Sportiva Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 Anyone have suggestions on what is worthwhile to read from the new canon EU materials? I've heard mixed reviews about Aftermath. I know there is also a graphic novels out there. What's the best list of material to explore to get an understanding of the Knights of Ren, rise of the First Order, etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarthDymond Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 (edited) Neither the Knights of Ren nor the First Order (at least not by name) have come up in any novels or comics, to my knowledge. Lost Stars by Claudia Gray and Battlefront: Twilight Company by Alexander Freed (who did the Agent story in SWTOR) are currently my two favorite Canon novels, both are well worth the read. But Aftermath, which I liked okay but felt had some notable flaws (mainly the writing style), is the only one that's really pushing forward to start filling in the timeline between Episodes VI and VII that I'm aware of (Lost Stars does a little bit at the end, but not nearly as much). Aftermath is also apparently the first in a planned trilogy of novels that will continue bridging that gap, with the second book (Aftermath: Life Debt) scheduled to come out in about six months. The other novels, IMO, have run the gamut from "pretty good" to "not bad, but pretty forgettable" - with Tarkin and Dark Lord of the Sith as decent reads, Heir to the Jedi and New Dawn as fine but forgettable and Dark Disciple somewhere in between. (To be fair, Dark Disciple is probably about as good as Tarkin, I just personally find the characters less interesting given my preference for the Original Trilogy Era over the Prequel Era.) For any / all of those five novels, I'd suggest checking it out from a library before you make a decision on buying it. For the graphic novels, I've only read the first six or so issues of the ongoing Star Wars and Vader series, and the entire Princess Leia miniseries - I haven't read any of the Lando miniseries or the Shattered Empire miniseries (Shattered Empire apparently is another story that starts covering the timeline between VI and VII). Leia was a decent standalone series and the opening arcs of both ongoing series (Star Wars and Vader) were fine as well - nothing that blew my socks off, but nothing had me regretting the purchase either. They're worth a read, but probably not worth rushing out the door to read ASAP. Edited December 24, 2015 by DarthDymond Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigray Posted December 24, 2015 Share Posted December 24, 2015 To me the Lando series was much better than the Leia series ... it just feels like Lando, the kind of situation he would get into. Fun story, great art design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annabethchase Posted December 26, 2015 Share Posted December 26, 2015 Lost Stars was the best book by far, even with it being a teen reading level. This one is enjoyable. I now have even less interest in rewriting history of old characters than I did when they first threw out old cannon, especially the travesty that was Luke's new novel. It had 0 relevance to the ongoing plot of the galaxy and it was horrendous to read of his adventures force pushing a wet noodle. Shattered empire comic, well I'm not reading any more comics until I hear one is amazing. It shares a problem with Aftermath as well. Aftermath, horrible characters all around and it didn't establish anything relevant to the galaxy. I didn't understand one thing in the movie in a different way than someone who hadn't read the novel. I feel lied to and it's not going to be easy for Disney to redeem this novel series. Even worse, I will be angry if any of these characters wind up in the movies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConVallian Posted December 26, 2015 Share Posted December 26, 2015 Lost Stars and Lords of The Sith are the only new SW novels i have read that i liked.The others that were hyped *im looking at you Aftermath* fell short and was utterly boring like Heir to the Jedi. The Vader and Star Wars comic by Marvel is a fun read if youre a Vader fan other than that i have not been impressed with anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConVallian Posted December 26, 2015 Share Posted December 26, 2015 i guess my biggest gripe is that most new stuff is just Star Wars characters doing stuff and not much meat to the stories Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxetius Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 (edited) It will take a little bit for the overall quality to come together and the universe to be set up again. Its not a lightly monitored playground like it used to be, every book has to be tight and focused so that it can fit into the overall SW universe that will also show up and be reflected on the small and large screen. Example: Agents of SHIELD TV show being reactionary to the same-universe movie releases. Lots of communication and planning is required so different stories compliment rather than contradict. Even ignoring all that about how incredibly ambitious the new Star Wars is, for a frame of reference, heir to the empire (first book of the thrawn trilogy) didn't come out until 8 years after ROTJ. Edited December 27, 2015 by maxetius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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