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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Books Rank the novels of the new canon

Discussion in 'Literature' started by ScorpionJedi, Jan 7, 2016.

  1. bizzbizz

    bizzbizz Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 16, 2015
    lost stars
    a new dawn
    tarkin
    lords of the sith
    dark disciple
    force awakens tie in


    still to read bloodlines,aftermath,aftermath life debt, and battlefront twilight company
     
  2. cubman987

    cubman987 Friendly Neighborhood Saga/Music/Fun & Games Mod star 7 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2014
    Updating again:

    1. Bloodline
    2. Lost Stars
    3. A New Dawn
    4. Lords of the Sith
    5. Before the Awakening
    6. Smuggler's Run
    7.Tarkin
    8. Moving Target
    9. Aftermath
    10. Dark Disciple
    11. Heir to the Jedi
     
  3. True Sith

    True Sith Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    May 10, 2015
    Still a bit behind on my new canon reading, but I'll rank the ones I've finished:

    1. Bloodline (by a large margin)
    2. Dark Disciple
    3. Lords of the Sith
    4. Aftermath: Life Debt
    5. Lost Stars
    6. Aftermath
     
  4. DarthBlademan

    DarthBlademan Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Aug 19, 2016
    Here's my current rankings:

    1. Lost Stars
    2. Battlefront
    3. Bloodline
    4. Lords of the Sith
    5. Aftermath: Life Debt
    6. Tarkin
    7. Aftermath
    8. Before the Awakening
    9. The Force Awakens
    10. Aliens Vol:1

    Currently reading A New Dawn so will add that when i've finished with it.
     
  5. revan772

    revan772 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Aug 5, 2014
    Lost Stars
    Aftermath
    Life Debt
    A New Dawn
    Heir of the Jedi
    Weapon of a Jedi
    Aliens: Crimson Corsair
    Aliens: Zuvio
    Dark Lords of the Sith
    Dark Disciple
    Aliens: Cookie's Story
    Smugglers Run
    -
    The Perfect Weapon
    Moving Targets
    Before the Awakening: Poe's Story
    Before the Awakening: Rey's Story
    Before the Awakening: Finn's Story

    I believe this is all I have read so far.

    Also everything above the - I really loved. Everything below I found mediocre. I still have been enjoying this canon. :)
     
  6. CnlSandersdeKFC

    CnlSandersdeKFC Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 22, 2015
    I feel like I'm the odd one out with my Dark Disciple placement.
    1) Life Debt
    2) The 3 YA novelettes
    3) Dark Disciple
    4) A New Dawn
    5) Aftermath
    6) Tarkin
    7) Lords of the Sith
     
    Cheerios4u98 likes this.
  7. cubman987

    cubman987 Friendly Neighborhood Saga/Music/Fun & Games Mod star 7 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2014

    Update:

    1. Bloodline
    2. Lost Stars
    3. Ahsoka
    4. A New Dawn
    5. Lords of the Sith
    6. The Weapon of a Jedi
    7. Before the Awakening
    8. Smuggler's Run
    9. Tarkin
    10. Moving Target
    11. Aftermath
    12. Dark Disciple
    13. Heir to the Jedi
     
    Darkslayer likes this.
  8. Darth Basin

    Darth Basin Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 15, 2015
    So far I only "listened" to Bloodline & Aftermath. Currently listening to Life Dept.

    So far.

    1. Aftermath

    2. Bloodline

    I think LD will take 2nd when finished.

    If anyone haves any used audio books there willing to sell contact me! There expensive as heck!
     
  9. General_Leia_Organa

    General_Leia_Organa Jedi Knight star 3

    Registered:
    Feb 23, 2016
    Newly updated :D
    1. Bloodline
    2. Aftermath Life Debt
    3. Lost Stars
    4. Ahsoka
    5. Before the Awakening
    6. Battlefront: Twilight Company
    7. TFA junior novelization
    8. Aftermath
    9. The Princess, The Scoundrel, The Farmboy
    10. Moving Target
    11. A New Dawn
    12. Tarkin
    13. TFA Adult Novelization
    14. Rey's Story
    Hoping to have Lords of the Sith, Catalyst, and the Rogue One Novelization in the bag by the end of the year. I'll Update again after Empires end, I think.
    Looking forward to the YA Jyn Novel. I think I'll read Thrawn but IDK if I'll make it a must read on release day deal. I have both Heir to the Jedi and Weapon of a Jedi on my tablet but for some reason reading about Luke is too weird for me to get into it. I have no desire to read Dark Disciple. Might check out the Servants of the Empire series eventually. Hoping we get something juicy in the lead up to VIII. The later half of 2017 is gonna be really interesting for the publishing program methinks.
     
  10. Jid123Sheeve

    Jid123Sheeve Guest

    Alrighty I only rank the one's i have

    1. Bloodline
    2. Tarkin
    3. Lords of the Sith
    4. Before the Awakens
    5. Aftermath Life Debt
    6. Battlefront Twilight Company
    7. Aftermath.
     
  11. Daneira

    Daneira Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 30, 2016
    1. Twilight Company
    2. Lords of the Sith
    3. Servants of the Empire series
    4. Ahsoka
    5. Tarkin

    avoiding the post-Endor stuff


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  12. Joe Kalicki

    Joe Kalicki Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Sep 2, 2014
    Just the Del Rey novels:

    1. Aftermath
    2. A New Dawn
    3. Lords of the Sith
    (three of my all time favorite Star Wars novels)
    4. Tarkin
    5. Dark Disciple
    6. Heir to the Jedi
     
  13. Cheerios4u98

    Cheerios4u98 Jedi Knight star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2015
    Updating my list again, after finishing Ahsoka!

    I'm actually surprised I'm putting Ahsoka so high on the list, but the more I thought about it, I really did enjoy it more than most of the canon so far. Making my way through Catalyst right now, and I'm enjoying it a lot! We'll see where it ends up on my list soon.
     
  14. Darth Basin

    Darth Basin Jedi Master star 5

    Registered:
    Aug 15, 2015
    Updated.

    1. Aftermath: LD

    2. Aftermath

    3. Bloodline
     
  15. Cheerios4u98

    Cheerios4u98 Jedi Knight star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 4, 2015
    Updated again after reading Catalyst:



    I bumped Tarkin down on my list because the more I think about it, I don't think it's as good as I initially thought it was. Still, I thought it was great, but I moved it down from #5 to #8 on my list.
     
  16. Palizinha

    Palizinha Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Jul 12, 2015
    1. Lost Stars
    2. A New Dawn
    3. Aftermath
    4. Weapon of a Jedi
    5. Moving Target

    Only ones I've read so far.
     
  17. JABoomer

    JABoomer Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 23, 2009
    All caught up on the paperbacks (it appears the young adult novels will not get a paperback release):

    1. Tarkin - really enjoyed the internal politics of the Empire
    2. Lords of the Sith - interesting to see the Vader/Palpatine interactions
    3. Ahsoka - tight and well paced story, wasn't expecting to enjoy it but the young adult novels excel, I read it in two days
    4. Lost Stars - I enjoyed how it intertwined throughout the OT
    5. Dark Disciple - never knew where the story was going, was a really nice surprise
    6. Aftermath - different style of novel, but the content was interesting
    7. Battlefront: Twilight Company - solid action, never enthralling, enjoyed exploring the Rebellion during this time
    8. Heir to the Jedi - the first person viewpoint was different (and not in a good way)
    9. A New Dawn - I see lots of people really enjoyed it, I found it to be dull
    10. Star Wars: The Force Awakens - glossed over the best parts and didn't properly capture the funny moments from the film, and added little to the story

    This is the first time in 20 years that I've been caught up on Star Wars novels (paperbacks). Going to delve into Dark Empire tonight.
     
  18. redxavier

    redxavier Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 23, 2003
    I'm perhaps not the best qualified to provide rankings, as I haven't read much, mainly because I use rankings like this to judge whether not to read a book! So perhaps someone else like me might find this useful.

    1. Lost Stars - it's a great story about two characters that crosses the path of the movies, thereby enhancing those parts of the movie with added insight. But even without Star Wars, this would be a good read, which is frankly a rarity. It is let down slightly by its open ending. I also found this to be the most cinematic among those I read. I could visualise these happening in a movie while others have fallen short.

    2. Bloodlines - good read but actually pretty light on story, so while it provides interesting insight into TFA and drops a bombshell for its main character, I would struggle to tell you what it's about other than 'this is the one where everyone finds out x about Leia'. It's a detective story without any resolution.

    3. Battlefront Twilight Company - hoping for much more with this one, it just doesn't have interesting characters and spans too much time and scope with too little detail devoted to the overall campaign. I'd have loved a series instead, with each story a different adventure/mission/planet's campaign. Also, has another open ending.

    There seems to be a pattern with the new canon, none of these stories are actually ending. They all seem set up for possible sequels or written deliberately as lead ins for other stories (ie, they're essentially prequels).

    I've started reading Life Debt (it didn't especially grab me but wasn't necessarily bad, I just haven't gone back to it in months) and Catalyst (it's ok so far, not dropped it but I'm not rushing back to reading it, maybe 4 chapters in or so?).

    Historically, I've read Thrawn trilogy (pretty good) and Thrawn duology (probably my favourite), Jedi Academy (ok), Darksaber (got me to stop reading SW books way back), and X-wing (first 4 books, pretty good but a little overrated).
     
  19. TuskenTourniquet

    TuskenTourniquet Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Nov 22, 2015
    Of what I've read thus far:

    Lords of the Sith A-: Engaging story with strong heroes and villains. Provided insights into the relationship between Vader and the Emperor.
    Tarkin B+: Really enjoyed learning about Tarkin's past and seeing the interplay between Vader, the Emperor and Tarkin. The one weak link were the "good guys," which were pretty forgettable.
    A New Dawn B: Good characterization of the two main characters, some solid B characters and a good conflict/resolution, but I wasn't interested in the antagonists.
    Dark Disciple B-: Fairly engaging, but a little immature in style at times.
    Heir to the Jedi D: Hated the narration, found the conflicts uninteresting and unoriginal, and the insights into the force to be poorly explained.
    Aftermath F: One of the worst novels I've ever read. Phenomenally bad writing, boring characters, and a forgettable plot.
     
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  20. Darkslayer

    Darkslayer #1 Sabine Wren Fan star 7

    Registered:
    Mar 26, 2013
    1) Bloodline - A+
    2) Dark Disciple - A+
    3) Catalyst - A
    4) Ahsoka - A
    5) Lords of the Sith - A-
    6) Lost Stars - B-
    7) Tarkin - C+
    8) Aftermath - C+
    9) Heir to the Jedi - C
     
  21. KamNale

    KamNale Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Feb 11, 2012
    1. Aftermath Life Debt
    2. Lost Stars
    3. Bloodline
    4. Aftermath
    5. Battlefront: Twilight Company
    6. Catalyst
    7. Tarkin
    8. Ahsoka

    I'll probably update once I read Lords of the Sith.
     
  22. SienneRe

    SienneRe Jedi Master star 2

    Registered:
    Mar 23, 2016
    update:
    1. Lost Stars
    2. Battlefront: Twilight Company
    3. A New Dawn
    4. Bloodline
    5. Tarkin (I was surprised how much I enjoyed it - loved the dynamic between the characters)
    6. Catalyst (I really like how Luceno is creating stories and I am a huge fan of the way he portrays Tarkin)
    7. Servants to the Empire
    8. Aftermath: Life Debt (I don't like this writing style but I love the characters - very interesting and easy to feel for. Also very good interludes.)
    9. Dark Disciple
    10. TFA - Before the Awakening
    11. Aftermath (finished and it wasn't as bad as I thought - but not as good as the sequel)
    12. Ahsoka (first half bored me to tears but the second half was much better)
    13. Lords of the Sith
    14. Heir to the Jedi - the only book I couldn't finish, it's so bad and boring.
     
  23. Takes One to Rogue One

    Takes One to Rogue One Jedi Padawan

    Registered:
    Jan 4, 2017
    1. Catalyst
    2. Lost Stars
    3. Tarkin
    4. Lords of the Sith
    5. Twilight Company
    6. Heir to the Jedi
    7. Aftermath
    8. A New Dawn

    I don't really have anything to say about these books that hasn't already been covered.

    I agree with the above that Heir to the Jedi was very boring. It took me the best part of a year to get through it, would recommend The Weapon of a Jedi instead as a Luke story.
     
  24. Darkslayer

    Darkslayer #1 Sabine Wren Fan star 7

    Registered:
    Mar 26, 2013
    Isn't Darksaber the one where Sidious kills the Death Star designer, clones him, then kills him again?
     
  25. DavrelKex

    DavrelKex Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    Aug 18, 2016
    Of the ones I've read;

    Battlefront: Twilight Company
    The Sith Lords
    Tarkin
    Lost Stars
    A New Dawn
    Catalyst: A Rogue One novel
    Bloodline
    Life Debt
    Dark Disciple
    Aftermath.

    B:TC was incredible; Freed brings you into the environments with great detail and absolutely nails the feel of war from the perspective of the grunts.

    The Sith Lords felt comfortable, like it was in the EU's prime. The main plot was, ultimately, inconsequential, but does a great job at reintroducing Vader and Palpatine to the literary world of the NuCanon.

    Tarkin is similiar to the Sith Lords; a fun but inconsequential main plot, driven by reintroducing an old character. His backstory really makes the character compelling.

    Lost Stars was just fun. It's technically a YA novel, but it's about as good as an average adult novel. The characters somewhat bland but you get to follow average soldiers through the war. Similar to B:TC but much less gritty, and with a lot more romance.

    A New Dawn was just fun. Well-written, colorful characters and a great introduction to the parent characters of Star Wars: Rebels.

    Catalyst was good for lore, and really sets up the Krennic/Erso backstory for Rogue One.

    Bloodline was very disappointing. Pet characters are okay, but are a glaring weakness when standing next to such a major character as Leia, especially when she's the only major character. I found the plot to be very boring and depleted of action save for a chapter or two, and the big plot twist that sets up Leia not being with the Senate was....contrived.

    Life Debt was only interesting because of Rax, Jakku, Han/Chewie/Kashyyk, and the Imperials in general. Everything else was cringeworthy as Wendig is not very good at writing protagonists. He tends to use very basic character archetypes and tropes, and does not execute those very well resulting in overly-animated, nigh-comical caricatures. Wendig's trilogy are meant for adults and have adult themes, but his characters feel written for ten year olds.

    Dark Disciple was bad. Pretty much hated everything about it. Not much else to say.

    Aftermath is probably one of the worst novels I've ever read, Star Wars or not. Wendig's protagonists are vanilla and groan-worthy most of the time, though he does a decent antagonist when he wants to (Rax and Sloane though Sloane isn't technically his). His writing style is also not very good for a traditional novel, it's more suited for DnD or a screenplay.