🔒 Locked

How're the star wars books?

Started by CyberSlag5k May 23, 2005 at 2:36 PM 28 replies 5.4k views

Original Post

May 23, 2005 at 2:36 PM

So after seeing Episode 3 this weekend and having a few days to reflect upon it, I've decided the new trilogy on the whole is alright. Lucas had his work cut out for him to tell the story that leads up to the classic star wars trilogy, and he did pretty well. I'm a little displeased, but I can give the man a little latitude. Anyway, I was thinking I might like to try the books out. I know they cover huge portions of the star wars universe, but do the ones that focus on the story line of the movies closely follow the story line of the movies? Or are they a little better (or possibly worse)? For example, do they do Annakin turning to the dark side (ahh spoiler!) a little better? And do they cover those 20 years between episodes 3 and 4, as well as the hunting of the Jedi and whatnot. And are there mutliple books covering the same story? Like does one author do Annakin's turning differently from another? I would imagine not, I'd think that there'd be one official Star Wars line of books that have been approved and contain no (or little) overlap. And lastly, if I wanted to read pretty much Episodes 1 - 6 (and maybe a little before and after), what's the specific name of the series of books I should read? Just look for the movie titles? Thanks in advance! P.S. Oh and do the books cut out the stupid midichlorians thing, or must my brain hurt when I read them as well?

mumpo

May 23, 2005 at 2:51 PM

I have only read one of the episode whatever books, the episode one book. It was good and essentially follows the plotline of the movie. I would recommend against reading the books that come before and between 1-3; most of the ones that I have read from that period aren't that great. However, from what I have heard, episodes two and three themselves are good books. After reading one through three you should read four, five, Shadows of the Empire (which takes place between five and six), and then six. After that, if you still feel like reading Star Wars books, pretty much take your pick from the adult stuff that takes place after all the movies, because I have read something over one hundred of those books (scary, I know) and liked almost all of them.
EDIT: Oh yeah -- and just search for Star Wars: Episode whatever and Amazon will bring up the right thing. Check the page count before you get anything though, as there are some Star Wars childrens books floating around out there.

baldurk

May 23, 2005 at 2:59 PM

I'm interested in reading some of the books that aren't in the film series. I'm going to go down to my local library some time to see what books they have (Yay for free or almost free books!) but I'd like to know what to look for.

Basically I'm wanting to know more about the background/storyline that the films are part of. I'm not interested in reading novelisations, but e.g. I've played knights of the old republic, and I really liked the fleshing out of the star wars universe. I'm assuming there are books that aren't directly related to the films, except maybe using the same characters. What are they? which should I read first? are there any I should stay away from?

Thanks to anyone who helps me out.

CyberSlag5k

May 23, 2005 at 3:06 PM

Quote:
Original post by mumpo
I have only read one of the episode whatever books, the episode one book. It was good and essentially follows the plotline of the movie. I would recommend against reading the books that come before and between 1-3; most of the ones that I have read from that period aren't that great. However, from what I have heard, episodes two and three themselves are good books. After reading one through three you should read four, five, Shadows of the Empire (which takes place between five and six), and then six. After that, if you still feel like reading Star Wars books, pretty much take your pick from the adult stuff that takes place after all the movies, because I have read something over one hundred of those books (scary, I know) and liked almost all of them.
EDIT: Oh yeah -- and just search for Star Wars: Episode whatever and Amazon will bring up the right thing. Check the page count before you get anything though, as there are some Star Wars childrens books floating around out there.

Thanks, mumpo. Here's another question for you. I've heard that the movies are actually based off of books. Is this true? Or did the books come after the movies? And, since you appear to have read quite a few of them, what're some of the first star wars books to come out? Also, what're some other good story lines to follow, besides the one in the movies?

Hakiko

May 23, 2005 at 3:06 PM

I have read most of the Star Wars books and by far the ones written by Timothy Zahn were the best. There is a trilogy of book that takes place 5 years after Return of the Jedi and then another two part series. This books were really good and cover some interesting things. I think the first ones came out about 10 years ago.If you search for Timothy Zahn and Star Wars they should come up.

PnP Bios

May 23, 2005 at 3:47 PM

Only the ones written by Zahn and Stackpole are worth reading.

Conner McCloud

May 23, 2005 at 4:28 PM

Quote:
Original post by CyberSlag5k
Thanks, mumpo. Here's another question for you. I've heard that the movies are actually based off of books. Is this true?

No, but its a common myth. I've heard that the misconception originated because Lucas had the novelization of A New Hope released before the movie, but I've never bothered verifying that. Whatever order things were released in, the screenplay was definately the original source material.

CM

mumpo

May 23, 2005 at 8:41 PM

The screenplays definitely came first. As far as which stuff you should read first, the Timothy Zahn trilogy is a good one. The X-Wing series is good too, as is the New Jedi Order series. There are plenty of other good Star Wars books out there, as well; like I said, just stick to the stuff written for adults that takes place after the movies. A quick [google] search finds a timeline of the books (some of the titles there are of series, not individual books though), which is a good order to read them in, since the books written later often reference events that happened in books written earlier.

Katta

May 23, 2005 at 10:03 PM

Another bid for Zahn. Heir to the Empire 4evar.

Evil Bachus

May 23, 2005 at 10:21 PM

The Thrawn Trilogy by Zahn is fantastic. It's a must read. The Thrawn Duology that takes place 10 years after the trilogy (19 years after A New Hope) is also pretty good. The New Jedi Order is a 21 book macro-series that takes place 25-30 years after A New Hope. Excellent, but involving and time-consuming.

There are books for every time period with more coming out all the time. For instance, books covering the rise of the Empire immediately after movie 3 are about to start coming out, and next year will feature a new series that takes place 40 years after the movie. TheForce.net has a great books section that's a great resource. The reviews and Timeline sections make for good reading and can help you decide what to get.

Ademan555

May 23, 2005 at 10:25 PM

Man, i used to have so many of those. Dunno where they all got to though, looking at the timeline, Heir to the empire and last command rung a bell. I know ive got a few out of the x-wing series too.

(not that this post was worth anything)
cheers
-Dan

Gaiiden

May 24, 2005 at 12:27 AM

Quote:
Original post by mumpo
...pretty much take your pick from the adult stuff that takes place after all the movies, because I have read something over one hundred of those books (scary, I know) and liked almost all of them.

Hey me too! [grin]

Do note that the row of paperbacks in the middle picture is two rows deep. I agree that Zahn and Stackpole are awesome, but there's also Aaron Allston - I think he writes the funniest SW books I laughed a lot reading his X-Wing Rogue Squadron book Starfighters of Adumar. Definetly check out the New Jedi Order. Wow. What a way to tip the SW galaxy over! There are some pretty sucky ones out there tho unfortunately. Children of the Jedi, Planet of Twighlight and The Crystal Star spring to mind. I dunno - they just didn't have the excitement and adventure of Star Wars somehow. Plus they aren't referenced much elsewhere in the EU (except for Children, which also nibbles at their value. The Bounty Hunter trilogy was also a pretty lame read - cept for Boba Fett - he was badass in that trilogy man.

As for books between Ep III and IV, yea they have a couple in the works - check out TheForce.Net's book publishing timeline for more.

If you're looking for a great mystery novel, Zahn's Survivor's Quest is great. I can't wait for his new book Outbound Flight. I've been wondering about that damn expedition since reading Zahn's Heir to the Empire trilogy all those years ago! Finally! [smile]

CyberSlag5k

May 24, 2005 at 9:37 AM

Thanks guys. You've all been quite helpful. I can't wait to start tearing into some of these books. I think I'll primarily go chronological, but might start with one of the recommended series first, to start out with a good taste in my mouth. I think I might skip some of those with negative recommendations, as well, unless I really become hooked.

Thanks again!

Desert Fox

May 24, 2005 at 12:03 PM

My bookshelves look pretty much exactly like Gaiiden's (same shelves too I think, freaky). I don't have quite as many (I'm missing the prequel books, the X-Wing series, the Young Knights series, and a couple of other miscelaneous books that I've read but don't own (Darksaber, Courtship)) (Note: I see the Dark Apprentice book of the Jedi Academy Trilogy is absent, currently reading it?) And for bad books, toss The New Rebellion in there, as it's also pretty terrible, though not as terrible as The Crystal Star, which has to be the worst one.

I also nominate Zahn's Thrawn trilogy, as I think it's better Star Wars than anything Lucas created (at least story-wise). The Hand of Thrawn Duology is also excellent and it really closes the chapter on the "Rebellion vs Empire" chapter of Star Wars history well.

I liked NJO, but I think they could have ended it better; it seemed too anti-climatic for me, I guess that's a problem when you have a 20+ book series, it's hard to wrap it all up quickly, too much has changed.

And I haven't gotten a chance to read Zahn's new book(s), but they're at the front of the queue.

PnP Bios

May 24, 2005 at 12:10 PM

Quote:
Original post by Gaiiden
If you're looking for a great mystery novel, Zahn's Survivor's Quest is great. I can't wait for his new book Outbound Flight. I've been wondering about that damn expedition since reading Zahn's Heir to the Empire trilogy all those years ago! Finally! [smile]

Wait... He's writing another book! When can I get my hands on that!

Charli

May 24, 2005 at 2:15 PM

I'd recommend those by Zahn also.

Some of them, like the Han Solo trilogies, aren't terribly brilliant books, but its still ncie to know exactly what happened to Han and Chewie.

Crystal star wasn't a very good one, too much stuff from the 4-yr-old-ish kids, which was ok the first time everything was described as a cold wet blanket, but then got annoying. Children of the Jedi was ok until the end quarter, when the author seemed to run out of steam and everything magically fell into place, kind of like an episode of Scooby Doo.

Thrawn trilogy and Duology were definitely the best. I've never read any of the new Jedi order, anyone recommend them specifically?

Gourgy

May 24, 2005 at 3:20 PM

Everything by Kevin J Anderson is pretty horrible.

PnP Bios

May 24, 2005 at 9:38 PM

Which one was the one where the hutts got hold of the Superweapon? I always thought that one was prety funny.

SpreeTree

May 25, 2005 at 6:32 AM

Its a shame there are no books set 1000's of years before the Star Wars films, as I loved the story, and back story, of the KOTOR games. Theres a wealth of possible stories there, did Lucas decided no-one could write about that period alos (I know he put ablock on writers writing about the events of Ep1-3)

Spree

Gourgy

May 25, 2005 at 7:41 AM

Quote:
Original post by PnP Bios
Which one was the one where the hutts got hold of the Superweapon? I always thought that one was prety funny.

That was Darksaber by... Kevin J. Anderson

Topic Locked

This topic has been locked by a moderator. New replies are not allowed.