Lit People's 5 favourite EU books ?

Legends or Disney, it doesn't matter what are peoples 5 favourite EU books that they like to read ?
Mine in no real order
Kenobi by JJ Miller - This instead of the Disney series is the real in between Kenobi story for me. As a 1 off movie this would've worked so well.
Revenge of The Sith by M Stoover - In some respects I actually prefer this to the movie to. You get a real sense of Anakin falling rather gthan "What have I done" then killing children. Not least the Jedi don't come across as complete morons and actually give sound reasoning why they don't think Palpatine is a Sith.
Cloak of Deception- J Luceno- What TPM should've been, a tight thriller in which Palpatine gains more power
Outbound Flight by T Zahn - Zahn has a tendency to worship his OC's and be a bit repetitive in writing scenes sometimes. He indulges in none of this in this story amd creates an excellent well rounded tale that's far superior to SQ the other book in the series
The Hutt Gambit - AC Crispin, my favourite of her Han Solo Trilogy which I really enjoy. Hutt politics are always fun. Likethe above Crispin Trilogy is my preferred Han Backstory instead of the Solo movie

OK so what's everyone else's picks

 

LEGENDS

1. Heir to the Empire (Timothy Zahn) -- it was the book that launched an era. We had many great new characters added to the Star Wars universe such as Grand Admiral Thrawn, Mara Jade, Talon Karrde, Borsk Fey'lya, Winter and Gilad Pellaeon. Zahn also captured Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa Solo, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, C-3PO, R2-D2, Wedge Antilles, Gial Ackbar and Mon Mothma very well. Special mention to follow-ups Dark Force Rising and The Last Command.
2. X-wing: Rogue Squadron (Michael A. Stackpole) -- the first book not to feature the "Heroes of Yavin" in any real capacity, instead focusing on our favourite side-character Wedge Antilles. It introduced the audience to mainstay EU characters such as Tycho Celchu, Corran Horn and Gavin Darklighter while expanding on Wedge and even Admiral Ackbar and gave us interesting villains in the form of Ysanne Isard and Kirtan Loor. Special mention to the rest of the X-wing series, including the late Aaron Allston's entries.
4. The Truce at Bakura (Kathy Tyers) -- mostly for being placed after ROTJ and giving us an additional idea of what else was at Endor during the battle there. And I'm always for it. The new characters such as Gaeriel Captison, Pter Thanas and Dev Sibwarra were always compelling and insightful while Bakura as a whole is workable. And the fact we have a race of velociraptors running around that use your life force to power their tech and yet are devoted religious nutcrackers. Kinda sad the Ssi-ruuk never became allies and got unleashed on the Yuuzhan Vong during the war. Certainly would've been entertaining.
5. Cloak of Deception (James Luceno) -- a book that set up The Phantom Menace, despite being released after it. You get an idea of the Trade Federation and the make-up of both the Senate and the Jedi prior to the film and creates the scenario that we end up dealing with in the film. Blink and you'll miss it characters such as Senator Com Fordox of Corellia, Senator Bor Gracus of Sluis Van and the unnamed Eriadu senator will always stand out. Perhaps I should adjust my "Naming the Unnamed" and find who can match for each of them.

Honorable mentions to Shadows of the Empire (Steve Perry), Splinter of the Mind's Eye (Alan Dean Foster), Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, The Courtship of Princess Leia (Dave Wolverton), Tatooine Ghost (Troy Denning), the Jedi Academy trilogy and Darksaber (Kevin J. Anderson), Before the Storm, The New Rebellion, Specter of the Past (Timothy Zahn), Young Jedi Knights: Heirs to the Force, Young Jedi Knights: Shadow Academy, Young Jedi Knights: The Lost Ones, Allegiance and Choices of One (Timothy Zahn), Razor's Edge, New Jedi Order series, Jedi Trial, Yoda: Dark Rendezvous, Labyrinth of Evil and Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader.

Mentions to Dark Nest trilogy, Legacy of the Force and Fate of the Jedi.

I'm behind on my Legends reading.

CANON
1. Tarkin (James Luceno) -- though a "Canon" novel, I could easily read this as a "Legends" novel as well. The character of Wilhuff Tarkin taking central stage finally draws our gap and makes him certainly a likeable villain in the way I think the late Peter Cushing would be proud to say he was the character. Of course, certain things I still work my way around -- the characters of Cassio Tagge, Antonio Motti and Jerjerrod. They aren't the same characters as from "A New Hope" in my headcanon.
2. Lost Stars (Claudia Gray) -- out of the canon novels I've read, I enjoyed Lost Stars the most. Easily the best of the new era. The characters of Thane Kyrell, Ciena Ree, Nash Windrider, "The Contessa" and Kendy Idele easily fit in the 'verse and it is just a crime it hasn't continued. Yendor seems to be the only character to have continued afterwards but I think he was used incorrectly.
3. Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel (James Luceno) -- I read this before Rogue One was released and it made me like Orson Krennic and Galen Erso before we went into the film and their relationships with the likes of established characters such as Poggle the Lesser, Mas Amedda, Saw Gerrera and Wilhuff Tarkin. You were entering the unknown with the film but knowing their backstory made the tragedy of the Ersos hit just as hard.
4. Master & Apprentice (Claudia Gray) -- it was nice to see the relationship between Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi in light of the changeover which rendered the excellent Jedi Apprentice series non-canon. And that it involved Dooku in some form also helped. The new chancellor character of Kirames Kaj though, pity we never got further establishment on her but that may be for the future. Beyond sourcebooks that are rather...blah...right now.
5. A New Dawn (John Jackson Miller) -- I loved young Kanan and young Hera plus the other characters from the novel, including Rae Sloane (before she kinda got well butchered too much). This was the prequel to Rebels we needed before The Bad Batch came out to show them in their early youth. And the world of Gorse and moon Cynda remain real and enjoyable at a time when the 'verse felt small with the timeline changeover.

I only read the first couple of chapters of Thrawn (Timothy Zahn) but I enjoyed it, just never got round to finishing it. And Phasma (Delilah A. Dawson), Bloodline (Claudia Gray), Aftermath (Chuck Wendig) and the two follow-ups, Resistance Reborn (Rebecca Roanhorse) and Alphabet Squadron (Alexander Freed) and the two follow-ups really don't...well...work for me. I'm rather behind on actual reading right now and The High Republic is meh to me. When I'm done with my non-Star Wars reads, I'll go into Thrawn and the other Zahn books first, then Red Blade, Padawan, Queen's series (when I find them -- weird I can't) plus others, maybe will finish by 2025.

 

I haven’t read legends books in probably a decade so here it goes

heir to the empire
Labyrinth of evil
Dark Rendezvous
Cestus deception
The Clone Wars novelization

the last one is the one I’ll post my thoughts on. I actually like the TCW novel by Traviss. Because it barely if at all mentions Mandalorians except to refer to Jango once or twice. She can write a good book when she isn’t hero worshipping the Mandalorians every page.

Canon
Lost Stars
It’s basically Romeo and Juliet in space, but happier.

Master and Apprentice love me some Qui Gon jinn.

Leia: Princess of Alderaan
Bloodlines this book is the most political out of all the ones I can think of. But it’s good. The idea of Leia being outed as the son of Vader was brilliant.
Thrawn

 

Brian Daley's Han Solo adventures take the top 3 spots, easily.

If I really need to fill out a top 5, I'll just throw in any two of the Wraith Squadron books.

 

There's still so much I haven't read (and so much I haven't read in over a decade), but right now it's...

1. Darth Bane: Path of Destruction - This is currently my favourite EU novel. The Jedi/Sith/Force side of things has always been my favourite part of Star Wars, and this book is dripping with it. Bane's quest to reform the Sith is fascinating to read about, and I find Karpyshyn's ability to turn almost cartoonishly evil bad guys (the Sith) into a philosophy that feels like it could actually exist impressive. It's also impressive that he can make a character so evil so compelling to read about. Bane is like the anti-Luke Skywalker, undergoing the Hero's Journey, but as a Sith instead of a Jedi.

2. The Paradise Snare - I like Han Solo, but I've always been more of a Luke guy, so it's impressive just how much I like this book. You can tell that Crispin really analyzed Han's characterization in the films and used that insight to give Han credible reasons for why he behaves the way he does in ANH. We find out why he is skeptical of religions (he had experience with a cult that was destroying people's lives), why he's misogynistic (the woman he loved betrayed him) etc. It runs deeper than just finding out how he first met Chewie, first got his blaster, the Falcon etc. I also like how this book deals with more mature themes, well, maturely.

3. Heir to the Empire - What can I say, it's a classic. I do have some issues with this trilogy as a whole, and I've always disagreed with the idea that it could be translated to screen as Episodes VII, VIII, and IX exactly as is, but this book gave us two of the best characters the EU has to offer: Grand Admiral Thrawn and Mara Jade. Where Zahn excels, he does so masterfully: it feels like he was born to write Thrawn, the strategy and "book action" is really engaging to read, and more than most early Bantam authors, he makes the Star Wars universe feel like a real, immersive place. Where he struggles is characters who aren't hypercompetent and cerebral, and his writing can come off as cold as a result. Han doesn't feel like Han unless he's using one of his one-liners from the movie, I wanted to feel more inner turmoil in Mara Jade etc.

4. Vector Prime - This was a controversial book when it came out (which was before my time as a Star Wars fan), but I think it was a much needed change of pace. The Yuuzhan Vong were unlike anything the galaxy had experienced up to that point. They weren't Sith. They weren't yet another Imperial warlord trying to bring the Empire back. They were a completely alien force, with their own motives and their own philosophy. They also felt like a real threat. The galaxy felt like a lived-in, interconnected place more than it ever has (and honestly more than it has since imo). These books felt like the first where geography really mattered, and you couldn't just jump in a ship and travel anywhere at the speed of the plot. It's also a really well written novel imo.

5. Crosscurrent - This one is a placeholder. I remember really liking this when I read it, but it has been forever, and I can't remember much of it anymore. I wanted to limit myself to one book per series/trilogy in this list, so by the time I got to the last place there wasn't a clear winner. I remember liking Kemp's writing style quite a bit, but beyond that I'm blanking. I'll probably replace the #5 slot as I continue to read and re-read (or realize that Crosscurrent really was that good when I get to it).

 

Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy is still my favorite.

 

I was around at the time and the Author got death threats over that book which is bang out of order. I actually thought the character that was killed was the easy option at the time. I'd read Zahns Thrawn Duology just before this and the character in question was not even in it, he was literally baby sitting!
Then again given what the author put up with at the time, maybe it was just as well he hadn't killed off anyone more meaningful

 

I'm not sure if we need spoiler tags given the book is almost 25 years old and not in the current continuity, but...

Spoiler: Vector Prime

The funny thing is I remember hearing about Chewbacca's death before I read Vector Prime, and it actually turned me off getting into the EU for a while. This would have been the mid-2000s, and I was somewhere between 12 and 14. At the time, I always hated when sequels took away the happy ending of the previous story, and I didn't want to see that happen with Star Wars. I got into the EU by accident after that, and I slowly came around to the idea. If Star Wars is going to continue past RotJ, you will need to eventually get past the OT characters, which means they will get killed off at some point. It helps if you think of Star Wars as a generational story. After all, the PT characters who survived all got killed off in the OT.

Even though I've come to like the decision to kill off Chewbacca, I do understand people not liking it. Sending death threats is ridiculous though. It boggles the mind that supposed fans of a good vs. evil morality play in space would think they were justified in doing that.

 

The Unifying Force,
Traitor
Star By Star
Darth Plagueis
ROTS or Darth Bane: Path of Destruction

 

Iv not read the Bane Trilogy but I mean too

 

The Lando Calrissian Adventures
Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
Heir to the Empire
X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar
The book that would result from the Teljkon Vagabond subplot in the Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy.

 

Damn, this is actually really hard, because the format is inherently ruling out things like the Wraith Squadron books where I reread them collectively and wouldn't really single out just one. Plus I want to list my omnibus of Daley's Han Solo Adventures but that feels like cheating. That said, in no particular order (because that'd be really hard):

Kenobi
A New Dawn
The Unifying Force
Starfighters of Adumar
Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor

 

This is indeed hard. I'm tempted to do favorite authors or series instead, but here goes.

Old EU:
ROTS
Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
Darth Plagueis
Outbound Flight
Kenobi

Honorable mentions: ROTJ, Shatterpoint, Traitor, Yoda: Dark Rendezvous, Labyrinth of Evil, Dark Lord: Rise of Darth Vader, Allegiance, Shadows of the Empire, NJO (Dark Tide, Balance Point, Edge of Victory, Destiny's Way, The Unifying Force)

New Canon:
The Legends of Luke Skywalker
Shadows of the Sith
The Last Jedi
Brotherhood
Bloodline

Honorable mentions: R1, Tarkin, Catalyst, Thrawn, Thrawn: Alliances, Thrawn: Ascendancy: Lesser Evil, Resistance Reborn, Master and Apprentice, Dooku: Jedi Lost, Doctor Aphra (if I had gotten around to reading it, SOLO would probably be on here)

 

Here's my overall list, with reasoning behind each:

#5 Darth Bane: Path of Destruction - Reinvented the concept of Sith Lord. Both epic and horrifying. Bane himself is absolutely brutal, and I did love the connections to KOTOR. And of course the twist ending of Bane destroying the Sith only to remake them is fascinating.

#4 Labyrinth of Evil - Loved the scheming and machinations of Sidious being shown on full display. It was so cool seeing the Jedi come so close to revealing him, and Sidious throwing every diversion and political trick he could think of at them.

#3 The Old Republic: Revan - It's not the KOTOR 3 I wanted, but it's the KOTOR 3 I got. And I still enjoyed it a hell of a lot. The final fight scene between Revan, the Exile, Scourge and the Emperor was epic and tragic. I thought it did a great job tying together the 3 video games in the limited time it had.

#2 Darth Plagueis - Written in close collaboration with the highest levels of LFL and it shows. Luceno's prose is simply fantastic and Plagueis himself is an extremely compelling character. Loved the political intrigue, and the surprise twist that Plagueis himself was still alive during The Phantom Menace!

#1 Dark Disciple - It's more GL Star Wars via an unused Clone Wars story. Don't really feel I need to elaborate too much on that point. Capped Ventress's story incredibly well.

Now if I had to split it by canon and legends, it would be:

Legends
5) Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil
4) Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
3) Labyrinth of Evil
2) The Old Republic: Revan
1) Darth Plagueis

Canon
5) Ahsoka
4) Rebel Rising
3) Dooku: Jedi Lost
2) Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel
1) Dark Disciple

Honorable Mentions: Darth Bane: Rule of Two, Cloak of Deception, Lords of the Sith, Heir to the Empire, Maul: Lockdown, Dark Force Rising, Bloodline, Fate of the Jedi: Apocalypse

 

My top five favorites and a little justification for why.

1. Bloodlines, by Claudia Gray. Gray is one of the strongest writers in the current Canon. She gets Leia. She gets Han. She is able to write a fun political adventure story. Even the minor characters feel fleshed out and real. I liked her handling of politics; it feels nuanced, cautionary, but not two dimensional.

2. Heir to the Empire, by Timothy Zahn. I know, I know. Pretty basic of a Star Wars EU fan to have this book on the list. But Zahn gets how to world build effectively. Zahn's characters leap off the page, and unlike some other authors I can mention he knows how to balance his new characters with pre-established characters while doing honor to both.

3. Darth Plagueis, by James Luceno. Luceno is one of the giants of Star Wars novels, and Darth Plagueis is a big reason why. Luceno is able to incorporate references that bind the universe together without devolving into 'memberberries. Plagueis is a stunning take on a Sith Lord. Clearly evil, clearly amoral, but the man is still one of principles who is guided by a philosophy he places higher than himself.

4. Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, by Matthew Stover. Stover gets Luke as a character. This story has excellent action, good character drama, and a villain who is a lot of fun to hate.

5. Light of the Jedi, by Charles Soule. Light of the Jedi is a strong introduction to the High Republic era, and corrects, in my opinion, the error made by several authors to portray the Jedi/Republic as overly stagnant and incompetent. The characters are smart, compassionate, and capable when it comes to their work. This is a golden age and its treated that way.

 

My TOP five, from both legends and canon, and in no particular order:

Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover
Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover
Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott
Darth Plagueis by James Luceno
Path of Deceit by Tessa Graton and Justina Ireland

 

* I should have put Battlefront: Twilight Company under the honorable mentions. A solid story of soldiers' experience of the Rebellion yet barely intersecting with the Big Three. I enjoyed Alexander Freed's grounded military take on SW in Twilight Company and R1, even if it got a bit too grim for me in Alphabet Squadron (at some point I need to finish that trilogy).

 

You really don't. I did and I regret it. Please, learn from my mistake.

 

Legends:

1. I, Jedi

2. Darth Bane: Path of Destruction

3. Heir to the Empire (tons of really great Zahn books)

4. Republic Commando

5. Jedi Search (Jedi Academy Trilogy...KJA is underrated and a bit forgotten, IMO)



NEU:

1. Inquisitor

2. Ahsoka

3. Bloodlines

4. From a Certain Point of View (but not a novel)

5. Aftermath

6. Thrawn



Look at how different these books are! I do miss how Legends books brought us the continuing adventures of the trilogy characters and then their offspring.

Also, more female protagonist main characters!

But the NEU is hamstrung by the films and shows and have to find crevices in between and other eras where they can operate more freely.

At the same time, we get more tight character focused stories, which I really like and is way I Jedi, Bane, and even Travis's RC books are top in my Legends list.

Top 5 combined:

1. I, Jedi

2. Darth Bane

3. Heir to the Empire

4. Republic Commando

5. Jedi Search


Ooof. I honestly didn't expect that to be dominated by Legends. I really like the NEU books. But I think I miss the continuing adventures of the OT characters more than I like NEU books.

Tell me that Luke's appearance at the end of Mando season 2 wasn't one of the most exciting Star Wars things that has happened in the NEU?

 

Legends Only, and by collection, not necessarily individual book:

5. Han Solo Trilogy by A.C Crispin
This is what the Solo film should've been. You can tell the script writers read it, but they went far afield. This was a great origin story for the galaxy's greatest rogue.

4.The Bounty Hunter Wars Trilogy by K.W. Jeter
This is what Boba Fett is all about. Everything else has been a let down.

3. Heir to the Empire Trilogy by Timothy Zahn
The fountain source. From the first chapter, it captures you. You can hear the musical score in those pages. These books saved Star Wars.

2. X-Wing Series by Michael Stackpole & Aaron Allston
These books expanded the universe while giving it structure that we had not had until then. A refreshing escape from big 3 and the force (mostly) and perhaps the best expansion of beloved characters to the universe than from any other property.

1. Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton
My hill. Feels like a Star Wars film waiting to be made. Crazy/but not absurd new enemies and weapons. Fantastic universe expanding with the Hapes and Dathomir. Reignites the Han/Leia romance that was in danger of being taken for granted, while not overshadowing Luke in his adventure exploring different expressions of the force...a really novel concept when this book was written. A single read that satisfies and thrills in ways that 5-2 on this list needed several books to achieve. For these reasons and many others...the greatest Star Wars book ever written.

 

1. Traitor by Matthew Stover
2. Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover
3. Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover
4. Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor by Matthew Stover
5. Yoda: Dark Rendezvous by Sean Stewart

 

1. Darth Plagueis
2. Outbound Flight
3. Star by Star
4. Millennium Falcon
5. Scoundrels

The first three are epic works by the three best authors in the EU, all of them containing grand fights and subtle intrigues that are the hallmark of Star Wars. The latter two are very entertaining, low-key tales that are full of feel-good moments and good humour. I debated swapping Scoundrels with another book, but the truth is that I’ve grown rather fond of Eanjer, Dayja, Villachor, Sheqoa, Qazadi and all of those other rogues. Running around Marblewood and the Lulina Crown are scenes that are etched in my mind and are free of Zain’s usual foibles. That entire heist is a masterpiece, from Bink and Tavia’s switcheroo to Zerba’s asthmatic lightsaber.

 

5 fav books? oh my I hate ranking but here we go:

While I want to name so many, I have to just name a few, sigh... especially as I know that means having to cut some of my fav characters, moments or the like due to other books being better overall despite in some details or area some cut ones surpassing them.

1) Stover, NJO: Traitor
The book that literally changed my life!

2) KJA, Young Jedi Knights
I grew up with them, was their age before timejumps by SW... they are my peeps forever!

3) Wolverton, Courtship of Princess Leia
What can I say, it put the Expanded in Expanded Universe by adding stuff to stay forever!

4) NJO: Star by Star
Solid novel, grim as it is, but epic from beginning to end.. well it had no end, as it flowed into Cunninghams Dark Journey and onwards.

5) Yoda: Dark Rendevouz
Great character insight, twist and new cast that should have gotten more attention afterwards.


Other Top 10 contenders in no particular order:

Galaxy of Fear
As with YJK they are my peeps and the richness of these books is stunning, fun and just beyond much else.

Stover, Revenge of the Sith novelisation
Definitely a great book from beginning to end as all Stover works, but not in Top5 cause I am a post RotJ guy first.

Crystal Star
YJK #0 for me and the book that is a perfect Prequel for the YJK series. Hail Waru!

Darth Plagueis
Solid perfect novel... or should I say an Essential Guide hiding behind novel format? Luceno at his best.

Honorary Mentions: Allston and Stackpoles X-Wing works and I, Jedi for my beloved Corran, Crispin's Solo trilogy for cleverly weaving all together with the Han Solo novels. Bounty Hunter Wars Trilogy for some great characters and technology. And so many more... I better stop now. I already am glad we did not include Comic Books, Short Stories or Guidebooks, RPGs and games or I'd go nuts over choosing...

 

It's difficult to narrow this down, but I'll take a shot:

5. Shadow of the Sith (Christopher)

4. Tarkin (Luceno)

3. Aftermath Trilogy (Wendig)

2. Han Solo Trilogy (Daley)

1. Thrawn Trilogy (Zahn)