What are the best books to begin with?

Eldalote · Post by **Eldalote** » 2008-03-01 04:51pm

Hi all,
This has probably been asked before, but i couldn't find a search button, and i am very new to the forum.

I like, and always have liked SW, but i've never read any SW books. Lately I am trying to get my hands on some books, but since I live in The Netherlands, it's not easy finding any of them (our library had a grande totale of 1 SW book).

I found a bookshop that sells them, but they aren't cheap as they're imported. I was wondering if you could give me advise on wich books to buy? I've gone ahead and ordered some Zahn books (the Thrawn triolgy), I got the impression those must be good.

Thanks in advance.

Vaporous · Post by **Vaporous** » 2008-03-01 06:56pm

Yeah, that's pretty much it there. The Thrawn Trilogy is the best place to start, and plenty of people would have you finish there too.

Look into Dark Empire and the Thrawn Duology.

Darth Fanboy · Post by **Darth Fanboy** » 2008-03-01 07:51pm

Labyrinth of Evil and Dark Lord: Rise of Darth Vader make excellent companions to the novelization of Episode III. They are also, in my opinion, the best Star Wars books availiable and both were written by James Luceno.

If you like the Zahn books I recommend Outbound Flight and Allegiance.

Michael Reaves and Steve Perry combined for three really good books with MedStar I & II, along with the book "Death Star". Reaves himself wrote "Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter" which was also really good, and for me it helped improve Phantom Menace.

JME2 · Post by **JME2** » 2008-03-01 11:02pm

Darth Fanboy wrote:Michael Reaves and Steve Perry combined for three really good books with MedStar I & II, along with the book "Death Star". Reaves himself wrote "Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter" which was also really good, and for me it helped improve Phantom Menace.

On the subject of TPM lead-ins, on't forget Cloak of Deception, the wonderful political thriller that dovetails nicely into TPM.

General Soontir Fel · Post by **General Soontir Fel** » 2008-03-01 11:06pm

It depends on what you want out of it. If you are just looking for entertainment, stick to the Thrawn trilogy, the Medstar duology, Death Star, and the X-Wing books. This is the best of the stuff that you can actually get into without needing any background material other than the movies. A lot of the rest of the EU leans on itself. There are good books in the NJO, but you'll get lost in that series if you know nothing but the movies.

If you're interested in getting a full picture of the events of the SW universe, you should first get the New Essential Chronology, which will allow you to skip the material that sucks.

Oh, and you should read what should be called the "Vader is Born" trilogy: Labyrinth of Evil, the ROTS novelization, and Dark Lord: the Rise of Darth Vader. It's effectively a continuous set of events, and I liked Luceno's take on the events right before and after episode III.

For what it's worth, my ranking of notable SW authors (by notable, I mean at least three books to their names, and those three aren't a single trilogy):
Timothy Zahn
Michael Reaves & Steve Perry
James Luceno
Matt Stover
Aaron Allston
Troy Denning
Michael Stackpole
Kevin J. Anderson
Karen Traviss

Eldalote · Post by **Eldalote** » 2008-03-02 09:04am

Thanks for the advice

Dark Flame · Post by **Dark Flame** » 2008-03-02 10:09pm

If you can find them, the Han Solo Adventures by Brian Daley are well written and don't require any more knowledge than the movies. A good trilogy that I think stays very true to the characters and the movies.

Darth Hoth · Post by **Darth Hoth** » 2008-03-03 03:38am

I, Jedi is in my humble opinion the best single Star Wars novel. It is also fairly readable as a stand-alone, although it gets better if you also read the first X-wing arc. Be prepared that it does not have the same focus as the films, however.

TithonusSyndrome · Post by **TithonusSyndrome** » 2008-03-03 03:41am

While I can't tell you anything from a hole in the ground about what novels you should start with, I can point you towards the search button at the top right of the page just under the orange PayPal icon, just for future reference.

Guardsman Bass · Post by **Guardsman Bass** » 2008-03-03 04:37am

I, Jedi is very readable, although some think the character is a little too good at everything he does (I disagree). On the other hand, it is a good book if you want to get out of the perspectives of the main movie characters.

I would strongly recommend you try the Stover books: Revenge of the Sith, Traitor, and Shatterpoint. I wasn't particularly fond of the last one, but it's not horrible. The first one is extremely good - I think it is probably the best written novel in the SW series, and certainly the best novelization. Traitor is . .. different, with a strong philosophical component - I wouldn't suggest you read it unless you find out about what is going on with the New Jedi Order plotline.