Revisiting Our First Star Wars Books for World Book Day: SWNN Roundtable

In the latest installment of SWNN Roundtable, to mark World Book Day, we look back into the vast array of Star Wars publishing. While most of us first encountered Star Wars through the movies or TV shows, it was books that helped us take our first steps into a larger world. As a team we are looking back on the first Star Wars books we picked up and how they impacted our journey as fans of a galaxy far, far away....





Aled: The Truce at Bakura by Kathy Tyres








I’d watched Star Wars for the first time in 1997 and I couldn’t get enough of those movies. Then a friend handed me a book and asked me if I wanted to know what happened next. Yes, yes I did!



That book was The Truce at Bakura by Kathy Tyres. It's a fun little adventure set very soon after Return of the Jedi on the outskirts of the galaxy where an Imperial holdout planet, Bakura, comes under attack by an army of lizards who enslave their victims and 'entech' their souls to turn them into droids for their fleet. Desperate for help, they call out to none other than the Rebels! This whole premise thrilled me as a kid - Luke Skywalker teaming up with the Empire? No way!



This book served as a jumping-off point. After that, I discovered the Jedi Academy trilogy, Dark Empire, and X-Wing books which opened up the world of the Expanded Universe to me and so many treasured books, comics, video games, and more which all answered the question 'what happens next?' The post-Galactic Civil War era has always been a favourite and I will treasure these stories as much as I am loving exploring that era anew in live-action.



Danail: The Rising Force by Dave Wolverton








It was the beginning of the millennium, and I was 12 years old. My consciousness was already captivated by Episode I: The Phantom Menace, and one day my sister brought home The Rising Force by Dave Wolverton - the first book of the Jedi Apprentice anthology. It was my very first Star Wars book.



24 years later, I am still enthralled by this story. The development of the Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon relationship remains deeply fascinating, not only evoking countless childhood memories but also leading me to believe that this book (and the rest of the anthology) should be considered canon.



With over 200 books in my Star Wars library, The Rising Force still stands as the greatest Star Wars book I've ever read.



Josh - Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn








I was born in 1991, so obviously too young to read Heir to the Empire when it came out. However, it still ended up being the first Star Wars book I ever read. The prequels hadn’t yet arrived and I had no idea that they were coming, so on a family trip into town I was amazed to see Star Wars novels in a bookshop.



The cover looked so cool, like a classic Star Wars movie poster with Joruus C’Baoth’s fingertips shooting lightning everywhere. I was so happy to discover that Luke, Han, and Leia’s story actually continued after Return of the Jedi.



The book didn’t disappoint and I wasted no time reading the rest of the trilogy. Learning all this additional backstory for C’Baoth, clones, and Thrawn was fascinating and I never saw the twists and turns coming. It even felt like a Star Wars movie on the page. Timothy Zahn remains my favorite Star Wars author and Thrawn one of my favorite villains to this day, and it’s all down to this book.



I must go back and read it again. Hopefully, it still holds up.



Chris - Young Jedi Knights series by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta








Technically the first book I read was the Return of the Jedi novelization since I didn't want to wait the few weeks between Special Edition releases after Empire (why I didn't just rent the original VHS I have no idea).



But after falling in love with the original trilogy I wanted more. So I went to the local library and grabbed Dark Force Rising, The Last Command, and the first few installments of the Young Jedi Knights series.



I knew the Thrawn trilogy was technically the better starting point for the EU, but since someone else had Heir to the Empire already loaned out, and I really didn't want to wait, I started with the Young Jedi Knights series. I absolutely fell in love with the adventures of Jacen, Jaina, and their friends and I ended up tracking down every novel in the series - those last three were hard to get in the UK!



I would return to the Thrawn trilogy as soon as I got my hands on Heir to the Empire, but the Young Jedi Knights series was my entry to the EU and I still love it to this day.



Nate: The Glove of Darth Vader by Paul Davids and Hollace Davids








The first Star Wars book I recall diving into was one I was convinced was the true Episode VII. Little Nate had zero clue of the wider expanded universe so he was excited to track down The Glove of Darth Vader and the entire “original” sequel trilogy one day at a thrift shop.



I can’t say I remember a whole lot of the experience reading as it wasn’t the best book, but it’s stuck with me. Whenever someone brings up the Purgill being Star Wars’ original space whales, I want to be the “well actually” guy and bring up this book that had whales on the cover. Trioculus was also a cool-looking villain, with his third eye and alleged ties to Palpatine.



Perhaps I should go back and finish up this series now that I can go back in time and tell little Nate that Zorba the Hutt’s Revenge isn’t an oddly-titled Episode IX after all.



Tyler: The Mark of the Crown by Jude Watson







Where are my Jedi Apprentice fans at?! These books were so much fun that I wish they would bring them back in some form or another. Having a full miniseries of books of these standalone Master and Apprentice missions would be phenomenal.



I’ll be honest. I don’t remember much of this book. I was pretty young when I first read it. Truth is, I actually didn’t even read it. My father read it to me. When I was little my dad used to let me pick books for the two of us to read together. I’d sit on the couch and he would read aloud to me in his chair. Occasionally, as I got to be a better reader I could tackle a page or two.



I don’t remember much of anything, but the strange cover with Qui-Gon will always stand out to me. While I don’t necessarily carry any memories from the book itself, I will always cherish the times I got to spend reading with my dad. Those are some of my favorite childhood memories and it’s only too perfect that Star Wars be a part of that.



Sydney: Lost Stars by Claudia Gray







Late to the game, I first dipped into the world of Star Wars literature with Lost Stars by Claudia Gray. It didn’t blow me away, I thought it was perfectly fine. However, it opened my eyes to the wide and unexplored horizon of Star Wars stories waiting for me and allowed me to dip my toes into the water with a rather normal and logical narrative before cannonballing into the truly wacky, dark, and emotional treasure trove of Star Wars books.



Shortly after Lost Stars, I read James Luceno’s Darth Plagueis and I’ve been mainlining that sweet, sweet, worldbuilding ever since.



Miguel: Bloodline, by Claudia Gray







Much like Sydney, I was late to the game of Star Wars publishing and dipped my toes for the first time with a Claudia Gray novel -- only a different one! Bloodline was the perfect introduction into Star Wars books for me, because there are enough recognizable elements in it to invite anyone who is hesitant about where to start, yet it also introduces a whole new storyline and new arc for Leia. Plus, it has the addition of being semi-relevant to The Force Awakens.



This is always my recommendation whenever someone asks where to start with Star Wars books. I ate it up back in the summer of 2017, and soon after I was reading more Claudia Gray (Lost Stars) and also got my hands dirty with some of the new canon Grand Admiral Thrawn books. Maybe someday I'll pick up that Heir to the Empire copy that's been sitting on my shelf for years.



Vidar: Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster







My first ever Star Wars novel was Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, which I read sometime in the mid-80s, around the age of 10. Back then, I wasn’t very well-informed about the Star Wars franchise beyond the films, and apart from the Marvel Star Wars comic series and a read-along storybook and cassette product for A New Hope, I didn’t know of any spinoff media.



Imagine my surprise then when, being bored on some summer vacation somewhere, I rummaged through a discount book bin at a random supermarket and found a book featuring Darth Vader on the cover! Confused and excited, I examined the book; it didn’t say “Star Wars” anywhere, but the blurb talked about Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, and the cover definitely featured Darth Vader…



I remember thinking it might be a weird reprint version of the A New Hope novelization, but nope, the blurb mentioned stuff that definitely was not in A New Hope! I took the book home and relished in its brand new adventure with Luke and Leia, and I suspect it was the first full novel I ever read by myself. It felt like I had chanced onto some rare, esoteric secret of Star Wars, and none of my friends had ever heard of the book either; a very special experience for a little Star Wars-obsessed tyke!



Val: Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn







The first Star Wars book I read was Heir to the Empire.



As with many things in my country, the book came out 10 years after its official release in 1991. The three movies of the original trilogy were released in my country in 1982, 1984, and 1986. I remember Return of the Jedi was the first movie of the trilogy I saw, and nothing was the same after that.



When The Phantom Menace was released in theaters here in 1999, I was a bit disappointed after the huge hype surrounding the movie. I was nostalgic for the old movies and the release of Heir to the Empire just 2 years after The Phantom Menace was perfect timing to quench my thirst for the old movies. The best part was that the entire Thrawn trilogy was released at once, so I didn’t have to wait for the next book.

I love this series of books. It had everything I wanted in a sequel to the beloved trilogy. Not only that, but the follow-up books in the Hand of Thrawn duology were only a year away from the Thrawn trilogy (2002, 2003), saving me another painful wait. I will never forget that period in my life.



Well, it just goes to show there's a galaxy of Star Wars stories out there! What was your first Star Wars book? Let us know in the comments, we'd love to hear it! Don't forget to keep your eyes on Star Wars News Net for all the latest publishing news and reviews.



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