A Shallow First Dip Into The EU Mara Jade, Thrawn, and Gilad Pellaeon

Author: VineSauceShamrock
Date: 11-Nov-2023, 5:15 PM

Author: VineSauceShamrock
Time: 11-Nov-2023 5:15 PM
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So, Ive been a fan of Star Wars for a long time, in a somewhat limited capacity. I like the original trilogy, don’t care much for the prequels, and LOVE many of the video games. That’s actually where most of my fandom lies. In “Shadows of the Empire” and “Dark Forces/Jedi Knight” and “Knights of the Old Republic.”

Well, for the first time ever, I want to actually dip into the EU outside of video games. But I am primarily focused on a very specific part of it. I want to read books and comics that deal with Mara Jade, Thrawn, and Gilad Pellaeon that take place during The Galactic Civil War. IE, anything that happened between A New Hope, and that treaty they sign in… what was it, 19ABY to officially end the war? I do not care about ANYTHING before or after except one Zahn book about Mara Jade and Luke. I especially do not care about the Space Daedra. It started out with me finally deciding to read the Thrawn Trilogy, but I figured pretty quick that I needed to look at more than that, to get the full picture. At least as full as I actually want.

So what Ive got so far on my list of books is basically everything by Timothy Zahn, Shadows of the Empire, which I never got too despite my love of the game, The Jedi Academy Trilogy by Kevin J. Anderson, and The Callista Trilogy by him and Barbara Hambly.

As for comics, I have Shadows of the Empire again along with what Im guessing are a couple spinoffs of it, Mara Jade: By the Emperor’s Hand and Mara Jade: A Night on the Town, Union, and finally The Crimson Empire Trilogy, which I always wanted to read for some reason even before deciding to go all in like this. Oh, and I’m going to read the Knights of the Old Republic comics that lead into the games. I have to. Just the KoToR comics. I care nothing about anything related to the MMO.

Anyways, I was wondering if I was missing anything important. And what everyone’s thoughts are on my planned reading list in general. Ide love to hear your opinions. Am I missing anything? Should I GIVE something a miss? Let me know.

Author: Superweapon VII
Time: 11-Nov-2023 9:36 PM (Edited)
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You might want to read the Dark Empire trilogy before heading into Crimson Empire, because the latter references/builds off events from the former. And if you’re going to read the KOTOR comics, you should read the Tales of the Jedi comics first, since again, there’s connective tissue between the two.

As for some additional suggestions, you can’t go wrong with the Archie Goodwin/Al Williamson comic strip for sheer space fantasy goodness. And the Marvel comic from the '70s/'80s is fun too, though it gets pretty dire after the events of ROTJ.

Gods for some, miniature libertarian socialist flags for others.

Author: VineSauceShamrock
Time: 12-Nov-2023 7:06 AM (Edited)
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Is Dark Empire the weird “The Emperor cloned himself” thing? XD
Oh boy.

Oh, and does Revan appear in Tales of the Jedi? Cause that’ll be what determines if I read it I think.
But sounds like Dark Empire I definitely need to read. Thanks for both suggestions.

Author: Superweapon VII
Time: 12-Nov-2023 9:33 PM (Edited)
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VineSauceShamrock said:

Is Dark Empire the weird “The Emperor cloned himself” thing? XD
Oh boy.

Yep. Personally, I like the first Dark Empire. It’s closer to what I think ROTJ should’ve been, frankly. I’m not so keen on Dark Empire II and Empire’s End, though I still like the art.

Oh, and does Revan appear in Tales of the Jedi? Cause that’ll be what determines if I read it I think.

No, but characters/events from TOTJ, like Exar Kun, Arca Jeth, the Great Sith War, etc. are mentioned in the KOTOR comics. I’d recommend TOTJ regardless, inconsistent artwork and writing notwithstanding, because these comics were the first of any SW media to explore the ancient Jedi and Sith. And there aren’t any noisome prequelisms either, which is a plus in my book.

Gods for some, miniature libertarian socialist flags for others.

Author: of_Kaiburr_and_Whills
Time: 12-Nov-2023 11:34 PM
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Well, other than what Superweapon VII has already added, I’d recommend the Brian Daley Han Solo Adventures and L. Neil Smith Lando Adventures.

They don’t have any connection to prequel-era stuff and are quite fun and action packed, just expect some weird stuff from the latter trilogy.

Move along, move along.

Author: JadedSkywalker
Time: 13-Nov-2023 5:21 PM
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I recommend the X-wing books. If you like Corran Horn if not disregard.