6 Books to Cure Your Star Wars Hangover

Star Wars: Aftermath, by Chuck Wendig
Sometimes, what you really need is more of the same—sort of a “hair of the dog” approach. So if you haven’t read Wendig’s take on the immediate effects of the Battle of Endor, now’s the time to do it. The Empire is hurting and the Rebel Alliance is forming the New Republic; both sides are weak, and everything seems to be converging on the remote planet of Akiva. Get out of the world of Rey, Finn, and Poe by scratching the surface of Star Wars novels (but be prepared: this just might give you more fan theories to talk about).

Uprooted, by Naomi Novik
Alternatively, try to snap out of it with a bit of a wakeup call. Uprooted is so unique and enchanting, you’ll have a hard time thinking of anything else once you’ve started it. Agnieszka never expects to be the girl the Dragon chooses—everyone knows her beautiful, charming, graceful friend Kasia is fated for that. But when things don’t go the way anyone anticipates, Agnieszka will have an entirely new life to adjust to—and some new things to learn about herself. Uprooted has all the evil scheming, dark-versus-light battles, and young hero/ine learning to use new powers elements you love about Star Wars, and more.

The Relic Master, by Christopher Buckley
If that’s not enough to break you out of your Star Wars fever, go for something even more different. Buckley’s The Relic Master is the ideal distraction, with a perfect mix of comedy, absurdity, and intrigue that will completely take over your mind. Welcome to the sixteenth century, where Dismas spends his time acquiring holy “relics” for the rich and powerful. But when he and his friend Dürer decide to fake the Shroud of Turin, they find themselves stuck in a much larger adventure than they originally planned for.

Saga, by Brian K. Vaughan
If what you love about Star Wars is the visual elements—all those fascinating aliens and foreign planets, all the choreographed fight scenes—then Saga will captivate both your mind and your eyeballs. When two soldiers on opposites sides of a seemingly endless (and pointless) war fall in love and bring an adorable little alien child into the middle of their inter-galactic conflict, it’s not long before they’re being hunted down by every bounty hunter in the universe. With that kind of opposition, it’s a love story (and life) that seems doomed from the start.

Red Rising, by Pierce Brown
Maybe what you really need right now is to get hooked on a new series, which makes it the perfect time to get caught up in Red Rising, since the third and final book in the trilogy, Morning Star, is slated to come out in just a few weeks. Reds are the lowest members of society, essentially slaves for the rich upper classes, living on lies that their efforts will bring about a better life for their descendants. But when Darrow learns the truth, he’ll stop at nothing to bring an end to the unfair system that keeps his people (literally) in the dark.

The Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling
Of course, there’s no better way to cure a new(ish) obsession than by revisiting to an old one. Find relief from all the Rey fan theories by immersing yourself in the wonderful, familiar world of Harry Potter and company (or, if you seriously haven’t, read it for the very first time). It, too, features orphans discovering secret magical abilities that lead them into the middle of a giant battle of good versus evil, plus it offers the added benefit of you already knowing how it’s going to end.