3. Thrawn Trilogy
I read the Thrawn trilogy very early in my exposure to the EU. If I were to ever go back and re-read any EU novel material, it would most likely be this set of books. I would also recommend this series for anyone interested in getting into the EU post Return of the Jedi. The reader is introduced to Grand Admiral Thrawn of the Empire. Thrawn is not only introduced to us as a master tactician but also to a newly iconic species that would be seen throughout the rest of the EU. No, not the Noghri but the Chiss. Thrawn is a blue skinned humanoid that is making a play at reestablishing Imperial dominance in the galaxy. These events take place around 5-years after Return of Jedi so they would fit well into an Episode VII concept. A lot of things occur in this trilogy that really carry things forward into the EU. We see a lot of character introductions, most notably, Mara Jade, for the first time. Cloning is also discussed for the first time in this novel in regards to the psychotic former Jedi Jorus C'baoth. These books came out quite a few years before the prequels so a lot was not known about cloning in the Star Wars universe or any type of context to the Clone Wars. What makes a lot of the EU great is when they connect events from the films. Ever wonder what happened to Lukes blue lightsaber or hand after he fought Darth Vader on Bespin? Check out this trilogy. As a side note, I see this as the most likely path for future films. Likelihood of being a film: 9