Review Wednsday: Where to start reading in the EU?

 Awesomeness.

The Expanded Universe of Star Wars novels can be overwhelming, confusing, and complicated. Most people have no idea where to start? The EU can be difficult to navigate(Wookieepedia is your friend!) but it is so worth it.
I wrote a little crash course: The books can be hard to find, but you'll find them all at your local Barnes and Noble's. Promise.

I'm only writing about the teen-adult novels. Though if a kid's series is especially good, I'll put that too. 
The EU novels are classified into 6 categories: These are ALL chronological in Star Wars time, not publishing time.

-Sith Era(Sith related) Lots of Sithness. I know pretty much nothing about this era.
-Old Republic. (Old Jedi Order-related) Jedi! Jedi! Jedi! 
-Rise of the Empire(The Phantom Menace-Revenge of the Sith. Everything related to the Clone Wars fits in here too.) Nuff said.
-Rebellion Era-(A New Hope-Return of the Jedi) What it sounds like.
-New Republic Era-(Pretty much the second the credits roll on ROTJ -The New Jedi Order)
-New Jedi Order-(New Jedi Order series is so long, it pretty much gets its own era.)
-Legacy Era(Millenium Falcon-eternity.)

 You can categorize these by publishing eras too, but I like this way better.  My favorite eras are New Jedi Order and Legacy. (That's cause I like Jaina.) 
I know this is confusing, but hang on there!
Prominent works in each era, with a less than 6 word short summary.

Best place to start(Pre ROTJ): Um. Does anyone have any recommendations? I am TOTALLY a Young Jedi Knights+ expert. If you don't mind looking in the kiddie section for books, I like Jedi Quest/Apprentice by Jude Watson.

Best place to start(Post-ROTJ) This is split into two neat categories(for me):
"Classic" EU: Heir to the Empire-Young Jedi Knights
 Lots of Han, Leia, and Luke action. More people like these. Start with: Thrawn Trilogy, Hand of Thrawn Duology, and Jedi Academy Trilogy. If you've got the time, also standalones like Darksaber.

"More controversial a.k.a newer" EU: Young Jedi Knights+
My favorite favorite category.  There's Han, Leia, Luke and a whole bunch of other guys too! (<3 Jaina, Tenel Ka, and Anakin) Fans are divided among their likings. I heart every single book in this era, even the ones I haven't read yet. Start: Young Jedi Knights.  These can be hard to find, so if you must, start with New Jedi Order. NJO is a bit hefty, so if you don't have the time to read the whole thing, read Vector Prime, Balance Point, Star By Star, Destiny's Way, and The Unifying Force to get the idea. I strongly recommend reading all 15 books. (I've read 12.) My favorite series. 
After that, read Legacy of the Force. They're all pretty AWESOME, and I strongly suggest reading all nine. If you want to rush through, Betrayal, Sacrifice, and Invincible are the way to go. 
The newest series, Fate of the Jedi, is the absolute worse place for any beginner to start. And, because it's new, it's also the most popular among beginners. I absolutely cannot comprehend trying to read that without the context.  Also it's not :eherm: the absolute best series, so the characters :eherm: might seem a little flat. Just a little.  When you've literally grown up with these characters, it's different.


That was a doozy. Maybe a little confusing. Hope it helps! I've always wanted to do a post on this.

Amaranthine

PS. And reading these are so worth it. Plus you'll be able to get my jokes. Heh.

PPS. Maybe I'll post individual book reviews too.

PPPS. My opinion on Dark Nest Trilogy? Let's not go there.

PPPPS. Pre-Destiny's Way NJO not for the squeamish. Just sayin'.