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Get Ready for Episode VII with These Essential Star Wars Reads
It’s an exciting time to be a Star Wars fan, with a new TV series (Rebels) on the air and Episode VII (the start of a whole new trilogy!) waiting in the wings. The “Expanded Universe” of Star Wars novels is changing too, with a rebooted continuity to allow new fans to jump onboard. Don’t worry, longtime readers: your favorite books aren’t going away—they’ll now be classified as “Legends.”
As you await the December 18th release of the J.J. Abrams-helmed Star Wars movie, revel in these thrilling Star Wars novels, from the new Expanded Universe, to some of the best previous books, to a few alternate universe might-have-beens.
Star Wars: A New Dawn, by John Jackson Miller
The first book in the new continuity, this novel (from the author of Kenobi) sets the stage for the Expanded Universe and ties neatly into the first season of Rebels. Set between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, A New Dawn shows us the first meeting of Kanan, one of a few Jedi to survive Order 66, and Hera, a Twi’lek pilot, as they struggle to avoid the Empire and join the nascent Rebellion.
Darth Plagueis, by James Luceno
Though now officially part of the Legends universe, this book provides some fascinating backstory only hinted at in the prequel trilogy, revealing how the evil Emperor rose to power as a Sith Lord, and tying up many loose ends surrounding his plan to use a trade dispute to declare himself ruler of the galaxy and reform galactic government.
Tarkin, by James Luceno
Another little-seen, highly memorable baddie from the Star Wars films gets the Plagueis treatment in this new book, which is part of the new Expanded Universe. Grand Moff Tarkin is one of the original trilogy’s most enigmatic villains, a figure with power and influence that apparently rival Darth Vader’s. And yet in the films, we learn little about him. This account of his storied military career will answer your pressing questions. One unexpected revelation: his first name is Wilhuff.
The Star Wars Deluxe Edition, by J.W. Rinzler
From what happens next to what might have been: this graphic novel compilation reveals what Star Wars might have looked like if things had turned out just a bit differently. Based on George Lucas’s original story treatment, it shares similarities with the epic saga we know and love, but is oh-so-different, from a hero named Annikin Starkiller, to Luke Skywalker as a wizened Jedi Master, to a green-skinned, 8-foot-tall Han Solo. This deluxe edition is printed in three slipcased hardcover volumes.
William Shakespeare’s Complete Star Wars Trilogy, by Ian Doescher
This set collects all three volumes of the series that imagines what Star Wars would have looked like if William Shakespeare had staged them. “True it is,/ That these are not the droids for which thou search’st,” says Obi-Wan Kenobi, but this is definitely the gift to pick up for every Star Wars fan this holiday season.