Must... have... Star Wars... books...

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In light of recent EPIII trailer and KOTOR2 that I beat just the other day, I decided to start reading SW books.
Thing is I don't know where to start
I was at the local book store and they had like not one complete serie, it was part 2 of this one and 3 of that one. So it looks like I have to order them online.
I would like to read of the Old Republic and Sith mostly, but EP I-VI are just fine as well
Are there any that I should skip as well ( I have that kind of luck that I would choose wrong ones first )?
Thank you for your time!

 

The best Star Wars books don't fit into the description of the ones you are looking for but I will mention them anyway.

Timothy Zahn's trilogy of Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command are definitely the Star Wars books to read. This series takes place a few years after Return of the Jedi.

 

Second on JSBB's recomendations; Zahn is an excellant author. I would also add Vision of the Future and Specter of the Past, both also by Zahn.
Unfortunately, the only Ep 1-3 book I've read is Rogue Planet, which I didn't like.
Some of the Dark Horse comics were also really great. They tended to deal more with the really Old Republic: the first War of the Sith, the Mandalorian Wars, the fall of Exar Kun, that sorta thing. Really more in the KOTOR/KOTOR 2 timeframe.

 

The Timothy Zahn books are definately a place to start. But my personal favourites are the x-wing series by Michael A Stackpole and Aaeron Aliston. Rogue Squadron through Wraith squadron. Exciting and funny, perfect for me.

 

I haven't read any of the "old republic" (pre-episode IV) books as of yet, so I can't make any reccomendations there.

I'll second (or third or fourth or fifth or whatever) the Zahn nominations - IMO the BEST Star Wars EU Author out there - After that - you could go the way of the X-wing, if you like rapid action and that sort of thing, or if you like things to be a bit more slowly-paced, you could read Kevin Anderson's Jedi Academy Trilogy.

Really however, it's a matter of (for me) starting at the beginning and just trolling through it - pick some books up at the library and see how you feel, then go from there.

 

Others have already mentioned Zahn's books and Rogue Squadron, so my additions to the list are:

Planet of Twilight (Barbara Hambly).

I, Jedi (another Mike Stackpole book, also has tie-ins to Jedi Academy).

Darth Maul, Shadow Hunter(if you want a pre-Episode IV book).

 

Sadly I can't just borrow them at library I'll have to buy all the books that I want to read so I want to make them count

 

Why can't you just borrow them from the library? Have you been banned from there or something?

 

Hehehe no, there is none of sucg books to be borrowed here at library It's classics and domestics writers mostly, very, very few Sci-Fi/Fantasy books and most of them in Swedish :/

 

Zahn's boks are a good place to start, and from there, you should read:
"The Truce at Bakura"
The "X-Wing" series
"I, Jedi"
"The Crystal Star"
The "Young Jedi Knights" series (they're by Kevin J Anderson, but still pretty good)
The Han Solo Trilogy
The Centrepoint Trilogy
Definitely the "New Jedi Order" series
"Rogue Planet" (read this when you've just finished "Dark Journey," which is approximately halfway through the NJO series, and both the NJO and this book will feel much more complete.)
And of course, any others that you want.

Enjoy.

 

Well I went on a shoping rage and got these so far...

The Truce at Bakura
Courtship of Princess Leia
The Thrawn Crisis Trilogy (Heir to the Empire / Dark Force Rising / Last Command)
The Jedi Academy Trilogy (Jedi Search / Dark Apprentice / Champions of the Force)
Darksaber
book 1 and 2 from Bounty Hunter Wars (sadly they didn't have 3rd in)

Man soon I'll be in SW heaven

 

While Zahn is a very good author (Cobra Trilogy is quite good), saying he's the best of the SW authors isn't very high praise, as his competition is a bit lacking.

As far as I'm concerned, Zahn's books are must-reads, and the X-Wing series is very entertaining. New Jedi Order is fairly good as well. However, pretty much all the other Star Wars books I've read haven't been very impressive at all.

 

Now that saddens me I'm pretty picky when it comes to books. Hope SW spirit in me will overcome dullnes

 

Ignore Amaster, many of the other authors are very good, and many of the other books are very entertaining. There are some that are not very good, Crystal star and Black fleet crises trilogy, but the majority are really worth a read.

As for the books you've bought, they are good ones to get stuck into. Courtship of Princess Leia is good, and when Aaeron Alliston wrote the Wraith squadron books after this (they are a prelude) it gets even better.

 

What's Zahn's trilogy about? I'm no SW fan (the KotOR games notwithstanding) but since everyone here thinks this guy is really good, I may decide to pick his trilogy up.

 

Zahn's trilogy occurs a few years after Return of the Jedi and is generally about how one of the Empire's best admirals returns and attempts to restore the Empire.

It is really hard to say more without including spoilers but there is generally a lot of plotting and scheming, unconventional tactics etc.

 

Well, to be fair, when I first read the SW books, I liked pretty much all of them (not Black Fleet Crisis, Crystal Star, or Corellian Trilogy). Thing is, I was, um...

Much younger then. I tried to re-read them a year or two ago, after finally branching out from shared universe fiction (Star Wars, Star Trek, Battletech, Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance) to standard sci-fi, encountering greats like Dan Simmons, Robert Heinlein, Greg Bear, and so on. And, umm...they couldn't measure up. They were great when I didn't have anything better to compare them to, but now I do have better fiction to compare them to, and they pale in comparison.

Sorta like Pong was a really kickass game. Until you played something like warcraft 2. Then, not so much. But hey, opinions are like...y'know. If you enjoy 'em, more power to you.

Oh, I, Jedi was probably Michael Stackpole's best novel (not best SW novel; best novel period). Well worth reading.

 

I really liked the Han Solo trilogy (A.C. Crispin), I didn't really like him as a caracter until I read the books, but now he rocks.

Tales from Jabba's palace, Tales from Mos Eisley Cantina and Tales of the Bounty Hunters are great if you want to learn more about some of the characters in the movies. Some of the stories are better than other though.

If I remember correctly The Bounty Hunter Wars was a bit of a let down. K.W. Jeters view of Boba Fett didn't really live up to my view of him.