Lit Which "classic" Star Wars Legends novel is your all time favorite?

I am trying to figure out how to grow my collection as a Children's Librarian, and I wanted to see what everyone thinks is the best Star Wars novel from Legends. I have selected 15 choices from 1977-2012. Only the best books from a particular trilogy are here, and I am big on stand-alone novels. I could not put every choice, and I was advised to make multiple polls so we will see-perhaps a bracketing is in my future. The choices were from the most hyped novels of the Legends decades (except most of the teens)

 

I picked X-wing: Rogue Squadron because its focus was on Wedge Antilles, a secondary character of the films but still a connection and Michael A. Stackpole caught him so brilliantly and placed him where he needed to be: flying an X-wing and leading a squadron. The battles were easy to picture as we're familiar with almost all the ship types present in the engagement (though the bulk cruisers Mon Valle and Corulag as well as the assault shuttles Modaran and Devonian have never had official class names, should ask Stackpole about that if he still has the notes). And the characters such as Corran Horn, Kirtan Lorr, Mirax Terrik and the other characters are so engaging and you want to explore them more: from Tycho Celchu, Ooryl Qrygg, Gavin Darklighter and Lujayne Forge down to Liat Tsayv, Captain Rojahn, Captain Uwlla Iillor and Lieutenant Fila. Its engaging, its filling and you plunge into the road towards Heir to the Empire and the rest of the Thrawn Trilogy intrigued how Coruscant would end up in New Republic hands by the events of Timothy Zahn's novel trilogy.

Easily my number one pick for classic Star Wars novels. I'm currently plunging into the original EU at the moment myself. Just finished The Crystal Star, which I thought was really good particularly the scenes with Jaina and Jacen making me miss the latter's animal loving side lost in NJO onwards, and am now starting Darth Plagueis. After that will be the rest I haven't really touched on: Planet of Twilight, Children of the Jedi, Maul: Lockdown, Shatterpoint, both Han Solo trilogies, Lando Calrissian trilogy, Shield of Lies, Tyrant's Test, the Corellian trilogy, Vision of the Future and others. It's going to be very nostalgic.

 

Plagueis, simply do to how it weaves through older material and connects them into a larger story.

Though I think Rogue Squadron is the best example of what the EU could be- building up minor characters in the films and allowing them to thrive in stories of their own.

 

NJO Traitor.

 

I chose six. I think they would all be fine choices for a children's library. They're all quality books in themselves, aaaaaaaand...

Heir to the Empire and Rogue Squadron both as gateways into the 90s New Republic era, and as stories that might interest today's kids with their connections to present-day SW media. You've got Thrawn, and you've got the Rogues. Pending, of course, what happens with Patty Jenkins's maybe-or-maybe-not-happening Rogue Squadron movie.

Darth Plagueis might also interest a modern-day young SW fan after Plagueis's recent live-action cameo, and it's also Luceno at his very best writing a pure distillation of Legends's entire prequel era (pre-Clone Wars prequel era, anyway). It's also very directly connected to Episode I, and that kind of familiar connection with one of the main-series films would be comfortable for a new, young reader. For that reason, I also included Shadows of the Empire and the Revenge of the Sith novelization. They'd be easy to digest for any kid who only knows the movies.

And of course I voted for Vector Prime. Send 'em into the NJO, Baby! They'll thank you nineteen books later.

 

I always find the framing of these questions interesting, since (for example) while I wouldn't rate Rogue Squadron as the best book out of Stackpole's X-Wing novels alone - let alone all of the old EU - as a single addition to a kid/teen library I think it's one of the top jumping-on points here.

 

Yeah -- Iron Fist might be my favorite of the bunch, but it wouldn't exist if Wedge and co hadn't been established earlier in all of Stackpole's novels. I consider Stackpole one of the better EU writers (and wish so much he'd come back!!!), but Allston's writing could often pack a stronger emotional punch. But people don't usually put the 6th book of a series on a SW poll.

I will add -- on that line -- that one thing about all Star Wars duologies/trilogies/min-series is that they tend to have a mix of stronger and weaker novels. Even book trilogies/series by a single author (Zahn) tend to vary considerably in quality. The first book in a series is not always the best.

 

Iron Fist or Solo Command rate way up high for me.

Vision of the Future also close to the top.

But Stover's Traitor is just such a unique book, in many ways. If the antithesis nearly of Allston's style.
And Revenge of the Sith gets lots of style points.

Isard's Revenge and Wedge's Gamble both a bit underrated, IMO.
As is the MacDowell books - except they do rather drag, in the middle.

 

Brian Daley's Han Solo trilogy is the closest we'll ever come to capturing the feel of STAR WARS in a book.

 

For me, it's hard to answer these questions because so much of the best expanded universe stuff is a multibook event. Thrawn Trilogy, Han Solo Trilogy, X-Wing Series. Even if you break it down into smaller bits, like the many two-parters within the NJO, or the Rogue Squadron versus Wraith Squadron story arcs in X-wing, you still end up with multiple books, none of which individually really makes sense without the others to build it up.

I put I, Jedi as my favorite, partly because it's a complete story in its own right, even if it's connected to the X-Wing and Jedi Academy novels. Despite being one book, it does a good job of checking all three of the big parts of the Star Wars universe (military, fringe, and Jedi). And I'm quite attached to the main character and the entire little mini-universe that's built up around him. (I actually read I, Jedi first, when I'd read the Jedi Academy Trilogy but none of the X-wing books; it was a joy discovering that whole world later when I got to the X-wing series).

 

I dont know but my favorite stories are
ROTS novel
NJO
LOTF
Darth Bane Path of Destruction
Darth Plagueis
Cloak of Deception
Darth Maul Shadow Hunter

 

So many of these are classics, all worthy of mention. But for me, it doesn’t get better than Heir to the Empire.

That novel was the first of its kind, the trailblazer that set the stage for all the others that followed.

Reading that book takes me back to a simpler time, when the world was full of opportunity and optimism. A blank slate of an Expanded Universe, ready for thrilling tales in a galaxy far far away.

 

I'm eyebrow-deep in canon reading right now, but if I had to choose one Legends book to reread I'd have a hard time choosing between the original Foster novelization, Heir to the Empire, or any given book from the Daley trilogy. All of them take me back to when it felt so new.

 

Why do we have to choose? Whyyyyy?!?!?

um — heir to the empire should be, shadows of the empire wants to be, but it’s courtship of Princess Leia.

 

thrawn trilogy jedi academy trilogy and the old republic series they are good books

 

Han Solo at Stars' End.

It's my favorite SW novel period.

 

So many choices, but I am truly a sucker for Wedge's Gamble for so many reasons.

--Adm. Nick

 

All the ones that were mentioned above at the beginning to the thread I love and they stand out over everything that has come out from Disney Star Wars with the exception of Dark Lords of the Sith Novel, Tarkin Novel, Rogue One and the prequel novel. Everything else from Disney is outright boring. In fact, I find the Marvel novels to be far more exciting than a Star Wars book as of late. I miss legends those were real stories with meaning. Heck, even Luke got a happy marriage with Mara Jade. In new canon he is a miserable old fart that has drank too much whiskey ale. It's like he gave up while in legends he never gave up. He lived up to his billing as being the son of the most powerful force user of his time (Daddy Vader). In Disney canon he is sulking and retelling history like if he lived it and wondering why history repeated itself. Do not care for it.

 

Why is the Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno missing from the list? I know that it is de facto part of a trilogy but for me is the best EU novel from the era (I mean regarding to content unrelated to a movie).

 

Plagueis, Traitor, blah blah blah

Where’s the love for Starfighters Of Adumar?? Genuinely my favourite Legends book of all time

 

The books I've reread the most are Darksaber, The Hutt Gambit, and Rebel Dawn(there's a 5 year gap between The Paradise Snare and The Hutt Gambit, and I didn't care for The Paradise Snare as much as the other two). I've also read Young Jedi Knights more than once.

 

Oddly it's a mix between three storylines; the first two Han Solo trilogies and the Republic Commando books, I love the former for presenting a more adventurous side to Star Wars outside of the film conflicts and showing off Han Solo as a pulp rogue. The other is for the presentation of Mandalorian culture, familiar relationships, and the daily missions of the GAR's finest. (While I'm not big on the oc-posturing and jedi-slander, I do enjoy Traviss's work for showing the brotherhood the commando's had with themselves and their sergeants.)