What are the greatest Star Wars novels of all time?

Of course there is no definitive answer. Still what SW novels, of any era, go down as works worthy of the name, Star Wars. Feel free to give reasons why they are great too.

mine are hte most obvious since I haven't read that many.

1. The Thrawn Trilogy

2. The Unifying Force

3. Destiny's Way

No favorites threads.

 

The Thrawn Trilogy, Shadows of the Empire, Outbound Flight, Shatterpoint, and Yoda: Dark Rendezvous.

 

Daley's Han Solo Adventures - just pure fun
Zahn's Trilogy, which I refuse to call The Thrawn Trilogy - because the franchise hadn't blown up yet and it was just a solid story
Stackpole's X-Wing tetralogy - showed that Star Wars could not only succeed but excel even when not focused on the big three, and even when telling stories in different genres
Allston's Wraith Squadron trilogy - Took the X-Wing approach to the next level, managed both hilarity and poignance at a level rarely seen in the EU
Stover's novels - Again took the franchise to another level in terms of both sheer awesome, and integration of words, ideas, themes and action
Stewart's Dark Rendezvous - a standalone gem of great characterization and good writing.

I also want to include Williams' Destiny's Way, but it's been so long since I read it and I remember so few details that I can't really. . . Haven't read any of Kemp's books yet, but I hear they're good.

 

I don't have a final list, still haven't finished Shadows of Mindor and haven't read yet Dark Rendezvous, but I will say that THE UNIFYING FORCE and TRAITOR would definitely be on my list.

 

Of the ones I've read, my favorites are...

Thrawn Trilogy- Big surprise. Just a great story, the big three are characterized extremely well, to the point where I have no problem calling them the honorary episode 7, 8 and 9. Thrawn is just a great villain, as well.

Shatterpoint and Shadows of Mindor- Again, big surprise. I haven't read Traitor or ROTS, but these two are phenomenal. Shatterpoint was the story to make me like Mace, and Shadows of Mindor showed a side of Luke that's really never been shown.

Shadow Hunter- Just a great thriller. Maul's a favorite of mine, and reading this, he's written appropriately as the Terminator. I really need to read Coruscant Nights.

Shadows of the Empire- Never for a second do I doubt this could be between ESB and ROTJ. Like TTT, a story that's really driven by character. Vader was great in this one too.

Jedi Prince series- The very definition of so bad it's good XD

And wow, I just noticed that almost all of my favorites start with "Sha", and most of those beginning with the word "Shadow".

 

I sure do have some favorites.

Shadows of Mindor - Not much to be said about it because everyone basically knows how awesome it is. It's been a while since I've read it though, so it's on the top of my list to reread.

The Young Jedi Knight series - Sure, it does have it's problems (take a look at Trip/Havac's thread on Jacen Solo for some of them), but it basically introduced me to Star Wars EU (well that and the GoDV series, but we don't talk about that), and I really like the stories and the characters involved.

Star By Star - This was one of the first novels to actually heavily feature the characters from the Young Jedi Knight series, and I liked it for that. Plus the mission to Mykyr was fun to read, and I feel the Coruscant battle was one of the best in the whole NJO.

Traitor - Don't have much to say about it, but it's awesome. Also, I finally got the Jacen Solo action figure with the amphistaff armor, and it is awesome.

X-Wing series - I can't really pick a favorite from the series, but it's been so long since I've read them that I tend to blur them together. But altogether a great series.

Knight Errant - Yeah, it's fresh on my mind, so I might be a little biased, but in all honesty I think this is my favorite Star Wars book. I go into more detail in the review thread.

There's a lot more that I like, but I think those cover my favorites. If I think of any more I may come back and add them later.

 

1-3. Thrawn Trilogy
4. The Unifying Force
5. Star By Star
6. Mindor
7. Knight Errant
8. Labywrinth Of Evil
9. ROTS novelization
10. Traiter
11. Destiny's Way
12. Shatterpoint
13. Betrayal
14. Vision Of The Future
15. Vector Prime

 

1. Shatterpoint - I never liked Mace until I read this book.
2. Courtship of Princess Leia - just because C3PO makes up a love ballad about Han Solo (which really made me laugh) and the Nightsisters
3. The Darth Bane series - loved each one. The Gloomwalkers, inside the Sith academy and the Army of Light were great highlights for me.

 

For me personally?

Dark Rendezvous
Traitor
The Bacta War
Heir to the Empire
I, Jedi

Descending, with DR being #1. Regarding Stover - Mindor and RotS were awesome but with minor flaws, while Traitor is perfect. Shatterpoint had no discernible flaws but didn't make a huge impression on me.

Depending on the local weather I might be convinced to swap I, Jedi with Shadow Hunter.

 

A list of my favorites in chronological order:
Darth Bane: Path of Destruction - A Novel of the Old Republic
Shatterpoint
Labyrinth of Evil
Revenge of the Sith
AC Crispin Han Solo Trilogy
Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
Rogue Squadron
Iron Fist
Thrawn Trilogy
I Jedi
Edge of Victory II : Rebirth
Star by Star
Enemy Lines I : Rebel Dream
Destiny's Way
The Unifying Force
Vortex

Pretty decent spread of authors and time periods. Kind of sad to see Vortex as the only post NJO book on my list - and I was hesitant to even include it.

 

Thrawn Trilogy--with glaring exception of Mara Jade.; Intos Talon Karrade and Gilad Palleon(sp) two of the cooest EU chars ever

Jedi Academy Trilogy--with glaring exception of Kyp Durron.; Introduces Master Streen proving age doesn't matter when it comes to being a Jedi

Coreillian Trilogy; Tracken Sal-Solo.

 

I think we have to let LOTF and FOTJ age for a few years before we can honestly rate them with the others. The NJO series was very unpopular at first, but now a lot of people look back at it warmly.

 

I could go on and on with this, because I have a list of over 25 books that deserve to be on this list, but I will stick with a top 5.

1- RoTS Novel by Matthew Stover- Unbelievable storytelling. Took a good movie and made a great novel. So many classic scenes were made even better by Stover's storytelling ability.

2. I, Jedi by Michael Stackpole- This is the novel that got me into the EU and it is still one of my favorites.

3. Star by Star by Troy Denning- The darkest moment of the NJO. So much happens in this book, and I feel everything. To me this is the Empire Strikes Back of the EU.

4. Starfighters of Adumar by Aaron Allston- Just a fun book all around. Allston's humor really shines through here.

5. The Unifying Force by James Luceno- Such a great ending to an epic series. James Luceno does a great job of tying it all up. I sometimes wish the story of Luke, Leia and Han ended here.

 

That's a really hard question, but I think I have my three favorites:

- Revenge of the Sith (the adult one, by Stover)
- Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
- The Last Command

The first because, unlike with most novelization, I don't really think either the novel or the movie is worse than the other (neither do I complain about the differences): I just enjoy the movie more for reading this. Which is what novelizations are for, IMO.

Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor is just a plain fun and exciting adventure. Don't think there's more to say, really.

The Last Command... well, the last few chapters blew me away when I read them the first time. I knew the story already, but it was so exciting I couldn't stop reading. And how can that be bad? This novel captures the spirit of Star Wars in an amazing way.

 

10. Hard Contact
9. Dark Force Rising
8. Traitor
7. Dark Rendesvous
6. Starfighters of Adumar
5. The Last Command
4. Star by Star
3. Shatterpoint
2. I, Jedi
1. Heir to the Empire

Some of the most ground-breaking and significant Star Wars books.

Hard Contact, when viewed in isolation, was a brilliant insight into the Clones' perspective of the Clone Wars, and when viewed in regards to Traviss' other works, kick-started one of the most controversial aspects of the Star Wars EU to date.

Dark Force Rising, whilst not as strong in my opinion as the other two of the trilogy, still deserves its place in the top 10 almost just by default.

Traitor began Stover's wonderful career in the Star Wars universe, and although my first reading of the novel did not draw a favourable reaction, a more mature reading of it has made me fall in love with it.

Dark Rendesvous earns its place, much like Adumar, for nothing else except for the brilliant humour spread through the two books. They bring an element to the Star Wars Universe that has been mimiced with varying degrees of success (*cough*Mindor*cough*) throughout the EU's history. These two books represent the finest works of the two authors in terms of humour, and the stories weren't bad to boot.

The Last Command provided a thrilling conclusion to the trilogy that re-started the Star Wars EU, and deserves its place in the top 5.

I was tossing up which other NJO books to put in the top ten - TUF and Allstons' Rebel Dream sprang to mind as particular favourites of mine, but it was hard to go past Star By Star, detailing some of the most ground-breaking moments in Star Wars history, the Invasion of Coruscant, and the death of Anakin Solo. A spectacular work by Denning, and, in my opinion, one of his rare highlights in the Star Wars universe.

I cannot speak highly enough of the top three.

Shatterpoint is one of my absolute favourite Star Wars novels, not only for tying in to NJO - I'm a huge fan of continuity and whenever I see links that aren't entirely shoe-horned in I have a little continuity-gasm. The story itself is an adaption of Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now, which after studying in Year 11 gave me a new appreciation of this novel. Without meaning to lessen Traitor or Revenge of the Sith - my number 11, by the way - I truly think this is Stover's best work in Star Wars.

I, Jedi took Star Wars where it had never been before, looking intimately into a characters thoughts and motives. Stackpole expands on the character of Corran Horn in such a brilliant way that this novel is one of the very best to come out of the Bantam era.

HTTE is where it all began, plain and simple. With no disrespect to Splinter of the Mind's Eye, the Han and Lando adventures, and other works published before this, this is where the EU truly begins, and hits its strides. HTTE was a thrilling book from start to finish and introduced characters as much, if not more, loved than some movie characters, which is a huge compliment to Zhan and the way he wrote his books.

 

My Top 10 list:

1. Vision of the Future (I'm an L/M fan. I think this is pretty obvious. Zahn does a great job at trying up the entire Bantam line.)
2. Outbound Flight (I was never a huge Thrawn fan until I read this book. I loved the political machinations. C'baoth was such a jerk. And Zahn writes a really fantastic Palpatine.)
3. The Last Command (Really the entire Thrawn Trilogy should go on this list, but this one is my favorite. This is when I really began to be a Mara fan.)
4. The Unifying Force (Thinking of the last paragraph of this book still gives me chills. It was such a bittersweet, wonderful ending. I wish that the post-NJO EU had taken more clues from the ending of this book.)
5. Tatooine Ghost (I love small, character-focused stories like this one. And the exploration into Leia's acceptance of Anakin Skywalker was brilliant. I wish there were more books like this.)
6. Iron Fist (Goes on my list for the absolutely brilliant death of Ton Phanan, which, IMO, is one of the best moments of the EU. Plus, I absolutely love Face Loran.)
7. Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor (This book made me remember what it was like when the EU was fun. And I haven't read a better-written Luke in ages.)
8. I, Jedi (One of the most ambitious books of the EU, not just for the fact that it is written in first-person, but also because it involves to very different storylines and ties them together perfectly.)
9. Destiny's Way (I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this book until I flipped through it recently. I love the political subplots and there are some great character moments.)
10. Starfighters of Adumar (I'm re-reading this now and can't stop laughing.)

 

RoTS
Traitor
Mindor
Shatterpoint
Starfighters of Adumar.

Seriously, they should just make Matt Stover chief executive editor of the EU or something.

 

1. Traitor - changed what Star Wars was for me as far as bringing a cerebral edge to the EU, while still managing some of the best action-packed drama I've ever read. Not only a Star Wars masterpiece for me, but worthy of sitting on the same shelf as my Gene Wolfe novels.

2. Rogue Planet - More of an obviously science fictional Star Wars than a straight-up movie riff, and the results were wonderful. Exotic setting and ideas coupled with great characterization.

3. Star by Star - more of a sweeping epic for me than the entirety of LOTF.

4. Mindor - great, great fun that also provides one of the most thoughtful examinations of tie-in fiction I've read. This book deserved to be nominated for general SF awards.

5. I, Jedi - ambitious is right. I'm surprised this book didn't inspire more like it.

6. Starfighters of Adumar - Allston is great in fun action romps, and this is his best one.

7. Shatterpoint - chilling adventure, as well as another perfect example of how to do different, darker Star Wars the right way.

8. Heir to the Empire - Admittedly I'm not a huge Zahn fan these days, but without this book my interest in Star Wars might not have survived the 80s.

 

Most of mine I've seen mentioned already, save one:

Shadows of the Empire.

Seriously, this book has some of my favorite EU moments- anyone who didn't cheer when Leia kneed Xizor in the groin has no soul as far as I'm concerned.

Further, this book has incredible characterization going on- it has, in fact, my all-time favorite look at what's going on in Lord Vader's head. It's almost like they wrote the book solely for the purpose to show us the perfect internal view in order to compliment the perfect external Vader characterization- The Empire Strikes Back.

Further, the way Luke handles Guri while Jaina in the NJO couldn't handle an HRD in hand-to-hand just makes me laugh all the harder people diss ROTJ Luke's skills. Oh, sure, he's a bumbling half-trained Padawan, but NJO Jaina's a full-fledged Knight. Riiiight...

I mean, it takes Luke's incredible one-year growth and makes it make sense, and I love how brilliantly done his self-training was, as was his epiphany on the Force.

Really, really surprised SOTE hasn't been mentioned yet...

 

Hm...

1. Heir to the Empire
2. Starfighters of Adumar
3. Vision of the Future
4. Iron Fist
5. The Last Command
6. Solo Command
7. The Unifying Force

 

Hmmm... in no particular order:

1. Thrawn Trilogy
2. NJO: Edge of Victory duology
3. NJO: Traitor
4. NJO: Unifying Force
5. Revenge of the Sith Novelization
6. Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
7. Yoda: Dark Rendezvouz

 

Gonna have to say in no order...

Revenge Of The Sith
Star By Star
Dark Rendezvous
Destinys Way
The Unifying Force
Traitor
The Hutt Gambit
Rebel Dawn
The Paradise Snare
Death Troopers (I know!)
Everything Zahn lol

There was two or three books from the LOFT/FOTJ era but i honestly cant remember which titles.

The short shory: Simple Tricks by Chris Cassidy and Tish Pahl is a worthy look.

The Han Solo Trilogy (Snare, Gambit & Dawn) is by FAR the most underrated/underappreicated series of books ever written in the EU.

Revenge Of The Sith remains no.1 though.

 

1. Star Wars. More EU authors need to go back and read the original novelization.

2. The Heir to the Empire trilogy. Totally awesome, and worthy of its status.

3. The Han Solo Adventures. Brian Daley's terrific series that expanded on the life of everyone's favorite smuggling duo.

 

In no particular order:

Heir to the Empire
The Hutt Gambit
Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
Wedge's Gamble
I, Jedi
Dark Tide: Onslaught
Dark Tide: Ruin
Edge of Victory I: Conquest
Edge of Victory II : Rebirth
Star by Star
Traitor
Enemy Lines I : Rebel Dream
The Unifying Force
Dark Rendezvous
Shadows of the Empire
Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter
Outbound Flight
Solo Command
Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
DNT: The Unseen Queen
Hard Contact
Inferno

 

No real order

Yoda: Dark Rendezvous
Vision of the Future (still 100 pages to go)
Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil
Crosscurrent

...and of course, the Thrawn Trilogy

There are a handful which come close, but don't make it. Rise of Darth Vader was pretty cool, and I always had a soft spot for Vector Prime.