Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel

Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel by James Luceno
This is an important prequel to the 2016 spin-off film Rogue One! Written by veteran Star Wars author James Luceno, Catalyst tells how pacifist scientist Galen Erso, later infamous for designing the devastating Death Star superlaser, was manipulated into the role by one-time friend Orson Krennic. A thoughtful, character-based tale that provides a rich backstory to the opening scene of Rogue One, this novel also reveals a great deal about the creation of the Death Star according to the new Star Wars canon.

Catalyst is the tenth Star Wars novel by James Luceno, whose other works include the canon novel Tarkin, fan-favorite Legends novel Darth Plagueis, and two other Star Wars movie lead-in books.

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This is a book from the New Canon timeline! It's guaranteed to be consistent with future movies, TV shows, books, and comics (and all new stories since mid-2014).

Tarkin

Tarkin by James Luceno
Veteran Star Wars author James Luceno, in his first new canon novel, takes readers into the mind of Grand Moff Tarkin, the Imperial official who infamously gave orders to Darth Vader in the original Star Wars movie. Set in the years between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, this is the story of Tarkin's rise to prominence in the Empire.

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This is a book from the New Canon timeline! It's guaranteed to be consistent with future movies, TV shows, books, and comics (and all new stories since mid-2014).

Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View

Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View by various authors
This book isn't actually a novel, but something much more special: To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the original Star Wars movie, dozens of authors came together to write 40 short stories, each one retelling part of the movie from a new perspective. Most of the stories are told from the viewpoint of a minor background character or other onlooker to the events of the movie.

As if that wasn't cool enough, the authors all contributed for free, with the publisher donating the proceeds to charity.

This is the first New Canon take on background characters from Episode IV: A New Hope, but if you can't get enough, also check out Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina in the Legends alternate timeline! And if you enjoyed this book, check out the sequel, The Empire Strikes Back: From a Certain Point of View.

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This is a book from the New Canon timeline! It's guaranteed to be consistent with future movies, TV shows, books, and comics (and most new stories since 2014).

The Empire Strikes Back: From a Certain Point of View

The Empire Strikes Back: From a Certain Point of View by various authors
Here comes the sequel to Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View: To commemorate the 40th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back, dozens of authors came together to write 40 short stories, each one retelling part of the movie from a new perspective. Most of the stories are told from the viewpoint of a minor background character or other onlooker to the events of the movie. 

As with the first one, much of the money from sales of this book will be going to a charity that helps kids get access to books and education.

This is the first New Canon take on background characters from The Empire Strikes Back, but if you can't get enough, also check out Tales of the Bounty Hunters on the Legends alternate timeline!

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This is a book from the New Canon timeline! It's guaranteed to be consistent with future movies, TV shows, books, and comics (and most new stories since 2014).

Canto Bight

Canto Bight by Saladin Ahmed, Rae Carson, Mira Grant, and John Jackson Miller
Canto Bight is the galaxy's most luxurious Casino City, and one of the settings of the The Last Jedi movie. In this book, four star authors each contribute a short novella about the lives of the people living in and visiting this city, and the gambles they must take to survive in a world where beauty is only a facade. 

The stories are based on settings and background characters from The Last Jedi. Some of them ended up getting cut from the actual film, but it's a really fun read anyway.

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This is a book from the New Canon timeline! It's guaranteed to be consistent with future movies, TV shows, books, and comics (and all new stories since mid-2014).

Shatterpoint

Shatterpoint by Matthew Stover
Author Matthew Stover explores the psychology of Jedi Master Mace Windu as he returns to his home planet to find his missing former apprentice and face the darkness in his own soul. Inspired by the real-world film Apocolypse Now and the classic (non-Star Wars) novel Heart of Darkness.

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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). 

Yoda: Dark Rendezvous

Yoda: Dark Rendezvous by Sean Stewart
A unique and charming novel focused around one of Yoda's adventures during the Clone Wars.

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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). 

The Medstar Duology

Medstar by Michael Reaves & Steve Perry
Inspired by the real-world sitcom M*A*S*H, this is a lovable pair of books about the varied characters who come together to work at a Republic battlefield hospital during the Clone Wars.

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Medstar I: Battle Surgeons
Medstar II: Jedi Healer

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). 

Coruscant Nights

 
Coruscant Nights by Michael Reaves
A memorable trilogy of character-driven adventures in the seedy underworld of the city planet Coruscant. Inspired by the film noir detective movies of the 1940s and 1950s, these books tell the story of a self-doubting Jedi survivor, a sarcastic droid, and a plucky ex-journalist who come together with other interesting characters to solve mysteries and join the budding resistance in the early days of the Empire.

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Book 1: Jedi Twilight

Book 2: Street of Shadows

Book 3: Patterns of Force

Story continued in The Last Jedi. 

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).

Death Star

Death Star by Michael Reaves & Steve Perry
A novel about the construction of the first Death Star, and the many different people whose lives it touched.

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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).

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.)

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). 

The Bounty Hunter Wars

 
The Bounty Hunter Wars trilogy by K.W. Jeter
From veteran cyberpunk author K.W. Jeter comes a unique saga of intrigue, violence, and paranoia set in the gritty but high-tech criminal underworld of the Star Wars galaxy. Though centered on Boba Fett, the story includes all the bounty hunter characters introduced in The Empire Strikes Back: Dengar, Bossk, Zuckuss, 4-LOM, and IG-88.

After the defeat of Jabba the Hutt in Return of the Jedi, Dengar must decide how to proceed after discovering the dangerous Boba Fett helpless and nearly dead in the sands of Tatooine. His choice is made much more complicated by the appearance of a dancer from Jabba's Palace who has mysteriously lost her memory, knowing only that she has some important connection to Fett. All the while, a powerful corporate executive watches from the shadows with unknown motives.

Meanwhile, half of the story is told through flashbacks to a time soon after the destruction of the first Death Star, when criminal kingpin Prince Xizor seeks favor with the Emperor by engineering a brutal war between the galaxy's bounty hunters. In a scheme that thrusts Boba Fett into an uncomfortable double-agent role, the Bounty Hunter's Guild will be torn to pieces, and only the most skilled and ruthless bounty hunters will survive.

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Book 1: The Mandalorian Armor

Book 2: Slave Ship

Book 3: Hard Merchandise

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