Favorite New Canon Novel so Far

Since August I have read: Life Debt, Bloodline, Tarkin, A New Dawn, Lords of the Sith, Heir to the Jedi, Battlefront : Twighlight Company, Lost Stars, Ashoka, Catalyst and am currently reading Darth Plagueis.
My top five are:
5. Tarkin
4. Battlefront: Twilight Company
3: Lords of the Sith
2. Bloodline
1. Lost Stars

Darth Plageuis is my first non-canon, but I can see this book at the top of my list once I'm done reading it.

 

Well you've been a busy reader for sure. Darth Plagueis is a great novel regardless of its status as a Legends book. Seeing as how you are running out of Canon material to read, I suggest taking a look into the Darth Bane trilogy as well, seriously great stuff.

 

Thanks for the referral! I will look into the Darth Bane trilogy. His character has always interested me. I will probably also check out Timothy Zahns earlier work in the older Thrawn novels in anticipation of the new Thrawn novel coming next spring. It would be interesting to compare the earlier EU with the new canon.

 

I've finally taken the plunge and got into the new canon and I'd say I'm pleasantly surprised! Have just finished Lords of the sith, and prior to that, I Listened to the Aftermath series, Ahsoka, and Bloodline. - I think now it's time for Lost Stars and then Tarkin - Can't wait for the new Thrawn book to come out... But I'd have to say Bloodline and Lords of the Sith are my top choices to get into again from my list.

If I were to do Lords of the Sith again I would only read the Vader/Empire segments - Found the rest of it to be a bit tedious. And I'm feeling quite tired of the Free Ryloth Movement in general

 

Here are my rankings of all the canon novels that I've read so far, from least favorite to favorite.

15. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want To Be A Jedi?- This is, by far, my least favorite Star Wars book that I've ever read. I couldn't even finish reading it, because the writing was so off putting, it felt too different from ESB, and it didn't feel like Star Wars.

14. Aftermath- I heard this book was, at best, average before reading it and after reading it, I remained unchanged. It was really boring and makes me reluctant to reread it when I read its two sequels in preparation for TLJ.

13. Star Wars: A New Hope: The Princess, The Scoundrel, and The Farmboy- I actually liked this one (for the most part) but it's "original" moments just aren't too memorable, compared to the scenes in the film. As Obi-Wan would say: "This is not the book you are looking for."


12. Star Wars: The Force Awakens- I have the same problem with this novelization as the last one. This book's original moments aren't too memorable, but they add more to the story than the last one on this list. The third act felt very rushed. This novelization fixes some of the problems that the film had and I might reread this in preparation of TLJ.

11. Lords of the Sith- Very much a meh book. It focuses way too much on Cham Syndulla, Belkor, and Moff Mors, instead of I don't know... the lords of the Sith? I liked the few parts with Darth Vader, but they were repetitive. Each one stated something like "he (verbed) deeply into the Force." The book is kinda false advertising, but it was still alright. I'm not sure if Lord Vader would approve, though...


10. Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel- I was really hyped for this novel, as I really liked Rogue One. But I was disappointed at how bored I was while reading. I was also having a hard time placing events on the timeline within the Clone Wars and after it. It does make certain things in Rogue One make more sense.

9. Tarkin- While I like the character Tarkin, the book is pretty average. I can barely remember the plot and it has only been a few months since I read it. I liked it, but I didn't love it.

8. Bloodline- I did really like this one, because it answered some questions that TFA left unanswered, such as the political state of the New Republic and the galaxy, Ben Solo, and Luke's Jedi Academy.

7. A New Dawn- I did like this book, as it did make me really like Kanan's character more than I already did. I wasn't that big of a fan of Count Vidian or Skelly, but they were alright. I am wondering if...
(Spoiler!)
... Zaluna getting blinded was a bit of foreshadowing of what would later happen to Kanan.
(Spoilers End Here!)

6. Lost Stars- I did like this book as well, but it felt like a bit of Small Galaxy Syndrome. (That's what it's called right? I think I read this term somewhere.) The love story was a bit forced, but it wasn't too big of a deal. It was neat seeing the events of the original trilogy from a new point of view.

5. Battlefront: Twilight Company- I liked this one, but I did get bored at a few points. I was also a little confused at a few points as well, but this was still a really good book. It was kinda like Rogue One's canon predecessor. I thought it was more for players of Battlefront (a game that I've only played once at a relative's house) but it turned out that I was wrong.

4. Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi: Beware The Power Of The Dark Side- I really enjoyed this novelization. I liked how it tied in all of Star Wars with references and whatnot. The prequels, originals, Rebels, TCW, and even the sequels referenced in one book. It made them feel more connected. It gave an insight into characters' minds during pivotal moments of the film, such as Anakin's death.

3. Ahsoka- I might be a bit biased, because I really like TCW and its characters. Ahsoka grew from an annoying, cheesy character into a mature, likeable, and well-developed character. This book does have its problems, such as the antagonists barely being in the book and the fact that I didn't care about most of the other characters, but that didn't stop me from really liking the book. I liked the interludes and finding out more about the undeveloped episodes of TCW. Ahsoka approves!


2. Dark Disciple- Okay, so maybe I'm more than a bit biased... but I also really liked this book. Vos is an interesting character and I liked the close to Ventress' arc. I also liked how Anakin and Obi-Wan were well used, but not overused. I was unclear on a couple of things after reading, but that's really the only problem I have. I'm looking forward to more TCW novels/comics after this one.

1. Heir To The Jedi- After reading through this thread, I've heard that a lot of people didn't like this one, but this novel, along with Dark Disciple are my two favorite canon novels. This book narrowly beats out the last one, because I really liked Luke in this one. It kept me entertained on a long flight to and from Florida.

I do plan on reading the Rogue One novelization, Before The Awakening, Aftermath 2 and 3, Thrawn, and Inferno Squad. I will try to read the three original trilogy YA novels, about Luke, Han, and Leia, and the two YA Rogue One novels. Sorry if this was a bit long, but hopefully this helps you out.

 

Great opinion !
- It seems like Claudia Gray writes best books for a new canon so far...Lost Stars and Bloodline are fantastic
- Third place for Ahsoka, I had less expectations for that...
- Reading Dark Disciple is like watching TCW in your head
- LOTS could be used for a script for a movie or TV series, it has that informative plot just for that purpose
- Luseno is a good choice to describe Tarkin's type, it is not about the story, it is about person (I believe Darth Plagues novel is even greater)
- Catalyst - great prequel for Rogue One, and again Luceno is in charge to describe confrontation between Tarkin and Krennic, and Ersos of course...
- How Ghost crew will act in Rebels is shown in New Dawn - chasing, cross-fires, romance, betrayal, one main villain, the Cause, Empire and everything
- It would be better if Heir to the Jedi stayed in Legends
- Aftermath trilogy - have read only first one, another two are still on bookshelf, can`t say much for now
- Thrawn is on a bookshelf too, but I think his actual creator wouldn't describe him worse then in Legends trilogy
- Rogue One and TFA novelizations have those necessary additions to the movies. I liked how Galen achieved his goal in that correspondence...

 

Battlefront, Ahsoka, and Dark Disciple are honorable mentions!

 

Just started reading in March, and my ranking so far would probably be:


1. Lost Stars- A real surprise for a long time Star Wars fan. I never would've thought that what seems initially like a YAL romance novel could tie all the eras of Star Wars together so well, but this manages that and more. I really cared about the characters in this novel, despite the fact that we all know too well the circumstances of the war set in the backdrop.

2. Thrawn- Basically, space Sherlock and Watson v Space Moriarty. Thrawn is a fascinating character, and while the plot can move a little erratically at times, it ties up nicely in the end.

3. Life Debt- After how much I hated Aftermath, I really wasn't excited to start this one. To my surprise, I actually really enjoyed it. The plot moves along much more nicely than the first book, film characters get far more to do, the action scenes aren't as dopey, and I found the original characters to be far less insufferable. I actually want to read Empire's End now.

4. A New Dawn- Another one that surprised me. I probably wouldn't have even tried it if it hadn't come packaged alongside Tarkin in the Rise of the Empire compilation. Really makes me appreciate Kanan more, and... well, you can never have enough Hera.

5. Tarkin- Not a bad novel by any means, I just enjoyed it a little less than the rest here. An interesting character study, I appreciated that it managed to keep a decent pace.

6. Aftermath- This one is a bad novel, in my opinion. Though it may have more "action" than any other book on this list, it comes across as goofy and slow. The characters don't really shine, and I just cannot stress enough how slow this one read for me. It was a slog. Thankfully, it looks like Life Debt was a step in the right direction.

 

Lost Stars is by far my favourite so far, and I'd love to see the story developed a bit further. My problem with a lot of the others is that the actual story they focus on isn't that great, no real character conflict (e.g. Thrawn), which is surprising as many of them are so based on a single character. If you took the Star Wars out of them and what is already known and loved about the character in focus, I'm not sure many would hold up based on the story and plot itself - Lost Stars I really think would though. What they all do well is set something up, provide new glimpses of a character and the universe and tantalisingly hint at something important, but then fizzle out with underwhelming stories that often feel a bit unfinished as they're leaving questions open to the reader. I know this is often the intention, but after reading several of them it begins to get frustrating. "I want more..."

Top three would probably be Lost Stars, Life Debt, A New Dawn (often underrated IMO), because I think they're the best self-contained stories. I really liked the start of Lords of the Sith, but found it fizzled out, likewise with Dark Disciple. Bloodline kept me intrigued and engaged, and was really well written, but I didn't take much away from it really.

So to summarise, I think I like those which focus more on a story that perhaps is a bit disconnected from the main tale of the films, primarily because they seem to be a bit less constrained. Having said that, I find them all fascinating and any of them that are well written and engaging are awesome, just for giving that extra glimpse into the SW galaxy.

 

Throwing this out there to get you guys/gals thoughts. These are the new canon books I've read so far. Like many others, I am trying desperately to glean any background info on Snoke possible. Who is he? ... Where/What does he comes from? etc. Any thoughts on which novel to read next. I'm leaning towards the TFA novel since I now know it contains a lot of info not in the movie. I know I'm going to want to read Thrawn soon too.

In read order:
Dark Disciple
Shattered Empire(comics)
Lost Stars
A Smugglers Run
Aftermath(Part 1)
The Weapon of a Jedi
Before the Awakening
Aftermath: Life Debt
Catalyst
Aftermath, Empire's End
Bloodline

--- Double Post Merged, Jun 1, 2017, Original Post Date: Jun 1, 2017 ---

I don't get the love for Lost Stars - a romance story set within the Empire. Also for me it seems so far on the canon fringe that I guess it warrants little thought on my part. I guess if we were to see Cienna and Thane pop up elsewhere I might think more fondly of it.

On the flip-side, I don't think Dark Disciple gets the credit it deserves. Same goes for Weapon of a Jedi.

 

A Smuggler's Run, Weapons of a Jedi, Moving Target, and Before the Awakening are a brilliant set of books. Each one is awesome in its own right and captures the film characters exceptionally well, rarely seen in the Legends series. Also, I really love the designs of those books.

I agree with you on Dark Disciple being a bit under looked. It did Asajj Ventress & Quinlan Vos justice, utilizing elements of their characterization from both Clone Wars cartoon and the Legends comics as well! On the other hand I think "Lost Stars" deserves all the hype for a good reason. It's so much more than a romance in space. Very often the audience forgets there's more to a "war story" than battle scenes. Like every modern Hollywood portrayal of WWII mostly focuses on the action. In Lost Stars we get inside the minds and hearts of people on the opposite sides and how they're affected by war. I really enjoyed that!

 

The 2nd half of Lost Stars is very good. When Thane starts having doubts about the Empire and then that division progresses to the climax at the end. Yes, that was VERY good.

 

I felt the pacing was very solid too. I enjoy a plot with a build up, rather than load of action sprinkled all over the story. The end battle was well worth it. I couldn't believe the writer accomplished such tension and grit in a young adult novel!

 

I like Lords of the Sith since its another post Revenge of the SIth novel adventure involving Vader in his brand new suit.

But I also like the Aftermath stuff since I just started reading the first Aftermath novel

 

My favorite is Thrawn, with Bloodline and Lost Stars right up there.

 

I held out reading Battlefront: Twilight Company. It was so good!!! Really enjoyed it. It's become one of my favorites, and most of the story and characters are completely new. One or two are well known. There's a cameo of one of the main OT heroes, they never say their name, but you know who it is.

 

I tend to treat the books/novels as I do the films, I can't choose a "top" favorite. To me they're each a small part of a larger story.
Sayin' that, since the poll had a choice of only one, was hard to not choose Lost Stars.

 

i'm finally reading it now ~ enjoying it a lot so far!

 

For someone that preferred Tarkin to Lost Stars, do I go for Thrawn, or Bloodlines next??

oooooo and how have people found Dark Disciple ?

 

P-Jawa, close your eyes and point to one. Read it then the other. After you've read both I'm pretty sure it won't then matter which you did first.
I myself liked both.
That I DID like Thrawn is something for me because I did NOT like the original 1991 Legends story. So much so that I didn't finish the book.

--- Double Post Merged, Jun 20, 2017, Original Post Date: Jun 20, 2017 ---

Also, you did ask about Dark Deciple... that I'm sorry I cannot offer my thoughts on. The synopsis of it just didn't stand out to me or interest me to want to listen (I go the audio book route with all the stories) to it even though I do have it.
Maybe some day I will.