10 Best (Canon) Star Wars Novels Every Fan Must Read
Disney has been busy with the new EU, but which books are the best so far?
Star Wars novels have been a grand tradition of the franchise since the original Timothy Zahn Thrawn trilogy back in the late eighties. At their best, they add iconic pieces of lore that become staples of the franchise from that point on. At their worst... we don't talk about their worst.
If you got deep into the books before Disney bought Lucasfilm, it should come as no shock that the Mouse House felt it better to just nix most of it and start again. They kept all the stuff that most fans agree worked, and got rid of things like Luke Skywalker's evil clone, Luuke.
Since then, they've been using their own publishing house, Del Rey, to make a whole new EU timeline. And we're gonna look at the best of the bunch. They all have something of worth to offer, but the ten on this list either have the best writing, the best characters, or are straight up integral to understanding the world of the new trilogy.
Disney has been a busy bee building up the new extended universe, so let's celebrate it by looking at the best novels to come out of it so far!
10. Alphabet Squadron
The great thing about the EU from the beginning is how it focuses on places other than the Jedi and their shenanigans. The best ones get down into the nitty gritty and show you the interpersonal conflict between individual characters on either side of whatever war the stars are on about this week.
Enter Alphabet Squadron.
Yrica Quell is an imperial deserter content to live out the rest of her days in a deserters shantytown, until Hera Syndulla recruits her for the New Republic's ace starfighter squadron known as the Alphabet Squadron. Their mission is to hunt down Shadow Wing - the Empire's most elite TIE fighter squadron - who have been performing devastating raids on the infant New Republic.
Like any good Star Wars story, it manages to be its own thing while also being a hodgepodge of classic war stories and movies. The Alphabet Squadron is a ragtag squad of ace pilots with colorful personalities right out of a classic WWII epic.
If you love yourself a good old fashioned dogfight story, and the prospect of those dogfights having lasers instead of bullets excites you more, I can't recommend this book enough.