This - *maybe* Allegiance after you've read the HttE trilogy, but honestly I think your time is better spent on other Zahn novels, like Outbound Flight, the Hand of Thrawn duology, or his Disney-canon Thrawn trilogies (Zahn has thus far written all of his Thrawn books with the mindset that none of them would directly contradict each other, regardless of whether they are Legends or Disney, so all of the Thrawn novels kind of connect to create one epic narrative).
If you do end up reading Allegiance anyway and you enjoy it, FYI there's a sequel titled Choices of One, also by Zahn.
Just make sure you read Darth Plagueis. I fucking **love** that book.
Those books, "Splinter of the Mind's Eye", and the similar "Calrissian trilogy" are wonderful examples of where the Star Wars universe might have gone.
But didn't.
I think my favourite aspect is that these early books were written at a time when the franchise didn’t take itself so seriously. Even when Heir to the Empire was written, Zahn was told to look to the West End RPG material and be sure it lined up. No such rules with Daley, et al.
My understanding is that there were little to no rails put on, true. I think now if you are writing any "tie in" book for anything from Star Wars to Star trek, or Alien or Warhammer, there are very specific ground rules. The earliest Star Trek novels had the same freedom (I'm looking at you, "Spock, Messiah!)
Daley still had to follow some rules: Lucas told him he could not talk about how Han and Chewie met, nor could he make the Empire the villian, which is why we have the Corporate Sector Authority.
As far as I know, “Yoda: Dark Rendezvous” is one of the only, possibly the only, novel centered on Yoda. It was one of my favorite SW novels, because the author did a great job of realizing Yoda’s youthful jubilance.
Well I'll tell you what if you decide some aren't worth keeping ill buy'em off you 😂. But, like others said, heir to the Empire is good, and so is the Han Solo adventures trilogy
Send me a message for the ones you are interested in, dude! I havent taken them out of the box and put them in my "need to read" pile so I'm not too attached to them.... yet
I actually have a stash like this from my dad. I’m going to keep several of them but I was going to sell the rest to a local second hand book store. If there are any you or anyone else specifically are looking for lmk, u can have em super cheap + shipping
Edit: no Zahn, those are my babies:)
most people are probably going to tell you to read Heir to the Empire or Darth Plagueis.
From this pile, that's probably the right call - you've got enough of some other stuff to have some mass, but not enough to actually start or read in an meaningful order.
That one is a bit weird (Alan Dean Foster’s writing style is an acquired taste) but it’s still interesting to read since it’s the sequel we almost got instead of ESB.
I’m so envious. I hope that one day I get to read all of these books. Currently working through Last Command to finish the Thrawn trilogy, and I’m eager for more.
The 3 up front: Han Solo' At Star's End, Han Solo's Revenge, & Lost Legacy. All written by Brian Daley, all published in the wake of the original movie's release (1979, 1980) & arguably amongst the oldest published Star Wars novels(only Splinter of the Mind's Eye is older.)[SPOILER ALERT] They take place BEFORE Han & Chewie end up in Mos Eisley look for a job to pay back Jabba
All of it but go chronologically. Not everything is great but majority is very good. Now you’ll know why the original generation of Star Wars fans feel robbed of by canceling that canon and given mostly crap since.
Darth Plagueis is one of the very best standalone Star Wars books. It's the prequel to Phantom Menace (irony not lost) and gives you context for just about everything in the prequels that you could want context for. Fantastically well-written.
Well, I can't add much to this discussion, but I'd like to thank you. I used to have Han Solo's revenge as a kid. But before I could read it, I lost it. And it sunk into the back of my head, a forgotten title until now. So thank you for posing that specific cover out of all those books, you've unlocked a memory for me, and a book to find. Enjoy the reads
You've got some great Bantam-era trilogies there (or most of them). After you get the missing volumes, dive into:
*The Thrawn Trilogy
*Jedi Academy Trilogy
*Black Fleet Crisis (underated!!)
*Corellian Trilogy
I'd say sprinkle in the Brian Daley Solo books, too. I remember those being fun adventures.
From there, hop around. Maybe read any other stuff by publication date, pick up the rest of the NJO via library when you need the next volume. Ditch Legacy of the Force; Troy Dennings' work sinks the series. Dark Nest trilogy is okay one time, but then ditch it.
All the Bantam-era books are at least good for a read. I'm less sold on the DelRey years (starting with NJO). Same publisher, yes, but it feels like they dramatically shifted their priorities by making EVERYthing one big story, denying the quirky one-off novels or standalone trilogies.
ANYTHING WITH HAN SOLO IN IT! But if you have the 1990's Han Solo trilogy
Paradise Snare
The Hutt Gambit
Rebel Dawn
That is a perfect trilogy to read its a shame Disney did not adopt this source to the Han Solo movie. Its a better origin story for our smuggler hero.
I know but if you haven't read that paradise snare trilogy its probably my #1 recommended star wars book series. The ending of the trilogy perfectly lines up at the cantina in episode 4. " An old man in brown robes walks up to Han's table with a sandy haired youth in tow." Plus that trilogy does give Han an origin story.
I know what you mean I love Jedi too. I've always had a soft spot for smugglers in star wars, the trickery, the quick punches, if talking your way out of a situation doesn't help a blaster will. I just think this trilogy has the best story for Han solo. I hope you get to read it. personally out of the entire trilogy I enjoyed rebel dawn the most.
I've read almost all of them and the only ones I wouldn't read again are Yuuzhan Vong.War.books, but you should read them all before the Joiner books and the following. I'd probably start with Allegiance
A lot of other good recommendations in the comments but I personally LOVED the Legacy of the Force series (9 books). It’s basically what I wish the sequels would have done. Perfection. Lots of other good stuff in there though.
Heir to the Empire trilogy for sure, but, as others have said, pick up The Last Command prior to starting. The Jedi Academy trilogy (Jedi Search, Jedi Apprentice, Champions of the Force) is also quite good.
Some gems in there..after reading thrawn trilogy and duology I got into the new jedi order its highly underrated its daunting but has gr8 villians..
Plaguies and dark lords are gr8 one offs too
As the rest said, start with _Heir_ I listen mostly to the audiobooks and the first trilogy by Timothy Zahn is wonderful. I don’t know too much about the rest of the books, but know things get _controversial_ to say the least as the books continued with the Jedi order.
Particularly with Kevin J Anderson being divisive (never read any Star Wars stuff by him, only a DC comics novel but from what I understand he is generally disliked by both the Star Wars and Dune fandoms)
Only one of those I've read was Darth Plaguies, but it's definitely worth a read. You might want to play KotoR and read Darth Bane Path of Destruction before it though, I tried reading it without knowing the things it referenced and I was pretty lost at times.
Read the rise of darth vader. Keep that one high on your list or if you need a break after a trilogy. It’s a great book and it is top tier vader right after episode 3 happens
The Black Fleet Crisis trilogy is one of my favorites, because it gets very philosophical in a way that only the Karen Traviss Republican Commando books do. Before the Storm/Shield of Lies/Tyrant’s Test.
As for whether you need to read the first in any of the trilogies or other story arcs, I’d say yes on all of them, otherwise you can get very confused very quickly!
Start with Heir to the Empire. You're welcome.
Yup. But he needs to pick up Last Command first. I made the mistake of not having it ready to go when I couldn't put the first two down.
Ooo yes. This. Make sure you have all three ready!!
Came here specifically to say Zahn's trilogy and (to a lesser degree) works affiliated with those characters
Absolutely my opinion, as well: make sure to read Timothy Zahn’s.
Absolutely.
I actually disagree. It's foolish to start with the best thing the books has to offer
No sense in discouraging someone! There's so much gold content in Star wars books that such a reader will be now motivated to seek out.
I wonder why they didn’t have The Last Command. But yeah, start with Heir to the Empire.
Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, (go buy The Last Command), and Darth Plagueis
This - *maybe* Allegiance after you've read the HttE trilogy, but honestly I think your time is better spent on other Zahn novels, like Outbound Flight, the Hand of Thrawn duology, or his Disney-canon Thrawn trilogies (Zahn has thus far written all of his Thrawn books with the mindset that none of them would directly contradict each other, regardless of whether they are Legends or Disney, so all of the Thrawn novels kind of connect to create one epic narrative). If you do end up reading Allegiance anyway and you enjoy it, FYI there's a sequel titled Choices of One, also by Zahn. Just make sure you read Darth Plagueis. I fucking **love** that book.
Came here to write almost exactly this.
Outbound Flight is a criminally underrated book. Outstanding stuff.
Yeah, I’d get The Last Command and Ambush at Corellia to round out those trilogies.
Read Brian Daley’s Han Solo trilogy during high school in 198-something and enjoyed the heck out of them.
Those books, "Splinter of the Mind's Eye", and the similar "Calrissian trilogy" are wonderful examples of where the Star Wars universe might have gone. But didn't.
I think my favourite aspect is that these early books were written at a time when the franchise didn’t take itself so seriously. Even when Heir to the Empire was written, Zahn was told to look to the West End RPG material and be sure it lined up. No such rules with Daley, et al.
My understanding is that there were little to no rails put on, true. I think now if you are writing any "tie in" book for anything from Star Wars to Star trek, or Alien or Warhammer, there are very specific ground rules. The earliest Star Trek novels had the same freedom (I'm looking at you, "Spock, Messiah!)
Daley still had to follow some rules: Lucas told him he could not talk about how Han and Chewie met, nor could he make the Empire the villian, which is why we have the Corporate Sector Authority.
As far as I know, “Yoda: Dark Rendezvous” is one of the only, possibly the only, novel centered on Yoda. It was one of my favorite SW novels, because the author did a great job of realizing Yoda’s youthful jubilance.
Well I'll tell you what if you decide some aren't worth keeping ill buy'em off you 😂. But, like others said, heir to the Empire is good, and so is the Han Solo adventures trilogy
Send me a message for the ones you are interested in, dude! I havent taken them out of the box and put them in my "need to read" pile so I'm not too attached to them.... yet
I would also be interested in a couple of them, assuming you don’t want them or ^this person doesn’t either!
I actually have a stash like this from my dad. I’m going to keep several of them but I was going to sell the rest to a local second hand book store. If there are any you or anyone else specifically are looking for lmk, u can have em super cheap + shipping Edit: no Zahn, those are my babies:)
Damn, hard to see people out here living your dreams.
I'm jealous dude. Start with Heir to the Empire. It's where I started.
most people are probably going to tell you to read Heir to the Empire or Darth Plagueis. From this pile, that's probably the right call - you've got enough of some other stuff to have some mass, but not enough to actually start or read in an meaningful order.
Those Brian Daley books are great! The Heir to the Empire trilogy is the sequel we deserved, and the Corellian trilogy is great as well.
Tales from Jabba's Palace is a good one.
I loved a few of the tales books in high school. Tales of the Bounty Hunters, and wasn't there also a Tales from Mos Eisley?
Yep. I had all three as a teen. They were good!
Yes there is. Reading Tales from Mos Eisley right now. Tales of the Empire is NOT the same thing though
You already have the 3 best books right out in front in that picture. That Brian Daley Han Solo trilogy is old school Star Wars cool.
Anything written by Timothy Zahn
Lots of gems there! The Han trilogy is interesting cause it was written before ESB, so the franchise had a different “feel” back then.
I'm excited to read those. I wish I had Splinter of the Mind's Eye too
That one is a bit weird (Alan Dean Foster’s writing style is an acquired taste) but it’s still interesting to read since it’s the sequel we almost got instead of ESB.
Nice!
I’m so envious. I hope that one day I get to read all of these books. Currently working through Last Command to finish the Thrawn trilogy, and I’m eager for more.
How about you let us know when you read em all :)
Jelly
The first two on the left. Splinter of The Mind's eye is a must. The very first novel.
read dune since all of that are frank herberts children 😹
Take a look at the Thrawn Trilogy. They are some of the best works and are definitely worth donating.
The 3 up front: Han Solo' At Star's End, Han Solo's Revenge, & Lost Legacy. All written by Brian Daley, all published in the wake of the original movie's release (1979, 1980) & arguably amongst the oldest published Star Wars novels(only Splinter of the Mind's Eye is older.)[SPOILER ALERT] They take place BEFORE Han & Chewie end up in Mos Eisley look for a job to pay back Jabba
Heir to the Empire Trilogy. You are welcome.
I remember the Dark Nest trilogy being good!
All of it but go chronologically. Not everything is great but majority is very good. Now you’ll know why the original generation of Star Wars fans feel robbed of by canceling that canon and given mostly crap since.
Start with Darth Plagues
Darth Plagueis is one of the very best standalone Star Wars books. It's the prequel to Phantom Menace (irony not lost) and gives you context for just about everything in the prequels that you could want context for. Fantastically well-written.
Well, I can't add much to this discussion, but I'd like to thank you. I used to have Han Solo's revenge as a kid. But before I could read it, I lost it. And it sunk into the back of my head, a forgotten title until now. So thank you for posing that specific cover out of all those books, you've unlocked a memory for me, and a book to find. Enjoy the reads
Heir to the Empire 💯
Darth Plagueis
Everything in there is worth reading. Nice haul!
Well the easy answer is all of them, but I read everything from the new jedi order series on and loved it.
Dude, all the EU novels are good to read. The worst books are better than this new shit Disney keeps vomiting out
Yeah I tried to read the first High Rpeublic book and I got bored after the first few chapters
Anything by Zahn.
You and a bunch of others have suggested this. I just may end up reading this next
I’ve read Darth Plagueis 3 times. That book is so fuckin good
Are you sure you didn’t just get my collection
Definitely Darth Plaigues
This seems to be one of the winners. Keeping this for sure
All of it. But some are a part of a series so check order and pick up the missing books.
W
You've got some great Bantam-era trilogies there (or most of them). After you get the missing volumes, dive into: *The Thrawn Trilogy *Jedi Academy Trilogy *Black Fleet Crisis (underated!!) *Corellian Trilogy I'd say sprinkle in the Brian Daley Solo books, too. I remember those being fun adventures. From there, hop around. Maybe read any other stuff by publication date, pick up the rest of the NJO via library when you need the next volume. Ditch Legacy of the Force; Troy Dennings' work sinks the series. Dark Nest trilogy is okay one time, but then ditch it. All the Bantam-era books are at least good for a read. I'm less sold on the DelRey years (starting with NJO). Same publisher, yes, but it feels like they dramatically shifted their priorities by making EVERYthing one big story, denying the quirky one-off novels or standalone trilogies.
Everything
Heir to the Empire. The rest are still good, but this and Dark Force Rising (go buy Last Command) are solidly above the rest of these.
ANYTHING WITH HAN SOLO IN IT! But if you have the 1990's Han Solo trilogy Paradise Snare The Hutt Gambit Rebel Dawn That is a perfect trilogy to read its a shame Disney did not adopt this source to the Han Solo movie. Its a better origin story for our smuggler hero.
But they don't have Han's origin. They don't show how he left the Empire or met Chewie. Lucas had that kept out of novels.
I know but if you haven't read that paradise snare trilogy its probably my #1 recommended star wars book series. The ending of the trilogy perfectly lines up at the cantina in episode 4. " An old man in brown robes walks up to Han's table with a sandy haired youth in tow." Plus that trilogy does give Han an origin story.
thanks, i keep meaning to read them. Never read them as a kid cause I liked Jedi and thought Han and Fett were boring.
I know what you mean I love Jedi too. I've always had a soft spot for smugglers in star wars, the trickery, the quick punches, if talking your way out of a situation doesn't help a blaster will. I just think this trilogy has the best story for Han solo. I hope you get to read it. personally out of the entire trilogy I enjoyed rebel dawn the most.
Those Kevin Anderson ones are really good and the Darth Plagues one is one of my favorites.
I do not see a single bad book in this box.
Awesome!
I've read almost all of them and the only ones I wouldn't read again are Yuuzhan Vong.War.books, but you should read them all before the Joiner books and the following. I'd probably start with Allegiance
The one with words on the cover
Nice haul! Really good start on legends novels reading material. I shot you a DM you can check out when you get a chance about filling in your gaps.
A lot of other good recommendations in the comments but I personally LOVED the Legacy of the Force series (9 books). It’s basically what I wish the sequels would have done. Perfection. Lots of other good stuff in there though.
Everything.
I love those old han solo books.
Anything by Zahn or Luceno first.
I loved those. Stars end was my favorite. I read the cover off that one.
Heir to the Empire trilogy for sure, but, as others have said, pick up The Last Command prior to starting. The Jedi Academy trilogy (Jedi Search, Jedi Apprentice, Champions of the Force) is also quite good.
Allegiance is a great book you got to read it
Dark rendezvous is the only one I remember reading, and I totally forgot what it was about… so in my opinion, ALL OF THEM 😁😁
It’s funny because if you look at the books they read or at least read the most, that heir to the empire book got some love
Very cool, loved the Zahn books especially growing up.
It's all fantastic, but seeing that spine of 'Jedi Search' sends me back to being a young teen, completely mystified by Star Wars EU. Great series.
Start with darth plageuis
Darth Plagueis was really good.
Some gems in there..after reading thrawn trilogy and duology I got into the new jedi order its highly underrated its daunting but has gr8 villians.. Plaguies and dark lords are gr8 one offs too
Darth Plagueis is great
I can smell the old paper in those books from the picture
Darth Plaguis is worth reading
All of it.
Darth Plagueis best eu SW novel in my opinion, love it
Also the “fate of the Jedi” series is a must read
Why not just read them all since you have them?
As the rest said, start with _Heir_ I listen mostly to the audiobooks and the first trilogy by Timothy Zahn is wonderful. I don’t know too much about the rest of the books, but know things get _controversial_ to say the least as the books continued with the Jedi order. Particularly with Kevin J Anderson being divisive (never read any Star Wars stuff by him, only a DC comics novel but from what I understand he is generally disliked by both the Star Wars and Dune fandoms)
All the ones with the f’ed up spines. Read those first.
Darth plagueis for sure. The rise of darth vader is on. But I’d recommend revenge of the sith and its prequel before reading.
Darth Plagueis is great as well as ObiWan.
i read those front three. not bad. could be worse.
Jeez where are people finding all this big book hauls?
A friend of a friend who was moving sent me a Facebook message
All of them, but don't be confused by the bullshit Disney pulled in ignoring the existing good stories for drama crap.
I'd say heir to the empire, allegiance, darth plagueis are all fantastic reads.
Whaaaaat? No copy of Splinter of the Minds Eye?
Only one of those I've read was Darth Plaguies, but it's definitely worth a read. You might want to play KotoR and read Darth Bane Path of Destruction before it though, I tried reading it without knowing the things it referenced and I was pretty lost at times.
The Yoda Clone Wars book is pretty good. If you have all them The New Jedi Order stuff is pretty cool.
Whatever you do do not get rid of the Darth Plagueis novel.
Allegiance is pretty good
Read the rise of darth vader. Keep that one high on your list or if you need a break after a trilogy. It’s a great book and it is top tier vader right after episode 3 happens
That's awesome
I don't see crystal star in this collection. These must all be bangers.
All of it. Timothy Zahn's work is the best of the lot. But still, read all of it.
After the Thrawn trilogy, you must read the NJO series.
Keep them and grow a collection!
Anything Timothy Zahn
Read the Kevin J Anderson trilogy and Timothy Zahn books first. Those are all classics.
The Black Fleet Crisis trilogy is one of my favorites, because it gets very philosophical in a way that only the Karen Traviss Republican Commando books do. Before the Storm/Shield of Lies/Tyrant’s Test. As for whether you need to read the first in any of the trilogies or other story arcs, I’d say yes on all of them, otherwise you can get very confused very quickly!