled it. And aside from the Thrawn Trilogy the book sales for legends were the strongest while the movies were out.

 

Going back to the original topic for a moment - I'm kind of surprised, in retrospect, that there never was anything done in regards to this back before the continuity reboot. Given its enduring iconic status, a HTTE prequel about, say, Thrawn taking command of the Empire probably would've sold.

 

Crisis of Faith and, to a lesser degree, Tatooine Ghost can be viewed as HTTE prequels.

 

I think at that point, Thrawn himself was where the interest was.

Outbound Flight was written, at least partially, to give Thrawn backstory, if not a complete origin.

Subsequent stories were written to flesh out Thrawn.

As to the immediacy to the era...my guess is most of that time window was left open for the X-Wing books initially.

Once they were complete, perhaps a revisit was possible, but by then, the Bantam/Del Rey change over was in the works, and Del Rey was amped to move on with NJO with only a few filler episodes like Tatooine Ghost, etc.

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As for a story itself...seeing how Thrawn would achieve control of the Empire, while our heroes are mostly ignorant of what is going on...would involve a mostly "Empire-centric" story, with perhaps a new "rebel" to represent that side, though in a much smaller role than normal.

Perhaps it was a story that would appeal to the most dedicated fans of the readership...but the casual reader might not be so interested.

 

A Grand Admiral Returns, baby! That's the prequel where he takes command of the Empire. Everyone remembers that one, right???