Ranking the Canon Novels & Comparing them to the Legends Novels

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SunRazer
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.

DarthAnt66
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.

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

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

UCanShootMyNova
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.

UCanShootMyNova
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.

SunRazer
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.

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?

Beniboybling
Originally posted by UCanShootMyNova
Beni's right here. You should just open and end with that in most threads yeah.

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.

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

Beni wishes here. ^

SunRazer
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.

UCanShootMyNova
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?

ares834
Tarkin certainly was.

UCanShootMyNova
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.

UCanShootMyNova
Originally posted by ares834
Tarkin certainly was.

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

ares834
Novels needs compelling plots. And, IMO, Tarkin chasing after a lost ship and being a hillbilly isn't.

UCanShootMyNova
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.

NemeBro
Originally posted by ares834
Novels needs compelling plots. Nah, not really IMO. A fairly basic plot can still be a great story with thought-provoking themes and/or rounded and interesting characters (with good character interactions of course, well-written character interactions can make average characters good and good characters great). A great plot with boring, one-note characters and/or no thematic depth doesn't amount to much by comparison. In fact, I can't even really think of an example of that because a plot sort of requires those things to some extent to be great.

UCanShootMyNova
thumb up

DarthAnt66
Originally posted by NemeBro
Nah, not really IMO. A fairly basic plot can still be a great story with thought-provoking themes and/or rounded and interesting characters (with good character interactions of course, well-written character interactions can make average characters good and good characters great). A great plot with boring, one-note characters and/or no thematic depth doesn't amount to much by comparison. In fact, I can't even really think of an example of that because a plot sort of requires those things to some extent to be great.
Is it true you defended incest / pedophilia?

ares834
Originally posted by NemeBro
Nah, not really IMO. A fairly basic plot can still be a great story with thought-provoking themes and/or rounded and interesting characters (with good character interactions of course, well-written character interactions can make average characters good and good characters great). A great plot with boring, one-note characters and/or no thematic depth doesn't amount to much by comparison. In fact, I can't even really think of an example of that because a plot sort of requires those things to some extent to be great.

True enough.

Unfortunately, that was all absent in Tarkin.

NemeBro
Originally posted by DarthAnt66
Is it true you defended incest / pedophilia? I also defend necrophilia.

DarthAnt66
Would you consider yourself the lowest tier of society?

NemeBro
Originally posted by ares834
True enough.

Unfortunately, that was all absent in Tarkin. Sounds like a bad book. thumb up

NemeBro
Originally posted by DarthAnt66
Would you consider yourself the lowest tier of society? The highest actually. thumb up

DarthAnt66
Originally posted by NemeBro
The highest actually. thumb up
Would you ever consider electrotherapy to cure your illnesses?

NemeBro
Originally posted by DarthAnt66
Would you ever consider electrotherapy to cure your illnesses? No force in the universe can physically alter me in any way lad. thumb up

Darth Abonis
Their are hundreds of Legends novels to choose from. A lot are very good, but their are a few bad ones. As for canon novels, their are currently only 14 and in my opinion, you should just read Heir to the Jedi, Battlefront: Twilight Company and A New Dawn. The other 9 aren't worth it, and you shouldn't waste your time on them.

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