Top 18 Best Star Wars Legends Books Updated 04 /2024

Star Wars fans didn't even think about George Lucas making more movies before the Star Wars Expanded Universe was made with novels. Before other directors made a new trilogy to finish the movie series, the books were written. All your favorite characters from Star Wars and a lot of new ones are in these stories written by different people.

As soon as Episode VII: The Force Awakens came out, the Expanded Universe was no longer a part of the canon. It was renamed Star Wars Legends, and it was thought of as a "alternative timeline" to the main events of the Star Wars saga, like comic book stories. But many Star Wars fans think that the novels are the best way to learn about the movies. Because of this, the Force will always be with them.

STAR WARS: DARTH PLAGUEIS

After Chancellor Palpatine and Anakin Skywalker had sex, they talked about Darth Plagueis. He has a bad feeling that Padme, his new secret bride, will die when she gives birth. Palpatine says that Darth Plagueis, a powerful Sith Lord, was able to stop people from dying and even make new people.

The Sith Lord Darth Sidious was once Anakin's apprentice. Palpatine is, in fact, Darth Sidious, and Anakin doesn't know it. Darth Plagueis, by James Luceno, tells the story of a young Palpatine as he learns the Dark Sith Arts from his master and then grows to be better than him.

THE DARK LORD TRILOGY

There isn't a better collection of books for people who like Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith. The Dark Lord Trilogy by James Luceno is the best one for that. From Revenge of the Sith to A New Hope, it explains the chain of events that led up to that movie. Darth Vader worked for Emperor Palpatine in the years leading up to A New Hope.

There are three books in the trilogy: "Revenge," "Labyrinth," and "Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader." They are all based on movies. For fans of the Expanded Universe and those who want to learn more about the time period in which Anakin Skywalker turned into the Sith Lord, this collection is a must.

HEIR TO THE EMPIRE (THE THRAWN TRILOGY, V1)

One of the best books in Star Wars Legends, Heir to the Empire, is the start of Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy. Takes place five years after "Return of the Jedi." It shows how things changed in the galaxy after the Empire was destroyed by a Peace Treaty between the Empire's remnants and the Rebel Alliance, which led to the creation of a new galaxy.

That doesn't mean that all of the Imperial Fleet agrees. Some of them don't, and they form a coalition, led by Grand Admiral Thrawn. Star Wars fans love this book because it started the whole world over again long before the Prequels came out. It's praised for Zahn's skill with familiar characters as well as his inclusion of new ones.

PATH OF DESTRUCTION (STAR WARS: DARTH BANE BOOK 1)

Darth Bane is one of the most well-known Sith Lords in Star Wars Legends. He is known for implementing the Rule of Two, which says that there can only be one master and one apprentice at a time in Sith society. Was in direct opposition to the fighting among the Sith. He made it to use the Dark Side's power for one thing only: Galactic domination, but only in secret.

It's a book by Drew Karpyshyn that tells the story of Bane's journey off-world, how he became a Sith, and how he joined the Brotherhood of Darkness a thousand years before Darth Vader and the Emperor.

SHADOWS OF THE EMPIRE

It is a favorite book for people who like Legends books, and it takes place before and after Empire Strikes Back and Before the Dawn. In the movie, Han Solo is frozen in carbonite. Luke and Leia must fight a sinister evil that lurks in the shadows of the Empire: Prince Xizor, an alien crime lord who wants to be more powerful than even Vader himself.

This book has a lot of interesting plot twists, new characters who are fun to meet, and a mysterious new bad guy. It also shows how the plans to rescue Han Solo and Princess Leia got made.

STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC - REVAN

In this book by Drew Karpyshyn, a big fan of the Knights of the Old Republic game series and the character Revan, Karpyshyn talks about the events that led to Revan leaving the Jedi Order and joining the Sith. Revan was a member of the Old Republic Jedi Armies when he first came across the Mandalorian threat. Soon, he found his true calling as a Sith Accolite.

With Kylo Ren and other Dark Side users in mind, Revan is not just one person. His decision to become a Sith isn't just one way or the other. Having this happen makes it much more interesting to read about the days of the Old Republic.

STAR WARS: JEDI TRILOGY BOXED SET

When you read the Jedi Trilogy, by Kevin J. Anderson, you'll see some of the best storytelling in the Star Wars Legends books. It shows the twin siblings of Han Solo and Princess Leia, who are now generals in the Rebel Alliance and leaders of the New Republic. Their uncle, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, helps them learn how to use the Force.

For a long time now, things in the Star Wars universe have changed. They are all haunted by the past. Luke trains new Jedi Knights, Han and Leia teach the next generation of leaders, but all are haunted by the past.

STAR WARS: THE OLD REPUBLIC - DECEIVED

A lot of Paul S. Kemp's books about Star Wars Legends take place in the Old Republic. Deceived isn't any different. One of the main things this book is all about is Darth Malgus, a powerful Sith Lord who is often mentioned in the same breath as Revan and Bane.

Storming the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, he leaves a trail of death in his wake. He then meets a long-serving member of the Jedi, Aryn Leeneer, who teams up with an unsavory person who wants to get back at him for killing her master.

SPLINTER OF THE MIND’S EYE

People who are Star Wars fans will always remember Splinter of the Mind's Eye as the first attempt to "expand" the Star Wars world outside of the movies that George Lucas made. A few years after Return of the Jedi, this movie is about Luke and Leia going on a secret mission to a mysterious planet between Episode IV and Episode V. It's called Between Episodes IV and V.

They discover the planet Circarpous hides the Kaiburr crystal, which Star Wars fans today will notice is similar to the “kyber” crystals used inside Jedi lightsabers, as well as what “powered” the first Death Star. Leia is determined to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Empire.

STAR WARS: THE NEW JEDI ORDER - VECTOR PRIME

The New Jedi Order series features all of the familiar Star Wars characters facing a threat that is completely foreign to anything seen in the galaxy before; lifeforms that use biotechnology and pain tolerance to inflict unimaginable terror on unsuspecting populations. An invasion of this race, the Yuuzhan Vong, is the focus of Vector Prime.

Two decades after the movie Return of the Jedi, R.A. Salvator makes it a time of change and chaos in the galaxy. At times it feels alien (as it should), and other times, it feels appropriate (Luke comes into his own with his Jedi Powers), but it’s a good start to his long series of books.

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