Some Star Wars Novels

Recommended Videos

Elfgore

Your friendly local nihilist
Legacy
Dec 6, 2010
5,655
24
13
So, I'm currently trying to get more involved in the Scifi genre of novels. I'm not the biggest fan of scifi, but I love Star Wars. So I need some good Star Wars novels to change my bookshelf from pure fantasy to a little bit of scifi thrown in.

I've read a couple Star Wars novels. The Bounty Hunter series about Boba Fett, Tales of the Bounty Hunters, and Republic Commando (still never learned what happened to Sev and how he survived).

So lay em on me.
 

Shoggoth2588

New member
Aug 31, 2009
10,250
0
0
Personally, I got into the Old Republic stuff, specifically the Darth Bane trilogy by Drew Karpyshyn (head writer of KotOR if you liked that game). Other than that I've read Death Troopers which was kind of Dead Space-like and filled with zombies. I can't remember if I have or, haven't read any more Star Wars books...there were some graphic novels I've read but they weren't too great (one of them took place a thousand yaers in the future and Luke's great-great-great-grandson is basically a drugged-up space pirate).
 

Tanis

The Last Albino
Aug 30, 2010
5,264
0
0
I, Jedi

FANTASTIC book, either as a stand-alone or as part of the X-Wing series.
 

LetalisK

New member
May 5, 2010
2,769
0
0
X-Wing series. My first foray into the extended universe was Bacta War at an airport. I didn't even know half of what was going on with the characters and I still enjoyed it. I think chronologically I, Jedi takes place after Isard's Revenge in the series, but I could be wrong.

Also, in that whole new jedi academy series proper, was there an actual Keiran Halcyon character or was that just shoehorned in for I, Jedi?
 

Soviet Heavy

New member
Jan 22, 2010
12,218
0
0
The X-Wing series by Michael A. Stackpole and Aaron Alliston is a great read, if you're interested in side characters.

Also, Sev is still MIA, the Republic Commando series was cancelled before anything conclusive happened.

If you're looking for some great standalone novels, Kenobi by John Jackson Miller is an excellent read, and so is Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor.

Avoid anything written by Drew Karpyshin. The man does not know how to play with other people's toys. His Darth Bane trilogy shits over the character's origins, and the less said about the book Revan the better.
 

Soviet Heavy

New member
Jan 22, 2010
12,218
0
0
LetalisK said:
X-Wing series. My first foray into the extended universe was Bacta War at an airport. I didn't even know half of what was going on with the characters and I still enjoyed it. I think chronologically I, Jedi takes place after Isard's Revenge in the series, but I could be wrong.

Also, in that whole new jedi academy series proper, was there an actual Keiran Halcyon character or was that just shoehorned in for I, Jedi?
The Halcyon bloodline was established earlier actually. Nejaa Halcyon, Keiran's descendant and a relative of Corran Horn's, was first mentioned in Rogue Squadron, and there were a couple hints dropped throughout the Stackpole run of the X-Wing series. Later, the character made a full appearance in the novel Jedi Trial
 

LetalisK

New member
May 5, 2010
2,769
0
0
Soviet Heavy said:
LetalisK said:
X-Wing series. My first foray into the extended universe was Bacta War at an airport. I didn't even know half of what was going on with the characters and I still enjoyed it. I think chronologically I, Jedi takes place after Isard's Revenge in the series, but I could be wrong.

Also, in that whole new jedi academy series proper, was there an actual Keiran Halcyon character or was that just shoehorned in for I, Jedi?
The Halcyon bloodline was established earlier actually. Nejaa Halcyon, Keiran's descendant and a relative of Corran Horn's, was first mentioned in Rogue Squadron, and there were a couple hints dropped throughout the Stackpole run of the X-Wing series. Later, the character made a full appearance in the novel Jedi Trial
I know that, but I was wondering if the actual jedi academy books were written with Keiran/Corran already in them or if he was added later via I, Jedi.
 

Soviet Heavy

New member
Jan 22, 2010
12,218
0
0
LetalisK said:
Soviet Heavy said:
LetalisK said:
X-Wing series. My first foray into the extended universe was Bacta War at an airport. I didn't even know half of what was going on with the characters and I still enjoyed it. I think chronologically I, Jedi takes place after Isard's Revenge in the series, but I could be wrong.

Also, in that whole new jedi academy series proper, was there an actual Keiran Halcyon character or was that just shoehorned in for I, Jedi?
The Halcyon bloodline was established earlier actually. Nejaa Halcyon, Keiran's descendant and a relative of Corran Horn's, was first mentioned in Rogue Squadron, and there were a couple hints dropped throughout the Stackpole run of the X-Wing series. Later, the character made a full appearance in the novel Jedi Trial
I know that, but I was wondering if the actual jedi academy books were written with Keiran/Corran already in them or if he was added later via I, Jedi.
The Jedi Academy trilogy was written in 1994 by Kevin J. Anderson, two years before the first X-Wing book came out. Corran wasn't mentioned in those books, but he was later retconned to be one of Luke's twelve original students. Kyle Katarn was also retconned to be one of these students as well, despite never having a speaking part in any of the books.
 

senordesol

New member
Oct 12, 2009
1,301
0
0
Heir to the Empire Trilogy (Timothy Zahn). The last of the Imperial Grand Admirals stages a devastating counter-offensive following the destruction of Death Star II.

The Yuuzhan Vong War (New Jedi Order Series) is also worth a look. Extra-galactic invaders nearly destroy the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant.
 

CommanderL

New member
May 12, 2011
835
0
0
Starwars kenobi is a good read as is the jedi twilight Coruscant nights storys The revenge of the sith novelaztion is amazing as its sequeal dark lord rise of darth vader The darth plaguis book is also a great read
 

Anthony Wells

New member
May 28, 2011
363
0
0
Galaxy of fear series. Its a horror based series set in the star wars universe following 2 kids and their uncle. fantastic series, but don't go into it expecting the absolute best, its meant for younger audiences i believe. Either way its still an amazing series, and well worth a read regardless.


....speaking of i need to track down and read the series again myself.. haven't read them since I was in middle school.
 

Sniper Team 4

New member
Apr 28, 2010
5,433
0
0
If it comes after Return of the Jedi, I have most likely read it (I think the only one I didn't read is the Cross Current series, or whatever it is). I honestly liked them all because I am that big of a Star Wars fan. I loved the original trilogy as a kid, and when I found out that Luke, Han, and Leia's adventures continued in book form, I read everything I could get my hands on. I can get you a summary on each book if you want.

BUT, back to your original question. Based on what you listed, it appears you may lean toward books that do not focus on the original characters. So here are my suggestions.

Read the X-wing series, as many people have already said. If you played the original X-wing game, there's an extra treat in the first book for you. The series is about Wedge bringing Rogue Squadron back to life. It's full of humor and fast wit, as well as action. Also, there is no 'bubble' protecting characters in the series. Many of the pilots die, some of whom you would not expect. The story continues with Wraith Squadron books, and if you want to see the conclusion to the final enemy, you'll need to read The Courtship of Princess Leia.

That right there brings up probably the difficult thing about the Star Wars books. They are all linked. Yes, each book--or series in some cases--is a stand alone adventure, but characters and events from previous books are constantly referenced and used, so you will find yourself lost at times if you're not familiar with stuff. I would suggest picking up the reader's companion to prevent this.

Other books that I think are worth checking out include the Thrawn Trilogy (honestly, if you only read three Star Wars books, read these), the Jedi Academy trilogy (Luke rebuilds the Jedi and a lot of new characters are established), and The Hand of Thrawn Duology, as those two books are the last of the 'previous' Star Wars books. If you like Mara Jade and Luke, then you should also read Survivor's Quest.

Speaking of Mara Jade, you should read her books as well. Star Wars Allegiance and Choices of One. They show how someone could serve the Emperor and still be uncorrupted by the Dark Side.
Scoundrels is a good heist book starring Han and a group of thieves, so if you like movies like Ocean's Eleven, this one is worth a read.
I recently just finished Dawn of the Jedi. It's different, but I still enjoyed it. It takes place before the Jedi were even called Jedi, before there were Sith (the rank, not the species, and yes there's a differences), and before there was Light and Dark side views of the Force.

On a side note: Anything after Survivor's Quest, I would stay away from unless you're committed. The books that take place after Survivor's Quest draw heavily from nearly every book that came before them, and the further down the timeline you go, the more this happens. Trying to read Legacy of the Force or Fate of the Jedi series will drive you insane because you will not understand what anyone is talking about if you haven't read other things.

So there's my two cents. Sorry it's a bit long, but I love Star Wars and these books have been my life. They are what got me into reading.
 

skywolfblue

New member
Jul 17, 2011
1,514
0
0
Sniper Team 4 said:
the Thrawn Trilogy (honestly, if you only read three Star Wars books, read these)
I'll second that. The Thrawn Trilogy is very well done, I like it better then I do the original trilogy. Less silly overdone force moments and stormtroopers being beaten by ewoks, and more about strategery and clever thinking, Thrawn is a much better villain then Vader.
 

Tahaneira

Social Justice Rogue
Feb 1, 2011
377
0
0
Well, I came in here to recommend the Thrawn trilogy, but I see that's been handled. So, to make myself useful, I will instead recommend Death Star and Scoundrels.

Death Star is a great book. It's about a bunch of random officers, civilians, and prisoners who are all on the first Death Star, and it covers their experiences from the construction of the station through the Battle of Yavin. All fascinating characters, and it does a good job of showing that a lot of people in the Empire weren't exposed to their atrocities and just thought they were doing what they had to do. That changes, though. In particular, one character is the main gunner who actually fires the big superlaser, and even though he doesn't really have anything to do with the other characters, he gets a hell of a character arc.

Scoundrels is also written by Zahn, which makes it good almost by default. :p It takes place between the first and second movies, and it's basically a heist story about Han trying to make some cash to pay off Jabba. No Force, no Empire (well, not much anyways); no grandiose plots to take over the galaxy or wipe out a planet. Just a bunch of criminals trying to make a score. It's a fun read, and kind of a refreshing change from the usual Star Wars story.

Well, them's my recommendations. I hope you enjoy them.
 

Shraggler

New member
Jan 6, 2009
216
0
0
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Shadows of the Empire.

I read that a long time ago when I was really, really into Star Wars and liked it a lot. It tied the fifth (ESB) and sixth (RotJ) movies very well, and I thought it mixed with the original trilogy nicely without adding too much frivolous, meaningless subplots, mini-arcs, one-time characters/settings/plots that add nothing to the plot but are given an inordinate amount of detail, and so on.

I'll also throw in my vote for the X-Wing series. There are a lot of books, a few overall plots, fairly memorable characters and, like Shadows of the Empire, it's based on established & common canon. It's not like many of the Expanded Universe bullshit where author-fanboys just take the Star Wars universe and go too damn far with their settings and plots, like they're writing the book for themselves.

The X-Wing series is just fun. It's a fun read for Star Wars fans (specifically those who like or favor the original trilogy), and (as Sniper Team 4 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/jump/18.836589.20503220] mentioned) you played LucasArts' X-Wing series, you'll definitely like the read. The battles are well described with interesting detail to win over the X-Wing players, but not too much detail that it becomes boring and poorly paced.

Never read the Thrawn trilogy myself, but I've been told again and again that it's also well done.
 

Seracen

New member
Sep 20, 2009
645
0
0
senordesol said:
Heir to the Empire Trilogy (Timothy Zahn). The last of the Imperial Grand Admirals stages a devastating counter-offensive following the destruction of Death Star II.

The Yuuzhan Vong War (New Jedi Order Series) is also worth a look. Extra-galactic invaders nearly destroy the New Republic and the Imperial Remnant.
The Heir to the Empire series is effectively a direct sequel to Luke and Han's Trilogy, and a great read. Also, Mara Jade is one of my fave characters.

I stop reading around the time that Lucas started messing with the books, as he effectively crapped all over them, to the extend that Zahn was actually pissed off.
 

Riff Moonraker

New member
Mar 18, 2010
944
0
0
Elfgore said:
So, I'm currently trying to get more involved in the Scifi genre of novels. I'm not the biggest fan of scifi, but I love Star Wars. So I need some good Star Wars novels to change my bookshelf from pure fantasy to a little bit of scifi thrown in.

I've read a couple Star Wars novels. The Bounty Hunter series about Boba Fett, Tales of the Bounty Hunters, and Republic Commando (still never learned what happened to Sev and how he survived).

So lay em on me.
Seriously, start with the original Timothy Zahn trilogy. I have read all of the original trilogy books, so I can honestly say they kind of tie together, so start where they really began, and take the ride. Overall, I think you will enjoy it. There are also ALOT of single shots, and short story compilations that are really good, but you could read those at your leisure, and at any point during the overall "main" storyline arcs with the series. If I can get the time (I am work, so I will try) to post up some kind of timeline for the novels, I would be glad to. But the Timothy Zahn trilogy really got things firing off for the novels, and is really good.
 

Signa

Noisy Lurker
Legacy
Jul 16, 2008
4,749
6
43
Country
USA
Shraggler said:
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Shadows of the Empire.
God, I hope not. I read the Heir to the Empire series, and then moved on to that one. I will never read Star Wars novels again. It was that bad.
 

leviticusd

New member
Mar 19, 2009
161
0
0
Hmm, I've been reading them all since '93 and I have to admit I'm sick of them after 20 years of books but I can't stop now. The Bounty Hunter Series and Republic Commando (honestly anything written by Karen Travesty...err Traviss) are some of my least favorite out there so you can only go up from there.

If you liked the Tales of the Bounty Hunter, get Tales from Mos Eisley Cantina. That was the first book done like that and I think the stories are more unique and slightly better than the others.

I agree with those that say the Timothy Zahn series is a must. When those books came out, Star Wars was about dead. There hasn't been any movies, toys, or other material for a few years. Then these books came out, introduced the continued timeline of the heroes, introduced new interesting characters and I believe reignited the flame of Star Wars. They would be worth reading before the next movies come out, because at figure at that point they will be invalidated unfortunately. I'm sure there are already some inconsistencies due to these coming out years before the prequels.

A stand alone book that was surprisingly good to me was Darth Plagueis. Pretty good back story novel for the Emperor that I found to be quite plausible and consistent with my mindset at least of the possible past of the Emperor.