Looking to get into Star Wars EU stories...

*ToTheNines* · 06-08-2010, 03:31 PM

Either comics or novels, I dig both.

I'm not interested in anything that takes place between episodes II and III (the Star Wars: Clone Wars shorts do me just fine) and not too interested in anything between III and IV since that new live-action show is on its way, but if there's anything awesome that takes place there let me know.

Otherwise, anything goes. Thanks in advance

*Roseangelo* · 06-08-2010, 04:01 PM

Oh man, this is potentially dangerous territory. I have very mixed feelings about the EU, and while I used to read quite a lot of it, I really didn't like a lot of what I read. However, here is what I would recommend...

Start with Timothy Zahn's original Thrawn trilogy, which starts with Heir to the Empire. I personally find them to be over-rated (though enjoyable), but they are quite well-liked by most EU readers.

Next, go with the New Jedi Order series, skipping everything published in between (go back at some later point if you feel a need/want to, but I don't recommend starting with them). There were A LOT of books published between the Thrawn trilogy and the New Jedi Order, but they are really inconsistent and some of them contradict each other. The New Jedi Order was the first effort to publish Star Wars books in logical, driven manner and this is how the books have been published ever since.

Those are all post-ROTJ, but some of the prequel era books are worth looking at too (this is actually my favorite era for written SW). Rogue Planet takes place between Ep1 and Ep2, and actually ties into the New Jedi Order. Yoda: Dark Rendezvous is quite good and takes place between Ep2 and Ep3. I recommend it even if that time frame isn't of interest to you and even though I would caution reading any Clone Wars era in general (the cartoon series pretty much negates all of them, which frustrated many people who read them).

My FAVORITE SW books, however, are actually an intermediate readers series published by Scholastic titled Jedi Apprentice, which chronicle the early adventures of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn. The same author also wrote a series with Obi-Wan and Anakin between Ep2 and Ep3 and another post-Ep3 series, both of which are very good, although Jedi Apprentice remains my favorite. Unfortunately, these are out of print and some of them can be expensive to buy when you find them.

*ToTheNines* · 06-08-2010, 04:18 PM

Hm, thanks alot Rose. Qui-Gon's my favorite Jedi, so I'm sure I'll love that book too (the rest sounds cool aswell).

How about Star Wars comics, anything good/non-contradictional there?

*Roseangelo* · 06-08-2010, 04:48 PM

I can't tell you much about the comics, as I haven't been able to get into them. The few that I have are a couple Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon stories that were published probably 10 years ago. If you're at all interested in the Old Republic era stories, I believe there is a lot more of that covered in the comics than there has been in novels. I have yet to delve into that era myself.

If Qui-Gon's your favorite Jedi you'll definitely want to hunt down the Jedi Apprentice books. Obi-Wan is my favorite Jedi, largely in part because of how he's fleshed out in these books. I really wish they would publish some adult books during this time period, but I suppose that's quite unlikely now. (There are a couple that take place *immediately* before Episode 1, including one by Michael Reaves of TMNT toon fame, but neither of them hit the mark that the Jedi Apprentice books did).

*ToTheNines* · 06-08-2010, 09:09 PM

Just realized there's 18 Jedi Apprentice books... yikes lol. They seems worth it though.

As for comics, I just found out that Dark Horse has been publishing a bunch of omnibus collections that seem to fill gaps bewteen the movies nicely.

*Revan* · 06-14-2010, 11:22 PM

I read star wars knights of the old republic. It was a decent series with pretty good action and character development. I originally started reading it because I enjoyed the Knights of the Old Republic games from Bioware and Obsidian and so my intrest was there.
The comic series wasn't as good as the games IMO. The characters were interesting but not as powerful as I would have liked. It was cool that John Jackson Miller wrote every issue so he was able to start and finish his plotlines.

Star wars is a tricky thing to get involved in because the comic canon sometimes clashes with the canon created by the novels...

I do have to comment on your comment about the comics filling the gaps between the movies. Technically, you're right. But I try not to think of it that way. And it's hard for me to explain exactly what I mean by that besides just saying that at times, the comics seem to be an entirely seperate canon on their own. But they aren't. If that makes no sense to you, I'm not at all surprised.
I read Legacy, Republic, KOTOR, and now Invasion.

My favorite star wars EU medium are the novels. The Han Solo trilogy was a fun read. Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina was interesting. And Cloak of Deception was a good prequel. But my hands down favorite star wars books are the Darth Bane triolgy. Path of Destruction. Rule of Two. and Dynasty of Evil. Couldn't put them down and I hope Karpyshyn writes another.

I don't care about anything that happens after ROTJ with the exception of Invasion. I really enjoy books and comics about the time of the old republic and up to A New Hope.

**Venom** · 09-12-2010, 04:57 PM

I thought I wanted to try out the EU last year, and was turned off immediately. I'm not that big a fan of Star Wars anyway, but I enjoy aspects of it and feel there is something out there that would hook me, but nothing yet has enthralled me.

The first book I read (only two-thirds) was Fate of the Jedi, which according to the timeline printed in the front of the book, falls toward the end of the published chronology and deals with Luke and his son traversing to a mysterious abandoned space station in between two black holes, while some Sith search out an AI being known as Ship, with there being an odd metaphysical bridge that causes the two parties to meet. The other storyline is regarding a mental illness befalling the New Jedi and the Solos have to investigate.

Honestly, I enjoyed the Solos and the Sith, but I absolutely LOATHE Luke Skywalker with a PASSION!

He is the main reason I didn't finish the book...I couldn't bear another single page with him, which is a shame as the Sith were closing in on Ship.

The other EU novel I have, which is pretty cool, is Death Troopers. In a nutshell, it's a zombie romp on a derelict Star Destoyer.

In regards to the comics, I've never read them but a few years ago Wizard had a nice write up about them and had some cool moments throughout the years. My fave occurred in one of the Dark Horse stories and had Indiana Jones discovering the bones of Han Solo and Chewie!

Edit: found it! In Star Wars Tales, Volume 19:

Into the Great Unknown
Script: Haden Blackman
Pencils: Sean Murphy
Colors: Dan Jackson
10 Pages

*This story is non-canon*

Han Solo and Chewbacca are aboard the Millennium Falcon when they are attacked by Imperials. They are forced to leap to hyperspace blind and end up in our solar system, where they crash on Earth's Pacific Northwest. Believing they are on Endor due to the large trees, they venture out to investigate, when Han is killed by Native Americans. The mourning Chewbacca leaves the Falcon to live in the trees, where the natives believe him to be Sasquatch. 126 years later, the wreckage of the Falcon and Han’s remains are found by the intrepid American archaeologist Indiana Jones and his sidekick, Short Round. Indy, spooked by how 'eerily familiar' the remains are, decide to leave them in peace.

*Andrew NDB* · 09-12-2010, 05:13 PM

As far as post-ROTJ, I'd start with the Courtship of Princess Leia novel, then the excellent Thrawn trilogy... then Dark Horse Comics' "Dark Empire" trilogy (the Emperor comes back... it's pretty big and important, and referenced in the novels that followed), then the "Jedi Academy" trilogy... then you can probably fast-forward to the Thrawn duology (Specter of the Past, Vision of the Future), probably the Union comic afterward, then all the stuff that came afterward. The "Young Jedi Knights Chronicles" or whatever was a lot of fun, too, with a teenaged Jacen and Jaina Solo.

I used to read all of it pretty religiously but it just became wayyy too much to stay on top of so I pretty much bowed out a little after the Bantam contract ran out. A lot of the things I've read that happen after everything I've read really piss me off and make me glad I didn't stick with it.

06-08-2010, 03:31 PM	#1
ToTheNines Col. Stinkmeaner Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 19,362	Looking to get into Star Wars EU stories... Either comics or novels, I dig both. I'm not interested in anything that takes place between episodes II and III (the Star Wars: Clone Wars shorts do me just fine) and not too interested in anything between III and IV since that new live-action show is on its way, but if there's anything awesome that takes place there let me know. Otherwise, anything goes. Thanks in advance

06-14-2010, 11:22 PM	#6
Revan Han Shot First Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Paper Street Soap Company Posts: 3,687	I read star wars knights of the old republic. It was a decent series with pretty good action and character development. I originally started reading it because I enjoyed the Knights of the Old Republic games from Bioware and Obsidian and so my intrest was there. The comic series wasn't as good as the games IMO. The characters were interesting but not as powerful as I would have liked. It was cool that John Jackson Miller wrote every issue so he was able to start and finish his plotlines. Star wars is a tricky thing to get involved in because the comic canon sometimes clashes with the canon created by the novels... I do have to comment on your comment about the comics filling the gaps between the movies. Technically, you're right. But I try not to think of it that way. And it's hard for me to explain exactly what I mean by that besides just saying that at times, the comics seem to be an entirely seperate canon on their own. But they aren't. If that makes no sense to you, I'm not at all surprised. I read Legacy, Republic, KOTOR, and now Invasion. My favorite star wars EU medium are the novels. The Han Solo trilogy was a fun read. Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina was interesting. And Cloak of Deception was a good prequel. But my hands down favorite star wars books are the Darth Bane triolgy. Path of Destruction. Rule of Two. and Dynasty of Evil. Couldn't put them down and I hope Karpyshyn writes another. I don't care about anything that happens after ROTJ with the exception of Invasion. I really enjoy books and comics about the time of the old republic and up to A New Hope. __________________

09-12-2010, 04:57 PM	#7
Venom Space Knight Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 3,637	I thought I wanted to try out the EU last year, and was turned off immediately. I'm not that big a fan of Star Wars anyway, but I enjoy aspects of it and feel there is something out there that would hook me, but nothing yet has enthralled me. The first book I read (only two-thirds) was Fate of the Jedi, which according to the timeline printed in the front of the book, falls toward the end of the published chronology and deals with Luke and his son traversing to a mysterious abandoned space station in between two black holes, while some Sith search out an AI being known as Ship, with there being an odd metaphysical bridge that causes the two parties to meet. The other storyline is regarding a mental illness befalling the New Jedi and the Solos have to investigate. Honestly, I enjoyed the Solos and the Sith, but I absolutely LOATHE Luke Skywalker with a PASSION! He is the main reason I didn't finish the book...I couldn't bear another single page with him, which is a shame as the Sith were closing in on Ship. The other EU novel I have, which is pretty cool, is Death Troopers. In a nutshell, it's a zombie romp on a derelict Star Destoyer. In regards to the comics, I've never read them but a few years ago Wizard had a nice write up about them and had some cool moments throughout the years. My fave occurred in one of the Dark Horse stories and had Indiana Jones discovering the bones of Han Solo and Chewie! Edit: found it! In Star Wars Tales, Volume 19: Into the Great Unknown Script: Haden Blackman Pencils: Sean Murphy Colors: Dan Jackson 10 Pages This story is non-canon Han Solo and Chewbacca are aboard the Millennium Falcon when they are attacked by Imperials. They are forced to leap to hyperspace blind and end up in our solar system, where they crash on Earth's Pacific Northwest. Believing they are on Endor due to the large trees, they venture out to investigate, when Han is killed by Native Americans. The mourning Chewbacca leaves the Falcon to live in the trees, where the natives believe him to be Sasquatch. 126 years later, the wreckage of the Falcon and Han’s remains are found by the intrepid American archaeologist Indiana Jones and his sidekick, Short Round. Indy, spooked by how 'eerily familiar' the remains are, decide to leave them in peace. __________________ Last edited by Venom; 09-12-2010 at 05:05 PM.

09-12-2010, 05:13 PM	#8
Andrew NDB Weed Whacker Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Auburn, WA Posts: 34,551	As far as post-ROTJ, I'd start with the Courtship of Princess Leia novel, then the excellent Thrawn trilogy... then Dark Horse Comics' "Dark Empire" trilogy (the Emperor comes back... it's pretty big and important, and referenced in the novels that followed), then the "Jedi Academy" trilogy... then you can probably fast-forward to the Thrawn duology (Specter of the Past, Vision of the Future), probably the Union comic afterward, then all the stuff that came afterward. The "Young Jedi Knights Chronicles" or whatever was a lot of fun, too, with a teenaged Jacen and Jaina Solo. I used to read all of it pretty religiously but it just became wayyy too much to stay on top of so I pretty much bowed out a little after the Bantam contract ran out. A lot of the things I've read that happen after everything I've read really piss me off and make me glad I didn't stick with it. __________________ [ ODYSSEY \| ORIGIN \| THE IMAGE/VOL. 3 CONCLUSION \| THE SHELLSHOCKED PODCAST \| ON FACEBOOK ]

06-08-2010, 04:01 PM	#2
Roseangelo Emperor Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: California Posts: 9,119	Oh man, this is potentially dangerous territory. I have very mixed feelings about the EU, and while I used to read quite a lot of it, I really didn't like a lot of what I read. However, here is what I would recommend... Start with Timothy Zahn's original Thrawn trilogy, which starts with Heir to the Empire. I personally find them to be over-rated (though enjoyable), but they are quite well-liked by most EU readers. Next, go with the New Jedi Order series, skipping everything published in between (go back at some later point if you feel a need/want to, but I don't recommend starting with them). There were A LOT of books published between the Thrawn trilogy and the New Jedi Order, but they are really inconsistent and some of them contradict each other. The New Jedi Order was the first effort to publish Star Wars books in logical, driven manner and this is how the books have been published ever since. Those are all post-ROTJ, but some of the prequel era books are worth looking at too (this is actually my favorite era for written SW). Rogue Planet takes place between Ep1 and Ep2, and actually ties into the New Jedi Order. Yoda: Dark Rendezvous is quite good and takes place between Ep2 and Ep3. I recommend it even if that time frame isn't of interest to you and even though I would caution reading any Clone Wars era in general (the cartoon series pretty much negates all of them, which frustrated many people who read them). My FAVORITE SW books, however, are actually an intermediate readers series published by Scholastic titled Jedi Apprentice, which chronicle the early adventures of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn. The same author also wrote a series with Obi-Wan and Anakin between Ep2 and Ep3 and another post-Ep3 series, both of which are very good, although Jedi Apprentice remains my favorite. Unfortunately, these are out of print and some of them can be expensive to buy when you find them.

06-08-2010, 04:18 PM	#3
ToTheNines Col. Stinkmeaner Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 19,362	Hm, thanks alot Rose. Qui-Gon's my favorite Jedi, so I'm sure I'll love that book too (the rest sounds cool aswell). How about Star Wars comics, anything good/non-contradictional there?

06-08-2010, 04:48 PM	#4
Roseangelo Emperor Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: California Posts: 9,119	I can't tell you much about the comics, as I haven't been able to get into them. The few that I have are a couple Obi-Wan & Qui-Gon stories that were published probably 10 years ago. If you're at all interested in the Old Republic era stories, I believe there is a lot more of that covered in the comics than there has been in novels. I have yet to delve into that era myself. If Qui-Gon's your favorite Jedi you'll definitely want to hunt down the Jedi Apprentice books. Obi-Wan is my favorite Jedi, largely in part because of how he's fleshed out in these books. I really wish they would publish some adult books during this time period, but I suppose that's quite unlikely now. (There are a couple that take place immediately before Episode 1, including one by Michael Reaves of TMNT toon fame, but neither of them hit the mark that the Jedi Apprentice books did).

06-08-2010, 09:09 PM	#5
ToTheNines Col. Stinkmeaner Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 19,362	Just realized there's 18 Jedi Apprentice books... yikes lol. They seems worth it though. As for comics, I just found out that Dark Horse has been publishing a bunch of omnibus collections that seem to fill gaps bewteen the movies nicely.