Read any Star Wars books? Recommend them here

[Tabitha]

Hey folks, I have read no Star Wars books, apart from the Return of the Jedi novelisation and a whole bunch of comics (all I remember about them is some furry cat-people ).

I am thinking about picking some up, and I thought it might be a good idea for those of you that had read some to give some recommendations to me, and anyone else who wanders in here looking for ideas

So, what would be a good starting point? Which are particularly good reads? One Author stand head and shoulders above the rest?

Looking forward to your responses...

 

[pkgrl]

Well, if you want great authors, you gotta get any SW book by Michael Stackpole, including the Rogue Squadron books. He really has the characters down well. There aren't many appearances by Luke, Han, et al, but Wedge Antilles really comes into his own as a leader and Corran Horn is an awesome NEW character. Stackpole also wrote I, Jedi from Corran's point of view and it's a great one.

Now, as far as must reads go, I highly recommend Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire trilogy. He introduces what become really KEY characters later on in the Expanded Universe, like Talon Karrd and Mara Jade as well as the Noghri people. Really entertaining stuff... just read right on past the overused SW cliches. (One "I have a really bad feeling about this" per book is more than enough.) They kind of hung me up the first time I read them.

As for later on in the timeline, I also recommend Kevin Anderson's Jedi Academy trilogy (so you can see what's been "happening" in Luke's life, and in the lives of the "new jedi") as well as the entire New Jedi Order series. This last series is now 13 books strong, been told by several different authors and is a real emotional roller-coaster! There are some nearly unbelievable things happening in this series, and it's still going strong, so you might want to jump in there. Some authors do a better job than others, but you really gotta read them all to have a clear picture of what's happening.

The early Han Solo trilogy (and by early, I don't mean "written a long time ago", but rather "concerning Han's early life") was highly entertaining, too. It was written by A. C. Crispin. They're called The Paradise Snare, The Hutt Gambit, and Rebel Dawn.

The two-shot Specter of the Past and Vision of the Future were also written by Timothy Zahn and it seems he has a MUCH better grasp of the characters in them, too. I liked them a lot better than his first three.

Got enough books recommended to you yet? I'm sure others will recommend some of the dozens of other books taking place in the SW universe. Ain't fiction grand?

 

[Tabitha]

Bloomin 'eck! That is quite the list. What I was looking for was a good starting point, and then general recommendations, your suggestions have definitely filled the blanks, thanks pkgirl

I'll get reading (or searching the second hand bookshops) and let you know what I think.

 

[godpidgeon]

There's the New Jedi Order series out now, which is very good. I just started reading them myself.

 

[Bayleaf48]

The 'Dark Forces' trilogy as they are very good indeed

:blush:

 

[Diamond9697]

So far I've only read the X-Wing series and would also highly recommend it. Plots are good, get to meet some interesting characters and all in all made me fall in love with SW all over again.

 

[Tabitha]

I have just finished the second book in the three part story by Timothy Zahn. Before that I read Vector Prime - the first in the New Jedi Order series. I have to say that I really enjoyed the NJO storyline - everything seemed fresh, and yet still very much in keeping with the 'feel' of the SW mythos.
The Zahn books on the other hand - well, perhaps I am just being cynical, but they seem a little too contrived, as if the writer was trying to hard to bring in all the Star Wars characters he had ever heard of, and our central characters seemed to end up in the middle of everything by mistake! I am still kind of enjoying them though - I like how R2's dialogue is described "he beeped sarcastically"

 

[timdgreat]

well lets see i will add my 2 cents, i think that if u want to read some of the better SW novels u should read the NJOs the Thrawn trilogy, The x-wing novels, and I Jedi. YEs all books that have been suggested but i think they stand out above the rest:rolly2: