[FrigidSurf]

Anyone here a fan? I cannot put them down at this point! Was never a big fan of the movies, but the novels, impressive...

[JimF]

Anyone here a fan? I cannot put them down at this point! Was never a big fan of the movies, but the novels, impressive...

I read a couple of the very early ones back in the day, the episode 4 novelization and splinter of the mind's eye by alan dean foster. the han solo trilogy by brian daley. but none of the recent stuff. I don't read much tie in fiction. What is it about the books that you like so much?

Jim

[Chuffalump]

I usually find them...hmmmm....lazy.

The author only needs minimal originality. Even less if they use the central characters from the films. I read one recently called Blood Troopers or some such. Supposed to be Star Wars Horror. Started out ok, if nothing special, but then introduced Han Solo and Chewbacca. If the author had stuck with the ships doctor I'd have had more respect but as it was.... lazy.

However, it's entirely possible that I've missed some decent stories since I've only read a handful over the years.

Weirdly I've read quite a few WH40K books and enjoyed them. I suspect that this is because the authors have much more freedom to be inventive with their characters and worlds within the WH40K framework.

[FrigidSurf]

I usually find them...hmmmm....lazy.

The author only needs minimal originality. Even less if they use the central characters from the films. I read one recently called Blood Troopers or some such. Supposed to be Star Wars Horror. Started out ok, if nothing special, but then introduced Han Solo and Chewbacca. If the author had stuck with the ships doctor I'd have had more respect but as it was.... lazy.

However, it's entirely possible that I've missed some decent stories since I've only read a handful over the years.

Weirdly I've read quite a few WH40K books and enjoyed them. I suspect that this is because the authors have much more freedom to be inventive with their characters and worlds within the WH40K framework.

You picked the worst book off the Star Wars shelf. All the hardcore SW readers HATED that book. But, there is a relatively new book (released four months ago or so) called "The Old Republic: Deceived", it's written by Paul S. Kemp, and it's phenomenal! Very easy read, and it is set 3000 years before Darth Vader or Luke Skywaker ever sat foot on the SW Universe.

The above poster also asked me why I enjoyed the SWEU (Star Wars Expanded Universe) Novels so much, so here goes--

1. Diversity. Because Lucas Books hires different writers, there is always a new take. Even if its the same old character.

2. The Series. SWEU puts out some great series. The current series I'm reading is called "Fate of the Jedi." It's a 9 book series, and it immediately follows a 10 book series (Legacy of the Force). Which gives you plenty of time to invest in some characters.

3. AUDIOBOOKS! If you're an audiobook fan, YOU MUST check out an SWEU audiobook. (I suggest starting out with Deceived). They are narrated by one man (very talented) but they have full-blown sound effects. If you close your eyes, you are RIGHT THERE in your mind's eye. Check them out!

4. Familiarity. Everyone knows Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, and most people are some-what familiar with the Star Wars Universe. ex.- lightsabers, planets, and a myriad of characters. So, you need not invest time to learn the nuances of the "new" sci fi world you're about to read.

I could go on and on about why I enjoy the SWEU books so much, but I wont completely bore you. Seven months ago I would have laughed if you told me I would be a SW junkie who owned twenty of their books, and have read/listen to more than 64, but here I am. Full-blown addict! If you could do me a favor, and just pick up the SW book "Deceived", and give it a try, you'd probably enjoy yourself. Or better yet, download the audiobook (audio awesomeness). It is set in the Old Republic time frame, and was a superb read. If you do start reading ANY SW novel, please be aware that several of the books are in a series (especially the newer books) and it do not specify that on the cover. So you could unwittingly pickup book nine in a ten book series, and be completely lost. The Three series I know of is "Fate of the Jedi, Legacy of the Force, and The New Jedi Order (all of which have those titles printed on the front cover in some form). If you do not see any of those, chances are it's a stand-alone novel, like "Deceived". Try them out, and be happy!;) Let me know what you think afterwards, perhaps you to will be sucked into this vortex called SWEU,asI myself was.

[psikeyhackr]

I tried four. I manged to finish one.

psik

[Hobbit]

it's written by Paul S. Kemp, and it's phenomenal! Paul's been known to pop into SFFWorld from time to time. Nice guy.


I could go on and on about why I enjoy the SWEU books so much, but I wont completely bore you.

Like your post, Frigid, on why you like the books, so I'm going to ask further.

The Star Wars universe is big and perhaps too big for many readers who can feel a little intimidated by it all.

Care to give us books that would give readers places to start in the series?

What would you recommend?

Mark

[Jhoebryn]

Start with the first ones - the Timothy Zahn "Thrawn Trilogy" - "Heir to the Empire", "Dark Force Rising" and "The Last Command". They are still some of the best of the Star Wars EU novels...

[Hobbit]

And there's a new one due from Zahn any time now....

OK. Lets keep going. What about some of the newer series, of which there are MANY?

Karen Traviss' I've been told are good, for example.

Those who have read more: other suggestions, please!

Mark

[Werthead]

Karen Traviss is an okay writer (though not really above 'okay') but she has some...odd ideas about the Star Wars universe. In particulary, she is a total Boba Fett fangirl and transferred that to the Mandalorians, a race of warriors the Jedi fought a war against thousands of years earlier and whose descendants survive into the 'current day' and whom Boba Fett nicked his armour from. In her Clone Wars books she makes the Mandalorians into total Gary Stu warriors and superior morally to the Jedi, whom she presents as morally shady nutcases.

In essence, her take on Star Wars is rather at odds with everyone else's, including (rather importantly) George Lucas'. Other authors have interesting and revisionist takes on the setting - most notably 'proper' fantasy author Matt Stover whose novel Traitor is probably the best slice of Star Wars ever written in any medium bar only Empire Strikes Back and maybe the Knights of the Old Republic game - but manage to pull that off without rewriting the canon to their own specifications. Traviss doesn't, and her work is hard to take seriously as a result. The Clone Wars CGI TV series has in fact retconned most of her novels out of the canon, meaning that, whilst individually readable, they are no longer of any consequence (and this is a big deal for the canon reason I give below).

For me, the most interesting thing about the Star Wars novels is that the books are, for the most part, regarded as part of the ever-extending canon, as are the computer games and comics. The movies are still regarded as king, but the books are always assumed as having happened, even if some retconning is required. Most notably, George Lucas used some of the novel ideas, names and characters in the prequel movies (Coruscant, the Republic/Empire capital, was first named in Timothy Zahn's novels).

For me, the original Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn is the best place to start, simply because no other books (aside from the old 1980s ones which are still canon, but simply not referenced very often) existed at the time and you don't need to know anything else about the setting other than the original three movies. They're getting 20th anniversary reissues at the moment, and are a lot of fun.

Amongst the 'newer' books I'd start with the New Jedi Order, which doesn't require much backstory. Though it's somewhat overlong (at 19 books), it's got some great ideas and contains the aforementioned Traitor, as well as some solid novels by Greg Keyes, Mike Stackpole and Walter Jon Williams. Unfortunately the first book, by R.A. Salvatore, isn't that great (though still better than any of his Drizzt novels published since circa 1994).

The very worst Star Wars books are, naturally, those written by Kevin J. Anderson. And the very worst one of them all is Darksaber, a book so horrific that it boggles the mind it was accepted for publication.

[krisbslick]

I'm a very big fan, SW was the gateway drug that got me reading science fiction in 6th grade. Since then, I've read over 100 Star wars books and countless other science fiction books.

The X wing series was great, my second favorite behind the thrawn trilogy. (9 books by M Stackpole and Aaron Allston.) Also, if you like those try I, Jedi

Karen T's books are okay, but I'm a bigger fan of the books after The Battle of Yavin (with Luke and his extended family). Clone wars Era novels, I feel, aren't up to par.

The current series "fate of the jedi" and the "legacy of the jedi" series get pretty dark at times, which is a nice change of pace from the "happily ever after, good guys winning" stories of old.