i just wanna start getting novels... but my knowledge is very little.. i dont know where to start.. i went to a comic book store and i saw a lot of novels and comics yet i didnt bought anything cause i didnt know wich one to get... the only knowledge i know from SW is from movies and clone wars.. i would like to know what u can recommend me to start with.. i would like to know the WHOLE SW universe.. from the very beginning.. if someone could help me out please.. i would appreciate it..

Yeah, it can be kind of overwhelming.

Usually, the best books to start with is the Thrawn Trilogy written by Timothy Zahn. It takes place a few years after the Return of the Jedi and it's one of the best books out there. But keep in mind it's probably not "canon" anymore, since we will have the new movies soon.

(it's also technically a begining, I think it was the first SW book ever written)

 

As for reading completely everything, I don't think it's such a good idea. For one, there's a lot of SW books and comics, a really lot of them. For two, lot of them are pretty ****** and not worth reading.

 

Other good SW books are (in my opinion) Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor written by Mathew Stover, Jedi Apprentice series by Jude Watson (about Obi-Wan and how he became Qui-Gon's padawan, but it's more a young adult book), Jedi Quest series by the same author (about Anakin and his padawan years), Shadows of the Empire by Steve Perry (takes place between episode 5 and 6), the Han Solo trilogy by A. C. Crispin (about young Han Solo and his life)...

 

I also heard that X-WIng series is good, but I haven't read it myself. Also Shatterpoint by Mathew Stover should be good (takes place during the Clone Wars)

 

Or, if you really want to read everything from the very beginning, take a look here - http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Timeline_of_Legends_books and just start reading chronologically.

So, the first book to read would be Dawn of the Jedi by Tim Lebbon. But I really don't know if it is worth reading or not, you will have to find out yourself.

 

Hope that helped.

I guess there are two ways to start reading chronologically. You could start reading the first books that were written or you could start reading the books that are taking place earliest in the Star Wars timeline.

 

A few months back I ordered a second hand copy of Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster. It's from 1978 and the first Star Wars book in the Expanded Universe, I believe.

 

But now I started playing SWTOR again and realizing how awesome the old republic era is, I'm going to change from reading the earliest publications to reading what happened earliest on the SW timeline.

 

Being a geek sure can be a lot of work

 

PS

I just finished listening the truly amazing Darth Bane trilogy audiobooks. So I can assure you that's something to look forward to!

I just started to read some myself and I went with The Bane series, then Revan and I just finished the thrawn series. I will follow that with Zahn's Specter of the past.

 

 

Bane series absolutely rocks as does Revan's... Thrawn series was just as good.

thank you so much for your time guys.. im gonna start looking for those u recommend me.

I always suggest that people start with Heir to the Empire, it is immediately accessible with only knowledge of the movies, is a good novel in its own right, and it starts establishing characters, species, and plot points that go on to play almost as large a role in the rest of the EU as the films themselves. (The only thing to bear in mind is that they were published before the prequel movies, so some of the dates they mention for the Clone Wars don't really add up).

 

Only reason I would say to start anywhere else would be if there was a different era or specific aspect of the SW universe you were particularly interested in. For example, if you're more interested in the Old Republic Era, I would suggest starting with the Tales of the Jedi Comics, with either the Golden Age of the Sith miniseries or the Knights of the Old Republic miniseries. Or if you're primarily interested in the space combat/dog-fighting aspect of the Universe, the X-Wing series starting with Rogue Squadron is good.

 

My suggested read order for the post-Return of the Jedi novels & comics: (Spoiler box is just for length)

 

 

Edited May 26, 2014 by DarthDymond

There are two trains of thought: order of release or timeline

 

Slecnaztemnot's suggestion about starting with the Thrawn Trilogy is based in the order of release mindset. Heir to the Empire was in fact the first novel written about the Star Wars universe. This trilogy of books spawned the EU, so most of the novels written thereafter tied into each other well (at least for a while).

 

From a purely chronological perspective the Dawn of the Jedi graphic novel is where it all begins - circa 26,000 years before the Battle of Yavin (BBY: you will find that the Star Wars chronology is centered on the end of E4-ANH...The Battle of Yavin; events that take place prior to that point are indicated as BBY and events after that point are indicated as ABY).

 

For a full list and chronology of books see: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Timeline_of_Legends_books (looks like Wookieepedia has updated to represent all the old EU as "Legends".

 

My suggestions as to what to read (in no particular order):

 

• Thrawn Trilogy - The New Republic is in place but the Empire is not gone
  
• Jedi Academy Trilogy - Luke starts to rebuild the Jedi Order
  
• I, Jedi - first person perspective of the events of the Jedi Academy Trilogy
  
• X-wing series - Story about Wedge Antilles and Rogue Squadron (warning: no lightsabers or Force use)
  
• Han Solo Trilogy - the story of Han Solo from his youth to just before the events of ANH
  
• Bounty Hunter Wars Trilogy - Boba Fett is the protagonist...'nuff said.
  
• Lost Tribe of the Sith short stories - nine ebook short stories starting 5000 BBY about a band of Sith stranded on a planet
  
• Darth Bane Trilogy - See how the Sith Empire became two Sith - One master, One apprentice
  
• Darth Plagueis - The story of Palpatine and his Sith master Darth Plagueis
  
• Labyrinth of Evil - a prequel to RotS
  
• Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader - an epilogue to RotS
  
• Outbound Flight - a project that takes place during the early days of the PT
  
• Hand of Thrawn Duology - The fear of Grand Admiral Thrawn lingers
  
• Allegiance & Choices of One - get a glimpse at the characters introduced in the Thrawn Trilogy during the events of the OT.
  
• Shadows of the Empire - story based on the video game of the same name
  

 

I'll be honest, the New Jedi Order (AKA the Vong) series got me out of reading Star Wars novels for a LONG time. And when I got back into it, I have only read BBY and "during/in between the events of the movies" books since.

Wow so many lol.. from all those mentioned..could u tell me wich one is best to read first..

I'll let you know what not to get....

 

 

Truce at Bakura.

 

I just chose this book out of the blue Yeeeeears ago to get into Star Wars Novels... I never finished it and told myself i will never read another SW book again, because they will all suck.

 

Until The Thrawn Trilogy.

I recommend:

-X-wing books

-Any (and all) of Zahn's books

-NJO

-LotF

-FotJ

couple others scattered around that are also good.

 

What not to read

Crystal Star, it is somewhat random and not a very good book.

Truce at Bakura wasn't all that great either.

I didn't like Death Troopers, but that's my preference (If you like Zombie Star Wars, by all means read it)

I didn't really like Jedi Trial either.

Wow so many lol.. from all those mentioned..could u tell me wich one is best to read first..

 

Well, as almost everyone said, the best book to read first is probably the Thrawn trilogy, the first book is called Heir to the Empire.

Well, as almost everyone said, the best book to read first is probably the Thrawn trilogy, the first book is called Heir to the Empire.

 

Ok.. guess thats gonna be my first one.. ty.

Don't read Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void it's an awful way to start off.

 

If you want to get into the mix, in regards to this game in particular, I'd advise starting with the Old Republic novels. I'm sure they aren't the best but it was nice to stay in the same era as the game (which had consumed my life at the time I decided to start reading)

 

While, for the most part, the novels don't tie into the game you will find some familiar characters along the way. Admittedly they are few and far between. If you want to see a nice precursor to the game, the Revan novel is nice and it's got a-plenty of references to KotOR.

Edited May 29, 2014 by Kremsau

Don't read Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void it's an awful way to start off.

 

If you want to get into the mix, in regards to this game in particular, I'd advise starting with the Old Republic novels. I'm sure they aren't the best but it was nice to stay in the same era as the game (which had consumed my life at the time I decided to start reading)

 

While, for the most part, the novels don't tie into the game you will find some familiar characters along the way. Admittedly they are few and far between. If you want to see a nice precursor to the game, the Revan novel is nice and it's got a-plenty of references to KotOR.

 

Ok.. i wanna read old republic too since im playing the game (wich i love) lol.. so u recommend me to start with the revan book?

I do, it's a nice refresher on the lore and it fills in the gap between Knights of the Old Republic 2 and SWTOR.

 

From there, the Star Wars books all contain a timeline on the first couple of pages that help to keep track of which book to read next.

 

- - - - - - -

 

I know Red Harvest occurs in the timeline between two of the Old Republic novels. It's a side story that, as far as I know, doesn't affect the game at all. It's kind-of a zombie horror novel in the Star Wars universe, wasn't my favorite but it was fun. I'd love to see it one day tie into the game.

Edited May 29, 2014 by Kremsau

Ok.. i wanna read old republic too since im playing the game (wich i love) lol.. so u recommend me to start with the revan book?

Another good place to start with the Old Republic timeline is the Tales of the Jedi comics, they start well before the timeframe of the game, but a lot of elements from them set the background for it (e.g. the Empire in this game is a continuation of the Sith Empire from Golden Age of the Sith and Fall of the Sith Empire).

 

If you're someone who likes going chronologically I would read in this order:

1. Tales of the Jedi: Golden Age of the Sith comic miniseries
   
2. TotJ: Fall of the Sith Empire comic miniseries
   
3. TotJ: Knights of the Old Republic comic miniseries
   
4. TotJ: Dark Lords of the Sith comic miniseries
   
5. TotJ: The Sith War comic miniseries
   
6. TotJ: Redemption comic miniseries
   
7. Knights of the Old Republic (the Zayne Carack series) comic series and Knights of the Old Republic: War comic miniseries
   
8. The Old Republic: Blood of the Empire comic miniseries
   
9. The Old Republic: Threat of Peace comic miniseries
   
10. The Old Republic: Lost Suns comic miniseries
    
11. The Old Republic: Revan novel
    
12. The Old Republic: Deceived novel
    
13. The Old Republic: Annihilation novel
    

 

If you want, you could throw in the novels The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance and Red Harvest between Deceived and Annihilation, but you really wouldn't be missing out on much if you skipped those two.

 

If you're not into comics though, then I agree that Revan would be a good starting point.

Another good place to start with the Old Republic timeline is the Tales of the Jedi comics, they start well before the timeframe of the game, but a lot of elements from them set the background for it (e.g. the Empire in this game is a continuation of the Sith Empire from Golden Age of the Sith and Fall of the Sith Empire).

 

If you're someone who likes going chronologically I would read in this order:

1. Tales of the Jedi: Golden Age of the Sith comic miniseries
   
2. TotJ: Fall of the Sith Empire comic miniseries
   
3. TotJ: Knights of the Old Republic comic miniseries
   
4. TotJ: Dark Lords of the Sith comic miniseries
   
5. TotJ: The Sith War comic miniseries
   
6. TotJ: Redemption comic miniseries
   
7. Knights of the Old Republic (the Zayne Carack series) comic series and Knights of the Old Republic: War comic miniseries
   
8. The Old Republic: Blood of the Empire comic miniseries
   
9. The Old Republic: Threat of Peace comic miniseries
   
10. The Old Republic: Lost Suns comic miniseries
    
11. The Old Republic: Revan novel
    
12. The Old Republic: Deceived novel
    
13. The Old Republic: Annihilation novel
    

 

If you want, you could throw in the novels The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance and Red Harvest between Deceived and Annihilation, but you really wouldn't be missing out on much if you skipped those two.

 

If you're not into comics though, then I agree that Revan would be a good starting point.

 

I like comics too.. but how would i find all those comics u mention?

I like comics too.. but how would i find all those comics u mention?

Each of the seven Tales of the Jedi miniseries (I accidentally left out The Freedon Nadd Uprising miniseries in my earlier list) was collected in its own trade paperback, but they were also all compiled into two large Omnibus volumes that Dark Horse put out a few years back:

Omnibus: Tales of the Jedi Volume One

Omnibus: Tales of the Jedi Volume Two

 

Similarly, the Knights of the Old Republic series was collected into 10 trade paperbacks (the regular series was collected in volumes 1-9 and the War miniseries was collected as volume 10), and also in three Omnibus volumes:

Omnibus: Knights of the Old Republic Volume One

Omnibus: Knights of the Old Republic Volume Two

Omnibus: Knights of the Old Republic Volume Three

 

All things being equal, I would suggest tracking down the Omnibus Volumes for both series, either through local comic shops or through sites like eBay or Amazon.com. I think the Omnibus Volumes are actually available through Amazon's Kindle service now, which would probably be waaaaay cheaper than getting the hard-copies.

 

Just be aware, the Omnibus books are smaller page sizes than standard comics/trade paperbacks; everything is still there, the pages are just shrunk down slightly. If that rubs you the wrong way, the Kindle versions or the trade paperbacks would be a better bet.

 

I actually first read all the Tales series when I was young because my local library system had copies, so that might also be worth checking out as an option if you don't mind borrowing instead of buying.

 

The three The Old Republic miniseries are all out in Trade Paperbacks now, and I think they can be ordered through Dark Horse's website in addition to other outlets like Amazon.

 

EDIT: I was curious so I checked on Dark Horse comics' website, all of the Omnibus volumes can also be ordered online through their website except for Omnibus: Tales of the Jedi Volume One. Just use the search option and punch in "Star Wars Omnibus" and you'll see them all.

Edited June 3, 2014 by DarthDymond

Each of the seven Tales of the Jedi miniseries (I accidentally left out The Freedon Nadd Uprising miniseries in my earlier list) was collected in its own trade paperback, but they were also all compiled into two large Omnibus volumes that Dark Horse put out a few years back:

Omnibus: Tales of the Jedi Volume One

Omnibus: Tales of the Jedi Volume Two

 

Similarly, the Knights of the Old Republic series was collected into 10 trade paperbacks (the regular series was collected in volumes 1-9 and the War miniseries was collected as volume 10), and also in three Omnibus volumes:

Omnibus: Knights of the Old Republic Volume One

Omnibus: Knights of the Old Republic Volume Two

Omnibus: Knights of the Old Republic Volume Three

 

All things being equal, I would suggest tracking down the Omnibus Volumes for both series, either through local comic shops or through sites like eBay or Amazon.com. I think the Omnibus Volumes are actually available through Amazon's Kindle service now, which would probably be waaaaay cheaper than getting the hard-copies.

 

Just be aware, the Omnibus books are smaller page sizes than standard comics/trade paperbacks; everything is still there, the pages are just shrunk down slightly. If that rubs you the wrong way, the Kindle versions or the trade paperbacks would be a better bet.

 

I actually first read all the Tales series when I was young because my local library system had copies, so that might also be worth checking out as an option if you don't mind borrowing instead of buying.

 

The three The Old Republic miniseries are all out in Trade Paperbacks now, and I think they can be ordered through Dark Horse's website in addition to other outlets like Amazon.

 

EDIT: I was curious so I checked on Dark Horse comics' website, all of the Omnibus volumes can also be ordered online through their website except for Omnibus: Tales of the Jedi Volume One. Just use the search option and punch in "Star Wars Omnibus" and you'll see them all.

 

ty!! may the darkside of the force be with you!! and get u endless cookies lol

If you want to go chronological I would as others have suggested start with the Old Republic era, its the second earliest publishing era before the Before the Republic era which really has nothing much going for it aside from Dawn of the Jedi which apparently isn't all that great.

 

So yes, the Old Republic era, starting with the comics:

 

Tales of the Jedi comics

Knights of the Old Republic comics

 

Then dip into to the SWTOR books:

 

The Old Republic: Revan

The Old Republic: Deceived

The Old Republic: Annihilation

 

Also if you can try and track down the Threat of Peace webcomic, which is about the Treaty of Coruscant and worth a read, it also looks at the back stories of several characters who appear in game.

 

After that I'd suggest the Bane Trilogy:

 

Darth Bane: Path of Destruction

Darth Bane: Rule of Two

Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil

 

It acts as a bridge between the Old Republic and Rise of the Empire era and like all the previous suggests catalogs a major turning point in galactic history, its also an excellent set of books.

 

Next I'd suggest Darth Plagueis, which ties in with Darth Bane (start of the Rule of Two to the end) and makes references to the Old Republic era so again its a nice tie in, and basically Episode 0 of the movies.

 

After that I suggest:

 

Yoda: Dark Rendezvous

Labyrinth of Evil

 

Which both cover key events in the Clone Wars. After that:

 

Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader

 

And depending on how long it takes for you to read these, you might be able to throw in:

 

Tarkin [Nov 2014]

Lords of the Sith [March 2015]

 

Then you can follow up with the Thrawn Trilogy and the other post-ROTJ suggestions. But honestly if you are already somewhat well versed in Star Wars, and want to move chronologically, I'd do it this way. I'd also controversially suggest you hold on reading the post-ROTJ, its going to all be rendered non-canon and the entire timeline will be rebooted, it might be better to wait for the new movies, then move forward with books released around them.