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With the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn to the galaxy in Ahsoka

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I think it's becoming more and more clear that the future

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of that story is going to continue taking inspiration from Star Wars Legends

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where the character originated

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I get questions about how to get into Star Wars books and comic all the time

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and I've got more videos on those topics coming, but today,

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I wanted to focus on Star Wars Legends because there are hundreds

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of books and there is definitely renewed interest thanks to Thrawn

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but it's daunting and overwhelming to start

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So, where should you start?

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Just like when it comes to making canon recommendations,

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it really all depends on what you personally like about Star Wars so

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I'm gonna try to cover a bunch of different bases in this video

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I generally tell people to begin with the trilogy that started it all,

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the Thrawn trilogy, Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising and The Last Command

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Yes, I know that there were comics and shows and the Han Solo and Lando Calrissian Adventures

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that were part of the Expanded Universe before those books,

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but Timothy Zahn's novels arrived in the early 90's when people were

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unsure if Star Wars would ever continue in a major way

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Then here came some new stories about Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie and Lando

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facing a new kind of villain in the form of Grand Admiral Thrawn

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They were instantly hits and ushered in a brand new wave of Star Wars stories

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in the form of books and comics. To get personal for a bit,

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those books shaped Star Wars for me as much as the movies did

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I got into Star Wars around 1995, I watched the movies constantly

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but obviously, I wanted more. I wanted to find out what happened next

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So most of the Star Wars universe when I was growing up was made up

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of these books, and they very much shaped my view of what Star Wars can be

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Which is to say, it can be pretty much whatever it wants to be.

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I fell in love with the X-Wing books especially

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solidifying my love of pilot stories. Reading these books showed me

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the variety to be found in Star Wars and it's something I still push for today

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I see the occasional comments from people saying they wished I talked about Legends more

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or some going so far to say that I hate Legends which is absurd.

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Some of my favorite Star Wars stories are from that point in time

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in my life where I was reading every book I could

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I even have fond memories of the some of the... let's call them

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the lesser celebrated books. As a young kid, there were definitely

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some weird stories in there but I didn't care. They were all new adventures

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with some of my favorite characters. I definitely agree that I could spend more time

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talking about Legends but it's not because I don't love it,

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it's just that most of my time is spent keeping up with everything that's coming out now

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But it is something I'd like to change in the coming year

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Anyway, to hop off my nostalgia soapbox, my next recommendation

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is a series I already mentioned, the X-Wing novels by Michael Stackpole

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and Aaron Alston. Like I said, these books solidified my love for pilot stories,

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so if you liked the Alphabet Squadron trilogy, these books are right up your alley.

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Or, if you were into Andor, I also think this is a solid recommendation.

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These are stories about normal people, just a bunch of pilots

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doing their best to make the galaxy better. But of course,

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some fans aren't really interested in Star Wars if the Jedi or the Sith

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aren't involved and that's ok, we all have our personal preference.

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If it's Sith you want, look no further than the Darth Bane trilogy by Drew Karpyshyn

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It's the story of the Sith Lord who created the Rule of Two, which also

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shows how the Sith Order went from tons of Sith to only two hidden in the shadows

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We get to see massive battles between the Jedi and the Sith,

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political ramifications in the galaxy and also a compelling personal story

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in the form of Darth Bane. I will say there are some

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aspects of the story surrounding the Force that don't fully

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vibe with my view of it. But it doesn't ruin my enjoyment,

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it's just different and that's fine. To stick with the Sith,

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I can't not mention Darth Plagueis by James Luceno,

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it's considered to be one of the ultimate Star Wars Legends books

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and for good reason. It clarifies some aspects of the Prequel Trilogy

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while giving us a look at a young, sadistic Palpatine

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and his training and rise to power. It's as much Sidious' book

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as it is Plagueis'. This would probably be my top recommendation

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if you're a Prequel fan above all else. If you're a High Republic fan,

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I'm gonna recommend something that might be controversial,

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but I would say give the New Jedi Order series a try. I know not everyone

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liked the Yuuzhan Vong as villains, but 12 year old me thought they were rad

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To be fair, I haven't read them since they came out, but really,

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I'm recommending it because it has a similar format

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to the High Republic. A big cast of Jedi characters fighting

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a new kind of enemy in the galaxy that offers some interesting challenges

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It can also be heartbreakingly tragic at times, and it was written by

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a bunch of different authors. Not every book is great, but I loved having

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a big, long book series telling a large story.

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It's part of why I love the High Republic so much

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because I missed when Star Wars books felt that big and the High Republic

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has brought me back into that feeling. You can also

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choose a starting point based on some of your favorite characters,

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you love Obi-Wan Kenobi? Read Kenobi by John Jackson Miller.

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Do you love Maul? Check out Shadow Hunter by Michael Reaves.

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There's a whole series of books about Clone Troopers if you're into that

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Or Anakin/Darth Vader has an unofficial trilogy in the form of

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Labyrinth of Evil by James Luceno,

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The Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover,

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and The Rise of Darth Vader once again by Luceno,

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and really Stover's Revenge of the Sith deserves a special shoutout

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I hesitate to call it an introduction to Star Wars Legends

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because it's an adaptation of a film, but it is celebrated as one of the

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best Star Wars books of all time for a reason

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I think I've given you enough jumping off points depending on what

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you like within Star Wars and from there, you can just keep on reading

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what happens after the Thrawn Trilogy if you were into it,

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or you can just read more books about Thrawn and Mara Jade

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There are a ton of avenues to follow, but again

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there's no one real answer here, it's all down to what speaks to you as a Star Wars fan

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But I hope that helps anyone who has been feeling overwhelmed

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searching for a way into the Legends universe. And by the way,

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hearing that people started reading Star Wars books or comics

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because of our channel is one of my favorite things to hear

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Like I said, the books hold a very special place in my heart,

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I look forward to some of them as much as I do new movies or series

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Helping Star Wars fans discover a whole new aspect to their own fandom

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is my favorite thing, so hopefully I helped a least one person do that today.

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But I'm gonna wrap up, if you haven't already, please like this video,

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subscribe to the channel, follow us on our socials and consider checking out our Patreon page

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As always, thanks for watching and

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May The Force Be With You