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Getting more into the Expanded universe

The_Anf

By The_Anf
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The_Anf

The_Anf

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Hey Guys and Gals,

 

So I have recently decided I'm going to read more of the EU books and I have a few questions that well since you guys are the experts I thought you might be able to help more then the dodgy looking kid at Barnes and Noble.

 

I've read the Darth Bane trilogy (loved it) and the Swtor books like deception and fatal alliance. As well as some one off books like Bounty Hunters.

 

I am mostly interested in the Sith v Jedi conflicts.

 

I know the Plagiues novel , Thawn trilogy are universally recommended...what I am looking for specifically is

 

Where to start Post ROTJ

I am interested in what Darth Cadeus is all about but would like to see his whole story...who else should I be reading about? Is he the main man in the post RoTJ books?

 

pre-Clone wars I am mostly just interested in the Sith from Bane to Sidious

 

Books, Reading order and other book suggestions would be would be appreciated, thank you for reading this and your time.

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tunewalker

tunewalker

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Posted (edited)
Hey Guys and Gals,

 

So I have recently decided I'm going to read more of the EU books and I have a few questions that well since you guys are the experts I thought you might be able to help more then the dodgy looking kid at Barnes and Noble.

 

I've read the Darth Bane trilogy (loved it) and the Swtor books like deception and fatal alliance. As well as some one off books like Bounty Hunters.

 

I am mostly interested in the Sith v Jedi conflicts.

 

I know the Plagiues novel , Thawn trilogy are universally recommended...what I am looking for specifically is

 

Where to start Post ROTJ

I am interested in what Darth Cadeus is all about but would like to see his whole story...who else should I be reading about? Is he the main man in the post RoTJ books?

 

pre-Clone wars I am mostly just interested in the Sith from Bane to Sidious

 

Books, Reading order and other book suggestions would be would be appreciated, thank you for reading this and your time.

 

As far as I know (which isnt much) Post RotJ basically goes Thrawn Trilogy, I, Jedi and Jedi Academy trilogy, then the Vong wars which bassically span the New Jedi Order Series with some in Invassion "trillogy" though I believe there is a preview book. and then the Dark Nest trilogy which follows the swarm war, followed by Legacy of the Force, which will get your Caedus arc... I think that covers MOST of the important NJO events.... Though some like Black Fleet Crisis and Rouge Squadron series might also be good to look at.

Edited by tunewalker
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tunewalker

tunewalker

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How many books is that? No worried just curious?

 

Let me think, 42 not including the Black fleet crisis or the Rouge squadron books.... including those I dont remember how many were in the Rougue squadron trilogy, but there are 3 for the black fleet crisis, so 45 + rouge..... Lets just say Post NJO has a LONG history, but it does span like 20+ years of Jacen Solo's life.

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DarthDymond

DarthDymond

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If you're interested in the continuing adventures of Luke, Leia, and Han I would definitely suggest starting with the Heir to the Empire trilogy by Timothy Zahn. It is completely accessible based off of only having seen the movies and introduces some characters who become as important to the Expanded Universe/"Legends" continuity as the movie characters themselves.

 

If you're going to be reading a lot of the Expanded Universe/"Legends" novels, I would follow that trilogy up with Courtship of Princess Leia since it is a decent read (though not as good as Zahn's work) and, like Heir, introduces characters and locations who are featured/referenced repeatedly throughout the rest of the EU (it's actually set chronologically a couple years before Heir to the Empire, but I think Heir is the better starting point just because of its quality and scope - if you're a stickler about chronological order you may prefer starting with Courtship though).

 

These books and comics form kind of the 'main' storyline for the characters set after the movies (comics in blue, YA novels in yellow, in case you're not interested in reading either of those types of media - if that's the case I would still suggest reading a synopsis of them though):

 

  • Truce at Bakura: Set literally the day after Return of the Jedi ends, but not really that good and doesn't have much of an impact going forward, I'd suggest just reading a synopsis.
  • Courtship of Princess Leia: Continues the Han & Leia romance started in the movies, starts Luke's efforts to understand the Jedi, and introduces some 'key players' in terms of planets and governments who show up repeatedly throughout the rest of the EU. Writing is okay (they just hadn't quite nailed down how Luke/Jedi would be portrayed in the EU yet, so some things feel a touch... off, to me at least) - worth a read.
  • Heir to the Empire Trilogy: A must-read for a SW book fan. They're well-written and really feel like they progress the story of the major Star Wars characters. (Just ignore some time-line issues regarding Vader/the Clone Wars since these came out years before the Prequels.)
  • Dark Empire Comic Meta-Series (Dark Empire, Dark Empire II, Empire's End): Definitely a love-it or hate-it series, both in terms of the writing and the plot/concept, but it is an influential one and tells the story of one of the key conflicts of this part of the timeline.
  • Jedi Academy Trilogy: Another love-it or hate-it series. Not nearly as well written as Zhan's Thrawn trilogy, but noteworthy in that they progress the main story of the characters and set up a lot of the new characters who play a role in this and future eras. An OK read overall.
  • Children of the Jedi/Darksaber/Planet of Twilight/The Crystal Star/The Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy/The New Rebellion/The Corellia Trilogy: In my opinion, these 11 books are probably not worth your time. They fall into the "Status Quo is God" trap in that they really don't feel like they make any sort of impact on the characters or progress their stories. All of them can be summed up as: A random Imperial Warlord/new alien enemy/Han's evil cousin shows up -> causes trouble (probably kidnapping Leia's kids in the process) -> is defeated; rinse and repeat. If you're going to read any of the books set after these, I'd just skim through a quick synopsis online somewhere (or in the Essential Reader's Companion guidebook) to get the jist of what happened.
  • Young Jedi Knights Series: This is a Young Adult Series, (14 relatively short books,) so an adult reader may or may not care for them. I think they're okay, but I may be biased by nostalgia. The first six books, however, set up some key characters and relationships for the adult novels in The New Jedi Order and beyond (and all six combined only takes about as long as a single adult novel to read).
  • Hand of Thrawn Duology: Another series by fan-favorite author Timothy Zahn, so worth a read on that alone. They also established the Chiss species/government and act as a kind of capstone for the New Republic era of books before the license went to a new publisher and The New Jedi Order started really shaking things up. Definitely worth reading.
  • Union comic: Actually a pretty optional read, but it does cover a major event in Luke's life.
  • New Jedi Order series; Dark Nest Trilogy; Legacy of the Force series; Fate of the Jedi series: Just for length, my thoughts on these series (which total 40 novels) are here in another post. (In short, I think all are worth reading.)

Edited by DarthDymond
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The_Anf

The_Anf

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Thank you all for your replies...that was exactly what I was after for Post RoTJ, I usually read around a book a week (depending on length under 500 pages is likely less and more is likely more then a week) so based on this I have maybe a year or two worth of reading to catch up...SWEET

 

What about books between the prequels and the main movies

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tunewalker

tunewalker

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Thank you all for your replies...that was exactly what I was after for Post RoTJ, I usually read around a book a week (depending on length under 500 pages is likely less and more is likely more then a week) so based on this I have maybe a year or two worth of reading to catch up...SWEET

 

What about books between the prequels and the main movies

 

Not sure about between Prequals and main movies, but between 5 and 6 there is Shadows of the Empire. Another good book if you ask me.

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Wolfninjajedi

Wolfninjajedi

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I played Shadows of the Empire on a console it was a great game...

 

Novel is different, Dash isn't really in it and it follows the main gang as they try to get Han back, it also explores into Xizor and his plot to kill Luke. It's a pretty good read.

 

Also I recommend the Crimson Empire comic series, it's fantastic, one of the best I've read. It doesn't really follow Jedi vs Sith, but I really just gotta recommend it because it's very awesome and follows the last of Palpatine's Royal Guard.

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The_Anf

The_Anf

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Wanted to update this thread as I have started my journey throught the Expanded universe

 

I picked up the Darth Plagueis book this weekend and am starting there followed by

Darth Maul

Cloak of Deception

 

(I've already read the Bane trilogy and the Swtor books)

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The_Anf

The_Anf

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My Journey through the expanded universe update (since I'm 100% convinced everyone cares about this :D)

 

I re-read the Bane trilogy (sooo good), read Knight Errand, Darth Plagieus and just finished Cloak of Deception.

 

Next on the list is

Darth Maul: Shadowhunter

 

After that is where I am open to suggestions...I'd like to just keep going chronilogically...also have loved reading the Sith perspective on events. I would also really like if there were books/comics that showed Dooku, Maul, Sidious's side during the clone wars (which I have watched) and books on Sidious' early reign as Emperor.

 

Thanks

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DarthDymond

DarthDymond

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My Journey through the expanded universe update (since I'm 100% convinced everyone cares about this :D)

 

I re-read the Bane trilogy (sooo good), read Knight Errand, Darth Plagieus and just finished Cloak of Deception.

 

Next on the list is

Darth Maul: Shadowhunter

 

After that is where I am open to suggestions...I'd like to just keep going chronilogically...also have loved reading the Sith perspective on events. I would also really like if there were books/comics that showed Dooku, Maul, Sidious's side during the clone wars (which I have watched) and books on Sidious' early reign as Emperor.

 

Thanks

How is Knight Errant? I read the first few Dark Horse comics (which I think the novel is a prequel to) and was wondering about the novel.

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The_Anf

The_Anf

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KE is decent...I liked the novel more then the comics (the Novel is set between the first story arc of the comics and the second story arc

 

I liked that the galaxy was most controlled by the sith during that time and the republic was struggling...I just didn't connect a lot with the main character

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