As the new High Republic book series is taking off, it is worth taking a look back at previous Star Wars novels. Before Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012, hundreds of Star Wars novels were published and though they are no longer considered canon, fans still love the tales they told.
They explored the fate of side characters like Wedge Antilles and Boba Fett, and moved the larger narrative forward, including plots about Han and Leia's son disconnecting with his family, joining the Dark Side, killing a family member, and ultimately redeeming himself. Some are must-read outside of the heavy all-time favorites like the Thrawn trilogy or the Darth Bane duology.
The Han Solo Trilogy: Rebel Dawn
Before Alden Ehrenreich played everyone's favorite smuggling scoundrel, The Han Solo Trilogy told the story of how Han met Chewie, acquired the Millennium Falcon, and got into debt with Jabba the Hutt.
The final entry in the series, A.C. Crispin's Rebel Dawn is the strongest. Crispin does a better job than most in bringing Han's selfish- smuggler nature to the page, while also giving him the spark of goodness that helps make him one of the most beloved characters in fiction. A few motifs, including a girlfriend who double-crosses him, will be familiar to fans of the Solo movie.
Tales From The Empire: First Contact
While not its own novel, Tales From The Empire is one of the strongest Star Wars anthology works. It features some of the best Star Wars writers of the time, Timothy Zahn and Michael A. Stackpole. The novel covers the time between A New Hope and Return of The Jedi.
First Contact, the opening short story by Zahn (of the Thrawn series), shows how Star Wars can be something without Solos or Skywalkers even mentioned, much less featured. Instead, it tells of the larger Rebellion against the Empire that was the glue that held the original trilogy's narrative together. Action-packed and fast-paced, First Contact has some trappings of a Star Wars story, while bringing new ideas to bear.
The Mandalorian Armor
Despite having almost no lines, Boba Fett and his signature Mandalorian armor vaulted into fans' imaginations when he made his film debut in The Empire Strikes Back. Taking place after that film, The Mandalorian Armor tells how Boba Fett was contracted to kill his fellow bounty hunters.
Author K.W. Jeter does a phenomenal job of not only growing the character of Boba Fett but breathing life into the factions and groups that make up the next layer of the Star Wars universe. While this Boba Fett lacks the emotional depth seen in The Book of Boba Fett, this version of Fett is closer to an action hero, giving the novel a sense of danger and propulsion that is quite compelling.
X-Wing: Rogue Squadron
Star Wars novels really hit their stride when they went into the uncharted waters of what happened after Return of The Jedi. That is when the X-Wing series takes place, as Wedge Antilles is building an elite team of pilots to battle the Imperial Remnant.
The first entry in the series, Rogue Squadron does a great job of reintroducing familiar characters (Wedge) and a host of others who will eventually star in the series. What makes Rogue Squadron stand out is how it handles its non-action elements. It touches on political issues and larger military strategy in a way that in 1996, was unheard of in a Star Wars property.
Showdown at Centerpoint
Centerpoint finds Luke, Han, and Leia in a race to stop a doomsday machine set to destroy Han's home planet. Despite coming out in 1995, it takes place after the events of the X-Wing series, a strength that allows the franchise to be more flexible.
As Star Wars novels progressed in their own timeline, a choice was made that really allowed the characters to grow; they went from plucky Rebels to leaders. Centerpoint finds Luke and Han playing huge roles in the legitimate government trying to stop a rebellion. Author Roger MacBride Allen expertly explores the theme of becoming the thing you fought against, and how some characters, especially Han, chafe at their new roles in the galaxy.
The New Jedi Order: Onslaught
20 years after the events of Return of The Jedi, a new enemy is facing the New Republic and Luke Skywalker's new Jedi order. The nightmarish, fanatical Yuuzhan Vong has invaded the galaxy with stunning speed and viciousness.
Not to mix franchises, but Onslaught boldly goes where no Star Wars novel has gone before. The introduction of a totally new intergalactic opponent that is completely disconnected from The Force is a choice that could have easily backfired. But Michael A. Stackpole does a masterful job of setting the stage for the massive scale of a galactic invasion. The imagery throughout deserves special praise as well.
The New Jedi Order: Traitor
Traitor takes place in the midst of the Yuuzhan Vong War, and the Jedi are losing, badly. Coruscant, the city-planet capital of the Republic has been taken by the overwhelming power of the Vong.
Despite Luke and company being Rebels in the original run of movies, it was always assumed the good guys would be successful. Traitor has little if any of that hopefulness in it. The heroes openly ponder if this is how their galaxy ends and if the Jedi were always fated to falter. Representing a darker turn in the Star Trek universe, Traitor is for older audience and inhabits that more mature space well.
The New Jedi Order: Refugee
The Yuuzhan Vong War is all but lost as Refugee opens. Luke and the remaining Jedi make a last ditch effort to find a living planet at the edge of the galaxy, the only hope to repel the Yuuzhan Vong.
Refugee standouts because it's nearly a pure horror novel, a rarity for Star Wars. The way it shows the interworking of mysterious Yuuzhan Vong is a great example of how truly alien an alien can be, and the living planet has a very cool otherworldly vibe to it. Authors Sean Williams and Shane Dix deserve credit for how well paced the novel is, giving the smaller, more intense scenes and the large scale battles plenty of room to breathe.
Legacy of The Force: Betrayal
40 years after A New Hope the Yuuzhan Vong have been defeated. Now the fight to keep the peace is up to a new generation, led by Han and Luke's children, Jacen Solo and his apprentice, Ben Skywalker.
Legacy of The Force is the Star Wars path untaken by Disney. Part political thriller, part traditional Star Wars novel, and part examination of the whole philosophy behind The Force, Betrayal has a level of sophistication that is unusual for the franchise. And reading Jacen's slow descent towards The Dark Side is more than a little heartbreaking.
Legacy of The Force: Invincible
The final installation of Legacy of The Force sees Luke returned to his role as a Rebel, as the government he helped build has been taken over by a powerful Sith Lord.
"Tearjerker" is not usually a description applied to Star Wars, but Invincible tugs at the heart strings in unexpected ways. The biggest strengths of the final entry to the series are the depth and humanity it gives to even the most unlikeable characters. The villain, Darth Caedus is a great example of a broken-down human. He never intended the massive war and death he causes, and is ultimately torn apart by the love he has for his family, especially his daughter.