The Best Star Wars Legends Books Worth Reading in 2024

Decades before Disney purchased Lucasfilm for an astounding four billion dollars, before the prequels, and if you can believe it, even before the first Star Wars movie was released, writers were imagining a bigger world than we would ever see on the screen. Yes, the Star Wars Expanded Universe lived up to its name pushing the boundaries of the Galaxy Far, Far Away with every book, comic, and game that was released. But in 2014 after Disney’s purchase of the massive franchise, the Expanded Universe was officially decanonized and renamed “Legends.” Despite that choice the books are still some of the best Star Wars storytelling that we’ve ever gotten and are still influencing Star Wars canon today, like the recent live-action introduction of Thrawn in Ahsoka. So if you’re wondering where to start with this massive part of Star Wars fandom then we’ve got you covered with our list of the best Star Wars Legends books!

Which Star Wars Legends Books Should You Read First?

Getting started reading the Legends books can be an overwhelming feat seeing as there are literally hundreds of titles to choose from, that’s why we’ve put together a list of the best and most important books to read as a jumping off point. From the origins of the sprawling collection — and the Star Wars franchise as a whole — to gory zombie stormtroopers, legendary Mandalorian escapes through the vibrant YA adventures of some very famous Star Wars offspring, this is some of the most fun you can have in the galaxy far, far away.

Splinter of the Mind’s Eye (1977)

This is the book that sparked off the expanded universe — alongside the Marvel Comics and beloved Star Wars newspaper stripes — and is a legendary part of Star Wars thanks to the fact that it was written as potential source material for a low budget sequel to A New Hope on the off chance the film didn’t do well enough to actually justify a big budget followup. Of course we know how that turned out, and while this didn’t get adapted it is one of the key pieces of what would become the Expanded Universe and later Legends. It follows Luke and Leia — no Han or Chewie, sorry Wookie fans — as they try to enlist planetary residents to join the Rebellion. Of course they come across Vader and we actually get a super rad Leia/Vader fight scene as well as an expansion around the lore of the Force and the more cosmic powers in Star Wars.

The Han Solo Adventures (1979)

This delightful trilogy is still one of the most loved Legends adventures and as you might have guessed, makes up for the lack of Han in Splinter of the Mind’s Eye, instead focusing solely on the roguish cosmic adventurer. The first of the books is Han Solo at Stars End which is the third ever Star Wars novel after Alan Dean Foster’s Star Wars adaptation and Splinter of the Mind’s Eye. Here Brian Deley takes the duo on a wild romp through the criminal underworld of the Galaxy showcasing just why the pair are such a fan favorite combination in the Star Wars universe. The follow ups took Han and Chewie on more intergalactic adventures

Heir to the Empire (1991)

When it comes to the most influential Legends titles, the Thrawn trilogy is always one of the first titles to be mentioned. Timothy Zahn began the series with this book that’s set five years after the Battle of Endor and introduced readers to the heir apparent to the Empire. Over the years Grand Admiral Thrawn, the powerful Chiss commander, would become a fan favorite character and would jump into Star Wars canon during the beloved Clone Wars TV series. And as many expected he recently joined the live-action canon in Ahsoka too. So if you’re looking for a Legends book that reshaped the world of Star Wars on and off screen this is it.

Darth Bane: Path of Destruction (2006)

Another iconic Legends trilogy, the Darth Bane books center on the infamous titular Sith Lord and how his reign shaped the galaxy. Part of what makes Drew Karpyshyn’s trilogy so readable is that if you’re a Star Wars fan it’s a great addition to the lore of the Sith, but if you’re just a sci-fi lover who wants an engaging and dark read it works fantastically as a standalone trilogy too. Path of Destruction uniquely presents its story from a Sith perspective giving us insight into the origins of the Sith Rule of Two and one of the most powerful and feared Sith Lords in history.

Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights: Heirs of the Force (1995)

Growing up as a Star Wars fan there might not have been any films in the ’90s but we were spoiled with great Expanded Universe books, including this legendary series which centers on the children of Han Solo and Princess Leia, Jacen and Jaina Solo. The pair are studying under the tutelage of Luke Skywalker at his Jedi Academy on Yavin 4 The Force Sensitive teens led this charming Young Readers series for years, before Jacen turned on his family and became a Sith Lord known as Darth Caedus in later Expanded Universe books. If all of that sounds familiar it’s because Jacen was definitely a huge influence in the sequel trilogy’s Kylo Ren.

Tales from Jabba’s Palace (1995)

This short story collection has long been one of the most beloved entries into the Expanded Universe, especially since it revealed that fan favorite character Boba Fett had actually survived the Sarlacc Pit, emerging out of the stomach of the Sarlacc. It was canon for years but when the Expanded Universe was decanonized that was wiped out… until it wasn’t when The Book of Boba Fett adapted the very same moment. Aside from that major moment this is filled with fun, weird, and wonderful alien focused stories about the Galaxy Far, Far Away.

Death Troopers (2009)

While it’s not one of the most lore-heavy entries into the Legends universe, this standalone horror story about zombie Storm Troopers is one of the coolest. Horror writer Joe Schreiber had the honor of bringing the genre back to the Galaxy Far, Far Away for the first time since the kids horror series Galaxy of Fear, and boy did he do it with a bang. When an Imperial Prison Barge breaks down in space and comes across a floating Star Destroyer it seems like their luck is in, but instead they find the ship deserted with only two survivors — who readers will know instantly — and when the dead begin to walk, things get really, really scary.

Darth Plagueis (2012)

Have you heard the story of Darth Plagueis the wise? If not then James Luceno has you sorted as he wrote this acclaimed tale about the infamous Sith Lord under the Legends banner. James Luceno shapes this bleakly brilliant story of the violence of the Sith and the danger of ambition. One of the most well regarded of the more contemporary Legends books, Darth Plagueis tells the story of the titular villain as he rises to power and trains his apprentice Darth Sidious otherwise known as the man who would become Emperor Palpatine and tries to master the ultimate power no matter how dangerous and deadly it might be.

How many Star Wars Legends Books Are There?

There are almost 400 books that fit under the banner of Star Wars Legends and even more comics, games, and films that are included in the now-decanonized Legends universe. Those include movies and TV shows The Star Wars Holiday Special, Star Wars: Droids, Ewoks Caravan of Courage and games like Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Shadows of the Empire (which was part of a massive Expanded Universe crossover event), and Star Wars: The Knights of the Old Republic. The massive number of releases and variety of content makes a lot of sense when you think that the series spanned from 1977 (six months before the film was even released) to 2014 which is almost forty years of the Expanded Universe.

Star Wars Legends vs. Canon

So what does all of this really mean? Well, basically anything that exists under the “Legends” banner was once known as the Expanded Universe and is not considered canon. But as we’ve seen multiple times from loose inspirations to actual canon appearances that can shift and change, and as the world of Star Wars on screen expands it’s likely we’ll see more coming over. And when a book like Heir of the Empire is made canon by Lucasfilm then they lose their Legends status and instead become a main part of Star Wars canon.

Though Star Wars Legends books aren’t canon there are plenty of contemporary canon novels that build out the galaxy and its inhabitants in a way that’s directly connected to the films, a great example is the High Republic series. That massive crossover event introduced a new era to the Star Wars canon that will be coming to screens in live action for the very first time. Other canon books include Leia by Claudia Gray, E. K. Johnston’s Padme trilogy, The Princess and the Scoundrel By Beth Revis, Last Shot By Daniel José Older, and many, many more.

Rosie Knight is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything from anime to comic books to kaiju to kids movies to horror flicks. She has over half a decade of experience in entertainment journalism with bylines at Nerdist, Den of Geek, Polygon, and more. Rosie is a published comics author who has written titles including Godzilla Rivals vs. Battra and The Haunted High-Tops. She co-hosts the weekly Crooked Media pop-culture podcast X-Ray Vision. When she’s not writing, you can find her playing Dragon Ball FighterZ or rewatching weird old horror and martial movies in her free time. She loves making comics and zines as well as collecting VHS and reading as much manga as humanly possible. You can find her on social at @rosiemarx.

This post was originally published on IGN