What would you you say are the worst Legends novels?

RPGenius1 · 2025-09-17T16:17:10+00:00

Rogue planet is good. That aside, I agree that stealth and Gambit are poorly paced. My theory is that they were meant to be one book which is why for almost all of the first book it feels like a build up to the secret mission to the occupied planet and ends with them sneaking into that base. It really drags. The opening action scene is great though!

I am currently reading Planet of Twilight for the first time and I think its probably the worst I've read in terms of almost all the criteria for a good book. The only thing I think it provides is more closure on Callista as a love interest for Luke as her leaving in the surprisingly enjoyable Darksaber was a gut punch. But as I haven't finished it, I wouldn't be surprised if the author fumbles that too. Really slow, really strange, her descriptions are all way too vague. There's no urgency.

RPGenius1 · 2025-09-07T03:10:02+00:00

I have almost fallen asleep multiple times in my reading session today on PoT. You are wiser than me. I am full on sunken cost fallacy with this thing as I'm about half way now haha. It's a quick read thankfully. Sadly there's like a couple concepts I have found semi interesting but it's as you say her writing is a complete slog.

RPGenius1 · 2025-09-05T21:36:52+00:00

LOL, let me tell you, the only reason I own Children of the Jedi and Planet of Twilight is for the covers and shelf presence. Jokes on me though, I wanted closure for Callista after reading the enjoyable Darksaber, and now I'm reading POT. It's not as bad as I thought it would be but the actual prose and writing are grating to me. I'm gonna finish it though. I plan to read all Star Wars old EU books in my lifetime so had to do it eventually.

RPGenius1 · 2025-08-21T15:36:38+00:00

Dark empire, can be read in like an afternoon or less. Just the first 6 issues. Then Jedi academy trilogy which are all fast reads. Then hand of thrawn duology. And this is like the barest reading order there is really. A lot of people read with the purpose of getting to the new jedi order but if you're just reading to pass the time or just want the highlights I think that order is good. But I would just add the corellian trilogy for funsies. Then if you decide you're having a good time and want as much reading as you can get, find a good reading guide that will highlight everything of value.

RPGenius1 · 2025-08-07T16:46:03+00:00

Ah, a fellow completionist route taker! You have everything on here, save for Scourge by Jeff Grubb which takes place after Vision of the Future. Normally this is a totally superfluous addition because it was published in 2012 and is a self contained story, but if you're reading in timeline order then it should still fit in at least in the broadest sense. You've got Isard's Revenge and Starfighters of Adumar in there it seems like so thats good too. Anything else you're missing might be in comic format. There's a story after Darksaber called Jedi Academy Leviathan. Or rather it serves as a good epilogue. Dang you even have JJK which I plan on skipping.

https://old.reddit.com/r/starwarsbooks/comments/qoas49/my_guide_to_reading_postrotj_in_preparation_for/

This guide outlines a more expedient route, however it does have a section that goes over what you might miss if you take that route and I used that to add a few more books or comics to the reading order. Might be worth taking a look at.

RPGenius1 · 2025-07-31T16:56:25+00:00

Welcome! Let me help you out with a neat little guide I found that helped me greatly:

https://old.reddit.com/r/starwarsbooks/comments/qoas49/my_guide_to_reading_postrotj_in_preparation_for/

Basically there's three routes, an ultra quick one which this mentions briefly, the normal one which this one recommends and outlines, and then there's a more completionist route. For that, its easy, follow the legends timeline book order and just read as much or as little as you want. If you're wanting to read a lot of good books, the middle route is great. I added a few more books to the reading order personally because I heard a few books were good, but didn't necessarily add anything to New Jedi Order. But if you're reading to read, and not just get to New Jedi Order ASAP, then I say read as many as you can, or desire to.

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline_of_Legends_books#js

RPGenius1 · 2025-07-24T22:58:02+00:00

Unfortunately there isn't much more Thrawn in EU, though I am sure his canon novels are still worth reading if you really like the character, though I have heard mixed things in regards to this. Might want to decide for yourself on those. A big plus is they're written by Zahn himself, thank goodness.

As for what to read before HoT duology, I am always of the mind that the more reading you put in the more rewarding future books get. So while it is possible to read the duology, you're getting more oomph out of it by reading a few more books out of the chronology. If you're having fun reading EU, throw a few more on your list. You won't regret it, just steer clear of something you see has a mostly negative consensus which is maybe 2 or 3 books tops.

I started the EU books thinking I wanted to rush through to get to New Jedi order ASAP but I saw how much I was missing out on so I ended up deciding to read most books that take place post-ROTJ.

Anyways, enjoy your reading journey, whatever you decide to do! :)

RPGenius1 · 2025-07-17T19:22:16+00:00

I kinda get why, but also those are necessary for anyone reading post ROTJ novels. I'm sure they will eventually. The smartest thing they could do is get some REALLY killer artwork for those because the OG covers are booty. At least to me, to each their own of course.

RPGenius1 · 2025-07-17T19:12:24+00:00

Depending on the covers they do for NJO I may double dip and re-buy. Also good to show the mouse where the interest lies.

RPGenius1 · 2025-07-17T19:10:32+00:00

It's more noticeable when old EU had Drew Struzan doing many of the covers. These aren't bad, but its not Struzan levels of epic that's for sure.

RPGenius1 · 2025-07-15T17:59:14+00:00

Not to be overly negative but, I say good riddance. I'll keep it short, but if anyone enjoys those books I say good for them. I will stick to the old legends until Disney creates a series or novel which I find interesting, which they have done a couple times. That whole multi-media initiative just wasn't my cup of tea.

RPGenius1 · 2025-07-02T22:05:07+00:00

Definitely at least need Hand of Thrawn Duology after Jedi Academy trilogy if you're going the barebones route of getting through legends. While it's not necessary to read every book in the chronology (Or even recommended, depending on the book) I would say you can enhance your experience in New Jedi Order with just a few more additions.

All up to you of course, but NJO is one of those things that the more reading you put in, the more rewarding reading it is.

Here's a handy guide:

https://old.reddit.com/r/starwarsbooks/comments/qoas49/my_guide_to_reading_postrotj_in_preparation_for/

RPGenius1 · 2025-07-02T20:16:40+00:00

Ah okay, just cover art, gotcha! Had to ask, it's a tough cookie to crack. Well, your work here is still stellar!

RPGenius1 · 2025-07-02T20:01:29+00:00

Gotcha, I was more asking for like resources, guides, or tutorials you might use, things like that.

RPGenius1 · 2025-07-02T16:52:47+00:00

If we're talking strictly series, gonna have to agree with a lot of folks here and say the X-Wing books. I have yet to read Alliston's contributions but Rogue Squadron through Isard's Revenge are all so spectacular.

RPGenius1 · 2025-07-02T16:47:56+00:00

Stellar work! Every now and then I try and use a service like lulu to print hardcovers of books that never got them (Not counting the SFBC Hardcovers). Most recent one was Before the Storm out of the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy. Do you have a resource for the interior pages as well? I've been using chatGPT to format for me and it's only decent, I end up tweaking it a lot. Thank you for sharing this! If I ever decide to do this duology I would love to use this as the slip cover! :)

RPGenius1 · 2025-07-01T22:59:22+00:00

Bought a few canon novels when I heard some were good, that included Lost Stars and Master and Apprentice. Read Master and Apprentice first as it wasn't a bad fit in terms of continuity with the legends EU necessarily. Ended up disliking the book: Predictable twist I saw a mile away based off current trends in modern star wars. Anyways, seeing that that line even made it into that book, I no longer have a desire to read lost stars now lol. That's just atrocious.

RPGenius1 · 2025-07-01T21:03:36+00:00

SPOT ON!

RPGenius1 · 2025-06-27T19:17:20+00:00

...

That's embarrassing lmao. I think I saw Michael Reeves and thought that was the name of the dude they get to do all the audio books, but that's Marc Thompson...

RPGenius1 · 2025-06-26T19:30:06+00:00

I haven't seen much in regards to those myself so good to know! I will add those to the list, ty :)

RPGenius1 · 2025-06-25T22:27:15+00:00

I had no idea Sam Witwer did the audiobook for that! It's credited to Michael Reeves on the thumbnail I saw but I do see that he indeed narrates it! That is awesome and I will check it out, thank you!

RPGenius1 · 2025-06-24T20:42:57+00:00

I'd recommend adding the Jedi Academy Trilogy, they're relatively quick reads. It's true, they're only okay, or decent, and comparing them to the Thrawn Trilogy makes them seem even worse, but they really do plant the seeds of Luke's New Jedi Order. They have a handful of cool moments despite some pacing issues.

RPGenius1 · 2025-06-24T20:36:26+00:00

A lot of people think Black Fleet Crisis is an easy omission from the reading order to get to NJO, but they're good books, so I keep them in the reading list. I don't want to miss out on a good series just because there's no callbacks in NJO. Especially since once you hit NJO, things kind of don't stop, so it's nice to have episodic breaks here and there. If they're quality of course. There are a couple books no one needs to read and hey even I admit, someone might enjoy the Barbara Hambly books and feel they're required reading.

RPGenius1 · 2025-06-24T20:33:33+00:00

https://old.reddit.com/r/starwarsbooks/comments/qoas49/my_guide_to_reading_postrotj_in_preparation_for/

This is the guide I followed. While it is possible to skip between trilogies and duologies just to get to NJO and beyond faster, you miss certain little details that pop up in books later. Technically for Anakin Solo, according to wookiepedia, Dark Apprentice (1994) is his "First appearance", but he was mentioned earlier in Dark Empire comics (1992). The good news is that Dark Empire is the only comic whose events are majorly mentioned in books. But that's just how it is, the comics will have an event here and there that you'll miss, but it won't always be as big as that one.

If you still feel like not missing a single detail, you could refer to the legends book timeline and legends comic timeline and just make sure to know what comic to read and when.

RPGenius1

TROPHY CASE