Superb star wars books for kids of all ages brightly. The other great expanded universe success story of the 1990s, michael stackpoles xwing books are essentially top gun for star wars fans. This is a fairly recent old eu comic, but its based on an even older and much beloved star wars series set just after return. Dark force rising by timothy zahn, heir to the empire by timothy zahn, the last command by timothy zahn, sh. The best star wars books to read first a getting started. For many fans of star wars who decide to read the books, the expanded universe generally referred to as the eu can appear much like wild space. This trilogy is the keystone of the entire expanded.
Ask any star wars fan who the best and most prolificwriter is for the series, and almost all will tell you its timothy zahn. Many derivative star wars works have been produced in conjunction with, between, and after. All of these products are now considered to be out of canon and called legends. Plus it features my absoulte favorite eu short story. A complete list of all fulllength star wars novels in chronological order. The 5 essential new star wars books you have to read asap. The best books from the old star wars expanded universe. The best star wars books to read first a getting started guide.
Now, with with the franchise being bigger than ever, you. Hands down the best sw eu book, by possibly the best sw author. Today, we take a close look at the star wars legends expanded universe, examining which books a new reader should check out, and how to start reading star wars expanded universe content including. Without a doubt, timothy zahns star wars masterpieces are the best things to come out the expanded universe and the closest any of the books come. Bantam books next to fett is a weirdlooking droid named ig88. In an effort to make things easier, fans have attempted many different methods of navigating the eu. With the exception of the cgianimated the clone wars tv series, nonfilm material produced prior to april 2014 was collectively known as the star wars expanded universe eu. The new star wars expanded novel universe that includes all star wars novels and media created after the legends rebranding of the old eu. This is arguable the best single book star wars tale ever, as well as one of the most successful multimedia ventures in recent history. Simple star wars book list timeline of star wars novels. The expanded universe has been a part of star wars for almost as long as the movies have, starting with alan dean fosters novel splinter of. Limited scope with minimum cast of characters, but this is the.
The first star wars novel gives us a hint of what might have been, had the movie not been a hit. The star wars disney canon novel book series by multiple authors includes books the phantom menace, star wars. This list of the top 15 noncanon star wars stories includes books that examine sith mythology, jedi training, ancient worlds and the murderous rampage of darth vader. Between may the fourth and the episode vii cast reveal, star wars mania is back in full swing, so now feels like the perfect time to rank our top 10 favorite star wars comics of all time. If were being honest, the novels really covered the spectrum in terms of. Expand your view of a galaxy far, far away with the best star wars expanded universe books. The star wars expanded universe contains stories in a variety of different formats. The 10 best star wars legends books, ranked screenrant. Indeed, using read as shorthand is not entirely correct, since you cant read a tv show, video game or radio drama. Also there are so many great books, no list or ranking could.
The book goes into the star wars criminal underworld and fills the space empire strikes back and return of the jedi. Im a rebel alliance girl all the way, so i was apprehensive about reading a book about a former sith. They began shortly after the films debuted in the late 1970s, and scores have been written. The list is sorted in chronological order, in the time line relative to the movies.
The thrawn trilogy by mike baron, olivier vatine, fred blanchard, edvin biukovic, and terry dodson. Heir to the empire, dark force rising, and the last command tell a fascinating and exciting new star wars story, albeit one that is now superseded by the force awakens and what follows and as such, now wield the legends moniker for all cancelled expanded universe media. The bounty hunter wars, book 2 tales of the bounty hunters star wars book 3 rogue squadron star wars. Star wars comics, noncanon now, for some noncanon, old eu aka star wars legends stuff if you were obsessed with timothy zahns thrawn trilogy. With hundreds of stories for all ages, theres something for everyone. This is a timeline for novels, young adult books, and ebooks in the. Find all books mentioning a character on the wikia page for it. The 10 best stories in the star wars expanded universe. Theres new republic books lukehanleia stuff in 10 or so years past yavin, chronologically starting with truce at bakura and ending with vision of the future. Must read star wars legends books, and where to start. Now known as legends, the original expanded universe is full of amazing stories.
Almost as long as there have been star wars movies, there have been star wars books. For the first time were introduced to grand admiral thrawn, mara jade, and others, who would become beloved entries into the expanded universe. The force awakens, the expanded universe was no longer considered canon. It even has its own holiday may 4th has become the official star wars day, thanks to the betterthanaverage pun may the 4th be with you. This star wars legends article contains information that is affected by the star wars. The best approach i would recommend is using star wars wikia as your guide. Destinys way by walter jon williams, 2002 those are in order of personal preference, not chronological order. The star wars expanded universe was what the comics, books, and video games were called before disney bought lucasfilm. The time line for the star wars books are indicated with bby before battle of yavin in star wars. Since the release of the original film in 1977, books have been an essential gateway into the star wars expanded universe. One of the best things about star wars is that the adventure doesnt end. Zahn s trilogy changed everything for fans and has withstood the test of time to top my list of star wars books. In 1991, del rey books launched a new novel from author timothy zahn.
There is a whole galaxy of books about star wars, hundreds of them, if were counting the eu expanded universe. The series depicts the adventures of various characters a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. This hastily written sequel was originally conceived as a lowbudget backup plan in case a new hope. This series of books follows the omega squad, which is a group of clone troopers. The star wars eu both canon and legends, like anything, is very manageable with a bit of direction. Simple list of star wars books in order of when they take place, with sidebyside timelines for legends and the new canon.
The 12 worst things in the star wars expanded universe. Shadows of the empire star wars slave ship star wars. If you want to help your kids awaken the force, or just introduce them to the literary side of star wars, here are some fantastic books. Updated regularly, with new releases and upcoming titles highlightesd. Thats where youtinis ideal reading order comes into play. In what order should i read star wars expanded universe. As a closeknit star wars book trilogy, thrawn is one of the best, full of action, political turmoil, and new characters, including lukes future wife, mara jade, who first arrives as a villain. Star wars expanded universe novels were almost always fun, but they werent always great.
While there are many differing opinions to them, this is adam the swqs list for the 5 best legends books. Star wars is an american epic spaceopera media franchise, centered on a film series. Lucasfilm later rebranded the expanded universe as star wars legends and declared it noncanonical to the franchise. The exact chronology of the events described in this article is currently unknown. While these books launched a whole mini industry of star wars. A fantastic series of books that take place during the clone wars are the star wars republic commando novels. Honorable mention fate of the jedi series, truce at bakura, hand of thrawn dualogy. If youre new, and want to learn more about the expanded universe, you can find a few links in the sidebar that may be helpful. It was renamed star wars legends, and considered sort of an alternate timeline to the main events of the star wars saga, similar to.
From the adventures of luke skywalker, the force awakens, and several more. Darth plagueis im a sucker for well written politthrillers, and this one is also set in the star wars universe. Welcome to the star wars expanded universe subreddit. The first star wars novel was published in 1976 in the decades since, dozens of books set in the galaxy far, far away have been released, stories for all ages starring the likes of luke. We are primarily a source of discussion and news for anything involving the star wars expanded universe legends or story group canon. If youre new, and want to learn more about the expanded universe, you can find a.
In addition to karen travisss series, one of the best star wars novels out. For many fans of star wars who decide to read the books, the expanded universe generally referred to as the eu can appear. Even though were in a new era of star wars, its always good to look back at where weve been in the long history of star wars novels. As experts on the matter, weve chosen five foundational books that we believe everyone at the beginning of their eu adventures should read first. A definitive legends clone wars timeline was never established by lucasfilm. Each format has its own trends, with some exceptions. List of star wars books in chronological order adinos blog. Star wars is an american epic spaceopera media franchise, centered on a film series created by george lucas that includes star wars 1977, the empire strikes back 1980, and return of the jedi 1983. Here are the best star wars books from the old cannon. Here are the top 10 novels and novel series in the expanded universe. Heres my ranking of 31 individual books and multibook series in the star wars. This is a graphical list of star wars novels that have been published to date, excluding graphic novels, reference books and some electronically published novels.
The bounty hunter wars, book 3 tales from jabbas palace star wars book 2 the visual dictionary of star wars, episodes iv, v. With dozens of star wars legends books to choose from, which ones are the best to read. Intrigue, politics, conspiracies, betrayal and it explains so many things about star wars including darth mauls origins and. As a disclaimer to stay consistent with all my other answers ive held that i view star wars like history, its all part of the same story so its silly to say parts are better or worse. All novels here are published in collaboration with the lucasfilm story group, and are canon with the films and animated tv series. After starting the expanded universe, zahn took a couple of years off, but. See the complete star wars disney canon novel series book list in order, box sets or omnibus editions, and companion titles.