Ta’a Chume

Kueller

Hethrir

Waru

See “Hethrir”.

Joruus C’Baoth

This one may be more well known than some of the others on this list, but he’s definitely a doozy. Joruus C’Baoth was a clone of Jedi Master Jorus C’Baoth that was created by the Emperor. He was used as a guardian of an Imperial storehouse at Mount Tantiss on Wayland. When he was discovered by Grand Admiral Thrawn, he joined forces with him to fight against the New Republic after being promised a few new Jedi Apprentices; Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and her unborn twins. C’Baoth’s plan was to create an army of Dark Jedi to take over the galaxy. As you can tell by his plans, Joruus was…well, insane. He sent a message to Luke to come to him on Wayland. Luke was skeptical about finding a Jedi that hadn’t been hunted down, but he went to meet C’Baoth anyway. There he was trained by Joruus under the guise of a Jedi Master. Luke soon realized that C’Baoth was an insane Dark Side wielder. The lessons he had been teaching Luke were contrary to what Yoda had taught. C’Baoth believed that non-Force users were inferior to them, and that they should be controlled by superior beings such as themselves. But Luke decided to try to turn him to the Light Side in order to gain a powerful ally. Eventually, Joruus sensed Mara Jade on the planet, who had been imprisoned by her boss, Talon Karde. While C’Baoth tried to kill her, Luke (with the help of R2) helped her escape. After Joruus was injured by R2, he went to Thrawn, whom he blamed for Luke’s escape, and demanded that “his” Jedi be given to him as promised. Finally Thrawn decided that the Jedi clone was too powerful, and too insane, and locked him inside Mount Tantiss. There, after a long, grueling showdown, he was killed by Mara Jade’s lightsaber.

Darth Traya

There are, of course, many others. Far too many for this list I’m sure. Perhaps a part II is in the future? But for now, the Jedi have plenty to do!

Each page also includes detailed descriptions of each mode of transportation (or destruction).  It was interesting to learn that TIE fighters were built without landing gear, designed to reduce mass for maximum maneuverability, and also so that they can only land in a Star Destroyer’s hangar, to teach the pilots complete dependence on the authority of the Empire.

Full of interesting information and beautifully intricate drawings of some of the coolest ships and vehicles in Star Wars, this book is perfect for any fan looking to build their own X-Wing, get an inside look, or expand their collection.

[Editor’s note: Previously, we had reviewed Episode I: Incredible Cross-Sections from the same series. Also, this is the first post on GalaxyFarAway.com by our newest contributor, Darth Rand!]

New Jedi Order

Vector Prime by RA Salvatore

Agents of Chaos Duology- Hero’s Trial & Jedi Eclipseby James Luceno

Dark Tide Duology- Onslaught & Ruinby Michael Stackpole

Jedi Academy: Jedi Search (#1 in the series) by Kevin J Anderson

Jedi Academy: Dark Apprentice (#2 in the series) by Kevin J Anderson

Jedi Academy: Champions of the Force (#3 in the series) by Kevin J Anderson

I, Jedi by Michael A. Stackpole

Heir to the Empire (#1 in the series) by Timothy Zahn

Heir to the Empire (#1 in the series) by Timothy Zahn
Reviewed by DevanJedi

Dark Force Rising (#2 in the series) by Timothy Zahn

The Last Command (#3 in the series) by Timothy Zahn

The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton

The Black Fleet Trilogy by Michael P. Kube-McDowell

Rogue Planet by Greg Bear

Young Han Solo Trilogy by Ann Crispin

Hand of Thrawn Duology

Specter of the Past & Vision of the Future by Timothy Zahn

Jedi Apprentice: The Rising Force (#1 in the series) by Dave Wolverton

Jedi Apprentice: The Dark Rival (#2 in the series) by Jude Watson

Jedi Apprentice: The Hidden Past (#3 in the series) by Jude Watson

Jedi Apprentice: The Mark of the Crown (#4 in the series) by Jude Watson

Jedi Apprentice: The Defenders of the Dead (#5 in the series) by Jude Watson

Jedi Apprentice: The Hidden Path (#6 in the series) by Jude Watson

Jedi Apprentice: The Captive Temple (#7 in the series) by Jude Watson

Jedi Apprentice: The Day of Reckoning (#8 in the series) by Jude Watson

X-Wing : Rogue Squadron (#1 of the series) by Michael Stackpole

X-Wing : Wedge’s Gamble (#2 of the series) by Michael Stackpole

X-Wing : Krytos Trap (#3 of the series) by Michael Stackpole

X-Wing : The Bacta War (#4 of the series) by Aaron Allston

X-Wing : Wratih Squadron (#5 of the series) by Aaron Allston

X-Wing : Iron Fist (#6 of the series) by Aaron Allston

X-Wing : Solo Command (#7 of the series) by Aaron Allston

X-Wing : Isard’s Revenge (#8 of the series) by Michael Stackpole

X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar (#9 of the series) by Aaron Allston

Planet of Twilight by Barbara Hambly

Darksaber by Kevin J. Anderson

• Star Wars Episode I Incredible Cross Sections


• Star Wars : The Visual Dictionary

On Star Wars Expanded Universe
The expanded universe (or everything other than the films) is very similar to a religious mythology. There are many interesting story arcs, all intersecting at various places but not necessarily consistent among themselves. The books have always answered the fan’s eternal question of ‘I wonder what happened to that guy’; taking their cue from the films to develop an entire supporting mythology.
All of this was true until the New Jedi Order series. When it became clear that Lucas was never going to pursue a post-Return of the Jedi trilogy, the New Jedi Order was commissioned as an independent series of books.

Aaron Allston
Aaron Allston was given control of the X-Wing series after Michael Stackpole gotten it off to a flying start. This was a difficult task because he was handed the reins of an already successful series. On the other hand, Allston had a much more interesting job than a lot of other Expanded Universe writers. The components of the series were almost entirely parallel to the films and came with very little baggage associated with characters and story arcs from the films. He had to fit in with Stackpole’s voice and imagery; not necessarily that of Lucas.
My favorite book of his is X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar where he has mastered the quick banter between the pilots which makes it unique and still fits in to the ‘Han Solo mode’ of the original Star Wars trilogy. It is also a clever and fast moving plot; it is almost as though Allston got the hang of things by the end of the series. In fact, his books have consistently improved through the series; each one better than the one before.
This trademark humor of his is evident even in his subsequent New Jedi Order ‘Enemy Lines’ books. His NJO books, in fact, brought that series closer to the films in many respects; his handling of Leia’s character, the humor and bringing the dark side back in to the picture.
Overall, Aaron Allston has grown as a writer as his career with Star Wars has progressed.

Let me know if you want clarification, expansion or anything else!
Devanshu

What is the process for choosing an author to write a Star Wars novel?
Generally, I propose authors I feel would work well, and Lucasfilm reads them and approves or disapproves. The basic rules of thumb are that the author must have a track record in publishing, and must be a Star Wars fan—at least enough that he or she is really going to be excited about working in the Star Wars universe.

On average, how long does it take to edit a novel?
That’s hard to answer, as each book is an individual case. Generally speaking, each Star Wars novel is read several times at different stages: for development, for approval, for line-editing. Any way you slice it, it’s time consuming.

Which book has been the most enjoyable to work on?
I can’t answer that. It’s like asking a parent to choose her favorite child! Each book has had its up sides and some have had some down sides. They’ve all been a challenge and, largely, fun to work on.

What has Del Rey / Lucasfilm got upcoming for fans?
Can’t say much about that. Of course we’ve got the NJO to finish, and the era of the “prequel” movies to explore. There’s lots of fodder for books now and in the future!

Boba Fett is alone—orphaned by the actions of the Jedi. Continuing his father’s legacy, Fett steels his resolve to survive and follow in his father’s footsteps.
Bounty hunter Aurra Sing delivers young Fett to Count Dooku, the mysterious benefactor who hired Jango. Young Fett assumes that Dooku will help him, but the renegade Jedi has his own dark agenda. What Boba discovers on that war-torn world known as Raxus Prime will change his life.

The Clone Wars continue to spread across the galaxy, and Fett is caught in their crossfire . His adventures will lead him from the refuse heaps of the galaxy to firefights among the clouds.

Episode I: Darth Maul Journal
by Dave Wolverton

RATING:
Buy Episode I: Darth Maul Journal at Amazon.com

SYNOPSIS

Episode One Journal – Darth Maul is exactly that: the “diary” of Darth Maul, dealing mostly with the events of “Star Wars – Episode One: The Phantom Menace”. Darth Maul records his take on all of the happenings in TPM, and along the way, we also get a little bit of background on Maul, and a little bit of information on his relationship with Darth Sidious, and on Maul’s Sith training. There are also a couple of incidents not included in TPM that are recounted by Maul in his chronicle, that in addition to providing a few extra action sequences, give some explanation for the seemingly perplexing lag-time between the Sith Lords becoming aware of Queen Amidala’s escape from Naboo, the point at which Maul lands on Tatooine, and the point at which Maul meets up with Qui-Gon and Anakin. The concluding entry in the journal is scribed by Darth Sidious…for reasons fairly obvious to anyone who has seen TPM.

MY WORDS OF WISDOM

Episode One Journal – Darth Maul is a quick, fun read. Just as with the other “journal” books (there are several from the classic trilogy, and also others from TPM), it is really nifty to see the familiar plot elements of the films re-envisioned through one character’s perspective. It deepens the story, enriches our appreciation of the whole. It is especially gratifying to see TPM specifically through Darth Maul’s eyes. Firstly, since he is a Sith-of-so-very-little-words in the movie, this puts more flesh on his immensely intriguing bones. It’s nice to see him as more than merely Darth Sidious’ mute puppet. And secondarily, Maul’s outlook is understandably different from the story as told by the Jedi and their allies. As the ghost of Obi-Wan once opined, it all does depend entirely on your point of view! While the tale that is TPM unfolds in Maul’s diary, we also get a sense of the philosophy of the Sith, and of what being raised to be an agent of the Darkside entails. (In a nutshell, the darkside appears to flow through and be honed by a rather abusive childhood. Cool!)

The interludes in this book not explored in TPM allow for some surprises, but mostly, if you’ve seen the movie, you know the plot of this journal. The pleasure of this little tome comes in hearing Darth Maul’s voice, and with the unexpected dark humor mined from evil and its service. And as with the Jedi Apprentice books where we learn more about the bond between Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi and thus feel the pain of Qui-Gon’s death in TPM all the more, reading of Darth Maul’s sense of his encounter with Qui-Gon on Tatooine, seeing Qui-Gon as Maul sees him and knowing what is to come in their final meeting, that last duel now has the resonance of a confrontation of true enemies, not simply a clash of chance combatants. And the coup de grace of the novelette is the marvelous, creepy, chilling epilogue by Darth Sidious.

Each one of these smaller books adds a layer to the saga. If you enjoy the foreshadowing and the connectivity of the Star Wars mythos, these various journals and young adult novellas are not to be missed.

The Yuuzhan Vong’s conquest of Coruscant has plunged the New Republic into chaos, but its brightest heroes refuse to surrender to the might of the alien invaders. Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Leia Organa Solo, their family and their allies lead the charge of resistance, and rays of hope begin to coalesce for the New Republic.

The first chapter is a vision anakin has. 2-3 are about shimi and padme. 4 is what we will see in movie corde dies. on kamino sifo dyas was a real master! killed almost ten years ago according to obi.
sifo dyas being real and dead is a biggie. plo koon said two lines in palpatine’s office. i never read about those. the chase after zam was really descriptive.

Okay Yes the padme’s family is in the book. In chapter 2 padme is talking with sola and watching her nieces play tag.then at her office panaka stops buy to discuss her security when she returns to the senate. she says it is months away.they are given news that the trade federation seceded. chapter 1 is shimi outside thinking about anakin. today was his b day. owen comes out and talks with her. in chap 2 shimi is captured.in 3 cliegg and owen and farmers go after her. cliegg loses his leg. owen and cliegg only survive.