My list of Top 10 Star Wars stories!

I feel for the new Star Wars fan. I personally can't imagine seeing these movies for the first time now, wanting to learn more, and being confronted with such an enormous library of books and comics. Here are my picks are where to start!

1. The Thrawn Trilogy - Heir to the Empire/Dark Force Rising/The Last Command - Timothy Zahn - Probably the best Star Wars novels out there. Taking place five years after Return of the Jedi, these novels tell the story of Han, Luke, and Leia dealing with a newly resgurging Empire in the control of a brilliant warlord. The series is full of exciting moments, and introduced fantastic new characters that are featured in many of the novels to come. These books were the kick off to the SW resurgance that began in the early 90's. I won't go as far as to say that Star Wars wouldn't have come back without them, but the fact that these were so good AND so well-received certainly helped!
2. Dark Empire - Tom Veitch/Cam Kennedy - Star Wars fans seem pretty split on this one. But to me, this is as close as I think we will ever get to an expanded universe story that actually feels like a Star Wars movie. It has a huge epic feel, delves deep into the Dark Side of the Force, and contains many genuine shocks that are absent from most SW litetrature. This is a comic, by the way, not a novel. Feel free to ignore it's sequels (DE II, Empire's End) - they are sadly pretty forgettable.
3. The first Han Solo trilogy - Han Solo at Star's End/Han Solo's Revenge/Han Solo and the Lost Legacy - Brian Daley - If like most fans, you love Han Solo, you should love these box... they feature Han a few years before the classic trilogy at his scoundrel-like best. These were the first SW novels ever written, and still some of the best.
4. The second Han Solo trilogy - The Paradise Snare/The Hutt Gambit/Rebel Dawn - Ann Crispin - These books are an impressive accomplishment! So much has been written about Han's backstory over the years, and Ms. Crispin (whose writings I enjoyed years ago in her V books) does a great job weaving all these old tales with a compelling new story of her own. Like Daley's books, highly recommended for Han's fans.
5. The Tales of the Jedi comics - The Golden Age of the Sith/The Fall of the Sith Empire/Tales of the Jedi/Dark Lords of the Sith/The Sith War/Redemption - (assorted writers/artists) - While not perfect, these comics provide a fascinating glimpse into the deep past of Star Wars.
6. The X-wing novels - Rogue Squadron, Wedge's Gamble, The Krtyos Trap, The Bacta war - Michael Stacpole - These won't be everyone's cup of tea, as like the Tales of the Jedi comics, they rarely feature any of the main SW characters. But if you're curious about some of the other heroes of the New Republic, these books are excellent.
7. Jedi Search - Kevin J. Anderson. - Anderson has a great deal of fans and also a great deal of detractors among SW fans. While far from the best SW author, the Jedi Academy books do lay a lot of foundation for the tales to come. I rather liked Jedi Search, but the next two in the trilogy seemed awfully weak to me.
8. The New Rebellion - Kristine Kathryn Rusch - An awful lot of bad or mediocre novels take place in the time span between the Jedi Academy books and the Hand of Thrawn books. This one is actually worth reading, however, feauturing interesting villians, a visit to one of Han and Lando's old smuggling lairs, and good cameos from some of Zahn's best characters. Roger MacBride Allen's Corellian Trilogy also has it's good moments, even if it never quite lives up to the promise it's first book had.
9. The Hand of Thrawn duology - Spectre of the Past, Vision of the Future - Timothy Zahn - While not as strong as his first three SW books, these two are still quite good, and lead into the New Jedi Order books.
10. Vector Prime - R. Salvatore - This kicks off the most ambitious series in SW fiction history. The New Republic is invaded by a new alien threat. This series will encompass something like thirty books when completed. The good news about it is that it is a HUGE epic story focusing on a very serious invation. The bad is that it's a bit inconsitent, and there almost certainly won't be any new 'classic-era' fiction until the NJO series is complete. Still so far, it's quite interesting and I am eagerly anticipating each new book.