Star Wars EU
- Thread starter Yevetha
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I've never been able to find official confirmation on the book's canonicity, as I've seen/heard of conflicting reports on that front, and therefore chose to include it.
I restricted this to novels only because, for me, they are the most important and central part of the SW EU.
While I agree that the unchanging tech of the EU could be (probably is) lazy, there is some intertextual/genre justification for it: if Asimov's Foundation series is seen as one of Lucas' prime influences, tech there didn't apparently change much between I, Robot and (say) Foundation and Empire: it was always nuclear. What changed was in fact a reversal: people forgot how to use it.
That's basically because the KOTOR/TOR game series are about rehashing the familiar tropes and iconography of Star Wars, telling Star Wars-style stories without having to worry too much about sticking in continuity to the movies.
In a sense it'd be like remaking Star Wars, only they have a nice tidy canonical loophole - set the story the far past - so they don't have to.
I think BioWare and Obsidian handled this kind of worldbuilding very well, personally.
The novel line has been setting things up here and there that are supposed to hint toward the state of the galaxy at the time of Legacy. The comics (aside from the Infinities line) are on the same level as the novels in terms of importance.
Not quite ignored...
They eventually did a comic adaptation; the planet Mimban was name-dropped in an early episode of the Clone Wars series; and more significantly, the events in SOTME were referenced in Ryder Windham's A New Hope: The Life of Luke Skywalker.
Events from SOTME were also referenced in The Essential Chronology.
My "Essentials" List:
Darth Plagueis
Shatterpoint
Dark Rendezvous
Labyrnith of Evil
Dark Lord
---
Shadows of Mindor
Courtship Princess Leia
Thrawn Trilogy
Jedi Academy Trilogy
Hand of Thrawn Duology
---
New Jedi Order Series (some more than others...)
Dark Nest Trilogy
Legacy of the Force Series
Fate of the Jedi Series
My "Not Worth Reading" List...
Coruscant Nights Trilogy
Tatooine Ghost
Children of the Jedi
Planet of Twilight
Crystal Star
Scourge (well I'm halfway through it)
Crosscurrent & Riptide
Millennium Falcon
Darth Plagueis
Shatterpoint
Dark Rendezvous
Labyrnith of Evil
Dark Lord
---
Shadows of Mindor
Courtship Princess Leia
Thrawn Trilogy
Jedi Academy Trilogy
Hand of Thrawn Duology
---
New Jedi Order Series (some more than others...)
Dark Nest Trilogy
Legacy of the Force Series
Fate of the Jedi Series
My "Not Worth Reading" List...
Coruscant Nights Trilogy
Tatooine Ghost
Children of the Jedi
Planet of Twilight
Crystal Star
Scourge (well I'm halfway through it)
Crosscurrent & Riptide
Millennium Falcon
Well, since everyone else is doing it, here's my "essentials" list. I'll include the movies to make the chronology a little easier.
EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE
Darth Plagueis by James Luceno (primarily set before TPM, but the framing story is set after it)
Rogue Planet by Greg Bear (not my favorite EU novel, but it's kind of a prequel to the NJO series)
Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn
EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES
Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover (not really essential, but the subject plays a role later, plus it's just an awesome book)
Labyrinth of Evil by James Luceno
EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH
Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno
The Han Solo Trilogy by A. C. Crispin
Death Star by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry
EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE
Allegiance by Timothy Zahn
Choices of One by Timothy Zahn
EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry (I personally don't think it's essential, but others do, and it's a decent book)
EPISODE VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI
The Truce at Bakura by Kathy Tyers (not great, but it's right after ROTJ and has a few important character moments)
Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor by Matthew Stover
X-wing by Michael A. Stackpole (books 1-4) and Aaron Allston (books 5-7)
The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton
Tatooine Ghost by Troy Denning
The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn
X-wing: Isard's Revenge by Michael A. Stackpole
The Dark Empire Duology by Tom Veitch (comic)
Empire's End by Tom Veitch (comic)
The Jedi Academy Trilogy by Kevin J. Anderson
I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole
X-wing: Starfighters of Adumar by Aaron Allston
The Corellian Trilogy by Roger MacBride Allen
The Hand of Thrawn Duology by Timothy Zahn
Survivor's Quest by Timothy Zahn
Young Jedi Knights by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta (young adult)
The New Jedi Order by various authors
The Dark Nest Trilogy by Troy Denning
Legacy of the Force by Aaron Allston, Karen Traviss, and Troy Denning
Millennium Falcon by James Luceno
Fate of the Jedi by Aaron Allston, Christie Golden, and Troy Denning
Legacy by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema (comic)
Although I personally prefer to kind of ignore almost everything that takes place after NJO, and just imagine that the storyline jumps from NJO to Legacy, one hundred years later.
EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE
Darth Plagueis by James Luceno (primarily set before TPM, but the framing story is set after it)
Rogue Planet by Greg Bear (not my favorite EU novel, but it's kind of a prequel to the NJO series)
Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn
EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES
Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover (not really essential, but the subject plays a role later, plus it's just an awesome book)
Labyrinth of Evil by James Luceno
EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH
Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno
The Han Solo Trilogy by A. C. Crispin
Death Star by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry
EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE
Allegiance by Timothy Zahn
Choices of One by Timothy Zahn
EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry (I personally don't think it's essential, but others do, and it's a decent book)
EPISODE VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI
The Truce at Bakura by Kathy Tyers (not great, but it's right after ROTJ and has a few important character moments)
Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor by Matthew Stover
X-wing by Michael A. Stackpole (books 1-4) and Aaron Allston (books 5-7)
The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton
Tatooine Ghost by Troy Denning
The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn
X-wing: Isard's Revenge by Michael A. Stackpole
The Dark Empire Duology by Tom Veitch (comic)
Empire's End by Tom Veitch (comic)
The Jedi Academy Trilogy by Kevin J. Anderson
I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole
X-wing: Starfighters of Adumar by Aaron Allston
The Corellian Trilogy by Roger MacBride Allen
The Hand of Thrawn Duology by Timothy Zahn
Survivor's Quest by Timothy Zahn
Young Jedi Knights by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta (young adult)
The New Jedi Order by various authors
The Dark Nest Trilogy by Troy Denning
Legacy of the Force by Aaron Allston, Karen Traviss, and Troy Denning
Millennium Falcon by James Luceno
Fate of the Jedi by Aaron Allston, Christie Golden, and Troy Denning
Legacy by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema (comic)
Although I personally prefer to kind of ignore almost everything that takes place after NJO, and just imagine that the storyline jumps from NJO to Legacy, one hundred years later.
Skywalker said:
The "framing story", or the killing of Plagueis, takes place during the TPM timeframe. ( This happens at roughly the same time as the "defeat" of Maul, which Palpatine seems to sense after Plagueis is dead. ) The book ends with several scenes taking place after TPM.
Close enough.
Gene Starwind
Ensign
Anybody knows when can we see Invasion again?
Not until at least September. I'm not sure exactly though.
Recently finished both Darth Plagueis and Apocalypse, the last book in the Fate of the Jedi series.
I liked Plagueis but felt it was dry in spots. I thought Apocalypse, on the other hand, was action packed. I enjoyed it, though it might have had too much action in it. I did like the tie to the Clone Wars cartoon, though it felt sort of tacked on but Troy Denning did a good job integrating it into the Fate of the Jedi storyline. Overall I thought Apocalypse was a worthy end to a lackluster series, and Denning closed it out on a much higher note than he did the previous Legacy of the Force series.
But if I had to compare series, I liked Legacy of the Force better. It held together better than Fate, which was all over the place.
I'm also working on the Old Republic novels. I've read Darth Revan and Deceived already and am slowly reading through Fatal Alliance. I thought Revan was a disappointment but Deceived was pretty good. So far Fatal Alliance isn't bad, I'm just getting started, but it hasn't grabbed my attention like Deceived so far.
With the comics, I finished the Agent of the Empire and Knights of the Old Republic: War series. Both got better as they went on. I wasn't impressed with either first issue but by the end of their runs I thought both series were good. I didn't care for the artwork in KOTR, but I did like the artwork in Agent. I also finished Crimson Empire III and the latest Dark Times arc. Dark Times is the best Star Wars comic book out right now. Crimson Empire was a bit of a disappointment.
I liked Plagueis but felt it was dry in spots. I thought Apocalypse, on the other hand, was action packed. I enjoyed it, though it might have had too much action in it. I did like the tie to the Clone Wars cartoon, though it felt sort of tacked on but Troy Denning did a good job integrating it into the Fate of the Jedi storyline. Overall I thought Apocalypse was a worthy end to a lackluster series, and Denning closed it out on a much higher note than he did the previous Legacy of the Force series.
But if I had to compare series, I liked Legacy of the Force better. It held together better than Fate, which was all over the place.
I'm also working on the Old Republic novels. I've read Darth Revan and Deceived already and am slowly reading through Fatal Alliance. I thought Revan was a disappointment but Deceived was pretty good. So far Fatal Alliance isn't bad, I'm just getting started, but it hasn't grabbed my attention like Deceived so far.
With the comics, I finished the Agent of the Empire and Knights of the Old Republic: War series. Both got better as they went on. I wasn't impressed with either first issue but by the end of their runs I thought both series were good. I didn't care for the artwork in KOTR, but I did like the artwork in Agent. I also finished Crimson Empire III and the latest Dark Times arc. Dark Times is the best Star Wars comic book out right now. Crimson Empire was a bit of a disappointment.
In terms of the TOR novels, I preferred Fatal Alliance to Deceived. Deceived was ridiculously short, and at the end of the story, the status quo of the characters had barely changed. It felt too much like a tie-in, whereas Fatal Alliance at least felt like it stood apart as its own story.
Oh I forgot to post about "Apocalypse"! Yeah I thought it was a very solid ending to the series. The early books had way too much filler but I actually really enjoyed that series. I really liked Abeloth and I loved seeing our Jedi slicing up Sith left and right! After Luke being such a pacifist self-doubting whiner in NJO it was so wonderful to see him more than happy to commit mass slaughter again! 
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