So as a prep for the rpg - what are the best SW novels you have read? The era dont matter, so long as its well written and a good story.

Zahn trilogy is a must… Brian Daley' Han Solo trilogy. Aaron Allston's X-Wing books usually make a good read. Deathtroopers for a change of pace…

Yancy

I liked the novelization of Episode III - I've also started reading the story of Force Unleashed. Undoubtedly there are many solid Star Wars novels out there, but I've not had a lot of opportunity to read them. 

I've been a player in a WEG Star Wars play-by-post for the last seven years, though, and that tale is epic. Whenever I need a good Star Wars novel to sit down to, I can always pour over the post archives on there. :)

 All of Zahn's stuff is brilliant. I highly recommend them.

I also enjoyed the Legacy of the Force series, and the story line of the Jedi Outcast series is also intriguing (though I did have to choke down a few of the books; held my nose and everything ). I'm about halfway through the NJO series right now, and the Swarm War is on my list after that.

I enjoyed reading the Young Jedi Knights as a kid; they're definitely geared towards a younger audience, but there's a lot of backstory that's helpful to know when reading in the New Jedi Order / early Legacy Eras.

I like The Old Republic: Deceived, and am looking forward to reading more books in that line as well. 

Other than that, I've read lots of other EU books but those ones really stand out to me as having shaped my perception of Star Wars as a larger universe. I have yet to read a novelization all the way through (I tried with the Phantom Menace, but I just don't like the dissonance between the film and someone else's interpretation of the film).

The next three books that I feel compelled to read are: Revan, Darth Plageuis, and Knight Errant (I believe are the titles). There's in no particular order of preference.

Shakespearian_Soldier said:

Man, I really tried to read Darth Plagueis, but it's so…dense. Felt like I was reading my copy of Blackwell's Guide to Metaphysics. I was surprised at how slow my reading pace was. When I'm reading an action sequence, I don't want to have to pour over every minute detail and every colorfully descriptive word to understand what's actually going on in the scene :)

That said, I'm gonna give it another try. Perhaps I was just too distracted with life at the time to actually get into the book. 

 I'll start with the Thrawn Triology/Dark Empire Triologi then by Zahn :) I love the Dark horse comics from that time.

Keep em coming :)

I've come to the conclusion that I need to read more Star Wars novels. And soon. :P

In particular, I'm very keen to get my hands on a copy of the original novels - which, if I'm right in thinking, were penned by Lucas himself?

The Zahn trilogy, Shadows of the Empire, Dark Lord Rising, Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter, the Bounty Hunter Wars are easily among my favourites.

Addendum: Young Jedi Knights and Galaxy of Fear are series i have fond memories of as a kid.

 If you're trying to get yourself in the mindset of the era for this particular beta, I would highly recommend Zahn's books Allegiance and Choices of One, which take place more or less in the same time period I think FFG is going for…more or less Rise of the Rebellion.  I'm reading the latter right now and really, really enjoying it.

Others have mentioned Zahn's Heir to the Empire trilogy (awesome) and the X-Wing series (both Stackpole and Allston, very good), plus I, Jedi by Stackpole.  If you're into Jedi stuff, Kevin J. Anderson's Jedi Academy trilogy (Jedi Search, Dark Apprentice and Champions of the Force) are good reads - wouldn't touch much of his other stuff though.  There are events in the Jedi Academy trilogy that are referenced in just about every other extended universe book that takes place after Return of the Jedi.

Personal preferences, I hated the Yuuzhan Vong stuff, that whole storyline of novels turned me off of SW reading for years, though I did enjoy occasionally reading the books in the series by the authors I like (Allston, Karen Traviss…I think Stackpole wrote a couple).  I'll probably catch some grief for this, but I also have always enjoyed Shadows of the Empire and the Truce at Bakura, standalone novels taking place between Empire and Jedi, and immediately following Return of the Jedi, respectively.  

Call me a purist, I never really got into much of the stuff that takes place much before A New Hope, but I've heard good things about the Republic Commando books, and I did like the two MedStar books, even if they were blatant MASH ripoffs.  

I'll also throw my hat into the ring of people who have fond memories of the Young Jedi Knights series - I've still got them all in boxes somewhere.

TL; DR - Zahn and X-Wing ftw!

Same here. Vong War (and the Force Unleashed storylines!!!) turned me of from SW after a lifetime of being a fan. I still pick up comics once in a while but that's roughly it.

Shakespearian_Soldier said:

Actually the novelization of Star Wars was written by Alan Dean Foster though Lucas is credited with it.  Lucas was simply too pressed for time to write the book so he had a number of sit down sessions with Foster to go over the script. 

But Foster did get a nice reward for his work besides the residuals… He was given the writing assignment for the first Star Wars original nnovel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye… which also has an interesting genesis.

 I used to read some of the Yuuzhan Vong books to my younger brother, just to spend more time with him. I found them to be one of the best ways to really shake up the characters, push them far enough that they actually changed in dangerous ways and went over the edge. Those Vong really left their mark on the galaxy.

Anything by Zahn, seriously. I don't to oversell him and drive people away from too much praise, but he is consistently on the ball, has great characterizations, brings in his own wonderful characters in their own right… He just knows what he's doing. Never been disappointed.

Many of the novels mentioned above me have been wonderful, but I feel compelled to bring up some of the comics.

The Empire series was an awesome one, with an attempted Imperial coup, the true story of Biggs Darklighter, and the tale of Janek "Tank" Sunber, who was a friend of Luke Skywalker. I hope they pick up Tank's story once again, but hey, sometime in the future. This comic seires would really help make the Empire have a bit more realism to them if you're looking more realistic people as antagonists.

The Rebellion series, taking place right after the Empire series, switched sides for focus, and wrangled a few awesome characters of it's own to help supplement the main movie protagonists.

I also really enjoy The Dark Times, taking place just a little after the Jedi Purge, with a Jedi renegade, a former Separatist soldier, and a smuggling crew who adopt them as family. It's Star Wars meets Firefly, with an awesome arc that was a great retelling of Yojimbo/For a Fistful of Dollars. Truly worth the read.

Ah, I see. Thanks for the correction. :)

Seems like this Zahn fella is very popular; might have to give his books a read, particularly if they're fitting to the Edge of the Empire setting.