Ever since disney acquired lucasfilm in 2012, the company has been trying to reinvent the vast, fluid, and beloved star wars expanded universe. They began shortly after the films debuted in the late 1970s, and scores have been written. If youre new to star wars books in general, you might want to check out this piece by a fellow rioter on where to start, but this list. Long before any star wars fans dreamed of george lucas continuing his epic space saga with a trilogy of prequels, and before other directors helmed a new trilogy that would conclude it, the star wars expanded universe was created with novels. The best star wars books to read first a getting started. N message boards, theyve been running a poll to vote for the top 100 stories from the star wars expanded universe. It is not for comics or short stories in legends continuity. May 04, 2018 a lot of great star wars things have come out of the disneylucasfilm merger. Simple star wars book list timeline of star wars novels. Since disney acquired the rights to the franchise back in 2012, much of the star wars expanded universe, which consisted of video game storylines, films and comic books, was rebranded as star wars. Before reading any of the star wars novels, theres something very important to know when it comes to the stories from these books. Your best bet is probably to start with heir to the empire by. Now known as legends, the original expanded universe is full of amazing stories.
If you want to read the current canon books in chronological order, this amazing timeline by ujedeyeknight5 has each of the books in chronological order. The star wars expanded universe timeline august 17, 2017 policy guidelines for new and old fans alike. Score a books total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. The star wars expanded universe eu is the further adventures in a. The best star wars books to read first your first star wars book 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 spacecrowded, confusing, and potentially dangerous.
Much of the early expanded universe for example, splinter of the minds eye and marvel star wars has a different feel than the later eu and is not entirely canonical. Although there is no definitive right answer, presents a few ideas of where and what to start reading in the star wars expanded. This spinoff material is licensed and moderated by lucasfilm, though during his involvement with the franchise george lucas reserved the right to both draw from and contradict it in his own works. Say you decided youd like to read all the star wars books in existence. Designed as an interconnected series of books, novels, and comics, the. The best star wars book reading order its a big galaxy out there 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. The 10 best star wars legends books, ranked screenrant. While the main focus of the eu novels has been the star wars movie characters, even the early expanded universe explored side characters in more detail. In 2014, the star wars expanded universe was decanonized, paving the way for an entirely new generation of stories.
Mar 28, 2019 long before any star wars fans dreamed of george lucas continuing his epic space saga with a trilogy of prequels, and before other directors helmed a new trilogy that would conclude it, the star wars expanded universe was created with novels. The last jedi and has written or cowritten more than forty novels, short stories, and other works set in the galaxy far, far away. We are primarily a source of discussion and news for anything involving the star wars expanded universe legends or story group canon. Feb 23, 2015 my rundown of my recommended reading order for star wars books link to video i mentioned s. Almost as long as there have been star wars movies, there have been star wars books. Zahns naturally an old hand when it comes to writing star wars and thrawn is a compelling character. For those of us who loved the eu, it was an upsetting. Star wars has been expanded to media other than the original films. A lot of great star wars things have come out of the disneylucasfilm merger. Where should you start reading the star wars expanded universe. For many fans of star wars who decide to read the books, the expanded universe generally referred to as the eu can appear.
Over the past year, after answering many tweets and emails with that daunting question of where to start reading the star wars expanded universe, i put together a little cheat sheet. Its a pulpy love letter to the expanded universe that is relentlessly paced and humanizes the smuggler in a new way. For some lucky fans, writing a star wars novel is a dream. Jan 10, 20 where to begin with star wars books emmet asherperrin. The war was long, many beloved characters died, and it changed the landscape of the star wars expanded universe forever. Welcome to the star wars expanded universe subreddit.
In what order should i read star wars expanded universe. Many authors have been contracted to write all sorts of stories that add on to. 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. The star wars expanded universe timeline home facebook. 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. Lit books canon recommendations jedi council forums. In my opinion the darth bane trilogy is the best star wars books i have read so far. A final arc of episodes where yoda, aided by the spirit of his friend quigon jinn, goes to.
I had been reading the star wars expanded universe novels for ages. Three years later, and the new star wars canon contains over 50 films, tv shows, comics, novels, and more, quickly rebuilding one of the most expansive storytelling universes of all time. Its a big expanded universe a fangirls thoughts on. The best books from the old star wars expanded universe. The old star wars expanded novel universe that includes all star wars novels created after the legends rebranding of the old expanded universe by disney. Where to start with the star wars expanded universe by thea james originally appearing in our fourth quarterly almanac, where to start with the star wars expanded universe is the latest in our ongoing series of essays detailing where one can start with any number of sffpopgeekery topics. Courtship picks up a few years after the return of the jedi and shows the aftermath of the battle of endor. Dedicated to preserving and celebrating all star wars, legends, canon, and beyond. The 10 best stories in the star wars expanded universe. New canon the newly standardized star wars canon includes all the movie episodes, the clone wars and rebels tv shows, and new books since. They do at times get a little too technical and dry with the logistics, and you can see that zahns fairly confined by canon and thrawns role in star wars rebels, but if youre a fan of the classic stuff then i think youll find. Various authors penned exciting narratives in the star wars universe featuring all your favorite. Lords of the sith is a bit like a buddy road movie, except that the buddies are evil emperor palpatine and his equally nasty sidekick, darth vader.
Although official star wars canon was redefined in 2014 to focus on the films and exclude the complex expanded universe created by decades of novels, comics, and games, some authors have found ways to drop little references from those older stories into their new books for longtime readers. The tricky aspect to reading in publication order, however, is deciding where to start. Getting into star wars books can be a little daunting due to the sheer number of books but dont worry. Its a story of hate, love, good, eviland its rounded up one of the biggest fan bases from. Mar 23, 2019 star wars books fill in the blanks left by the movies, so weve looked at 10 key books in the disney timeline and ranked them from worst to best. 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 the. Ive only read 32 books up to the date of this posting i agree with you as well that the darth bane trilogy was good but not necessarily great because it was all very dark and not a good blend of humour.
His previous books include the servants of the empire quartet and the youngadult spacefantasy series the jupiter pirates. 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. This is the realtime chronological novel publishing timeline. These books are part of the original star wars expanded universe, and follow an internally consistent timeline. One of the first grownup books i read was dave wolvertons the courtship of princess leia. From the press release regarding the new disney vs legends canon now, with an exciting future filled with new cinematic installments of star wars, all aspects of star wars storytelling moving forward will be connected. The other great expanded universe success story of the 1990s, michael stackpoles xwing books are essentially top gun for star wars fans. With a new saga trilogy, new standalone anthology movies, tv shows, comics, books, and video games all coming out in a rapidly expanding new canon, has there ever been a better time to be a star wars fan. The star wars expanded universe is dumb and should be. The xwing series focuses on rogue squadron, a team of xwing pilots led by wedge antilles, who played only a minor role in the original trilogy. A guide to all the new star wars books in the expanded.
Does a comprehensive recommended reading order exist for. May 04, 2017 the novels bring back thrawn in a fashion, and help tie off some loose ends, but also leaves the door open for the next chapter of the star wars universe. Many fans were outraged, because several noncanon stories known as being part of the expanded universe had become almost as popular as the main. Start reading star wars books tips on the expanded universe. The war was long, many beloved characters died, and it changed the landscape of. For those puzzled as to why the postdisney buyout titles would be included on a star wars eu timeline, the complete saga page follows the one canon approach, which permits any story that reasonably fits into the expanded universe on the timeline. Here are the best book series in star wars history.
Feb 05, 2020 the expanded universe of star wars is pretty huge, so what books should you start with. Other parts, such as the ewoksand droidscartoons, may be difficult to find. If youre a star wars fan, theres a good chance youve read a star wars books or two. It is derived from and includes most official star wars books. The clone wars and star wars rebels, any star wars story told outside the official six movies was now considered noncanon. What are recommended reading orders of star wars books.
This time, thea tackles a subject close to her heart. The exact chronology of the events described in this article is currently unknown. When disney purchased lucasfilm in 2012, the company decided. The clone wars was such an exciting cartoon was because space battles made up the majority of most episodes. Dec 02, 2019 three books, four major villains of the star wars universe if your tastes run to the dark side. Dark force rising by timothy zahn, heir to the empire by timothy zahn, the last command by timothy zahn, sh. With the star wars expanded universe having grown so large and encompassing, its also a great way to explain many of the discrepancies and continuityerrors that occur from time to time within the body of lore comprised by the books, comics, films, cartoons, video games and more. From the adventures of luke skywalker in december 1976 to the latest novel, this timeline tracks the month and year of every star wars novel excluding childrens and graphic novels published. As a huge fan of star wars and star wars the old republic this was a figure i had to have after already owning the darth malgus figure from the black series for quite awhile it was definitely worth the purchase and i recommend it to any star wars collector. Various authors penned exciting narratives in the star wars universe featuring all your favorite characters and a bunch of new ones. Now, this poll obviously wasnt a scientific study of the fandom with a statistically significant and valid sample of respondents. A definitive legends clone wars timeline was never established by lucasfilm. These novels were officially declared noncanon to the star wars franchise in april 2014. Star wars is an american epic spaceopera media franchise, centered on a film series.
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. Where should you start reading the star wars expanded. Star wars legends, formerly known as the expanded universe abbreviated eu, encompasses every one of the licensed, fictional background stories of the star wars universe, outside of the original six star wars films produced by george lucas and certain other material such as star wars. The phantom menace, in the era of the glorious high republic, the noble and wise jedi knights must face a frightening threat to themselves, the galaxy, and the force itself. The new books we got as a result have also been nothing short of incredible, shedding light on the years between star wars. He lives in brooklyn with his wife and son and about a metric ton of star wars stuff. As stated by lucasfilm and disney, future books and novels will not be based on these stories, but since the expanded universe started more than 30 years ago, many elements will still be incorported in the upcoming novels. The ultimate guide to reading the star wars books reedsy. There is a whole galaxy of books about star wars, hundreds of them, if were counting the eu expanded universe.
And in the wake of the zahn books come more and more in the new republic era. Does a comprehensive recommended reading order exist for star. Expanded universe lore puts the population of the death star at a little over a million but even if its half that, the average person poops roughly one pound of waste a day, making the amount of feces alone a solid 500,000 pounds slowly trailing behind the death star like a comets tail. A fantastic series of books that take place during the clone wars are the star wars republic commando novels. Under lucasfilm president kathleen kennedys direction, the company for the first time ever has formed a story group to oversee and coordinate all star. There are so many star wars books for fans to read and consume, but. This series of books follows the omega squad, which is a group of clone troopers. All star wars fans are welcome here, but this is a proexpanded universe site, and as such, there is a zero tolerance policy for eubashing. New to star wars books and dont know where to start. Nov 18, 2016 at the same time, the company announced that, other than star wars. Youre about to read some of the most exciting stories ever written.
Where to begin with star wars books emmet asherperrin. Star wars vintage figure expanded universe darth malgus. He truly came alive in the expanded universe, and the bounty. My rundown of my recommended reading order for star wars books link to video i mentioned s. My selections come in part from my own sensibilities, but all of these books are well regarded by a broad spectrum of fans. In an effort to make things easier, fans have attempted many different methods of navigating the eu. The expanded universe of star wars is pretty huge, so what books should you start with. This was done to make room for new stories, as disney announced that the star wars comics would return to marvel comics. By kat staff writer september 1, 2009 with hundreds of star wars novels, comics and young adult novels in print it can be a daunting task to know where to begin. This is a page about the star wars universe and its history. May 23, 2017 since the star wars universe spans so much time, it cant all focus on the same characters. Here are the best star wars books from the old cannon. The novels bring back thrawn in a fashion, and help tie off some loose ends, but also leaves the door open for the next chapter of the star wars universe. The best star wars books to read first a getting started guide.
Dec 18, 2015 the other great expanded universe success story of the 1990s, michael stackpoles xwing books are essentially top gun for star wars fans, and catch the balance between pulp jollity and geekish. I would say that depends on whether or not you want to stick to post return of the jedi or if youre willing to go back in the star wars history. Star wars gained many fans thanks to its numerous films, but theres more to the galaxy than just major movie releases. Where to start with the star wars expanded universe. If you want to read the expanded universelegends books in chronological order, this timeline again made by ujedeyeknight5 has the books. The star wars expanded universe is dumb and should be forgotten. New movies and other stories arent based on these books, and will sometimes contradict them. Top 100 expanded universe works posted by paul on january 21, 2008 over on the tf. For a certain generation, the answer may be yes star wars fans who grew up in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s are probably familiar. Such derivative works have been produced concurrently with, between, and after the original, prequel, and sequel trilogies, as. Oct 10, 2019 if youre a star wars fan, theres a good chance youve read a star wars books or two.