Star Wars Insider: The Fiction Collection, Vol. 1

Star Wars Insider: The Fiction Collection, Volume 1 by various authors
Star Wars Insider magazine, the official magazine of Star Wars, has often published exclusive short stories set in the Star Wars universe, sometimes as tie-ins to new novels and movies, and other times just to explore new corners of the galaxy. 

Now people who aren't subscribed to the magazine can finally read many of those obscure tales in this new book, the first of at least two collecting short fiction from Star Wars Insider. 

Unlike other Star Wars short story collections, this book includes a mix of canon stories and stories from the old Legends expanded universe, since it covers magazine issues from a period spanning 2011 to 2017.

 
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This book contains a mix of stories from the New Canon timeline and the Legends timeline. While some stories in it are consistent with newer Star Wars movies, TV shows, books, and comics, others are not.

Star Wars Insider: The Fiction Collection, Vol. 2

Star Wars Insider: The Fiction Collection, Volume 2 by various authors
Star Wars Insider magazine, the official magazine of Star Wars, has often published exclusive short stories set in the Star Wars universe, sometimes as tie-ins to new novels and movies, and other times just to explore new corners of the galaxy. 

Now people who aren't subscribed to the magazine can finally read many of those obscure tales in this new book, the second collecting short fiction from Star Wars Insider. 

Unlike earlier Star Wars short story collections, this book and the previous volume include a mix of canon stories and stories from the old Legends expanded universe, since it covers magazine issues from a period spanning 2011 to 2016.

 
Buy from Amazon!

This book contains a mix of stories from the New Canon timeline and the Legends timeline. While some stories in it are consistent with newer Star Wars movies, TV shows, books, and comics, others are not.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie novelization

Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie novelization by Karen Traviss
Author Karen Traviss, known for her vivid and realistic characters, writes this high-quality adaptation of The Clone Wars film that kicked off the animated series.

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This is a movie novelization from the Legends timeline. Though the movie itself is canon, original content in the book could be contradicted by future books, movies, or TV shows (if so, you can think of it as an alternate universe).

The Clone Wars tie-in novels

The Clone Wars tie-in novels by Karen Miller & Karen Traviss
These four books tell stories connected to, but not directly based on, The Clone Wars 3D-animated TV series.

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The Clone Wars: Wild Space by Karen Miller
The Clone Wars: No Prisoners by Karen Traviss
Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth by Karen Miller

Clone Wars Gambit: Siege by Karen Miller

This is a prequel era series from the Legends timeline. It may be contradicted by newer books, movies, or TV shows (if so, just think of it as an alternate universe).

Republic Commando 1-3

The Republic Commando series (parts 1-3) by Karen Traviss
Originally commissioned as a tie-in to the Republic Commando video game, author Karen Traviss's writing was so highly praised its vivid characters and realistic treatment of military life that the story was continued in a popular series. The story follows the life of several clonetrooper commandos during the Clone Wars, delving deeply into their identity as cloned soldiers, as well as their sometimes lackluster relationships with the Jedi and others. Packed with lots of military action.


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Book 1: Hard Contact
Book 2: Triple Zero
Book 3: True Colors

Story continued in Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel.

This is a prequel era series from the Legends timeline. It may be contradicted by newer books, movies, or TV shows (if so, just think of it as an alternate universe).  

Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel

Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel by Karen Traviss
In the final novel of the Clone Wars Republic Commando series, the clone commandos become caught up in Palpatine's scheme to destroy the Jedi, who have been their allies throughout the war. The story overlaps with Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

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Story continued in Imperial Commando: 501st. 

This is a prequel era book from the Legends timeline. It may be contradicted by newer books, movies, or TV shows (if so, just think of it as an alternate universe). 

Imperial Commando: 501st

Imperial Commando: 501st by Karen Traviss
The first book of an unfinished follow-up series to the beloved Republic Commando novels, 501st continues the story of those books into the early days of the Empire, when the clone commando squads are drafted into Darth Vader's special stormtrooper legion.

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This is a classic era book from the Legends timeline. It will likely be contradicted by newer books, movies, or TV shows (if so, just think of it as an alternate universe).

The Last Jedi

Warning: This is NOT the book version of the 2017 movie Star Wars: The Last Jedi. It's a completely unrelated novel from the Legends timeline.

The Last Jedi by Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff
The nail-biting conclusion to the story from the Coruscant Nights series, in which the team's growing involvement in resistance to the Empire - along with a devastating tragedy - takes them off Coruscant and on a journey across the galaxy.

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This is a classic era book from the Legends timeline. It will likely be contradicted by newer books, movies, or TV shows (if so, just think of it as an alternate universe).

The Han Solo Trilogy

 
The Han Solo Trilogy by A.C. Crispin
A popular trilogy of novels telling the story of Han Solo's life before A New Hope, from youth on the streets, to his expulsion from the Imperial Academy, to the height of his career as a smuggler.

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Book 1: The Paradise Snare

Book 2: The Hutt Gambit

Book 3: Rebel Dawn

This is a classic era series from the Legends timeline. It will likely be contradicted by newer books, movies, or TV shows (if so, just think of it as an alternate universe).

Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina

Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina by various authors
A collection of short stories, each focusing on one of the characters from the famous bar scene in the original Star Wars movie!

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This is a classic era book from the Legends timeline. It will likely be contradicted by newer books (if so, just think of it as an alternate universe).

(Interested in a New Canon take on the background characters of Star Wars: A New Hope? Check out Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View.)

Shadow Games

Shadow Games by Michael Reaves and Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff
Set shortly before A New Hope, this story follows the "rags to riches" rise of a galactic movie star at a time when the Rebellion was just beginning.

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This is a classic era book from the Legends timeline. It will likely be contradicted by newer books (if so, just think of it as an alternate universe).

Empire and Rebellion: Razor's Edge

Empire and Rebellion: Razor's Edge by Martha Wells
One of the last books to be published in the Legends timeline, Razor's Edge is a book focused on Princess Leia between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes back. On a mission to save the Rebellion, Leia and friends come up against a group of dangerous pirates with a secret that will chill Leia to the bone.

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This is a classic era book from the Legends timeline. It will likely be contradicted by newer books (if so, just think of it as an alternate universe).

Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine

Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine by Voronica Whitney-Robinson with Haden Blackman
A tie-in to the Star Wars: Galaxies online video game, this novel follows the story of two Imperial defectors who join the Rebellion to help protect vital information about the future of the Jedi. The book has been widely criticized for its simple story and excessive references to the structure of the video game, though it does have its fans.

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This is a classic era book from the Legends timeline. It will likely be contradicted by newer books (if so, just think of it as an alternate universe).

Tales of the Bounty Hunters

Tales of the Bounty Hunters by various authors
This book is a collection of five (not-so-short) short stories about the bounty hunters seen in The Empire Strikes Back: Boba Fett, Bossk, Dengar, IG-88, Zuckuss, and 4-LOM. It's a varied and interesting look inside the minds of these characters whose loyalty is neither to the Empire or to the Rebel Alliance.

The book's "Tale of Boba Fett" was written before the bounty hunter's childhood was revealed in Attack of the Clones, so there are some contradictions - however, many fans actually preferred this book's take on Boba Fett over the newer backstory from the movies.

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This is a classic era book from the Legends timeline. It will likely be contradicted by newer books (if so, just think of it as an alternate universe).

Tales from Jabba's Palace

Tales from Jabba's Palace by various authors
The palace of Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine comes to vivid life in all its depravity in this collection of short stories tying in to Return of the Jedi. From the band and the dancers, to the guards and the rancor keeper, to the many others hiding in the shadows, this fun and diverse volume takes readers into the lives of the palace's denizens one by one. It's also memorable for a bizarre story of Boba Fett's experience rotting away inside the belly of the sarlacc.

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This is a classic era book from the Legends timeline. It will likely be contradicted by newer books (if so, think of it as an alternate universe). 

Tales from the Empire

Tales from the Empire by various authors
A collection of short stories, selected as some of the best originally published in the Star Wars Adventure Journal roleplaying game magazine in the mid-1990s. Fan favorite characters such as Mara Jade, Grand Admiral Thrawn, and Corran Horn all make major appearances, and the book includes a novella collaboratively written by beloved authors Timothy Zahn and Michael Stackpole (who also each contribute one other story to the collection).

Despite the cover art, Boba Fett only appears in this book from a certain point of view.

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This is a classic era book from the Legends timeline. It will likely be contradicted by newer books (if so, think of it as an alternate universe).

The Truce at Bakura

The Truce at Bakura by Kathy Tyers
Immediately after the destruction of the second Death Star, the heroes of the rebellion are caught up in a quiet alien invasion at the edge of known space. If the evil Ssi-ruuk are allowed to steal the minds of the planet Bakura's population to power their droid army, the rest of the galaxy could be next. Rebels and Imperials will have to work together to defeat the invasion.

The Truce at Bakura is the earliest Legends novel in the post-Return of the Jedi timeline, but the Thrawn Trilogy (set five years later) was the first published.

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This is a post-Return of the Jedi novel from the Legends timeline. Think of it as an alternate universe from The Force Awakens and newer books.

Children of the Jedi

Children of the Jedi by Barbara Hambly
Not long after the events of the Jedi Academy Trilogy, Han and Leia are searching for a lost group of Jedi children. Meanwhile, Luke must find a way to stop an aging computerized superweapon, even as he falls in love with an Old Republic Jedi whose mind is trapped inside the computer.

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This is a post-Return of the Jedi novel from the Legends timeline. Think of it as an alternate universe from The Force Awakens and newer books.

Planet of Twilight

Planet of Twilight by Barbara Hambly
As Luke Skywalker searches for his lost love, Leia is captured by a dangerous cult using Force-sensitive crystals to threaten the New Republic. Before the end, the heroes of Star Wars must come together on a strange planet to protect the galaxy from the return of an ancient and horrible plague.

Planet of Twilight is the third in a loose trilogy of novels that began with Children of the Jedi and Darksaber.

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This is a post-Return of the Jedi novel from the Legends timeline. Think of it as an alternate universe from The Force Awakens and newer books.

The Crystal Star

The Crystal Star by Vonda N. McIntyre
Meet the bizarre book that went down among fans as the most disliked Star Wars novel of the 1990s, despite being a great financial success. Written by noted Star Trek author Vonda N. McIntyre, The Crystal Star introduces readers a world of centaurs and werewolves, an evil chunk of meat from another dimension, and a strangely out-of-character Luke Skywalker.

The story follows Leia on a mission to rescue her kidnapped young children, while Han and Luke race to solve the mystery of a trans-dimensional space anomaly. Though clearly out of place among the Star Wars novels, it's not without its positive aspects, and is worth reading for both completists and those who appreciate the absurd.

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This is a post-Return of the Jedi novel from the Legends timeline. Think of it as an alternate universe from The Force Awakens and newer books.