Any good star wars books out.....

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a_bleak_tomorrow

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I've always been a huge star wars fan. I know theres plenty of star wars books but i was looking for the creme dela creme (sp?) of them all. I heard there were some books continuing the story of luke, I'm not sure what they were called or if the were good quality stories. So any suggestions are welcome. Also im about half way through the making of star wars by J.W. Rinzler it is an awesome read for any star wars fans out there.
 
Some of the early Star Wars novels are decent but they quickly take a dive in quality. I think I stopped reading after a PoS called The Crystal Star
 
[quote name='ndshide']Anything by Zahn is amazing.[/quote]

seconded though I wouldn't use the word "amazing"

Also the X-Wing series, Jedi Academy series, the Han Solo trilogy, the Bounty Hunter Wars, The Corellian trilogy (can't top Luke trying to help Lando get a girl) and it is a bit cheesy but I also dug the Lando Calrissian trilogy
 
Honestly, if you really like Star Wars, you would probably like any of the novels. They are all pretty much fan service. The good thing about them is the stories written have to be crossed check with one another so the Expanded Universe is considered canon.
 
IMO the creme de la creme is the Thrawn Trilogy by Zahn

1. Heir to the Empire, 1992 (ISBN 0-553-40471-7)
2. Dark Force Rising, 1992 (ISBN 0-553-08574-3)
3. The Last Command, 1994 (ISBN 0-553-56492-7)

Your boy Luke is there as well.
 
[quote name='jaykrue']

Personally, aside from the Zahn books (there's more than just the Thrawn trilogy) I think the current series, Legacy of the Force, is pretty good.[/QUOTE]

Just put a hold in for the first of the series at the library. Thanks for the rec. :)
 
[quote name='wubb']Just put a hold in for the first of the series at the library. Thanks for the rec. :)[/quote]
Just a bit of a warning - if you really cared about the characters, then you'll definitely get a reaction out of this series as the people you thought you knew act in ways you don't expect, both in good & bad ways. I dare say it will cause fans to go through the stages of grief as when
Chewbacca was killed
: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, & then finally acceptance.
 
[quote name='jaykrue']Just a bit of a warning - if you really cared about the characters, then you'll definitely get a reaction out of this series as the people you thought you knew act in ways you don't expect, both in good & bad ways. I dare say it will cause fans to go through the stages of grief as when
Chewbacca was killed
: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, & then finally acceptance.[/quote]

SW: LOTF - Fury (book 7) comes out today.

Legacy of the Force series is also good. Another popular character from the Expanded Universe is killed off.
 
[quote name='emg28']SW: LOTF - Fury (book 7) comes out today.

Legacy of the Force series is also good. Another popular character from the Expanded Universe is killed off.[/quote]

I'm gonna hold off on that. :cry: I've got 5 other books I just picked up yesterday:

Star Wars Republic Commando: True Colors
Splinter Cell: Fallout
Halo: Contact Harvest
Starcraft: Shadow Hunters
Shadow of the Giant (newest book in the Ender's Game series)

Anyone see a theme developing? :lol:
 
Tales of the Bounty Hunters was pretty awesome. The IG-88 story in particular. Chucks his arm through someone's chest which rips out his heart. Good stuff.
 
The Zahn/Thrawn stuff is great. I wish they'd do them as an animated series.

Check out the "Tales from" series they did, too. If you know all of the minor characters from Jabba's Palace or Mos Eisley, each of them gets a chapter in those books, and the stories often intertwine. I liked them a lot. Tales of the Bounty Hunters was good, and IG-88's story in it is amazing.

Hope that helps some!
 
Thanks for the Rinzler recommendation, OP! Put a request in at the library.

As for recommendations, if you don't mind graphic novels Dark Empire is a fun read.
 
Any good star wars books out...

Kind of an oxymoron from what I've sampled. Unfortunately, I think at least half the problem is that the Lucas compound doesn't want the literature to get too good, as a.) he personally lamented to Irving Kershner that he was making The Empire Strikes Back better than it had to be and b.) to make the books really resonate beyond the 'fan service' level would require them to take a more mature and emotionally-developed approach...something neither the creator* nor the 'serious' Star Wars fan seems very well-equipped to deal with.

I often wonder if any 'big name', respected authors that traditionally operate outside of the sci-fi idiom ever approached anyone about writing a novel set in this universe, only to be told "We don't hire your kind here."

*--I'm tellin' ya, Lucas has got some serious issues with sincere emotional expression. Just watch any vaguely recent interview with him. Or the Prequels. He had the cast (save the Anakins), he had the epic tragedy, and he traded it for pandering to ADHD-riddled, button-mashing kiddies (see: podrace, Geonosis 'side-scroller' droid factory, Yoda-Dooku/Sidious spazzfests, and pointless Wookie sequences). Of course, this descent began in 1983, but....
 
The Zahn Trilogy starting with Heir to the Empire is excellent. I also really enjoyed Tatooine Ghost by Troy Denning, the X-Wing series by Stackpole and Allston, and Labyrinth of Evil and Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno.
 
[quote name='ndshide']Anything by Zahn is amazing.[/quote]
End of thread. Anything Zahn, Stackpole, or Kevin J Anderson are the best authors of Star Wars with Troy Denning slowly reaching that Mount Rushmore of writers. NJO was pretty cool overall, though it slightly pilfered out towards the middle and the end. I need to read the ongoing legacy series.

I'll have to go through my library again, but certain books of the prequel era aren't ad. Rogue Planet was pretty good as it tied into NJO later on.

Has anybody read the Death Star book that is out?
 
[quote name='jollydwarf']Any good star wars books out...

Kind of an oxymoron from what I've sampled. Unfortunately, I think at least half the problem is that the Lucas compound doesn't want the literature to get too good, as a.) he personally lamented to Irving Kershner that he was making The Empire Strikes Back better than it had to be and b.) to make the books really resonate beyond the 'fan service' level would require them to take a more mature and emotionally-developed approach...something neither the creator* nor the 'serious' Star Wars fan seems very well-equipped to deal with.

I often wonder if any 'big name', respected authors that traditionally operate outside of the sci-fi idiom ever approached anyone about writing a novel set in this universe, only to be told "We don't hire your kind here."

*--I'm tellin' ya, Lucas has got some serious issues with sincere emotional expression. Just watch any vaguely recent interview with him. Or the Prequels. He had the cast (save the Anakins), he had the epic tragedy, and he traded it for pandering to ADHD-riddled, button-mashing kiddies (see: podrace, Geonosis 'side-scroller' droid factory, Yoda-Dooku/Sidious spazzfests, and pointless Wookie sequences). Of course, this descent began in 1983, but....[/quote]

I hate your posts. Pure and utter drivel.
 
Matthew Stover is good as well. I enjoyed his novelization of ROTS much more than the movie (And I liked the movie), and Shatterpoint was very well done.
 
[quote name='hiccupleftovers']End of thread. Anything Zahn, Stackpole, or Kevin J Anderson are the best authors of Star Wars with Troy Denning slowly reaching that Mount Rushmore of writers. NJO was pretty cool overall, though it slightly pilfered out towards the middle and the end. I need to read the ongoing legacy series.

I'll have to go through my library again, but certain books of the prequel era aren't ad. Rogue Planet was pretty good as it tied into NJO later on.

Has anybody read the Death Star book that is out?[/quote]

The Death Star book was ok. It wasn't spectacular but it wasn't a complete turd like The Crystal Star. I did like how they filled in a lot of background material such as the story on the head stormtrooper that Han Solo runs screaming into.
 
[quote name='padme']Matthew Stover is good as well. I enjoyed his novelization of ROTS much more than the movie (And I liked the movie), and Shatterpoint was very well done.[/quote]

Yeah, and I would probably throw in R.A. Salvatore as well, though he has only written two books.

On authors who the OP should not read: don't touch Barbara Hambly. Her pace, storyies, everything are just absoutely horrible. Don't even read her nonsense. Most of the writers just glance over her stuff and don't pay attention to it anyway. Her stuff is the absolute worst.

Vonda McIntyre is kind of so-so and Kathy Tyers is one step above that. It's nice to see Tyers' work incorporated into the rest of the EU. Her writing isn't bad, though it is a bit slow and arduous but it can definitely be interesting. She has a good stance on the Force and is interesting to read her description of it. Dave Wolverton's foray into the EU has been pretty good and entertaining as well. Single, self-contained stories without giant all encompassing menaces rampaging menaces going throughout the universe or some other wacko nutjob. Just a crazed warlord. I really do like his Courtship book as we learn about the Hapes.
 
[quote name='jaykrue']The Death Star book was ok. It wasn't spectacular but it wasn't a complete turd like The Crystal Star. I did like how they filled in a lot of background material such as the story on the head stormtrooper that Han Solo runs screaming into.[/quote]

Yeah, Crystal Star was a dud, but atl east readable compared to Hambly's horrible work with the universe. They still mention events from Crystal Star from time to time in the later books, while I hardly see anything from Hambly's horrible novels mentioned.

By the way, for anyone that has read Legacy of the Force, could they explain to me (even if it has to be in spoiler tags) how Jacen, who was supposed to have found this great and supreme peace and understanding with the force and some new ground, all of a sudden switch back to going down the dark path/to the dark side?
 
[quote name='hiccupleftovers']Yeah, Crystal Star was a dud, but atl east readable compared to Hambly's horrible work with the universe. They still mention events from Crystal Star from time to time in the later books, while I hardly see anything from Hambly's horrible novels mentioned.

By the way, for anyone that has read Legacy of the Force, could they explain to me (even if it has to be in spoiler tags) how Jacen, who was supposed to have found this great and supreme peace and understanding with the force and some new ground, all of a sudden switch back to going down the dark path/to the dark side?[/quote]

He never found peace & understanding. Remember, he was traveling across the galaxy to find various Force disciplines because he always at odds as to how to use his Force powers even before his torture at the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong & Vergere (who has been speculated to have turned to the dark side before she met Jacen). I liken it to Jacen's "going emo" phase. The Vong's Embrace of Pain is supposedly the gateway drug that lead Jacen towards the dark side. Even now, if you look at Jacen's decisions, he's still internally conflicted as to whether or not he made the right ones. He even lies to himself & justifies his actions.
 
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