10) Corellian Trilogy
Great story where Han Solo goes back to his home planet, reunites with his long lost cousin (who's the bad guy) and even leads to a shocking death of a previous character from past books. (which had never been done before at the time) There's plenty of books that are just as good in the Star Wars universe, but I think this one barely beats them out.
9) Children of the Jedi
Very few books made me stand up and cheer like this one did. Not only was it well written but this time the author was able to displays Luke's power very well. Luke is pushed to the limit in his ability to use the force that by the middle of the book he's worn out and vulnerable. Perfect story telling. Too bad her "Planet of Twilight" book didn't have this.
8) Han Solo trilogy (original)
Since there are actually 2 series by this title I have to be specific. This is one of the first crop of Star Wars books to come out and it was marvelous. Solo is potrayed a lot darker then he would be years later in the books. These prequels talk about the adventures of young Han Solo and his wookie friend Chewbacca. Wonderfully done!
7) Lando Calrissian Trilogy
But this one just beats it. Another batch of books from the early 80's that were just as fantastic as they were funny. I think Lando is a great character and am boggled as to why most author generally ignore him in their stories. One author of The Black Fleet Crisis did include what I thought was a great Lando story line. It just missed making my top ten but it could be argued as being one of the best books as well.
6) Jedi Academy Trilogy
In my opinion Kevin J Anderson is the best writer in the Star Wars universe. He's written many good books for hem but this is his best. Luke becomes a Jedi Master and starts a school but chaos ensues (of course) and the Imperial threat for once is shown as a bumbling idiot rather than a "powerful" threat to the New Republic. I was so pleased by the story writing that this would've actually ranked hire many years ago if the caliber of Star Wars books had remained the same. Thankfully they didn't and so this book gets pushed back to #6 but in no way does that take away from the fact that these were great novels!
5) X-Wing series(by Micheal A Stackpole)
Funny how the guy who wrote the worst Star Wars book ever in my opinion can actually make it so high on the "best" list as well. But he does with his X-Wing series. I've never felt so poured into a story without any of the main movie characters being in it. It was a real treat to read about a group of X-Wing pilots some surviving, some not in a series of adventures laid out in these books. One book in particular "Iron Fist" actually had me tearing up after one characters death. It's that good folks!
4) X-Wing series (Aaron Allston)
Yes, same series different author. After Stackpole had finished his story Allston took it upon himself to come up with new characters and adventures for you to care about but added much more witty banter and humor than Stackpole, which is why he gets #4 on my list.
3)Thrawn Trilogy
You knew it was coming. Fanboys around the world know about Zahn's trilogy that catapulted the Star Wars universe to new heights in the early 90's. No doubt about it these are fine books. A lot of folks have these as their #1 and I don't blame them... but there are 2 series I think beat this one out.
2) Legacy of the Force series
Han and Leia's oldest son turns to the dark side, Luke is unbelievably powerful in the Force and with a little nostalgia from previous young adult books plus a final showdown of the Solo twins makes this one of the best! But the best series of books...
1) New Jedi Order series
No other stories in the Star Wars universe get any better than this. This series is the "Empire Strikes Back" of Star Wars books. Every book in this series (except one) have a previous character from past novels getting killed. It starts with the BIG one being Chewbacca at the very beginning then the middle book of the series Star by Star (which is actually the best one) has 3 side character deaths and the death of Han and Leia's youngest son. With an unbelievably good ending this series will be hard to top period.
The only books that could crack my top ten would be the latest ones out called "Fate of the Jedi" but I'm holding my judgment until I've read the entire series first, though it'd be hard pressed to beat this one.
Ok folks, that's all for now. C-ya tomorrow!
2 comments:
Well, I only read the novels to a certain point so there aren't many on your list I can discuss. However; the fact that you have the Kevin J Anderson books on there as "best" means I'm not missing much from Star Wars novels. I read the Jedi Academy series immediately after the Thrawn trilogy, and the difference in writing was night and day. Anderson's writing just seemed hokey, I detested Kyp Durron or whatever his name was, and while I was all for the Exar Kun connections, the way he was used in the novels didn't seem to work too well. And "Shadows of the Empire" didn't make your list? That was one of my favs. You should a list for comic book series.
Couldn't have done these without spoilers? Now I know half the people who die in the New Jedi Order books before having the chance to read them. Amateur.
Post a Comment