EU... where to start?

Dwinkelm

So I'm not much of a reader, but I think I'd like to pick up some Star Wars Expanded Universe reading material. I've watched all the cannon shows/movies ALMOST Ad Nauseum so this SW junkie is looking for a new fix

What are the essentials?
Is there a best or necessary place to start?
To those responding, what is your absolute favorite book? (Or character to follow)

Thanks in advance to all who reply!

Ring

In my opinion, the best place to start is The Thrawn Trilogy. Some of the best (if not THE best) books in the entire EU. From there... well, it gets kind of tricky, because it depends on what you're interested in.

If you want lots of action, I would suggest the X-Wing novels, but only those by Michael A. Stackpole (so basically the first four). I really didn't care for the ones by Aaron Allston, I found them to be a rip-off of The A-Team (hell, one guy is actually called Face!) and somehow out of character for Star Wars. Not my cup of tea. But if you like the first four books, you absolutely MUST go for I, Jedi.

If you want a slightly different perspective on the Jedi and the Republic, I would definitely recommend the Republic Commando books by Karen Traviss. If you thought the Jedi were the good guys and the Republic was the best thing to happen to the galaxy, these books will help you change your mind. Definitely worth the read.

If you're interested in the Empire and would like a bit more info on what's going on there, go for Allegiance and Choices of One. It shows certain aspects of the Galactic Civil War from the point of view of a group of Stormtroopers. Not as good as Timothy Zahn's other works, but interesting.

Of course, there are plenty of things to pick from but you'd have to give a bit more info as to what you're interested in. I've followed the EU religiously since around 1991 (when I got my hands on Heir to the Empire) until around 2000, after which the books (in my opinion) started to degrade in quality and started to seem rushed to cash in on the popularity of Episode I. All in all I have about 30+ SW books in my collection, almost all of them from that period, so if you have any other questions, feel free to ask

Oh, and you asked for a favorite... Hmm... all things considered, I think I'd have to go for "I, Jedi". It's got a bit of everything from the SW universe - action, dogfights, saber fights, comedy, romance...

PS. Just in case - all the titles mentioned above in bold are links. For some reason this forum doesn't highlight them in any way (underlining or a different color).

Vinniarth

In my opinion, the best place to start is The Thrawn Trilogy. Some of the best (if not THE best) books in the entire EU. From there... well, it gets kind of tricky, because it depends on what you're interested in.

I second this. These books are epic.

DarthLucaz

I used to read a lot of EU material. Mostly the Jedi apprentice series. I have always wanted to read the Thrawn trilogy and the Bane trilogy. I stayed away from Plaguies as I found Tenebrous to not fit within the Sith Order. To me it is essential that no sith is beyond near human. Muun, Zabrak, Dothmiri, Twi'lek, Chiss, Umbaran, all fit. To me a Bith would not be strong enough in the force to attract a Sith's eyes. I hated the legacy series. The yuuzhan vong were a joke. I really do want to read the thrawn trilogy though. Especially since the new book is coming out and the author said there will be quite a few references to his original works. I have access to every book written. Will probably get the thrawn trilogy today, but after that where should I go? My biggest problem with the EU was that they were not very good at making material without having a force user as the main character. Hence why I am interested in the Thrawn trilogy. The new canon has already surpassed this failing of the old books through characters like Rae Sloan, Denetrius Vidian, and Hera Syndulla. So that is kind of where Im looking at. To me the old EU failed when it came to the force, so as such I prefer the bounty hunters, soldiers, and scoundrels.

@Ring is the republic cammando series similar to the video game? That was one of the best star wars games ever imo. And ive always viewed the jedi as the bad guys in the Clone Wars. Supporting forced democracy and all that. Sounds like a certain nation i live in....So if it is the way you describe It might be right up my alley.

Zanhaep

- The Thrawn trilogy, as others have said, is a good place to start. It's the start of the 'main' storyline following Luke, Leia etc.
- Dark Lord: the Rise of Darth Vader is the official sequel to Episode 3, showcasing Vader doing the thing he does best - hunt down Jedi.
- The Truce at Bakura, while not first in publication order, directly follows ROTJ, so could be where you want to start the main post-ROTJ storyline.
- Barriss Offee is portrayed as a villain in TCW. But I think that the MedStar duology is a better representation of her character, where she doesn't bomb the Jedi Temple, instead being stationed on the planet Drongar to assist a Republic medical unit. You may wish to read Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter beforehand, however, as there are a several references from that earlier book.
- Darth Bane: Path of Destruction takes place 1000 years before Yavin, and is a great starting point, being relatively unconnected to the majority of other media.

DarthLucaz wrote: »

My biggest problem with the EU was that they were not very good at making material without having a force user as the main character. Hence why I am interested in the Thrawn trilogy. The new canon has already surpassed this failing of the old books through characters like Rae Sloan, Denetrius Vidian, and Hera Syndulla. So that is kind of where Im looking at. To me the old EU failed when it came to the force, so as such I prefer the bounty hunters, soldiers, and scoundrels.

The X-Wing series seems good for you then. Force-users aren't completely absent, but are by no means crucial to the plotline. One of the main characters is force-sensitive, but doesn't know this, and their Jedi exploits are explored in other books instead.

DarthLucaz wrote: »

I used to read a lot of EU material.@Ring is the republic cammando series similar to the video game? That was one of the best star wars games ever imo. And ive always viewed the jedi as the bad guys in the Clone Wars. Supporting forced democracy and all that. Sounds like a certain nation i live in....So if it is the way you describe It might be right up my alley.

The novels tie into the video game. Delta Squad appear in them from book 2 onwards.

Dwinkelm

Great!

Lots of great information, I very much appreciate the feedback.

Looks The Thrawn Trilogy is where I'll begin my journey, and I'll branch out from there. Thanks again!

CaptainRex

James Luceno's two character books, Thrawn and Plagius are also quite good.

Ring

DarthLucaz wrote: »

My biggest problem with the EU was that they were not very good at making material without having a force user as the main character.

Then you should really like Republic Commando, X-Wing and, partially, "I, Jedi". There are also three books (The Bounty Hunter Wars series) dealing with Boba Fett and his "friends". Didn't really leave me speechless, but worth reading at least once.

DarthLucaz wrote: »

@Ring is the republic cammando series similar to the video game?

In my opinion - it's even better. A lot of brilliant backstory for the Mandalorians (that Lucas made obsolete, unfortunately) and the only two Jedi in the SW universe that I really liked. Give it a shot, it's well worth it.

Also, just in case - if you don't want to pay too much for these books, buy them used from Amazon (.com or .co.uk). You can find some of them for 1 cent or so (seriously!).

RogueJinn

Kenobi is good.
Red Harvest is amusing.

OldDakaNewBarber

My 2 cents - the Jedi Academy books are great, it was one of the earlier book trilogies published, and so you don't need to know much about EU besides the fact that han and leia are married and have the twins already.
Starts with Han being imprisoned in the Spice Mines of Kessel and works its way up from there.
Books are Jedi Search, Dark Apprentice, and Champions of the Force, by Kevin Anderson.
Several parts of this series were later retconned in I, Jedi, which Ring mentioned as another good read.