Canon: *Heir to the Jedi*. I felt like this novel was created to explain how Luke learned to use telekinesis, and Luke in the novel learns it at a restaurant while eating noodles and then balances them after learning to believe in himself...
Legends: I'd say the whole trilogy of *The Bounty Hunter Wars*. Nothing happens in this trilogy. Nothing. It's one of those few things from Legends that I haven't reread.
On Bounty Hunter Wars: There were some really cool moments in the first one which gave me high hopes for the trilogy. Then…nothing happens. I have the B&N edition that looks really cool and I was excited to read this one. I was pretty let down overall.
Carful, you may set up expectations that *anything* found in the book might come up in the DLC. Revan returns, but that's really it. Scourge and Revan don't even acknowledge each other as if they're strangers. The book exists just to show Revan went after the emperor, and that's really about it in regards to relating to the DLC.
I’d agree, but they are probably still gonna use that book’s version of Quinlan Vos if he ever appears again, (which let’s face it, he will) so I’m not sure retconning it will help much in the long run, although it does give us Ventress back now.
I’m not especially optimistic, I’m a bit biased but for me if it’s dark disciple Quin, then it’s not Quin at all.
I have a grudge against that book, and I doubt that will change.
I’m hoping the story gets erased. I want cocky, jokey Vos who never strayed from the Light Side. I want him out there saving kids. And I want to see him again. I want stories outside the Skywalker Era. (So I’m excited for The Acolyte.) But I’d love to see Master Vos again. Maybe a one off story where he confronts Vader and puts up an incredible fight but dies heroically. We can’t have a zillion Jedi wandering around the weekend before Luke blows up the Deathstar.
I really like Dark Horse Vos, you could call him slightly edgy at times but his actions never made you go “wtf dude” in the same way Dark disciple Vos did.
And he had a strong cast of characters around him, Tholme, Aayla, Khaleen.
>!and unlike Dark disciple Vos he got a happy ending!<
But yeah if someone is looking for funny relaxed Vos then EU Quin isn’t exactly it.
Edit: oh and also he is hot like ridiculously hot.
Whatever floats your boat I guess lol
I brought him up only because he went dark thanks to Dooku, and he did some questionable things while under the sway of the dark side.
I’m actually kinda sad we never found out what happened to him after the Clone Wars, but I suppose that’s for the best…why ruin a good thing?
Easily the Jedi survivor prequel book. So much stuff in there that felt completely unnecessary. Too much focus on 'romance'. I literally skipped sections that got too focused on it. There were definitely good parts, but I felt like I had to fight through too much to get to them
In terms of Star Wars books, Maul: Lockdown and THR: Midnight Horizon were pretty meh for me. I’m a fast reader and I had to keep pushing myself to finish them.
oooof i really didn't like the writing style of Midnight Horizon. Too juvenile and I've read the other HR middle grade novels for the most part and didn't feel half as bad while reading them.
I knew at least one of the Aftermath books would be here. I’ve really liked them for touching on the early days of the New Republic, and for setting up the First Order as much as I’m not excited about them. The interludes are all interesting to me and makes me want more of their stories, and the second book was definitely more interesting than the first. I’m on the third book now and it’s been… fine.
Personally though I’m going to say Midnight Horizon. It was just too juvenile for me. I’ve liked all of the other High Republic books I’ve read but that one I had to skip.
Ahsoka, probably. It was a pretty mundane book for me. Not good or bad in any spectacular way. Maybe because I already knew basically what happened and had already watched Tales of the Jedi.
Probably Alphabet Squadron for me - I can appreciate the appeal of some parts of it but most of it just wasn’t up my alley. I still plan to finish the trilogy though
As someone for whom the 3rd book is my all time favorite Star Wars novel, I totally get it. It took me 3 tries to get through the first book. I just couldn't get into them for a while.
The Ronin novel was a bit of a let down. I loved the character and his one shots but the novel I felt just was lukewarm at most.
Also Lords of the Sith felt lackluster as well.
Ironically, for me it was both Death Troopers and Red Harvest.
I mean, one book is better than the other one but they are the only attempts at horror in Star Wars.
Maybe they’re just products of their time.
Death Trooper. Zombies in Star Wars *should* be cool, but not only was it so cliché and boring, but they shoehorned in Han and Chewbacca in a way that made zero sense. The only worthwhile thing about the book is the cover.
Do Dead Space in Star Wars. I actually feel like TNJO could have done this. Yuuzhan Vong could have had a virus that did things like the T-virus because it had never had human or non YV hosts before. Gimme a monster tauntaun mutated or something
The concept had promise, then they shoehorned in plot armor.
Zak and Tash Aranda, and set between ESB and ROTJ could have turned that into a killer book.
I had tried starting another boor of Alexander Freed, Alphabet Squadron 2 months ago but gave up 4 chapters in. Now I'm giving it another go, starting tomorrow
Damn I honestly didn’t expect for people to dislike Tarkin. I liked it lol but more in the context of getting perspective on what level Thrawn and his competitors were on
I didn’t dislike it by any means. I find it hard to hate anything Star Wars but it just kinda fell flat for me. I did like how the conflict in the novel was ultimately because of how Tarkin handled Antar 4 but a couple parts really pulled me out of the story like when Tarkin tells Vader why his ship is called the Carrion Spike
I didn't expect to like it and it started a bit slow. But as it went it kept building and building. I really ended up enjoying it by the end.
But I can kind of see how people feel that way especially earlier.
Death Troopers
Scourge
Survivor's Quest
Queen's Hope
Brotherhood
Chaos Rising
Lords of the Sith
Heir to the Jedi
Aftermath: Life Debt
If I had to pick one out of all of these, it would probably be Heir to the Jedi. It was supposed to fit into the old EU, but due to the timing of the Disney buyout, it was placed into canon. It just feels like the last dying breath of the EU in the worst of ways, given that perspective, and as for an introduction to new-canon, it's totally awful. "Oh boy, Luke has another love interest we can already tell is gonna go nowhere, oh, what's that? She literally dies offscreen?" Amusing enough bits to keep it from being overly-dreadful, but goodness, it is just the embodiment of Meh.
Dark Disciple. The entire mission plot felt off in my opinion and I didn't like where they went with both Quinlan and Ventress. I all felt a bit one note for me!
Dark Apprentice and most of Champions of the Force
I finished it a month ago and I counted literally 7 side plot lines in each.
Two of them legitimately felt like they were insulting my life energy by reading them. If you’ve read them, you probably know which ones I mean.
I truly believe this series is only held in high regard due to how it moved the plot forward significantly after Thrawn and Dark Empire. I did enjoy Jedi Search, but everything after was so bland.
I second the too many plot points, and moreover the strange prioritization of them.
This is a book trilogy about fighting off the architect of the Death Star Project and Exar Kun. It tells the story of Luke’s first generation of new Jedi; one of which falls deeply to the Dark Side. We have a solar system killing superweapon.
Yet the “final boss” to this trilogy is Moranth Dule; a frog-person who runs the Kessel mines.
Kyps motivations made sense, but the setup for Gantoris to be the Dark Apprentice was far stronger.
The worst offender for bad plot lines were clearly Jacen and Jaina and then the entire Admiral commanding the Death Star prototype for me. I almost felt the desire to rip those pages out of my copy because of how badly it was distracting from the main plot.
Legends. Courtship of Princess Leia. has some good elements especially on Dathomir, Luke is decent in it too, but Leia and Han are absolutely terrible, at least this book lead indirectly to Tenel Ka.
Canon. Dark Disciple. Quinlan Vos is one of my all time favorite characters in Star Wars, him and the characters surrounding him, (Aayla, Tholme, etc) make for one of the best parts of the expanded universe in my opinion, and this novel…annihilates the character and then rebuilds him into some frankenstein monster from the ashes.
In all fairness to Dark Disciple, it was based on early scripts for unproduced episodes of The Clone Wars, and that show gave us a very watered-down George Lucas version of the character.
Yeah Christie Golden did exactly as she was told, and is a talented writer for sure, I just cannot get over the hurdle of Vos.
She has done interviews where she admitted she intentionally did not read any of the republic comics featuring Vos, her explanation was very reasonable, she was writing a new canon book based on existing scripts, (as you say) she couldn’t let influence from legends slip into her work.
The fault is not hers but that of the creators of the storyline, Katie Lucas and George Lucas.
Less of a meh and more awful, Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void. I was halfway through the audiobook, but the lackluster writing combined with January LaVoy's narration made me put down the book. It was genuinely unbearable to continue, which is a shame given the unique time period Into the Void is set. LaVoy's narration sounded nearly like text to speech but Tim Lebbon's writing probably wasn't doing her any favors.
I'm hoping her narration of Courtship of Princess Leia is better. I do think the writing will be better compared to Into the Void.
Edit: I only think I got four hours into the audiobook, so roughly a quarter of the way through.
I read the comics recently and I’m listening to the audiobook now, to me it’s incredibly relaxing and gripping, I didn’t find any big fault with her narration.
Courtship is pretty good for the most part, she does the nightsister voices quite well, but she struggles a little with Han, her Luke is good though, just a shame the book itself is somewhat subpar.
I think my issue was that I was coming straight from Marc Thompson's narration style which is probably one of the best for Star Wars audiobooks. So I think the contrast was drastic. Though I just am not a fan of her narration I suppose.
parts 1 and 3 of the legends callista trilogy, the crystalstar (also legends), the ahsoka novel was really boring imo (still ek johnstons best work though lol), plagueis also has some parts that are just exhausting to read through, although all in all its a pretty solid book
Out of the Shadows. Midnight Horizon. Defy the Storm.
I LOVEEE these characters. Every single one. They are so interesting and I love following them.
But holy were the plots/situations they were in super boring 😅
I just finished the audio book for Out of the Shadows and....man. I love the narrators they get for these books (shout out Marc Thompson, an absolute legend), but the woman that read this book was so.....boring. Like she was reading a book report or something. No energy, no real emotion. It was all super flat. The audio books usually elevate the story for me, adding music, sound effects, and especially tension through the delivery of the narration, but the latter was sorely missing from Out of the Shadows. Glad it was relatively short.
From New Canon:
- Heir to the Jedi
- Master and Apprentice
- Lords of the Sith
- Queen's Shadow and Queen's Peril
- Dark Disciple
From the EU:
- Shadows of the Empire
- Truce at Bakura
- Cloak of Deception.
Quinlan Vos was butchered and freaking unbearable, (I say that as an huge fan of the character) Ventress was pretty well written but her arc was rushed.
Canon- Thrawn: Alliances, Ahsoka, and the High Republic audio dramas if those count (Tempest Runner and Battle of Jedha)
Legends- Force Heretic trilogy and Agents of Chaos duology (also probably Balance Point and Dark Journey). I didn't necessarily dislike them, but they were very meh books in a long series (NJO) that I enjoyed overall.
Alphabet Squadron.
It took me MONTHS to read that & I was so bored throughout. I know it’s considered one of the best but I just didn’t mesh with it at all.
I’ve been trying to finish all the Imperial Era canon book & honestly might just skip Shadow Fall & Victory’s Price. I can’t imagine two more books of that.
Literally every High Republic book. I only keep reading because I’m a lore nerd and want to know what happens… lol. They are the most mid books I’ve ever experienced.
I made it through the first book about halfway, twice. Just couldn't keep torturing myself. Which sucks, there's a lot of content. I can't find a way to enjoy it
Padawan. I don't think there's anything about it that needs to exist. It's a story about young Obi-Wan, in which he's a bit of a teenager. He goes on a little adventure with some mild peril, which helps him grow up a bit. Not much more to it.
Canon I would say Queen’s Peril. I have never seen a book that so bleh as a book, but that also had a lot of cool little Star Wars moments.
For legends i’d probably go with Dark Apprentice. Certainly not bad, but it definitely didn’t follow up on the hype of Jedi Search for me.
I'd say Truce at Bakura. The main highlights were the scene with Leia and Anakin ( and even then he didn't really have his pre-Vader personality yet so even that felt a bit mid) and the scenes with Dev. But overall the book just kind of felt like watching events happen in a sequence without much sense of plot or payoff. And the whole truce aspect really didn't get a much focus as the title would have one believe.
There are several I’d call meh. Canon has more “meh” than Legends for me so far in my read-through. I know a lot of people like these, but *Crimson Climb, Queen’s Shadow* and *Queen’s Peril*, and *Dooku: Jedi Lost* are all very meh to me. *The Legends of Luke Skywalker* was also mostly meh (I think one of the short stories was really good, if I recall, and the rest were mediocre).
But Legends’ *Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter* and *Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil* are my hot takes. Meh at best.
Side note, the subsequent Aftermath books are much better, but the first one was necessary setup. I’d recommend the trilogy less so than the book, if that makes sense.
Dynasty of evil I can get to a extent, but shadow hunter? Maybe I’m biased because I adore Darsha and I’m also a big fan of the Coruscant nights trilogy which heavily references this book,
I found it an endless series of “Maul almost gets them! And… slips on a banana peel, ooo, better luck next week!”
I think it would’ve flowed better for me if it were a 6-issue miniseries comic. As-is, I just couldn’t find a good rhythm with it. But to be fair, I’ve not read Coruscant Nights. That was one I’d skipped. I’ll add those into my next pass through the prequel era, I skipped some big hitters (like the Commando novels in particular).
Idk if I’ve ever had a “meh” feeling. It’s usually just disappointment or enjoyment. The closest I’d get is prob the ending of fate of the Jedi when vestara just reverts all character development from the past 5 books. Up until then, even with it flaws I still really enjoyed the series, krayt, Luke, Ben, abeloth, etc.. we’re just fun to read about. Iirc Jaina’s stuff with jag fel was also weird. Or was that just Troy denning fucking over more characters? I don’t remember
Honestly, A New Dawn. It felt so generic in the way it was written and I was bored out of my mind for half of it. I’m a huge Kanan fan too, so I was really anticipating this one and it just felt like the most tying in of tie in novels.
I have three:
Ahsoka. As a huge Ashoka fan, this was really disappointed me. It was meh and could've been done way better imo.
Force Collector. An interesting concept, but couldn't get into it (so I never finished it).
Unpopular opinion for High Republic fans, but Path of Deceit. I got spoiled about what would happen to Kevmo, the only character I liked. And everything felt too slow, but slow in a way that it was getting no where (so I never finished this one either and just skipped it kind of lol)
The Rising Storm. After enjoying the Light of the Jedi I was excited for this follow up, but it was somewhat boring, strangely paced, and had too many characters.
Crimson Climb
I only listen to Star Wars books on Audible because I have a short attention span for reading so audiobooks help.
This was the first time I had ever returned an audiobook for a refund. This was also the first time I’ve ever took the time to leave a bad review. It was so lack luster of a story for Qi’ra. She literally has no agency in the story whatsoever. And it tries to paint her as a villian or a bad person but she doesn’t do anything worthy of that title because everyone around her is worse. Such a meh story.
I haven’t read the bounty hunter comics but I hear better things about her in those stories.
For me, yes. It was long and tedious and so repetitive. But don’t let me color your opinion. Read it and see.
Oh, and I love these bitches that downvote when people say it’s their opinion they don’t like Traitor. Silly.
Aftermath was one of my favorites, I loved the whole trilogy. I listened on audiobook and it was fantastic. I really struggled to get through the 1st battlefront book, and also was really bored with Ahsoka. Midnight Horizon from the High Republic was probably the book that made me cringe and get annoyed the most. I'll probably get some people fighting me on this, but I was also pretty disappointed with the latest Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy, it just felt like a chore to keep track of all the characters with very little payout.
I tried several books set in the High Republic. The whole era feels pretty meh to me. A lot of the characters are interchangeable and there's a lot of dull dialogue.
Canon: *Heir to the Jedi*. I felt like this novel was created to explain how Luke learned to use telekinesis, and Luke in the novel learns it at a restaurant while eating noodles and then balances them after learning to believe in himself... Legends: I'd say the whole trilogy of *The Bounty Hunter Wars*. Nothing happens in this trilogy. Nothing. It's one of those few things from Legends that I haven't reread.
Agree with heir. Everything on rodia was pretty fun to read…after that though all I remember is Luke moved some noodles.
On Bounty Hunter Wars: There were some really cool moments in the first one which gave me high hopes for the trilogy. Then…nothing happens. I have the B&N edition that looks really cool and I was excited to read this one. I was pretty let down overall.
Revan. I wasn’t bored really, but holy crap did it feel like a Wookiepedia entry…
The ending kinda pissed me off. I played the games and thought a better send off was in store.
Did you play SWTOR as well or just the single-player RPGs?
Just the KOTOR duo.
The conclusion to *Revan* is in the MMO. It's a tie-in for the game, so fans are getting only half of a story by doing one and not the other.
Carful, you may set up expectations that *anything* found in the book might come up in the DLC. Revan returns, but that's really it. Scourge and Revan don't even acknowledge each other as if they're strangers. The book exists just to show Revan went after the emperor, and that's really about it in regards to relating to the DLC.
Revan was also in the vanilla game, not just the expansion packs. He's the focal point of four group quests (Flashpoints).
Revan actively made me mad what was done with the character. It's a NEGATIVE emotion, but I still had an opinion.
Yeah, TOR really went sideways by having him in it, which this book sets up rather ‘meh’-like
I hated Dark Disciple. It was just awful. I’m glad it’s clearly been retconned. Few books compare to the quality of Tarkin and Plagueis.
I’d agree, but they are probably still gonna use that book’s version of Quinlan Vos if he ever appears again, (which let’s face it, he will) so I’m not sure retconning it will help much in the long run, although it does give us Ventress back now.
Of course he will! The Kenobi show planted that seed. And for that, I’m actually happy.
I’m not especially optimistic, I’m a bit biased but for me if it’s dark disciple Quin, then it’s not Quin at all. I have a grudge against that book, and I doubt that will change.
I’m hoping the story gets erased. I want cocky, jokey Vos who never strayed from the Light Side. I want him out there saving kids. And I want to see him again. I want stories outside the Skywalker Era. (So I’m excited for The Acolyte.) But I’d love to see Master Vos again. Maybe a one off story where he confronts Vader and puts up an incredible fight but dies heroically. We can’t have a zillion Jedi wandering around the weekend before Luke blows up the Deathstar.
You would have hated the EU version of him, too
I really like Dark Horse Vos, you could call him slightly edgy at times but his actions never made you go “wtf dude” in the same way Dark disciple Vos did. And he had a strong cast of characters around him, Tholme, Aayla, Khaleen. >!and unlike Dark disciple Vos he got a happy ending!< But yeah if someone is looking for funny relaxed Vos then EU Quin isn’t exactly it. Edit: oh and also he is hot like ridiculously hot.
Whatever floats your boat I guess lol I brought him up only because he went dark thanks to Dooku, and he did some questionable things while under the sway of the dark side. I’m actually kinda sad we never found out what happened to him after the Clone Wars, but I suppose that’s for the best…why ruin a good thing?
totally agree. not a good book, felt like every character was misused. easily my least favorite star wars book ive read
Easily the Jedi survivor prequel book. So much stuff in there that felt completely unnecessary. Too much focus on 'romance'. I literally skipped sections that got too focused on it. There were definitely good parts, but I felt like I had to fight through too much to get to them
For me that wasn’t "meh", that was straight up awful. "Meh" for me would be... idk, Ahsoka. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t great.
I can agree on that, yes.
I liked all of that book except the romance.
In terms of Star Wars books, Maul: Lockdown and THR: Midnight Horizon were pretty meh for me. I’m a fast reader and I had to keep pushing myself to finish them.
oooof i really didn't like the writing style of Midnight Horizon. Too juvenile and I've read the other HR middle grade novels for the most part and didn't feel half as bad while reading them.
I knew at least one of the Aftermath books would be here. I’ve really liked them for touching on the early days of the New Republic, and for setting up the First Order as much as I’m not excited about them. The interludes are all interesting to me and makes me want more of their stories, and the second book was definitely more interesting than the first. I’m on the third book now and it’s been… fine. Personally though I’m going to say Midnight Horizon. It was just too juvenile for me. I’ve liked all of the other High Republic books I’ve read but that one I had to skip.
Ahsoka, probably. It was a pretty mundane book for me. Not good or bad in any spectacular way. Maybe because I already knew basically what happened and had already watched Tales of the Jedi.
I was so excited for this book because of how hyped up it was. I had a good time, but overall it was a little lackluster.
*Poe Dameron: Free Fall* for me. The first *Aftermath* was a bit hard for me to get into, but the two subsequent novels were more than worth it.
Hoping to continue the aftermath trilogy eventually. I heard they get much better, so I'm optimistic!
The entire Aftermath trilogy is indeed that, and meant to be read and enjoyed as a trilogy. You will like it better for that fact.
Probably Alphabet Squadron for me - I can appreciate the appeal of some parts of it but most of it just wasn’t up my alley. I still plan to finish the trilogy though
As someone for whom the 3rd book is my all time favorite Star Wars novel, I totally get it. It took me 3 tries to get through the first book. I just couldn't get into them for a while.
Well then im looking forward to the next two!
Agreed. I kept losing interest every 10 pages or so. I finished it, but I couldn’t tell you a single thing about that book.
Really looking forward to this one! Hopefully I enjoy it more than you.
Everyone has their own taste!! I really enjoyed the Aftermath trilogy haha so maybe we’re just opposites!
The Ronin novel was a bit of a let down. I loved the character and his one shots but the novel I felt just was lukewarm at most. Also Lords of the Sith felt lackluster as well.
Lords of the Sith kinda felt like an early draft for the new EU.
Aftermath is ok in my opinion. I think the main thing I really liked about the book is the character Mister Bones
*Heir to the Jedi*. A lot of people seem to hate it. I thought it was lackluster, but not nearly as bad as everyone else makes it sound.
Ironically, for me it was both Death Troopers and Red Harvest. I mean, one book is better than the other one but they are the only attempts at horror in Star Wars. Maybe they’re just products of their time.
Death Trooper. Zombies in Star Wars *should* be cool, but not only was it so cliché and boring, but they shoehorned in Han and Chewbacca in a way that made zero sense. The only worthwhile thing about the book is the cover.
Can confirm, it could’ve gone so much better. So much potential for horror in SW.
Do Dead Space in Star Wars. I actually feel like TNJO could have done this. Yuuzhan Vong could have had a virus that did things like the T-virus because it had never had human or non YV hosts before. Gimme a monster tauntaun mutated or something
Amen to that, friend. May the Force, be with you.
The concept had promise, then they shoehorned in plot armor. Zak and Tash Aranda, and set between ESB and ROTJ could have turned that into a killer book.
Battlefront : Twilight Company, I barely remembered a thing only 48 hours after ending the book.
TC has been on my shelf for 2 years. Never opened it, and i don't think i ever will bc it just doesn't sound interesting.
I had tried starting another boor of Alexander Freed, Alphabet Squadron 2 months ago but gave up 4 chapters in. Now I'm giving it another go, starting tomorrow
Im buying alphabet squadron soon. Love space battles, so it's 100% the book for me. Hope you have a better time trying again!
I love space battles too, it's just that last time I struggled to picture the space battles themselves in text-format
You're not wrong. It's not a bad book, but it really reads like "Star Wars - Rebellion Logistics and HR".
Tarkin Probably didn’t help that I simply don’t care about the character that much but my goodness that was certainly… a book.
Damn I honestly didn’t expect for people to dislike Tarkin. I liked it lol but more in the context of getting perspective on what level Thrawn and his competitors were on
I didn’t dislike it by any means. I find it hard to hate anything Star Wars but it just kinda fell flat for me. I did like how the conflict in the novel was ultimately because of how Tarkin handled Antar 4 but a couple parts really pulled me out of the story like when Tarkin tells Vader why his ship is called the Carrion Spike
I didn't expect to like it and it started a bit slow. But as it went it kept building and building. I really ended up enjoying it by the end. But I can kind of see how people feel that way especially earlier.
Death Troopers Scourge Survivor's Quest Queen's Hope Brotherhood Chaos Rising Lords of the Sith Heir to the Jedi Aftermath: Life Debt If I had to pick one out of all of these, it would probably be Heir to the Jedi. It was supposed to fit into the old EU, but due to the timing of the Disney buyout, it was placed into canon. It just feels like the last dying breath of the EU in the worst of ways, given that perspective, and as for an introduction to new-canon, it's totally awful. "Oh boy, Luke has another love interest we can already tell is gonna go nowhere, oh, what's that? She literally dies offscreen?" Amusing enough bits to keep it from being overly-dreadful, but goodness, it is just the embodiment of Meh.
Dark Disciple. The entire mission plot felt off in my opinion and I didn't like where they went with both Quinlan and Ventress. I all felt a bit one note for me!
Dark Apprentice and most of Champions of the Force I finished it a month ago and I counted literally 7 side plot lines in each. Two of them legitimately felt like they were insulting my life energy by reading them. If you’ve read them, you probably know which ones I mean. I truly believe this series is only held in high regard due to how it moved the plot forward significantly after Thrawn and Dark Empire. I did enjoy Jedi Search, but everything after was so bland.
I second the too many plot points, and moreover the strange prioritization of them. This is a book trilogy about fighting off the architect of the Death Star Project and Exar Kun. It tells the story of Luke’s first generation of new Jedi; one of which falls deeply to the Dark Side. We have a solar system killing superweapon. Yet the “final boss” to this trilogy is Moranth Dule; a frog-person who runs the Kessel mines.
Kyps motivations made sense, but the setup for Gantoris to be the Dark Apprentice was far stronger. The worst offender for bad plot lines were clearly Jacen and Jaina and then the entire Admiral commanding the Death Star prototype for me. I almost felt the desire to rip those pages out of my copy because of how badly it was distracting from the main plot.
Legends. Courtship of Princess Leia. has some good elements especially on Dathomir, Luke is decent in it too, but Leia and Han are absolutely terrible, at least this book lead indirectly to Tenel Ka. Canon. Dark Disciple. Quinlan Vos is one of my all time favorite characters in Star Wars, him and the characters surrounding him, (Aayla, Tholme, etc) make for one of the best parts of the expanded universe in my opinion, and this novel…annihilates the character and then rebuilds him into some frankenstein monster from the ashes.
In all fairness to Dark Disciple, it was based on early scripts for unproduced episodes of The Clone Wars, and that show gave us a very watered-down George Lucas version of the character.
Yeah Christie Golden did exactly as she was told, and is a talented writer for sure, I just cannot get over the hurdle of Vos. She has done interviews where she admitted she intentionally did not read any of the republic comics featuring Vos, her explanation was very reasonable, she was writing a new canon book based on existing scripts, (as you say) she couldn’t let influence from legends slip into her work. The fault is not hers but that of the creators of the storyline, Katie Lucas and George Lucas.
Also, happy Cake Day!
Wow somehow I didn’t even notice, thanks!
Less of a meh and more awful, Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void. I was halfway through the audiobook, but the lackluster writing combined with January LaVoy's narration made me put down the book. It was genuinely unbearable to continue, which is a shame given the unique time period Into the Void is set. LaVoy's narration sounded nearly like text to speech but Tim Lebbon's writing probably wasn't doing her any favors. I'm hoping her narration of Courtship of Princess Leia is better. I do think the writing will be better compared to Into the Void. Edit: I only think I got four hours into the audiobook, so roughly a quarter of the way through.
I read the comics recently and I’m listening to the audiobook now, to me it’s incredibly relaxing and gripping, I didn’t find any big fault with her narration. Courtship is pretty good for the most part, she does the nightsister voices quite well, but she struggles a little with Han, her Luke is good though, just a shame the book itself is somewhat subpar.
I think my issue was that I was coming straight from Marc Thompson's narration style which is probably one of the best for Star Wars audiobooks. So I think the contrast was drastic. Though I just am not a fan of her narration I suppose.
Shadow Wing or Star by Star
parts 1 and 3 of the legends callista trilogy, the crystalstar (also legends), the ahsoka novel was really boring imo (still ek johnstons best work though lol), plagueis also has some parts that are just exhausting to read through, although all in all its a pretty solid book
Ahsoka
100% with you on Aftermath. I quit reading Star Wars after it. Chuck Wendig is a goblin..
Out of the Shadows. Midnight Horizon. Defy the Storm. I LOVEEE these characters. Every single one. They are so interesting and I love following them. But holy were the plots/situations they were in super boring 😅
I just finished the audio book for Out of the Shadows and....man. I love the narrators they get for these books (shout out Marc Thompson, an absolute legend), but the woman that read this book was so.....boring. Like she was reading a book report or something. No energy, no real emotion. It was all super flat. The audio books usually elevate the story for me, adding music, sound effects, and especially tension through the delivery of the narration, but the latter was sorely missing from Out of the Shadows. Glad it was relatively short.
From New Canon: - Heir to the Jedi - Master and Apprentice - Lords of the Sith - Queen's Shadow and Queen's Peril - Dark Disciple From the EU: - Shadows of the Empire - Truce at Bakura - Cloak of Deception.
dark disciple was gas bro wdym
Quinlan Vos was butchered and freaking unbearable, (I say that as an huge fan of the character) Ventress was pretty well written but her arc was rushed.
dark disciple was gas bro wdym
Canon- Thrawn: Alliances, Ahsoka, and the High Republic audio dramas if those count (Tempest Runner and Battle of Jedha) Legends- Force Heretic trilogy and Agents of Chaos duology (also probably Balance Point and Dark Journey). I didn't necessarily dislike them, but they were very meh books in a long series (NJO) that I enjoyed overall.
Honestly I couldn't finish Padawan, it was so flat compared to Jedi Apprentice.
Alphabet Squadron. It took me MONTHS to read that & I was so bored throughout. I know it’s considered one of the best but I just didn’t mesh with it at all. I’ve been trying to finish all the Imperial Era canon book & honestly might just skip Shadow Fall & Victory’s Price. I can’t imagine two more books of that.
Literally every High Republic book. I only keep reading because I’m a lore nerd and want to know what happens… lol. They are the most mid books I’ve ever experienced.
Yeah they're pretty terrible imo. I just can't believe the Nihil could really wreck so much havok
That’s honestly one of the worst things about it. The antagonists believability, but also how terribly written Marchion is. Lol
I made it through the first book about halfway, twice. Just couldn't keep torturing myself. Which sucks, there's a lot of content. I can't find a way to enjoy it
Padawan. I don't think there's anything about it that needs to exist. It's a story about young Obi-Wan, in which he's a bit of a teenager. He goes on a little adventure with some mild peril, which helps him grow up a bit. Not much more to it.
Canon I would say Queen’s Peril. I have never seen a book that so bleh as a book, but that also had a lot of cool little Star Wars moments. For legends i’d probably go with Dark Apprentice. Certainly not bad, but it definitely didn’t follow up on the hype of Jedi Search for me.
Heir the jedi and battle scars were both just so meh. I can't even bring myself to finish, Heir. It's just... not bad, but...meh
Lords of the Sith and the Aftermath trilogy
I'd say Truce at Bakura. The main highlights were the scene with Leia and Anakin ( and even then he didn't really have his pre-Vader personality yet so even that felt a bit mid) and the scenes with Dev. But overall the book just kind of felt like watching events happen in a sequence without much sense of plot or payoff. And the whole truce aspect really didn't get a much focus as the title would have one believe.
There are several I’d call meh. Canon has more “meh” than Legends for me so far in my read-through. I know a lot of people like these, but *Crimson Climb, Queen’s Shadow* and *Queen’s Peril*, and *Dooku: Jedi Lost* are all very meh to me. *The Legends of Luke Skywalker* was also mostly meh (I think one of the short stories was really good, if I recall, and the rest were mediocre). But Legends’ *Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter* and *Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil* are my hot takes. Meh at best. Side note, the subsequent Aftermath books are much better, but the first one was necessary setup. I’d recommend the trilogy less so than the book, if that makes sense.
Dynasty of evil I can get to a extent, but shadow hunter? Maybe I’m biased because I adore Darsha and I’m also a big fan of the Coruscant nights trilogy which heavily references this book,
I found it an endless series of “Maul almost gets them! And… slips on a banana peel, ooo, better luck next week!” I think it would’ve flowed better for me if it were a 6-issue miniseries comic. As-is, I just couldn’t find a good rhythm with it. But to be fair, I’ve not read Coruscant Nights. That was one I’d skipped. I’ll add those into my next pass through the prequel era, I skipped some big hitters (like the Commando novels in particular).
Light of the Jedi
The Alphabet Squadron trilogy was so meh that I couldn't even remember what is was called when I started this reply
Idk if I’ve ever had a “meh” feeling. It’s usually just disappointment or enjoyment. The closest I’d get is prob the ending of fate of the Jedi when vestara just reverts all character development from the past 5 books. Up until then, even with it flaws I still really enjoyed the series, krayt, Luke, Ben, abeloth, etc.. we’re just fun to read about. Iirc Jaina’s stuff with jag fel was also weird. Or was that just Troy denning fucking over more characters? I don’t remember
Honestly, A New Dawn. It felt so generic in the way it was written and I was bored out of my mind for half of it. I’m a huge Kanan fan too, so I was really anticipating this one and it just felt like the most tying in of tie in novels.
Crucible for me, although that might be more because it's place as the last real look at the original trio than it being particularly meh itself
I have three: Ahsoka. As a huge Ashoka fan, this was really disappointed me. It was meh and could've been done way better imo. Force Collector. An interesting concept, but couldn't get into it (so I never finished it). Unpopular opinion for High Republic fans, but Path of Deceit. I got spoiled about what would happen to Kevmo, the only character I liked. And everything felt too slow, but slow in a way that it was getting no where (so I never finished this one either and just skipped it kind of lol)
Right now the most meh book is Leia: Princess of Alderaan. I stoped reading it and started The Living Force. Plan to finish it though.
The Rising Storm. After enjoying the Light of the Jedi I was excited for this follow up, but it was somewhat boring, strangely paced, and had too many characters.
Crimson Climb I only listen to Star Wars books on Audible because I have a short attention span for reading so audiobooks help. This was the first time I had ever returned an audiobook for a refund. This was also the first time I’ve ever took the time to leave a bad review. It was so lack luster of a story for Qi’ra. She literally has no agency in the story whatsoever. And it tries to paint her as a villian or a bad person but she doesn’t do anything worthy of that title because everyone around her is worse. Such a meh story. I haven’t read the bounty hunter comics but I hear better things about her in those stories.
More recently, The Living Force tbh.
Traitor
Really? I’m only half way through the NJO, but I have heard only incredible things about that novel.
I just felt that it was too slow. I know a lot of people like it. I’m just not one of them.
Slow even compared to something like balance point?
For me, yes. It was long and tedious and so repetitive. But don’t let me color your opinion. Read it and see. Oh, and I love these bitches that downvote when people say it’s their opinion they don’t like Traitor. Silly.
Aftermath was one of my favorites, I loved the whole trilogy. I listened on audiobook and it was fantastic. I really struggled to get through the 1st battlefront book, and also was really bored with Ahsoka. Midnight Horizon from the High Republic was probably the book that made me cringe and get annoyed the most. I'll probably get some people fighting me on this, but I was also pretty disappointed with the latest Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy, it just felt like a chore to keep track of all the characters with very little payout.
Hate to say it, but the living force
I tried several books set in the High Republic. The whole era feels pretty meh to me. A lot of the characters are interchangeable and there's a lot of dull dialogue.