Your Favorite Star Wars Novels (and Graphic Novels)

[SWSF Hoppus]

So after getting all excited after The Last Jedi I've been combing through some of the many star wars novels I've not yet read. Actually, I've only read the X-Wing series and all of Zahn's Thrawn books (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command, Spectre of the Past, Vision of the Future).

I'm looking for something else worth reading, preferrably with force useage. Don't care about time line. Good writing and good story is important to me, what's your recommendations?!

[SWSF Hale]

Was always a fan of Shadows of the Empire. Fills that gap between V and VI a little bit.

[Bishio]

Darth Plagueis is one of my current favorites and James Luceno is a great writer.  It isn't cannon anymore but its the type of book that makes you say "man.. what if the Phantom Menace was more like this" which is pretty impressive to me anyway because I am more a watch it instead of read it kind of guy.

Lords of the Sith is outstanding and is also new cannon which is a plus.  Paul S. Kemp is a solid writer and this story goes places that really impressed me with both Vader and Sidious. Also has a real "rebel vs imperial" vibe to it that I enjoyed with 3 stories that really come together nicely.

Advantage to these 2 are they are both "new-ish" so you might not of picked them up back in the day and likely won't be familiar with them from back in the day.  Another huge plus for me is I mostly listen to books on my commute to work and back every day and both of these have GREAT audio versions if that's something that jives with you.

[SWSF Hoppus]

Was always as fan of Shadow of the Empire. Fills that gap between V and VI a little bit.

I've been meaning to read it. I'm gonna grab it.

[SWSF Hoppus]

Darth Plagueis is one of my current favorites and James Luceno is a great writer.  It isn't cannon anymore but its the type of book that makes you say "man.. what if the Phantom Menace was more like this" which is pretty impressive to me anyway because I am more a watch it instead of read it kind of guy.

Lords of the Sith is outstanding and is also new cannon which is a plus.  Paul S. Kemp is a solid writer and this story goes places that really impressed me with both Vader and Sidious. Also has a real "rebel vs imperial" vibe to it that I enjoyed with 3 stories that really come together nicely.

Advantage to these 2 are they are both "new-ish" so you might not of picked them up back in the day and likely won't be familiar with them from back in the day.  Another huge plus for me is I mostly listen to books on my commute to work and back every day and both of these have GREAT audio versions if that's something that jives with you.

Almost picked up a Luceno book yesteday. you've convinced me!

[Syren]

Truth - I read nearly all the novels in high school which are now not considered canon. This did not endear me to my snobbish cohorts but it was my thing. Shadows of the Empire was great, one of my favorites actually. More recently, I read bloodlines and leia: princess of alderaan. Gray is a great writer and I'm always down for some Leia story. She wrote the aftermath trilogy as well and those are canon.

[SWSF Hale]

I wouldn't be surprised if they did a SOTE movie a la Rogue One, with Jabba and all. They'd have to sub-out Luke/Leia/Chewie/Lando of course, but that's doable. But hey, Ian McDiarmid could certainly reprise Palpatine, and JEJ can still voice Vader.

A big plot point is the story behind Mon Mothma's "many bothans died to bring us this information" line and the theft of the shuttle Tydirium. That would be the ticket-seller imho.

[RanesDsane]

Shadows of the Empire and the Thrawn Trilogy are my all time favorites.  The Han Solo Trilogy was good, too.

[SWSF Eidolon]

 No ones going to lay claim to Courtship of Princess Leia?  FINE.  I'll own it.  I loved Dathomir and Hapan Star Cluster, so was huge fan of that book.

 Obligatory Thrawn Trilogy was always the standout.  I read a lot of the New Jedi Academy stuff but never in order really to put it all together well.

 I have the new Thrawn by Zahn for xmas but haven't cracked binding yet.  Too much to go through to get there! ARRGGGHH!


 I'm a huge proponent of the SW Graphic Novels.  All the old Darkhorse stuff is great, but the omnibus' are very collectible thus high price now a days.  Marvel reprints them in their own "Legends" series which are sweet.  And alot of the new marvel SW series are awesome.  Darth Vader has his own series which is around 30 issues at this point. Also comes in HC collected format besides softcover and single issues.  The normal SW title always has some great tales, and the Poe Dameron book gives TONS of backstory and deeper info on Resistance/FO.  Right now in the Marvel title Star Wars series run, Luke/Leia/Han are back on Jedha, helping the Partisans fight the Empire who's still there mining kyber crystals from the fractured world.  In a sweet ass tie in, a matriarch, the queen of Sho-Tuurn (something like that), an entirely deep mantle mining oriented culture has been brought in under service of the empire to offer her expertise in mining extremely hostile situations, such as a broken scarred world like Jedha post DS trials.  The freaky Pinhead reminiscent Partisan from R1 is the leader of the Partisans now.  Good stuff.

[Bishio]

The new Thrawn novel was really good.  The only thing about it, and it wasn't the books fault, was I had the old imagine of Thrawn in my mind and it took me a little while to shake it and allow this Thrawn to be Thrawn.  Mind you they are really similar characters if not the exact same.  It just has a lot more introspective because this book was really about HIM alone in the end.  I have to say the best part about this novel was every single little bit from the very start and all the way though links so perfectly to the end.  I mean don't let a single detail slip.  Even the smallest things are really a piece of the puzzle and they all come together at the end.

[RanesDsane]

Re: Thrawn Book

I thought "oh, yeah, I need to read that."  Went and bought it off Amazon.  Read through Chapter one...  "Wait a minute....I remember this..."   Kinda?  I'm seriously confused at the moment since I apparently didn't have the book (Amazon would have told me!) but I KNOW that first chapter, at least major pieces like

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.

.  Guess I keep reading...

[EmperorSeverus]

Not really fair to say Timothy Zahn's Thrawn trilogy and the two-book Hand of Thrawn series that followed, but it has to be said again anyway.

After that I'd say the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy and the Jedi Academy trilogy, and then in no particular order the Crystal Star, the Courtship of Princess Leia, the first three or four books in the X-Wing series, etc.

I just started reading the latest Thrawn book, and it's excellent so far. Definitely brings the magic back and makes me want to re-read some old favorites.