Ranking the Canon Novels & Comparing them to the Legends Novels

The canon books certainly don't seem to be as well received. Curious to see your thoughts on them as a whole, though.

Rank each of the canon books you've read from best to worst, and if you can, try to compare the quality of each book to one from Legends.

Honestly I didn't even get through Thrawn, which seems to be the best received of Canon.

I haven't gotten through any Canon book I purchased so far, actually.

I've only read ahsoka so far which was absolutely terrible. I'm right now going through post rotj legends.

I'm not seeing much difference in quality of what I've read, mostly average with a few standouts, and a few flops.

1. Thrawn.

Thrawn: What can I say here? Absolutely brilliant writing from Zahn. Every chapter with Thrawn is a delight as we see him analyzing his situation and overcoming Imperial bias through sheer ability. It'd be my favorite general read ( not just limited to SW ) this year if not for Bryan Cranston's biography.

2/3/4. Catalyst/Lost Stars/Tarkin.

Catalyst: A great prequel to Rogue One detailing the steps taken by Admiral Krennic to bring about the construction of the Death Star. Adds a lot to the mythos as it also details many of the early steps taken during the Clone Wars era to ultimately transform the Republic into the Empire.

Lost Stars: A well written story about star crossed lovers that gives us a good look into what life as a citizen of the Empire and a member of the Imperial military was like along with adding new deph to the OT.

Tarkin: A well written biography that adds dimensions to a fan favorite and, like Catalyst, continues to add more substance to Palpatine's machinations during the Clone Wars and Imperial bureaucracy as a whole.

4. Star Wars: A New Dawn.

Star Wars: A New Dawn: Helps to flesh out Kanan more as he deals with the challenges of being a former Jedi in hiding under a Sith Empire. A little slow and meandering at times but a solid addition.

5. Lords of the Sith.

Lords of the Sith: Flashy, actiony, lots of fan service but not that much substance.

6. The Force Awakens.

The Force Awakens: Just a standard summary of what we saw in the movie with a few contradictions Disney promised us wouldn't happen in this continuity. I was really disappointed with this one considering how much the prequel novelizations enhanced the prequel trilogy for me and how little this book did for me even taking it as a standalone piece.

Originally posted by Beniboybling
I'm not seeing much difference in quality of what I've read, mostly average with a few standouts, and a few flops.

Beni's right here. EU novels had a few gems ( like canon ) and a lot of stinkers/average books ( like canon ).

They've done pretty well so far in the novel department.

I kind of meant that for each Canon book, I wanted you guys to name a Legends book of similar standard.

Although I'm seeing a very strong trend here.

Thrawn doesn't quite reach the heights of the EU for me ( Plagueis, LoE, RotS, etc. ). But I'd probably put in on par with the other prequel novelizations ( TPM/AotC ) which I thought were very good reads.

Before I continue did you mean books they were LIKE or books I would compare them to in regards quality?

Originally posted by UCanShootMyNova
Beni's right here.

EU has a far larger pool of data atm; it has given us many shit reads and many great reads. So far, Canon has only given us shit to mediocre reads. Need to wait until there's more out to properly judge.

Originally posted by Beniboybling
You should just open and end with that in most threads yeah.

Beni wishes here. ^

Originally posted by UCanShootMyNova
Thrawn doesn't quite reach the heights of the EU for me ( Plagueis, LoE, RotS, etc. ). But I'd probably put in on par with the other prequel novelizations ( TPM/AotC ) which I thought were very good reads.

Before I continue did you mean books they were LIKE or books I would compare them to in regards quality?

Quality. I'm only assessing quality here.

Originally posted by Trocity
EU has a far larger pool of data atm; it has given us many shit reads and many great reads. So far, Canon has only given us shit to mediocre reads. Need to wait until there's more out to properly judge.

You would really say Thrawn or Tarkin were only mediocre?

Tarkin certainly was.

Originally posted by SunRazer
Quality. I'm only assessing quality here.

Alright. Well for the others like Tarkin, Lost Stars and Catalyst. I'd put those on the level of the Bane Triology after PoD.

For A New Dawn I have to admit while I really liked Kanan and the book allowed me to appreciate Rebels more by adding depth to his character... As a standalone novel it was sort of slow and as such I'd probably have to rank it around something like Annihilation.

Lords of the Sith was fine for some action but not much else so I'd put it around the level of Cestus Deception.

TFA just added nothing and was a pretty useless piece as a standalone so I'd put it somewhere near the bottom with other crappers like Fatal Alliance.

Originally posted by ares834
Tarkin certainly was.

Guess I enjoy the detailing of Imperial bureaucracy more then most tbh...

Novels needs compelling plots. And, IMO, Tarkin chasing after a lost ship and being a hillbilly isn't.

Maybe my time watching SoL anime has increased my patience but as long as interactions are somewhat complex and world building is present I can usually find something to devote my attention to while reading.

Originally posted by ares834
Novels needs compelling plots.

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