Lit Star Wars Expanded Universe Hidden Gems?

I was wondering if anyone knew of any hidden gems of the Expanded Universe. And by hidden gem I mean a little known or overlooked SW book or comic that's actually really good.

 

That depends on what you already know and how deep your knowledge is. There are of course plenty of rare items like foreign country only publications or rpg material and stuff average novel/comic readers may have ignored or not known about. Also depends on your age/generation with what part of publishing you grew up with, and if you researched older material like older/classic comics before the to you current ones then. Or if you followed magazines etc. for exclusive short stories and art, likewise some websites online only material like on now defunct Hyperspace section of starwars com and likewise rpg license holders websites, computer game websites that have inuniverse articles and content.

As you see... there is plenty to choose from. What do you know already and how would you approach it? Then I can help you way better with detailed recommendations.

Until then I might refer you to timelines and publishing lists you can find in my linklist on my new website (see link in my signature below). Eager fans compiled all there is so you can check what you are missing or were not aware of.

So, do tell us your taste and we will sate your appetite

 

Dark Empire because no one understands it

As for actual hidden gems um......IDK?

 

I wasn't really looking for anything in particular so just suggest anything you think might be worthwhile and most fans might not have heard of or have overlooked.

 

There are plenty topics that do that already, just search for "rare" and likewise terms to find them.

But foreign country exclusive stuff would rank high:

German Panini comics expanding Star Wars Rebels with original stories. Some had a limited run translated into english but not all. Germany got Tpbs of most, not all of those.

German Minibooks of Heyne publisher from the 90s pre-Prequels retelling movies and WEG/early EU lore in minisourcebook style with a narrative framing set 1000ABY looking back at the movie era. (got a topic about that one once just search German Minibooks and you find it)

French only rpg magazine articles. Spread all across Legends EU

Spanish/French only: The Dark Side, beautifully illustrated book about Darksiders, the Force, Cults etc. by Tricia Barr

Wizards of the Coast Legends RPG online content, adventures, short stories, miniature game scenarios and more! Literally hundreds of pages and articles.


If you would also count out of universe books: Star Wars and History
A very brilliant book like no other on its topic. You can find the review too via the link in my signature.

 

Two stories from Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina got audio dramas --- The Band's Tale and The Lovers' Tale. I think most oldschool EU fans don't even know they exist, and tracking down physical copies of them (I think they were tapes? Maybe CDs) would probably be tricky and/or expensive, but they're both excellently-produced stories that expand upon the print versions and are a real treat to listen to.

The audio dramas of the OT are also fantastic. I've never listened to the Dark Empire or Tales of the Jedi audio dramas --- anyone care to weigh in on those?

 

Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor.

Death Troopers if you like zombie movies. I just kind of only wanted to bring that up because it’s gonna be the 10th anniversary of me reading Death Troopers while having swine flu which was sort of a religious experience

 

Ah man it really has been ten years since Death Troopers hasn't it. It still feels like the EU ended just a couple years ago and that DT was at the tail end of it.

Remember how it was originally going to be a paperback, but the cover of the stormtrooper helmet on the meat hook got so much attention online that it became a hardcover? Those were the days... when SW books could still be paperbacks.

 

Unseen, Unheard from Star Wars: Tales #24. If you are a fan of Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, that short comic should be right up your alley. And besides, it's a well written short story with excellent art.

 

The Dark Horse comics have lots of gems if you missed them. You don't need to track down an obscure foreign language story to find an overlooked gem. Chances are, the foreign language-only items will give you hassles. The stories in Republic, Tales of the Jedi, Tales, Dawn of the Jedi, X-Wing Rogue Squadron have gems. The Russ Manning newspaperstrips in IDW's hardback format are overlooked. The Marvel UK Weekly Omnibus is loaded with gems.

 

I actually read this one a few months back in The Old Republic Epic collection 3. Star Wars Tales is filled with great little stories like this and I wish Marvel would reprint them by volume, rather than by era like in the epic collections.

 

Will say I have a soft spot of Jedi Trial, its kind of an intresting gerne shift somewhat from heroic sifi that Sw usually is to military sifi.

 

If we're allowed to include canon material in a list of hidden gems of the EU, those German Rebels comics absolutely count. A fair number of them never received official translations into English and remain little known outside Germany - and they're excellent.

 

No need to even translate them, they were originally written in english by UK based authors and translated into German for publication! But somehow they seem incapable of releasing them all in english.

 

I created covid

 

The Star Wars Gamer magazine run, which had not only some of the best development of SW material, but also had the 'silent rebellion' of authors against the proto-StoryGroup that ended the concept of 'S-canon' and finally allowed (at least for that window of the EU's existence) the Marvel Comics run to be fully accepted into Star Wars EU canon.

The original Clone Wars cartoon, long overshadowed by the later one. Subtle, understated (apart from that one episode with Mace that had everyone in a tizzy) and minimalist, and actually made General Grievous frightening.

Agent of the Empire comic series, cut down in its prime by the buyout, where we have a sympathetic, likeable Imperial spy.

 

Most everything has already been mentioned, it seems. Still worth noting a few that come to mind:

World of Fire. The paperback is not expensive online, and until the recent Supernatural Encounters release it was an almost entirely overlooked part of the EU.

The Wildlife of Star Wars and the Illustrated Star Wars Universe are two coffee table style books that are unlikely to be reprinted, and really do immerse the reader in the GFFA.

The Dark Empire endnotes from the back of the original issues and which were reprinted in their entirety in the earlier TPB releases are worth a read through. They very much expand upon the greater story.

Various strategy Guides and early game manuals. In particular, the Stele Chronicles, the Farlander Papers, Dark Forces Coded Transmissions, and Pax Impyrica, The Woolies Annihilation. Just buy those and read them. You don't even have to play the games.

All sorts of Wizards online supplements for the Living Force campaigns. If you can find them, that is...

If you've played Kotor, the Wizards Planet Hoppers articles for Korriban and Yavin are worth a read.

The Lando Calrissian trilogy really does feel like a different part of the GFFA that we don't see much of otherwise.

From WEG, there's obvious stuff like the Dark Empire Sourcebook, the Imperial and Rebel Alliance Sourcebooks (it's a radically different feel) and the Tales of the Jedi Companion. The hidden gems are more along the lines of Stock Ships (freighters getting better development than characters in many other works), Han Solo and the Corporate Sector Sourcebook for a detailed look at a different part of the Galaxy, the Tapani Sector books, and the board games themselves (especially Escape from the Death Star) are still fun.

The earlier Wizards books, such as the Rebellion Era, NJO, and Dark Side books that were written in between the Prequel movies and when their related topics were still ongoing are worth buying.

Here's a few links for you, too:

Many of the obscure EU works have been preserved alongside unreleased stories here:

http://www.starwarstimeline.net/

The Star Wars Technical Commentaries site is a treasure trove of fan analysis circa 2000 and provides not just a look at classic EU topics but also a scientific view of the GFFA.

http://www.theforce.net/swtc/index.html

The Time Tales Arcana section also hosts a variety of very early and often overlooked EU sources:

https://www.theforce.net/timetales/misc/arcana/arcana.asp

... the stories found in the Official Poster Monthlys, such as Soldiers for the Empire!, are a look at the EU from a different perspective.

Out of Universe, a readthrough of The Secret History of Star Wars by Michael Kaminsky might leave you with a different perspective on the development of the original trilogy.

 

The Shadows of the Empire Soundtrack is also a CD worth buying. It also ended up inspiring a lot of later lore.

Some of the game soundtracks, particularly for Republic Commando and Kotor I, are worth getting onto your music enjoyment device of choice.

 

I second this. RepCom soundtrack is just something else. There hasn't been anything like that ever since. It is just so different, yet still has this feel of Star Wars.


I would also add KotOR 2 to your list. Some of it outshines anything in KotOR 1, imo.

 

Seconding the Illustrated Star Wars Universe for the sheer sense of wonder from the early days of the EU, and for the creativity with which KJA turned Ralph McQuarrie's art into stories. So many later works draw from this pool - either in terms of worldbuilding and atmosphere (e.g. for the Coruscant locations) or directly, like "Galaxy of Fear: The Hunger", which builds on the research log in the Dagobah chapter.

Speaking of - the Galaxy of Fear series is an amazing EU experience that connects characters and concepts from a myriad different other sources, if you can overlook the occasional bit of corny writing.

Another treasure trove is the Adventure Journal. All published issues (and some unpublished ones) are available on this SW Timeline page, along with tons of other WEG supplements, sourcebooks and adventures. The WEG universe is a world on its own, extremely interconnected and rich in detail, and it has been a source of inspiration and trivia for Star Wars creators as far back as the original Thrawn Trilogy.

And from the other end of EU history -- if you haven't checked out Paul S. Kemp's books, do it. All of them. They are computer game tie-ins, and they span the timeline from 5000 BBY (Crosscurrent) to ~4000 BBY (TOR: Deceived) to 41 ABY (Riptide), but even if you're not well versed in those eras - I am only just discovering them myself - they are just simply great books. And if "Crosscurrent" makes you want to check out the old "Golden Age of the Sith" comics, go for that too, it's a gem.

 

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