Star wars expanded universe: where to start?

Question

i'm thinking about getting into star wars comics/graphic novels and/or books...but where to start?

after recently rewatching the star wars movies and playing the demo for the upcoming force: unleashed game, i've been interested in reading some of the books and graphic novels about the expanded star wars universe.

the only question i have is...there's soooo friggin' many...where should i start? or which ones would you recommend? admittedly i went to the book store once to pick one or two up, but i had no idea which ones to get lol. i know im late to the party, but any advice you could give me would be awesome.

thanks!

Answer 1

This question has been getting asked a lot recently and I find it ironic that most people who answer give you their favorites instead of answering your question of where to start.

The best place to start is the "Thrawn Trilogy" ... the titles are:  "Heir To The Empire", "Dark Force Rising", "The Last Command".  These are the three books that started it all in terms of bring Star Wars back from the dead.  After that I would read the X-Wing series ... at least the first 4 books of it.  After that you could probably jump in anywhere and not be too lost.

There are pretty good book time lines at DelRey.com, starwars.com and therforce.net.  They are also in the front of most of the newer Star Wars books.  

May The Force Be With You ...

Answer 2

I love the Han Solo Trilogy, which takes place before New Hope but after Revenge of the Sith, Chronologically speaking.

If you like Han, you will like the series- http://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Snare-Sta...

The Books of Timothy Zahn are also supposed to be good, though I have to confess I have finished those (Heir to The Empire just never grabbed me), just the Han Solo ones.

http://www.amazon.com/Heir-Empire-Star-W...

Answer 3

The best place to start actually isn't the beginning - it is somewhere in the middle. First, determine which part of the timeline or which characters you would care to read more about. In my opinion, the books that take place after the original movie Star Wars: A New Hope (Episode IV) are better than the books that take place before and around the newer movies (Ep. I, II, and III). These books continue the stories of Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie and all the others. While you don't have to read all of them, I would recommend that you do read the following books/series in the order I have them noted. They are in timline order, and reading a later book or series, you might be confused, as events in previous books or series are referred to or expanded upon.

The Truce at Bakura

The Thrawn Trilogy (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command)

The Jedi Academy Trilogy (Jedi Search, Dark Apprentice, Champions of the Force)

I, Jedi

The Black Fleet Crisis (Before the Storm, Shield of Lies, Tyrant's Test)

The Corellian Trilogy (Ambush at Corellia, Assault at Selonia, Showdown at Centerpoint)

The Hand of Thrawn (Specter of the Past, Vision of the Future)

The New Jedi Order (19 books)

The Dark Nest Trilogy (The Joiner King, The Unseen Quenn, The Swarm War)

Legacy of the Force (9 books)

These series/books follow the main characters from the movies and expand on their lives. I would recommend reading the first several series so that you can get to the New Jedi Order (NJO) books, which are very pivotal to the lives of the characters and the future direction of the characters and story. These books are much more dramatic and devastating to the characters than any of the events from the movies or previous series.

You might also want to read Rogue Planet before starting the NJO books. This is one of the earliest books in the timeline, taking place shortly after The Phantom Menace (Ep. I), but it introduces two characters that will have a big impact in the later half of the NJO series.

I would also recommend that you read the X-Wing series (9 books). Although these books don't feature the main characters from the movies, they expand the roles of minor characters (Wedge Antilles) and introduce some great new characters. They also cover a lot more of the history of what is going on instead of following the exploits of the major characters.

I also really enjoyed Tatooine Ghost, which is a story about Leia and Han shortly after their marriage. Some of the events that were seen in Attack of the Clones (Ep. II) and Revenge of the Sith (Ep. III) are referenced as Leia learns more about her parents.

If you are a fan of Han Solo, then I would also recommend the Han Solo Trilogy (The Paradise Snare, The Hutt Gambit, Rebel Dawn). These books cover the history of Han Solo before we meet him in the Cantina, including how he met and teamed up with Chewbacca, how he got the Falcon, and why Jabba is after him.

If you are interested in the whole Jedi vs. Sith thing, then read Darth Bane: Path of Destruction and Rule of Two. The events in these take place about 1000 years before the events in Ep. IV. I wouldn't start out with these books - try reading them after the first couple of series noted above if you need a little change of pace.

I would also recommend you read the Republic Commando series, which take place after the events of Attack of the Clones. These books follow a couple of groups of elite Clone Troopers as they discover more about their place in the GAR and their future as well as figuring out who and what they are. These are probably my favorites books out of the entire series of books. They are Hard Contact, Triple Zero, True Colors and Order 66.  

Answer 4

Start at the beginning..