Finally reading the classics and I need a list of em

[Canderis 180]

Tonight I just finished the first book in the original Thrawn trilogy. I loved it. I'm moving right along to the next one.

Since I'm a bit behind on these formerly-canon stories I know many other books have probably contributed to this storyline.

 

I've been long since spoiled to the eventual outcome of Mara Jade and Luke's interactions, but I'm very intrigued by their story and want to read it fully. There is so much content out there and that makes it quite difficult to sift through without coming across future stories.

Can anyone help me out with a list of relevant books, and the order in which to read them? I know the story begins where I'm at, and I'm assuming continues directly through the thrawn trilogy. I know that Zahn has a second series, a duology, on thrawn as well which I assume continues the story, but I am unsure if that continues directly after the trilogy or if there is other relevant content between them.

Following that duology, I'd like to continue on with following the story of Mara and Luke through all the subsequent books related two them.

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.

[djnugent 34]

Anything by Timothy Zahn. It was because of him we even got that world, and it took off from his contributions. 

 

Thrawn Trilogy:

1. Heir to the Empire

2. Dark Force Rising

3. The Last Command

 

Thrawn (Legacy?) Duology:

1. Spectre of the Past

2. Vision of the Future

 

There were some others scattered in there, some shorter stories too, can't remember them off the top of my head, but those 5 were THE books.

 

Timeline of Legends Books   

[Haveayap 127]

Thrawn is perfect <3

[Malkior 476]

The Thrawn Duology is indeed the direct sequel to the Trilogy, but if you are interested in how Luke and Mara get along after their marriage, then the novel Survivors Quest with its own prequel mini story, Fools Bargain might be worth looking into.

 

That said, most of the characters and locations from Survivors Quest are introduced and expounded upon in Zahn's Prequel Era novel, Outbound Flight. (Zahn also uses many characters you may recognize are from the Thrawn Trilogy and many of his other Star Wars books, like Talon Karrde and Jorus C'Baoth)

 

Lastly, his novels Allegiance and Choices of One reveal Mara's past and further expound on how the Empire first started. Additionally, they also provide a very decent look at Luke right after A New Hope when he was trying to come to terms with Obi Wan's death and also become the rebel soldier he has to be in Empire Strikes Back. (personally, I highly recommend it as a bridge between the two movies )

 

Zahn has since published a standalone heist story starring Han Solo and Lando Calrissian (Scoundrels) that also manages to weave the weirder parts of the EU like Winter the eidetic silver haired handmaiden and childhood friend of Princess Leia.

 

-As an aside I have been a longtime fan of the Expanded Universe and I was legitimately having the greatest time guessing who each character was or which location would end in the story, so this ended up being quite a treat, especially how it all fits perfectly into the final heist-

 

 

In regards to his non-Star Wars books,

 

If you enjoy Zahn's creative science fiction writing, I would suggest the Quadrail series as a fun mixture of both Flash Gordon-esce alien weirdness and high tension noir mystery. I read it a few years back and had a great time learning about its universe and following the twists and turns of the mystery component.

 

 

I haven't read them aside from excerpts, but Zahn also wrote a series of young adult fiction about a child who has a living tattoo of a dragon which touches on morality, slavery, and mortality known as Dragonback.

 

Another which I've been trying to get into is the Blackcollar or Cobra series. These are hard sci-fi, so it isn't for everyone, but if you like all of the technical details of a fictional universe told from the perspective of government funded supersoldiers or how a government could even feasibly create such a thing, then this is a very fun one to read.

 

 

Also, Zahn wrote two phenomenal Terminator books set in the Terminator Salvation timeline that both make Skynet a literal force of nature in that you can only outsmart it enough to survive, and also keep the terminators themselves true to their names with a body count higher than any novel I've ever read of Zahn's. There are also no "mcguffins" that give the main characters a way to destroy the T500s other than superior firepower or many explosives. So, basically, it is in my opinion the best movie-based novel ever made. (especially amazing considering how mediocre to horrible the movie, Terminator Salvation ended up as )

 

 

Lastly, within the past few years, he also co-wrote a novel set in the Starcraft game universe. I have only just purchased it, but I will let you know how that is once I get to reading it.

[djnugent 34]

I also forgot - the X-Wing series is pretty awesome, I enjoyed them a lot. 

The list of books on my "I've read it and either have or will re-read them all again many times" list:

 

IN ORDER OF TIMELINE:

 

Lost Tribe of the Sith Stories (Spans several Centuries)

 

The Old Republic: ***NOTES*** Surprisingly good considering they weren't give much to work with

 - Revan

 - Deceived

 - Fatal Alliance

 - Annihilation

 

Darth Bane Trilogy

 

Darth Plagueis  ***One of my personal favorites***

 

Coruscant Nights Series 

The Last Jedi

 

The Force Unleashed ***Deserves the read - The novel was very well written and really gave the game credibility***

 

# indicating that these all took place at almost the same time

#The Han Solo Trilogy 

 

#Death Star

 

#Dark Forces Series ***Kyle Katarn - need I say more...?***

 

#The Force Unleashed 2 ***Same as first one, deserves the read - The novel was very well written and really gave this game credibility it was sorely lacking***

 

#Episode IV: A New Hope

 

Scoundrels

Allegiance

Choices of One ***All by Zahn, and GREAT stories, on personal Favorites list***

 

Splinter of the Mind's Eye ***Great moment in Star Wars lore. If for no other reason than just it's existence***

 

Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

 

Shadows of the Empire ***Book was as much fun as the game***

 

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

 

The Bounty Hunter Wars Trilogy ***Takes place immediately after Jabba is exploded***

 

The Truce at Bakura ***One of the first released - few other books are able to accurately portray the characters at this level, still one of my favorites***

 

X-Wing Series (Spans several years)

 

The Thrawn Trilogy ***The one that started it all. This series is the entire reason we even still have such a demand for Star Wars and still my favorite***

 

I, Jedi ***They wrote the Jedi Academy Series, but if you read the first few X-Wing books in order, this one should cover and condense the events in the Academy series. (The Academy series was released not long after the Thrawn trilogy, but the writing wasn't quite there yet) 

 

The Black Fleet Crisis Trilogy ***Good look at what trying to run a Government now that it's out of it's infancy***

 

The Corellian Trilogy ***Great look at Corellia, and I thought it was a lot of fun. Also one of the earliest series released***

 

Hand of Thrawn Dualogy

Fools Bargain

Survivor's Quest ***All by Zahn***

 

Boba Fett: A Practical Man

 

The New Jedi Order Series ***A lot of people had issues with this series - I really enjoyed it***

 

Legacy of the Force ***Same for this one - a good look at how evil with the best intentions is still evil, and a really good look a exactly how powerful Luke really became***

 

Crosscurrent

Riptide

 

 

HERE is a good reference. You'll notice I skipped a few - I didn't realize that I hadn't quite covered some of the prequel stuff, for the most part I enjoyed every book I read, just some weren't quite good enough for me to actively seek re-reading. All of these ones are for me. Including the original Trilogy Novels.