Hello Everyone!

 

I Was wanting to start reading some of the Star Wars novels that take place after ROTJ. Ive read some Clone War stuff a couple years ago but that's really the extent of my Star Wars novel Reading. And I'm having a hard time choosing between the New Jedi Order Series and Legacy of the Force. Now I know NJO chronologically comes before LOTF, But I'm still conflicted and before I start this undertaking, on account of how many books are in each series, I wanted peoples thoughts. From what research I've done, with out spoilers, NJO's main enemy is an Alien race that comes to the galaxy and causes all sorts of trouble. And on the Other hand, I hear LOTF is more classic Star Wars, Jed vs. Sith. Any suggestions are welcomed.

 

Thanks, Bayrat

LOVE LOVE LOVEEEEEDDDD LOTF. The entire storyline is amazing. I was overseas playing soccer in Europe a few years back when I started reading betrayal, and I was often almost late to the pitch for being unable to put the book down. The entire series is fantastic, and offers a lot of unique insights into the perspective of someone like Jacen. NJO is definitely worth reading too, and chronologically it does come first, so it's really up to you - I personally enjoyed the LOTF series more

Heir to the Empire Trilogy -> Jedi Academy Trilogy -> Young Jedi Knights Series (if you can stomach YA books, at least the first six books which can probably be read in a weekend and were compiled in Rise of the Shadow Academy) -> Hand of Thrawn Duology -> New Jedi Order Series -> Legacy of the Force Series.

Fill in the gaps (the rest of the Bantam era novels, the Marvel and Dark Horse comics, and the Dark Nest Trilogy) with recaps/synopses in the Essential Readers Companion or on Wookieepedia.

 

If you're set on starting with either NJO or LotF, do it in chronological order, with New Jedi Order first. Legacy of the Force just does not have anywhere near the same punch if you haven't had the setup with the Solo kids, Mara Jade, Pellaeon, Jagged Fel, Tahiri, etc. that's established by their appearances and adventures in earlier books such as NJO.

 

But seriously, the Heir to the Empire Trilogy is the place to start for the post-RotJ era if you haven't already read them. They're some of the best written Star Wars novels overall, and they introduce a lot of characters who will be almost as important as the movie characters for the rest of the EU - just ignore a few timeline issues with the Clone Wars since it was written before the Prequels came out.

Edited March 25, 2014 by DarthDymond

LOVE LOVE LOVEEEEEDDDD LOTF. The entire storyline is amazing. I was overseas playing soccer in Europe a few years back when I started reading betrayal, and I was often almost late to the pitch for being unable to put the book down. The entire series is fantastic, and offers a lot of unique insights into the perspective of someone like Jacen. NJO is definitely worth reading too, and chronologically it does come first, so it's really up to you - I personally enjoyed the LOTF series more

 

 

How can you post something like this? How?

 

 

 

 

So, to the OP, definitely read NJO first. And if you want to read LOTF afterwards, do so, but just remember it spits in the eye of everything that happens during NJO.

 

How can you post something like this? How?

 

 

For starters, Jacen turning to the dark side makes no sense given his character at the end of NJO. Second, Vergere was never meant to be a Sith! Third, Mara dies in the stupidest way possible. I'm not saying LOTF is all bad; Ben Skywalker and Mirta Gev, for example, are enjoyable, as are Jori Lekauf and Lon Shevu. And Wedge Antilles is always fun. But as for the general storyline, it makes no sense in comparison to the by-far better NJO.

 

 

So, to the OP, definitely read NJO first. And if you want to read LOTF afterwards, do so, but just remember it spits in the eye of everything that happens during NJO.

 

LOL!!! I completely agree with

 

LOL!!! I completely agree with

MJ and Verg, but the internal conflict between duty and necessity that JS goes through is pretty neat. You definitely see his grandfather in him, which is a huge draw because the turn for Anakin is very relatable (in my mind). That's why I think it's awesome

 

Beg to differ.

 

 

 

Beg to differ.

 

 

The problem with seeing his grandfather in him is that the whole series is basically a retread of the Prequel Trilogy; Jacen just becomes Anakin all over again. And if you read the last book of NJO, it seemed very clear that Jacen was on the path to becoming the next main hero, replacing Luke in that role as Luke was beginning to age. However, with this thing with him turning to the dark side, they have to put an aging Luke back into the hero role. Not that that's bad, because Luke's awesome, but Jacen should've been the one in the hero role, IMO.

That's the thing though:

 

 

Edited March 26, 2014 by DarthDymond

That's the thing though:

 

It tells a much better version of Anakin's fall. Jacen's messiah complex is believably developed based on his arc in the NJO and his "walkabout" afterwards, rather than simply relying on the somewhat lazy and overused trope of being a prophecy's "Chosen One" like with Anakin.

 

Jacen's motivations and slide from well-intentioned to outright monster are also done a lot better than with Anakin's jarring and abrupt turn in RotS (at least in the movie, I've heard the novelization does a much better job with it). And since, for the readers, Anakin was always on the path to a becoming Vader, it was more interesting, IMHO, to see the "pride goes before destruction" arc played out with someone who legitimately could have gone either way.

 

I loved Jacen as a character, Traitor is probably my single favorite SW novel overall, and Jacen was probably my favorite character in NJO even before they swapped his role with his brother's to make him the hero. But I'm okay with how he was handled in these novels, since his arc and its end were in genuine service to the story, rather than a cheap "shock value" twist or anything like that.

 

And part of me was intrigued and even would have preferred if the meta-series had ultimately endorsed Vergere's approach to the Force as the "right" one, or at least a potentially right one. But while I personally favor that philosophy, I don't disagree with the idea that "black and white" morality is built into Star Wars at a pretty basic level, much moreso than moral relativism at least. (Although we definitely see individual authors and sub-series try to push the boundaries there from time to time.) If they made the conscious decision to stay true to that philosophy, and discredited Vergere's views in the process, I can ultimately respect that, and at least they told a good story with it.

 

I do agree however that one major negative has been that the "old guard" from the movies have been forced back to center stage. Especially when NJO could, and should, have been the proper hand-off to the next generation.

 

The underlying marketing concerns of "When consumers see 'Star Wars' they want Luke Skywalker!" are pretty obvious, but I feel like it has hurt the storytelling in the meta-series the same way we see in major comicbook series, where they always have to maintain the status quo or at least reset to it very, very frequently.

 

(The series definitely has a few other problems as well, mainly the inconsistent characterizations and shifts in focus between the three authors, and the way they all failed to adequately justify the times the heroes couldn't/wouldn't see what was really going on with Jacen right in front of their faces - I assume because of their love for him.)

 

Well, we'll just have to disagree. The fact of the matter is

 

 

 

Do NOT like LOTF. At all!

 

I began with the Junior Jedi Knight < Young Jedi Knight< New Jedi Order.......I may stop there.... I didn't even bother reading the Fate books

But seriously, the Heir to the Empire Trilogy is the place to start for the post-RotJ era if you haven't already read them. They're some of the best written Star Wars novels overall, and they introduce a lot of characters who will be almost as important as the movie characters for the rest of the EU - just ignore a few timeline issues with the Clone Wars since it was written before the Prequels came out.

 

Don't forget the awesome X-Wing series (Yub Yub Commander, RIP Aaron Allston), if you want to know more about the Starfighter pilots (plus certain NJO books contain characters from the X-wing series, and it might be confusing as to who they are)

Having read NJO, Dark Nest, and LOTF.....

 

Please, read NJO and stop there. Trust me.

Legacy of the Force was epic. Darth Caedus was my favorite fiction character for a while. It shows how the dark side can corrupt even the most innocent at any time, rather than another conventional plot with a story of "Oh no, Luke Skywalker is in trouble... again!" for the umpteenth time. Edited April 19, 2014 by Sadishist

But Caedus barely did anything................memorable.... I loved the execution, and the books were a definite hit and miss with me

 

I loved Betrayal, Inferno, Revelation................and then books that seemed outta nowhere, like Sacrifice, Invincible, that just.........ugh.

 

All that development......wasted IMO

But Caedus barely did anything................memorable.... I loved the execution, and the books were a definite hit and miss with me

 

I loved Betrayal, Inferno, Revelation................and then books that seemed outta nowhere, like Sacrifice, Invincible, that just.........ugh.

 

All that development......wasted IMO

 

Yeah, killing Mara and burning down Kashyyyk was totally not memorable.

 

I mean, there's obviously flaws in the series but some of the statements in this thread are simply ridiculous.

Yeah, killing Mara and burning down Kashyyyk was totally not memorable.

 

Oh, they were memorable. Mainly for the stupidity.