Waiting on Wednesday – Upcoming Star Wars Novels 2022

On May 4, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn Star Wars, Waiting on Wednesday5 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy. I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings. Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them. For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday article, and in honour of May the Fourth, better known as Star Wars Day, I am going to look at a couple of awesome Star Wars novels coming out later this year.

As readers of my blog are well aware, I love all things Star Wars and have made a great effort to read and review multiple Star Wars tie-in novels and comics over the last few years (make sure to check out the list of my favourite Star Wars novels I published yesterday). 2022 has already been a pretty good year for Star Wars fiction, seeing the end of the first phase of The High Republic series, as well as featuring some other fun reads, comics and shows. While I haven’t had the chance to read a couple of the latest Star Wars novels yet, I fully intend to in the next few months, and I also have the intriguing Brotherhood by Mike Chen coming out in a few days’ time (I will have to try and read that before the new Obi-Wan Kenobi show comes out). However, there are also three other great Star Wars novels coming out in the next few months that have caught my attention, and I thought today would be the best opportunity to highlight them in advance. All three of these upcoming books sound really cool, and it will be nice to have a bit of a break away from the current High Republic range.

The first of these upcoming books is the fantastic and intense Shadow of the Sith from Adam Christopher. Christopher, who has previously released several intriguing Star Wars short stories, looks set to deliver a major entry to the current canon in late June 2022, as Shadow of the Sith attempts to fill in some of the gaps created by The Rise of Skywalker.

Synopsis:

Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian return in this essential novel set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.

The Empire is dead. Nearly two decades on from the Battle of Endor, the tattered remnants of Palpatine’s forces have fled to the farthest reaches of the galaxy. But for the heroes of the New Republic, danger and loss are ever-present companions, even in this newly forged era of peace.

Jedi Master Luke Skywalker is haunted by visions of the dark side, foretelling an ominous secret growing somewhere in the depths of space, on a dead world called Exegol. The disturbance in the Force is undeniable…and Luke’s worst fears are confirmed when his old friend, Lando Calrissian, comes to him with reports of a new Sith menace.

After his daughter was stolen from his arms, Lando searched the stars for any trace of his lost child. But every new rumor only led to dead ends and fading hopes-until he crossed paths with Ochi of Bestoon, a Sith assassin tasked with kidnapping a young girl.

Ochi’s true motives remain shrouded to Luke and Lando. For on a junkyard moon, a mysterious envoy of the Sith Eternal has bequeathed a sacred blade to the assassin, promising that it will give him answers to the questions that have haunted him since the Empire fell. In exchange, he must complete a final mission: return to Exegol with the key to the Sith’s glorious rebirth-the granddaughter of Darth Sidious himself, Rey.

As Ochi hunts Rey and her parents to the edge of the galaxy, Luke and Lando race into the mystery of the Sith’s lingering shadow and aid a young family running for their lives.

Ooh, now this is an intriguing sounding Star Wars novel and one that I think could turn out to be very awesome. Christopher is looking to tell an extremely ambitious story with Shadow of the Sith, and I am really hoping that it will pay off. I already love the idea of a story that follows both Luke and Lando as they traverse the galaxy together (it’s not a partnership you see a lot of) and having them try to get to grips with the rising Sith threat, as well as the Emperor’s hidden base on Exegol, is pretty cool and could result in some amazing storylines. I am also quite interesting in seeing more of compelling side character, Ochi of Bestoon, who has been getting a bit of love in the recent Darth Vader comic series. I am quite curious to see what happens to this character after the fall of the Emperor, and finding out about his latest mission will be very fascinating. Finally, it will be great to finally have some more information about Rey’s childhood and parents, especially as there were only minor details featured in The Rise of Skywalker.

Out of all the upcoming Star Wars novels, I think that Shadow of the Sith has the most potential. Not only will it bring together some great characters in an emotional journey, but it will hopefully fil in a lot of lore gaps and try to explain some of the plot holes from the film. If done right, Shadow of the Sith could become quite the invaluable read in the current Star Wars canon, and I am extremely intrigued to see what reveals and revelations it contains.

The second upcoming Star Wars book I want to highlight is the young adult novel, Padawan by Kiersten White, a talented author with a lot of experience in both young adult fiction and tie-in novels. Padawan, which is coming out on 26 July, is a compelling prequel novel that will serve as one of the earlier Skywalker Saga novels in the current canon. This book will follow a young Obi-Wan Kenobi as he goes on his first mission, with disastrous results.

Synopsis:

BEING A TEENAGER IS HARD ENOUGH WITHOUT ALSO TRAINING TO BE A JEDI….

Obi-Wan Kenobi has not been apprenticed long to Qui-Gon Jinn, and he is chafing at Qui-Gon’s training style: all meditation, no action. Obi-Wan yearns to prove himself on a mission, but when he and Qui-Gon are finally set to leave on an assignment, Qui-Gon is nowhere to be found. Angered by his master’s abandonment, Obi-Wan sets out on the mission alone, determined to prove himself. On a mysterious planet he encounters a pack of feral, Force-wielding teens who seem to be the planet’s only inhabitants. As he experiences wild freedom with them and wonders if this isn’t the life he was meant for, Obi-Wan can’t escape the nagging sense that something is wrong with the Force there. Growing attachments, startling revelations, and a looming threat to both the planet and his new friends will bring Obi-Wan face-to-face with his worst fear: that maybe he was never supposed to be a Jedi at all. Can he connect with the living Force in time to save himself and everyone around him?

It’s the star of the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ limited series as you’ve never seen him before….

This is another fantastic sounding Star Wars novel that could also turn out to be quite a good read. We seem to be getting several Obi-Wan Kenobi centric stories coming out this year (I wonder why?), although I am not complaining as I really want to see more about his backstory and the formative moments of his life. I like the idea of a moody, teenage Obi-Wan rebelliously going off on a mission, only to get trapped with some other rebellious Force users, and I am curious to see what impact that has on him. I do slightly worry that Padawan might rehash some of the character development and conflict between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn that was featured a couple of years ago in Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray. However, I feel that there is some real possibility for a compelling story here in this plot synopsis and I am personally curious to see how it all turns out.

The final book that I wanted to highlight in this post is the fun sounding The Princess and the Scoundrel by Beth Revis, which alas I don’t yet have a cover for. Revis, who has already written the Star Wars novel, Rebel Rising, will present a new chapter in the unique romance between Han Solo and Princess Leia. Set for release in mid-August 2022, The Princess and the Scoundrel will focus on this unlikely pairing’s wedding and extravagant honeymoon. Of course, nothing ever goes to plan for these two, so their honeymoon will turn into more of an action romp than a romantic journey.

Synopsis:

You are cordially invited to the wedding of Princess Leia Organa and Han Solo.

The Death Star is destroyed. Darth Vader is dead. The Empire is desolated. But on the forest moon of Endor, amongst the chaos of a changing galaxy, time stands still for a princess and her scoundrel.

After being frozen in carbonite, then risking everything for the Rebellion, Han is eager to stop living his life for other people. He and Leia have earned their future together, a thousand times over. And when he proposes to Leia, it’s the first time in a long time he’s had a good feeling about this. For Leia, a lifetime of fighting doesn’t truly seem over. There is work still to do, penance to pay for the dark secret she now knows runs through her veins. Her brother, Luke, is offering her that chance — one that comes with family and the promise of the Force. But when Han asks her to marry him, Leia finds her answer immediately on her lips . . . Yes.

But happily ever after doesn’t come easily. As soon as Han and Leia depart their idyllic ceremony on Endor for their honeymoon, they find themselves on the grandest and most glamorous stage of all: the Halcyon, a luxury vessel on a very public journey to the most wondrous worlds in the galaxy. Their marriage, and the peace and prosperity it represents, is a lightning rod for everyone in the galaxy — including Imperial remnants still clinging to power.

Facing their most desperate hour, the soldiers of the Empire have dispersed across the galaxy, retrenching on isolated worlds vulnerable to their influence. As the Halcyon travels from world to world, one thing becomes abundantly clear: The war is not over. But as danger draws closer, Han and Leia find that they fight their best battles not alone but as husband and wife.

Despite my general lack of enthusiasm for romance stories (I know, I’m such a guy sometimes), I am pretty excited for The Princess and the Scoundrel. Not only do you get to see more a development of the relationship between Han and Leia after Return of the Jedi (which is mostly missing from the current canon), but this novel will also continue to explore the absolute chaos that followed the destruction of the second Death Star and the continued war. I love the idea of the Han and Leia’s honeymoon being a big PR campaign that will showcase how many planets are going during this period and having Imperial remnant elements coming after them will add a certain amount of excitement and intrigue to the mix. I think that The Princess and the Scoundrel will turn out to be a really good Star Wars novel and I cannot wait to see what sort of compelling story Revis writes around these great characters.

As you can no doubt see, there are some outstanding and brilliant sounding Star Wars novels coming out in the next few months. All three of the above novels sound like excellent entries in the current Star Wars canon and I am very excited to see the amazing stories they contain. It looks like these cool books will have a real focus on examining some of the main characters in the franchise, and I cannot wait to see what unique and powerful adventures they end up happening. I already know I am going to have an incredible time checking these Star Wars books out and they should all be pretty epic. Hopefully you will find the above books interesting, and, as always, May the Fourth by with you!

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Star Wars Novels (2022)

On May 3, 2022 By The Unseen LibraryIn List, Star Wars4 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. The official topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday was to provide one-word reviews the last 10 books I have read. While this was a rather interesting topic, I have done something a little different and instead decided to focus on something more Star Wars orientated.

As many of you may be aware, this week contains the annual celebration of all things Star Wars with May the Fourth, better known as Star Wars day. I am a pretty massive fan of the Star Wars franchise (just check out my extended Star Wars category on the side of this page), and in recent years have really fallen in love with the various aspects of its extended universe, including the films, television shows, animated series, comics and of course the tie-in novels. Each year multiple cool and complex novels are released with impressive connections to the extended Star Wars universe covering various periods of the canon and beyond. I have had an absolute brilliant time reading some of the very best of these tie-in novels over the years and there are some excellent and powerful adventures featured in these awesome books. Due to how much I enjoy these books, I have decided to celebrate May the Fourth this year by once again highlighting my top ten favourite Star Wars novels. This is a continuation of several lists I have done in recent years, including two I did last year about Star Wars novels and Star Wars comics.

To pull this list together I looked at all the Star Wars novels I have read (or listened to in its audiobook format) over the years and tried to determine what my absolute favourites were. I slightly cheated in places by featuring whole trilogies, particularly those with really well-connected storylines, as a single entry, although I don’t feel too guilty about that. This allowed me to pull together quite a comprehensive list, as well as my typical generous Honourable Mentions section. I am pretty happy with how this list came together, especially as there are some interesting changes from my previous entries, and I think that this list fully highlights my absolute favourite Star Wars tie-in novels. So let us see what makes the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber

A fun and terrifying Star Wars horror novel that features zombies chasing after Han and Chewie. An entertaining read best enjoyed in its audiobook format, which has some very disturbing sound effects.

Doctor Aphra by Sarah Kuhn

A captivating and well-produced full cast audio production that looks at the unique and always amusing character of Doctor Chelli Aphra, the rogue space archaeologist and conwoman. An audio reproduction of storylines from the Darth Vader (2015) comic (see my reviews for Volume 1: Vader, Volume 2: Shadows and Secrets, and the Vader Down limited series), Doctor Aphra perfectly captures the titular character in all her conniving glory and it is an extremely amusing listen.

Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber

A brutal and action-packed prison story featuring a young Darth Maul involved in broadcast death fights. What is there not to love?

The High Republic: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule

A brilliant and powerful introduction to the new High Republic sub-series, set hundreds of years before the Skywalker Saga. This was an excellent novel and a must read for anyone interested in checking out the current focus of the Star Wars extended universe.

Top Ten List:

Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn

Let’s start this list off with the epic trilogy of books that follow one of the best characters in the Star Wars extended canon, the Thrawn trilogy. Made up of Thrawn, Alliances and Treason, these amazing books follow the Imperial career of Grand Admiral Thrawn in the current Disney canon. Written by the legendary Timothy Zahn, who reinvents his greatest fictional creation for a new age, this series featured a brilliant central character, impressive storylines, and some intense and well-written space battle sequences. It is so much fun to see the ultimate tactician go against the very worst the galaxy has to throw at him, and this ended up being a particularly awesome trilogy.

Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy by Timothy Zahn

Zahn followed up this initial Thrawn trilogy in a big way with the epic Thrawn Ascendancy prequel trilogy. Featuring three great books, Chaos Rising, Greater Good and Lesser Evil, the Thrawn Ascendancy novels showcase a younger Thrawn as he battles to save his home system from a relentless and multi-pronged alien invasion. Containing all the best elements of the Thrawn trilogy, as well as some intensive and detailed universe building that bears noticeable connections to the author’s previous work in the Legends extended universe, this is another exceptional trilogy that is well worth reading.

Alphabet Squadron trilogy by Alexander Freed

Alexander Freed recently wrote one of the strongest and most emotionally charged Star Wars trilogies with his exceptional Alphabet Squadron books. Made up of Alphabet Squadron, Shadow Fall and Victory’s Price, this incredible trilogy followed five unique New Republic fighter pilots in the aftermath of Return of the Jedi, as they attempt to finish off the Imperial remnant. This trilogy perfectly follows its five damaged and despairing central characters, as well as several morally grey Imperial characters, as they all seek redemption and deliverance in their own unique way. Featuring some blistering and epic fighter combat sequences, as well as some of the best Star Wars character development you are ever likely to see, the Alphabet Squadron novels are extremely good, with Victory’s Price (one of my favourite books and audiobooks of 2021) serving as an intense and unbeatable finale.

Dark Disciple by Christie Golden

Prepare to dive into the Dark Side of the Force with the excellent Dark Disciple from tie-in fiction extraordinaire Christie Golden. Serving as a follow-up to The Clone Wars animated series (it is based on several unproduced episodes), this novel follows two fan-favourite characters from the extended universe, Quinlan Vos and Asajj Ventress, as they attempt to assassinate Count Dooku. Containing an intense character-driven narrative that sees both protagonists at their very worst, Dark Disciple provides some intriguing closure to fans of The Clone Wars, as well as an exceptional story.

Kenobi by John Jackson Miller

An intriguing and unique Star Wars Legends novel that is probably going to get some more attention in the next few weeks, Kenobi is a new addition to this list, but one that is very well deserved. Written by the insanely talented John Jackson Miller, Kenobi follows the titular character in the immediate aftermath of Revenge of the Sith, as he attempts to settled down on Tatooine. However, trouble is always around the corner for this former Jedi, and Kenobi soon finds himself involved in a brewing war between the Tuscan Raiders and local farmers. Containing a great, outside look as this iconic character during his darkest days, Kenobi is an impressive read that may serve as an influence for the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi show.

The High Republic: The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott

While Light of the Jedi serves as a great introduction to the High Republic books, I think that the current best entry in this fantastic sub-series is the intense and captivating The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott. Continuing many great storylines from the first book, The Rising Storm sees the villainous Nihil raid the high-profile Republic Fair in a brazen public attack. Containing scenes of utter chaos, as well as some outstanding character development, The Rising Storm serves as a perfect middle novel for the first High Republic phase and was a deeply captivating and powerful read.

Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp

An indisputable fact about the Star Wars universe is that some of the very best stories are all about the franchise’s amazing villains, and Lords of the Sith is an impressive example of this. Following the characters of Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, Lords of the Sith pits these legendary Dark Side users against rebels, monsters and traitors, all of whom are set on killing them. Featuring an addictive story and some entertaining depictions of the Sith Lord’s destructive powers, skills and malevolence, Lords of the Sith is a brilliant read that will try to tempt you to the Dark Side.

Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn

While Zahn is best known for his epics around Thrawn, he has also written some thrilling standalone novels, such as the excellent Star Wars Legends novel Scoundrels. Essentially a Star Wars heist novel, Scoundrels sees Han, Chewie, Lando and several of their villainous compatriots attempt to pull off the ultimate theft, while also facing gangsters, Imperial agents and multiple betrayals from within. An outstanding novel that showcases just how good a crime fiction novel in the Star Wars universe can be, this is an exceptional read I cannot praise enough.

Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray

I am a major fan of this awesome novel from a few years ago by Claudia Gray. Master & Apprentice tells a powerful story of the early relationship between Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi as they investigate strange occurrences around an upcoming coronation. Providing a deep dive into both these key characters, this was a moving and intense novel that is really worth checking out.

Darth Plagueis by James Luceno

The final entry on this list is the intriguing and comprehensive Star Wars Legends novel, Darth Plagueis. Written by the talented James Luceno, Darth Plagueis tells the entire story of the mysterious Darth Plagueis the Wise, including his complex relationship with his ambitious apprentice, Darth Sidious. A clever novel that connects to multiple parts of the now defunct Legends canon, Darth Plagueis is a must read for all hardcore fans who love detailed Star Wars lore, and a potential source of great inspiration for anyone attempting to bring Plagueis to life in the future.

This latest version of the list looking at my favourite Star Wars tie-in novels contains some fantastic reads and really covers the full spectrum of what a Star Wars story can achieve or contain. All the entries above are very epic reads and come highly recommended to anyone who wants to get into the Star Wars genre. This will probably be a list I come back to this time next year and it will be interesting to see how much it changes in the meantime. There are some outstanding Star Wars books coming out in the next few months (Brotherhood and Shadow of the Sith, for example), as well as some other great Star Wars books from this year I am yet to check out, all of which I could easily see being added to this list next year. There are also a ton of older Star Wars novels I need to read as I have heard some epic stuff about some of them (Battlefront: Twilight Company, A New Dawn, Outbound Flight, Razor’s Edge and Honor Among Thieves are all high on my to-read list). I could honestly see this list expanding out to a top 20 list in the future, which is a whole lot of Star Wars books. Let me know which Star Wars tie-in novel is your favourite in the comments below and as always, May the Fourth be with you!

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Star Wars Comics

On May 4, 2021May 4, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Comics/Manga, Extended Universe, List, Science Fiction, Star Wars5 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, the official task participants were given were to list their ten most recent reads. Instead, I thought that May the Fourth would be the perfect opportunity to highlight what I consider to be the best Star Wars novels and comics out there.

For this list, I checked out all of the Star Wars comics that I have read in the last couple of years in order to figure out which were my absolute favourites. This was another fun experience for me, and I think I had a somewhat easier time deciding on my favourite comics than I did with my favourite Star Wars novels. I was pretty happy with how this Top Ten list turned out, as it features 10 outstanding and impressive entries in my main list, as well as a decent honourable mentions section. For some of the longer series (those with multiple volumes), I chose to feature the whole series on this list rather than individual issues or volumes. I felt that this provides a much more comprehensive list, and as most series are written and drawn by the same people, it is really easy to lump them together as one big product. This ended up being a pretty awesome list, and I think I have a fairly varied list of comics here. I will admit that I have a bit of a dearth of knowledge when it comes to comics written before the current canon, as I have only read a few scattered comics from the Star Wars Legends range. Still, I am happy with all the below entries, so let us see what made the cut.

Honourable Mentions:

Doctor Aphra (2020)

So far, only the first volume of this intriguing series has been released, and while it was pretty good, it did not live up to the amazing heights of the previous Doctor Aphra series. I have a strong feeling that the future entries of this series are going to be very awesome and it is entirely possible I will bump this series to the main Top Ten list this time next year.

The Rise of Kylo Ren

Kanan

Top Ten List:

Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith

One of the first Star Wars comic series I ever read fully was Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith. Written by the legendary Charles Soule (the only writer featured on both this list and my favourite Star Wars novel list) and drawn by Giuseppe Camuncoli, this series follows Darth Vader in the aftermath of his transformation from Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith. This comic catches Vader at his rawest emotional period, and I loved the complex and powerful stories that Soule weaved around this iconic figure. This comic had the perfect blend of emotion, action and character development, and every single entry (including Volume 2: Legacy’s End and Volume 3: The Burning Seas), was exceptionally well written and intensely addictive.

Star Wars (2015)

You really cannot talk about Star Wars comics without mentioning this awesome long-running series, which was the centrepiece of the Star Wars comic franchise between 2015 and 2020. Set between the events of A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, this series features the joint adventures of Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, C-3PO and R2-D2 as they attempt to overthrow the Empire. Filling in many gaps between the films, this series contained some clever and unique storylines that explore the Rebellion and the harsh battles they fought. This series started off big with an epic first volume, Skywalker Strikes, which not only had some awesome opening issues as the team faces off against Vader for the first time but which also shows the first time that Vader found out that Luke was his son (a very epic scene). There is an immense amount of talent behind these comics, with several awesome writers, including original writer Jason Aaron, Kieron Gillen and Greg Pak, as well as an outstanding array of artists, such as John Cassaday, Salvador Larroca and Phil Noto. The different teams produce a little variability in the series, but they managed to produce an excellent and clever array of stories and big moments that make this series an absolute treat to read from one end to the other.

Darth Vader (2015)

While I did read some other Star War comic series first, this would be the one the really made with fall in love with the genre. Created by the awesome team of Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca, this great comic follows Darth Vader right after A New Hope and sees Vader set out to gain more power and influence after discovering the true identity of Luke Skywalker. Teaming up with his new subordinate/prisoner, Doctor Aphra, Vader tears through the galaxy while coming to terms with the fact that he has a son. An epic and powerful series that is consistently awesome from start to finish, this is one of the absolute best Star Wars comics out there and all four volumes (including Vader and Shadows and Secrets) are five-star reads.

Doctor Aphra (2016)

Spinning off from the Darth Vader (2015) series, this comic chronicles the wild adventures of the titular protagonist, Doctor Aphra, as she attempts to con everyone she comes across, be they family, former lover, deadly droid or Dark Lord of the Sith. Initially produced by the character’s original creators, Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca, this long-running series was later written by Simon Spurrier, who produced some outstanding storylines with support from an excellent cast of artists, including Kev Walker, Andrea Broccardo and Emilio Laiso. I absolutely loved this great series from its first issue, and it has some extraordinary storylines to it. Both of the volumes I reviewed, Unspeakable Rebel Superweapon and A Rogue’s End got five star reads from me, and I would definitely give the same to most of the earlier volumes in this epic and extremely entertaining series.

Vader Down

There was absolutely no way I could exclude this fantastic limited series off this list as it is the very definition of pure awesomeness. Vader Down is a clever and memorable crossover between the 2015 Star Wars and Darth Vader series and features the creative teams from both comics coming together to create a joint story. This cool limited series sees Vader forced down on a Rebel controlled planet while trying to capture Luke. Facing off against a horde of Rebel soldiers and vehicles, Vader does what he does best and annihilates everyone he comes across as he hunts his prey and the people who betrayed him. At the same time, Han, Leia, Doctor Aphra, and the entire supporting cast of both series get drawn into an epic showdown as they all try to escape with what they want. An outstanding and action packed comic with some amazingly clever inclusions to it, this is an incredible piece of Star Wars fiction to check out.

Star Wars (2020)

Following the coordinated end of the original range of Star Wars comics, Marvel immediately started a new assortment of series in 2020, set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. The flagship series of this new range was the Star Wars (2020) comic, written by Charles Soule and featuring art by Jesus Saiz, Ramon Rosanas and Jan Bazaldua. While I have so far only read the first volume, The Destiny Path, I am deeply enjoying this fantastic series which follows the key original trilogy protagonists (with the exception of Han, because he’s frozen) as they come to terms with their defeats in The Empire Strikes Back. Featuring a great focus on Luke’s journey to become a Jedi master, Leia’s attempts to bring the Empire down and save the man she loves, and Lando’s quest for redemption, this series has a lot of potential and is a great recent entry to the canon.

Darth Vader (2020)

One of the newest additions to this list is the excellent Darth Vader (2020) series by Greg Pack and Raffaele Ienco. Set directly after Luke refuses to accept him as his father, this series contains an epic and powerful narrative about Vader as he comes to terms with his rejection in the most destructive way possible. The first volume in this series, Dark Heart of the Sith, was one of the best things I read in 2020, and I have a feeling this entire series is going to be one incredible and powerful thrill ride.

Target Vader

From the minds of Robbie Thompson and Marc Laming comes this excellent limited series, Target Vader, which brings back iconic Star Wars Legends bounty hunter Beilert Valance. This series follows Valance and a group of dangerous bounty hunters after they are given an impossible assassination mission to kill Darth Vader. Watching a group of bounty hunters go up against Vader is pretty awesome, and there are some great moments to this compelling read. I had a lot of fun with this series and it is definitely worth checking out.

Poe Dameron

I have so far featured a few comics by Charles Soule so far on this list, but I also have to include the Poe Dameron series. Working with artists Phil Noto and Angel Unzueta, Soule has done an incredible job of making Poe and his cohorts in the Resistance compelling and complex protagonists (something the films struggled with). With fascinating connections to other Star Wars comic series, this great work is set in the lead-up to The Force Awakens and examines the complex shadow war between the Resistance and the First Order.

Vader: Dark Visions

The final entry on this list is the entertaining miniseries, Vader: Dark Visions, which takes a unique look at Darth Vader. This intriguing comic contains just five issues, each of which tell a very different story of Vader, which sees him viewed as a hero, a lover and the scariest being in the galaxy. Written by Dennis “Hopeless” Hallum and featuring five separate artists (Paolo Villanelli, Brian Level, David Lopez, Stephen Mooney and Geraldo Borges), this is a truly unique look at Darth Vader and I loved every clever tale within.

That is the end of my second Top Ten Tuesday list of today. I really enjoyed highlighting all these excellent Star Wars comics, and I would strongly recommend all of the above as they are really exceptional reads. Just like with my Top Ten Favourite Star Wars Novels list, I am planning to revisit this list every Star Wars day, and it will be interesting to see how different it is in a year’s time. I am not too sure what will get added to this list next time, although I think there are a few interesting crossovers coming, as well as the new High Republic comics. Make sure to come back in a year to how the list will have changed. In the meantime, check out my other Top Ten Tuesday list with my favourite Star Wars novels on it. And May the Fourth be with you!

Top Ten Tuesday – My Favourite Star Wars novels

On May 4, 2021May 4, 2021 By The Unseen LibraryIn Extended Universe, List, Science Fiction, Star Wars, Tie-in Novel8 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. For this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, the official task participants were given were to list their ten most recent reads. While I rather liked this official topic, I have instead done something very different. Rather than come up with one list, I am instead going to do two separate, but similar lists that revolve around May the Fourth.

As most of you are probably aware, May the Fourth has officially been designated Star Wars day (May the Fourth be with you!), which is something I am rather passionate about. I absolutely love Star Wars, and you only need to check out my Star Wars tab on the right of this page (go on, you won’t regret it), to see how much I deeply enjoy the franchise’s novels and comic books. There is an impressive and rich collection of Star Wars tie-in fiction out there, and I have had a wonderful time over the last couple of years reading and reviewing many amazing examples. As a result, I thought that May the Fourth would be the perfect opportunity to highlight what I consider to be the best Star Wars novels and comics out there. This is a bit of a continuation of a list I put up last Star Wars day, which was a combined list of novels and comics. While I think that my last list came up pretty well, I decided that this year I would be better served featuring two lists, this one for novels and another for comics.

In order to fill this list, I had a thorough look through all the Star Wars novels I have read in recent years to choose the absolute best ones. This proved to be a fun and enlightening experience, although I did have a hard time deciding on my favourites from an amazing collection of books. In the end, I was able to come up with a good Top Ten list with my usual generous Honourable Mentions section. I cheated a little by combining some trilogies together into one entry. However, as these books are supposed to be read together, I think that this was the best way to feature them. This ended up being a varied and intriguing list, featuring a great range of very different authors and Star Wars settings. While most of the featured novels are from the current Disney canon, I have also included a couple of Star Wars: Legends books which have some great stories. So let us see which awesome books made the Top Ten List.

Honourable Mentions:

Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber

A fun and fantastically crazy Star Wars: Legends novel that sees Han Solo and Chewie go up against a load of deadly zombies aboard an abandoned Star Destroyer. A wild and scary ride, this was a great Star Wars novel and one of my favourite horror books.

Ahsoka by E. K. Johnston

A compelling and fast-paced novel that follows the adventures of Ahsoka Tano, one of the best characters introduced in the animated television series, between the events of The Clone Wars and Rebels. This is easily my favourite Star Wars novel from E. K. Johnston (Queen’s Shadow and Queen’s Peril are also pretty good), and I loved how the audiobook was narrated by the voice of Ahsoka, Ashley Eckstein.

Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott

An impressive retelling of the early life of Count Dooku, showing some of the events that led up to him becoming a Sith Lord. This is best enjoyed in its audio drama format, which features an epic voice cast of Star Wars audiobook narrators.

Doctor Aphra by Sarah Kuhn

Another great audio drama, Doctor Aphra is an amazingly funny and clever story, featuring a unique and memorable protagonist. While I really enjoyed this great book, I left it off my main list as it does not contain an original story; instead it is a retelling of several comics (such as Vader, Shadows and Secrets and Vader Down), which will be featured on my other Top Ten list.

Top Ten List:

Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn

The first entry on this list is the deeply impressive and clever Thrawn trilogy from one of the leading authors of Star Wars tie-in fiction, Timothy Zahn. This series retells the origin story of one of my favourite characters in the entire Star Wars canon, Grand Admiral Thrawn. This series contains three epic novels, Thrawn, Alliances and Treason, all of which are pretty damn amazing (especially the first novel, Thrawn). This entire series comes together extremely well, and I love the in-depth look at this outstanding character, as well as the focus on his awesome tactical brilliance.

Alphabet Squadron trilogy by Alexander Freed

The other trilogy that I needed to include on this list is the intense and powerful Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed. Made up of Alphabet Squadron, Shadow Fall and Victory’s Price, these books follow a group of damaged pilots fighting in the aftermath of Return of the Jedi. This is a complex and captivating character-driven series with some amazing examples of space fighter combat, and I love Freed’s compelling and emotionally rich narrative. All three books in this series are really impressive, but I really have to praise the final entry in the series, Victory’s Price, which did an amazing job wrapping up this superb trilogy.

Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising by Timothy Zahn

In addition to his Thrawn trilogy above, Zahn has also written a fantastic prequel series, known as the Thrawn Ascendancy books. These novels follow a young Thrawn as he fights to preserve his species in the unexplored spaced outside of the Republic/Empire. Featuring a narrative rich in fascinating lore, this is a great story for the hardcore Star Wars fan, who will love this dive into an awesome character’s background. I loved Chaos Rising, and I am looking forward to enjoying the next two entries in this series, Greater Good (which has just been released) and Lesser Evil (out in November 2021).

The High Republic: Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule

Next up on this list is the first entry in the compelling High Republic multimedia storyline, Light of the Jedi, by bestselling author Charles Soule. Set 200 years before the events of the Skywalker Saga, the High Republic novels follow the Jedi at the height of their power as they fight against a dangerous and insidious new opponent. Light of the Jedi was a fantastic first book in this storyline, perfectly introducing the setting and key events of the High Republic, while also containing a compelling and action-packed story. A highly recommended book and a must-read for anyone interested in checking out the other entries in the High Republic range (such as Into the Dark by Claudia Gray).

Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray

If you love the two Jedi protagonists in The Phantom Menace, than you have to check out Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray. Gray has crafted together an exciting and emotionally powerful novel that follows Qui-gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi on one of their early adventures. This was an outstanding and incredible Star Wars novel that is really worth checking out.

Dark Disciple by Christie Golden

The extraordinary Dark Disciple, by master tie-in author Christie Golden, utilises the scripts of several unproduced The Clone Wars episodes, showing the fates of fan-favourite characters Asajj Ventress and Quinlan Vos during the Clone Wars. This is another touching and captivating character-driven novel, and readers will quickly become engrossed in this unique tale of love, betrayal and inner darkness.

Scoundrels by Timothy Zahn

Timothy Zahn strikes again, and I have no choice but to feature yet another one of his books on this list. Scoundrels, which is set in the Legends canon, is an excellent and wildly entertaining heist novel which follows Han, Chewie, Lando and several of their friends as they try to pull off an impossible theft. I loved this amazing blend of Star Wars and crime fiction elements, and this was a very fun book to read.

Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp

Two of the best villains of all time, Darth Vader and the Emperor, team up for the next entry on this list, the action-packed thrill ride, Lords of the Sith. Paul S. Kemp created a really fun and exciting book which follows these two outstanding characters when they are stranded on a hostile planet and find themselves under constant attack by rebels, monsters and traitors. While the focus is in the cool action, Kemp also takes the time to explore the complex relationship between dark master and apprentice, and readers are in for an excellent time with this great book.

Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber

The next book is actually the latest Star Wars novel I have read, Maul: Lockdown. Set in the Legends canon years before The Phantom Menace, Lockdown follows the always awesome Darth Maul as he finds himself trapped in a dangerous prison and forced to fight in a series of death matches. This is a dark and captivating read, and I loved the fantastic and clever narrative that Schreiber came up with for this amazing book. A highly recommended read that has convinced me to check out even more entries in the Legends range.

Tarkin by James Luceno

The final entry on this list was the excellent Tarkin by James Luceno. Tarkin is an intriguing book that examines amazing Imperial antagonist, Grand Moth Tarkin. Featuring a great split narrative that explores the character’s younger exploits while also following an adult Tarkin as he hunts for rebels with Darth Vader, Tarkin is an outstanding read, and I deeply enjoyed this clever dive into this complex Star Wars character.

Well, that is this latest Top Ten Tuesday list done. I had an outstanding time pulling this article together and it was fun trying to determine which Star Wars novels were my absolute favourite. All of the above novels come very highly recommended and are a lot of fun to read, especially in their audiobook format. I am planning to make this top ten list an annual occurrence every Star Wars day. I imagine this list will look very different next time, as not only are there several great new Star Wars books coming out soon but I am also planning to go back and explore some other awesome-sounding entries in both the current canon and the Legends range. Make sure to come back in a year to see which Star Wars books I recommend then, and in the meantime, check out at my other Top Ten Tuesday list of favourite Star Wars comics. And May the Fourth be with you!!!