The Expanded Universe discussion

Hello everybody!
Joined the group minutes ago, so I want to introduce myself. My nickname is Remi, I am 28 years old and I come from Germany. Because of the final exams of my studies in the past weeks, I have been reading lots of great and demanding literature for months. But now I find interest again in returning to the EU of Star Wars, a sphere I got to know just a little bit almost a decade ago.

For me as a Star Wars amateur it is almost impossible to navigate through the literary seas between the Outer Rim and the Galactic Core. Therefore it is my goal to get a solid basis through a more or less systematic reading. But this is the problem – what are the must-reads, the essential books which are the very basis for a lot of the EU literature? I would be happy to read books from the NJO-era, but I don't think it is wise to start the series directly because some background knowledge could be useful I suppose.

Thank you! In the meanwhile I read Shadows of the Empire once more, and after this, I will have a look at the Thrawn-Trilogy again…

Hi Remi.

I'd say the must reads are (in this order) the Thrawn Trilogy for sure, followed by the Jedi Academy Trilogy, then NJO, then Legacy of the Force.

Welcome!
You want to hit the ones with the most important plot twists-character development. It is probably best to start with the Thrawn trilogy, as Kate said, as long as you are familiar with episodes 4-6. Jedi Academy I would recommend next, and afterwards probably the corillian trilogy. I haven't read that yet, but in the new stuff, especially Legacy of the Force, it is referenced a lot. Hand of Thrawn duology is an absolute must, I won't tell you why. Then, you have arrived at NJO, Dark Nest, Legacy, and Fate of the Jedi. Hope you enjoy setting foot in one of the most awesome universes ever!

Hi,

I once again recommend the Bantam/Spectra-published Star Wars: Tales compendiums of short stories as somewhere to taste lots of things and see what characters, groups, and time frames you want to read about and which authors you prefer.

Not to be confused with the Dark Horse-published Tales graphic novels which collect a comic book series that does something similar.

Michael wrote: "Actually, Remi, find the era that interests you and start there."

Good advice. My reading has skipped around a lot, but lately I have become more of an "I'm almost done with NJO, and I'm not stopping for anything" kind of person.

Another thing you could do is to look into a series, and ask around if there is anything that you should read before it. That's why I'm reading NJO. I was told that in order to read Legacy, I should read Dark Nest, and Dark Nest is set up fairly well by NJO. I figured that since I would end up reading it anyway, I'd go for it.

Well, keep in mind that the direct storylines only started in 1999 with NJO. The novel released before then still skip around a lot and vary wildly in style and quality even within the same era.

For the beginner I'd find an author you like then pick a setting or specific book from there.

Kyle wrote: "For the beginner I'd find an author you like then pick a setting or specific book from there."

(resurrecting an old thread...)

This is good advice. Back when I really started into the EU, I wanted to know what happened right after ROTJ, so I picked up The Truce at Bakura. Your personal interests will be the best guide, young padawan.

When I first got into the Star Wars novels it was because of Legacy of the Force series. I'd see all the awesome covers and it totally drew me in. Invincible, was at that time, just released. So I had the opportunity of reading straight through all nine novels. At that point I was at a disadvantage, unaware of events that led up to it, including the Yuzzhan Vong War and the Swarm War. So I went back and read those novels, and it goes pretty much like that. Pick a time period and you'll be both tempted to read both what happens next and what happened before. Fate of the Jedi series does a good job of tying in events of old novels, which gives you something to look into while you wait for the next installment.

So Sonny, since Fate of the Jedi references a lot of things that happened before NJO, have you gone back and picked up any of those books? The Courtship of Princess Leia, Children of the Jedi, Darksaber, Planet of Twilight?

Also - and I don't even know if you can find these any more - I read the Young Jedi Knights series of books right before the NJO came out. I think it made me care a lot more about those characters, and made what's been happening with each of them have a lot more impact.

It's a lot more emotionally involving to read about someone *really* falling to the Dark Side (none of this dabbling stuff) when you've read about them as a 14 year-old who loves animals and bad jokes.

Dash wrote: "It's a lot more emotionally involving to read about someone *really* falling to the Dark Side (none of this dabbling stuff) when you've read about them as a 14 year-old who loves animals and bad jokes."

No lie. I think he was my favorite character in the Young Jedi Knights series - I didn't even finish reading the NJO. I much prefer reading stories with a happy ending to reading long and slightly depressing series D:

I started with Legacy so I went back and read the Swarm Wars and started on the Yuzzhan Vong series, since the story line was so heavily influenced by them(Jacen's descent from hero to villan/Alema's hatred for the Solo etc.) . Began Fate of the Jedi and they brought up a lot of really older novels I hadn't heard of including Courtship of Princess Leia. After reading some of the Young Jedi Knights series on my Nook, Invincible just meant so much more, especially with Young-Jacen's quotes in the beginning of each chapter. Reading past novels that fill in the gaps, really do enhance the reader's experience

Of course, with the Essential Reader's Companion releasing today it'll be a lot easier to follow these threads through twenty years of books!

here's an amazon link


http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/03455111...

I preordered this book at the bookstore I work at, but it's still buried on a skid somewhere. hopefully I'll get my hands on it tomorrow!