Hartburn Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Will I be lost not having read any of the series before this? I read the Bane trilogy and liked it. I am wanting to read some books where the Jedi are the bad assess and since Luke is supposed to be the greatest of all, then I thought this would be a good series. Any thoughts or recommendations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freemasonn Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 I couldnt get into this series at all I really really liked the nine book Legacy of the Force series though........and New Jedi Order was good, just a bit too long. I recommend, if you have the time, start with New Jedi Order, go to Legacy of the Force, and then read Fate of the Jedi. I know FOTJ mentions events from LOTF a bit......and NJO really sets up LOTF. Thats my suggestion It can be tough to get through all 19 books of New Jedi Order though, but if you can do it, it isnt a bad read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychogobstopper Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 I would not read Fate of the Jedi without having read at least Legacy of the Force first. There are still going to be very prominent characters whose backstories you won't have a full grasp on even if you do that, but you'll at least have a better idea on the state of the galaxy in FOTJ due to the events in LOTF. If you do read LOTF first, I'd follow-up with Millennium Falcon (prior to FOTJ) because it's a somewhat smaller story, and deals with the effects that LOTF events had on Han and Leia. If you start reading LOTF and decide that you don't have a firm enough grasp on the new Jedi, step back to New Jedi Order, which was the first set of books from Del Rey Publishing and started a new "era," so to say, for the books (Bantam previously held the books license, and events in NJO and beyond do build on events in older Bantam titles as one would expect - that's where some prominent LOTF characters come from, in fact). I genuinely liked NJO quite a bit, I have some issues with LOTF but enjoyed it overall, and I'm enjoying FOTJ overall as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtrema Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 (edited) I would not read Fate of the Jedi without having read at least Legacy of the Force first. There are still going to be very prominent characters whose backstories you won't have a full grasp on even if you do that, but you'll at least have a better idea on the state of the galaxy in FOTJ due to the events in LOTF. If you do read LOTF first, I'd follow-up with Millennium Falcon (prior to FOTJ) because it's a somewhat smaller story, and deals with the effects that LOTF events had on Han and Leia. If you start reading LOTF and decide that you don't have a firm enough grasp on the new Jedi, step back to New Jedi Order, which was the first set of books from Del Rey Publishing and started a new "era," so to say, for the books (Bantam previously held the books license, and events in NJO and beyond do build on events in older Bantam titles as one would expect - that's where some prominent LOTF characters come from, in fact). I genuinely liked NJO quite a bit, I have some issues with LOTF but enjoyed it overall, and I'm enjoying FOTJ overall as well. Thanks for the info, I never even knew about these series until the 'Greatest Jedi' thread. But WOW, NJO is 19 books?? Ridiculous Edited January 17, 2012 by Xtrema Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hartburn Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 Thanks all. I think I might give the New Jedi Order and try and move on from there. I am just trying to read some books that make the Jedi out to be awesome duelists and force users instead of the Sith. I am a complete newb when it comes to the books, but what does EU refer too that everybody uses in their posts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freemasonn Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 Thanks for the info, I never even knew about these series until the 'Greatest Jedi' thread. But WOW, NJO is 19 books?? Ridiculous That doesnt include the ebooks in the series I think there are only 2 or 3 of those though........but yeah, 19 books.....some are very good, and some are just eh. Traitor (book 9 I think) stands out as one of the best star wars novels written... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychogobstopper Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 But WOW, NJO is 19 books?? Ridiculous Even as a fan of the series, I agree that it's a little on the long side. It was originally going to be even longer, however. The series is essentially structured as duologies interspersed with single books (in terms of author assignments - it's all one long story, of course, though different segments would focus on different stages of the war). The first duology, Dark Tide, was originally set to be a trilogy, but was ultimately cut down by one book., and an entire trilogy titled Knightfall was canceled. Thanks all. I think I might give the New Jedi Order and try and move on from there. I am just trying to read some books that make the Jedi out to be awesome duelists and force users instead of the Sith. I am a complete newb when it comes to the books, but what does EU refer too that everybody uses in their posts? NJO features an enemy that counters the Jedi in almost every way conceivable. Where the Jedi rely so much on the Force, the Yuuzhan Vong are not present in the Force at all - making them an incredibly deadly enemy for the Jedi, and for the larger galaxy due to their unique organic technology. "EU" refers to "Expanded Universe," which encompasses everything officially licensed outside of the movies - novels, short stories, video games, comic books, etc. That doesnt include the ebooks in the series I think there are only 2 or 3 of those though........but yeah, 19 books.....some are very good, and some are just eh. Traitor (book 9 I think) stands out as one of the best star wars novels written... Traitor is definitely one of the best Star Wars novels written to date, and is easily the highpoint in a series that I enjoyed quite a bit. As to the eBook novellas - there are a total of three. There are also three short stories and a single comic issue. The correct order for everything can be seen here, though I wouldn't consider any of these novellas, short stories, or the comic to be necessary to following the NJO. I haven't read any of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychogobstopper Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 I forgot to mention earlier... If one chooses to read the New Jedi Order series, I would recommend starting with a prequel era novel by Greg Bear titled Rogue Planet. In many ways, it acts as a prequel to the NJO, which will be very evident by the end of the series. My recollection on the quality of that book, however, is very fuzzy, so I unfortunately can't back the content-focused recommendation with a quality one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtrema Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 (edited) I forgot to mention earlier... If one chooses to read the New Jedi Order series, I would recommend starting with a prequel era novel by Greg Bear titled Rogue Planet. In many ways, it acts as a prequel to the NJO, which will be very evident by the end of the series. My recollection on the quality of that book, however, is very fuzzy, so I unfortunately can't back the content-focused recommendation with a quality one. Thanks again, I just started NJO so maybe I'll stop and read Rogue Planet first. By the way I noticed it may also be necessary to read the Thrawn series before starting NJO as well? Couple things that are already in place in the beginning of the book.. Only up to chapter 6 in the first NJO book but mentions of Mara Jade, Noghri and why they're Leia's bodyguards all come from Thrawn series right? I read that a WHILE ago but I still remember most of it. Guessing there's something in between too because Luke and Mara were not married at the end of Thrawn books. Edited January 18, 2012 by Xtrema Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psychogobstopper Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Most of what you mention in your spoiler code did indeed come from the Thrawn trilogy (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command). As for your last sentence... Luke and Mara's wedding was depicted in a four-issue comic series entitled Star Wars: Union, written by Michael Stackpole (who wrote some very good SW books, including most entries in the X-Wing series). I've not read it, and never felt like I was missing anything important from not having done so. I honestly wouldn't worry too much about references such as the ones you've mentioned. If we attempted to make a "thorough" listing of each novel necessary for the deepest possible understanding, it'd take a long time to actually get started on any recent stuff! (That said, you'd end up reading some good and some great stuff - and some awful stuff, too.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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