My Favorite Books

 

This picture is out of order, by the way.

Oh my gosh. This series.....it's just amazing. The most amazing series EVER. I previously said NJO was my favorite, but it's so long...and sometimes it just....drags on. This series...wow. It's heartfelt, well written, and touching. It makes you burst out in laughter and tears....at the same time.  All three authors have previously written Star Wars, and many actually have combat experience. This post is a mess, and that's because I have so much to say. Attempt at organization(thinks up organizing skills). AHA! BULLET POINTS!

• You really, really have to read a previous series to get the full effect. One of the things this series does best is characterizing characters that weren't previously developed( Boba Fett is one). It makes otherwise-background characters seem like real people Unfortunately, the main characters Jaina, Jacen, Mara, Luke get sorta skipped over. You really have to read NJO and YJK first. Invincible even alludes to YJK in some parts! This series really has an effect on you if you've read them. Like in the scene where Jacen is killing a prisoner by banging her head on a table...you can't help by thinking back to the once-innocent boy who befriended animals and made a necklace out of eggshells for his crush.
• There are some scenes where...wow. They are so well written, so touching, that they make you cry every single time you read them. The flashbacks in Invincible to YJK makes me cry every time, where Jaina knows that her brother will never hurt her and will always be there to support her. The scene in Sacrifice where Alema blames Luke Skywalker for destroying her life and her body, and now, she can't dance. The scene where Lekauf gives his life for Ben.  The scenes where Ben is dealing with grief. The whole series is extremely well written, but there are some scenes where you can realize that you're reading something really special. 
• There's no romance per se, here.(Unless you count that creepy J/TK romance.) I'm a huge J/J fangirl(YES! I used that word.) This happens after they break up from NJO. They're forced to work together, and there are touching, but not "hot" scenes between them. The whole thing felt so genuine, and you can tell they're really maturing and different from their fast, hot fling in NJO. There is a love triangle near the end, between Zekk/Jag/Jaina, but the farthest it ever gets is awkward silence and Jaina blushing.
• And this is super uber fast paced. You won't get bored reading.
• Did I mention the books are packed with humor, inspiration, and good pickup lines?

• Mandalore-It'll be your favorite planet after you read Bloodlines, Sacrifice, and Revelation. A lot of fans don't like them, but I found the Mando scenes to be some of my favorite in Star Wars. You don't really get to liking Boba, but you can feel sympathetic toward him. And the culture-I want to be Mandalorian now.

And that's it. I read Legacy of the Force over and over again...it's really life changing. 


DO NOT READ BEFORE YOU'VE READ YJK AND NJO!

It'll change your view of Star Wars forever, if you've read it IN THE ACTUAL ORDER I SUPER-STRONGLY RECOMMEND! 
And this is a really strong recommendation. I'm just short of going to your house, pounding on your door, and taking your LOTF books and stealing them until you've read the previous series.


Barriss-You're reading FOTJ first? You're super-screwed. Just sayin'.


Amaranthine

PS. A quick reason why FOTJ is the worst series to read first? Well....um....the characterization is bland, there isn't much action, one of the writers is brand new to Star Wars,  it seems so...unreal, every other word is pulled out of LOTF and Millenium Falcon. And whats up with the very first scene being a romantic scene between Jaina and Jag? I'm a huge fan of them, but it seemed fakish to ME even, when they weren't even dating in the previous series. I was reading.....ew. Are they TRYING to scare off new Star Wars fans? They create tons of new characters that only last a couple pages before they go insane, their main purpose. Not much happens. We're on what, our fifth book? Summary: Jaina and Jag got engaged, they broke up, a ton of people went insane, Luke and Ben are on a random quest across the galaxy, Daala hates Jedi, and that's about it. This actually takes place during peace time, which is nice, but it's Star Wars. We're past half done with the series. Get started with the war already.

PPS. And reading Wookieepedia as an alternative? That's like reading an encyclopedia about life but not actually going out and living.
Get off Wookieepedia and go get some Young Jedi Knight books, for crying out loud. (The Lost Ones and Delusions of Grandeur are my favorites. The series has three "mini-series",The Shadow Academy, the Diversity Alliance, and the Black Sun. Don't bother reading the first couple books. They suck. Start with The Lost Ones and read on. If you absolutely cannot find a book in the series, skip it.)

PPPS. Okay, I'm done now.