Cont'd

25 = Outbound Flight, Timothy Zahn. More than just a story about
Thrawn. For some reason, this is the only Prequel-era story to
feature smugglers in a meaningful role, or a delusional, psychotic
Force-user commanding a big space battleship. Am I the only person
who's worried by that? This, at least, is the Star Wars you remember.

24 = The New Jedi Order: Edge of Victory duology, Greg Keyes. Not
just Anakin Solo and Tahiri Veila. Also the start of seeing the
Yuuzhan Vong as more than just barking villains, the return of Corran
Horn, and Jaina and Kyp in Rebirth. But, yeah, Anakin and Tahiri.
I've said it before, but Conquest is probably my single individual
favourite among all the Star Wars novels.

23 =Republic Commando series, Karen Traviss. Have you heard the one
about the four commandos, the Mandalorian NCO, and the female Jedi
Knight...?

22 =Yoda: Dark Rendezvous, Sean Stewart. Because a novel about a red-
haired, green-eyed young Jedi girl titled "Tallisibeth Enwandung-
Esterhazy: Dark Rendezvous" doesn't quite have the same
straightforward punch to it. Also features a very Freudian take on
Count Dooku, and a neat one-line cameo by Qui-Gon talking in the back
of the green dude's head. Sure, Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi
seem slightly tacked onto the plot, but it's still regarded as one of
the better Prequel-era novels, and that shows with its placing here.
Extra bonus for including the largest number of never-before-seen
starfighter designs in any single Star Wars prose work.

20 =I, Jedi, Michael A. Stackpole. Corran Horn is the first Expanded
Universe character to hold down the lead role a novel, and tells it
in the first person too. Is popularity may also be helped by the fact
that he's up against the whip-wielding personification of the
Empire's kinky underbelly.

20 = Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, LucasArts. Some
fans complain about the cuts made in this game before release. But
look at the passion which people have put into researching and
reconstructing the missing sections of the game: the fan reaction
only really serves to emphasise how much people came to care about
the story of the Exile and her companions.

19 = The New Jedi Order: Dark Tide duology, Michael A. Stackpole.
Anakin Solo again, plus Mara, Corran, Jag, Jaina, a lot of fighter
pilots, and some awesome lightsaber duels. Oh, and in part two,
Pellaeon puts on a Grand Admiral's uniform, and tells the Moff
Council, "I rule the Empire". Just imagine what might have been if
Lucasfilm had stuck with their original plan, and let Mike Stackpole
write a couple of trilogies in the NJO....

18 = Dark Nest Trilogy, Troy Denning. Now... things are worse. But it
was a fun ride getting there!

17 = Legacy of the Force: Betrayal, Aaron Allston. Luke Skywalker's
short-sighted military thinking plunges the Galaxy into war. Han and
Wedge step up and save the day.

16 = The New Jedi Order: Enemy Lines duology, Aaron Allston. Wedge
Antilles plays hardball with the Yuuzhan Vong. If only the New
Republic had given him command at the beginning, rather than trying
to sideline the Bantam-era characters as politically undesirable....

15 = Shadows of the Empire, Steve Perry. Many Bothans died to bring
you this ESB/RotJ bridge novel. It may have Dash Rendar instead of
Han, but it also has a lot of strong POV from Leia, plus a lounge-
lizard crime kingpin, and a much cuter battledroid than the ones in
the Prequels.

14 = Legacy of the Force: Inferno, Troy Denning. Luke Skywalker
strikes back. And Anakin kisses Tahiri, too. The only complaint you
can really make about this book is that they surely didn't need five
earlier novels to set up the fun.

13 = X-wing: Starfighters of Adumar, Aaron Allston. Blastswords at
five paces!

12 = The New Jedi Order: The Unifying Force, James Luceno. The
Galactic Alliance re-conquer the Galaxy, one continuity reference at
a time.

11 = Labyrinth of Evil, James Luceno. Like many things about the
Prequels, the question of just who was hiding beneath Darth Sidious's
cowl seems more compelling on the printed page.

10 = X-wing: Wraith Squadron arc, Aaron Allston. Ewoks and Super Star
Destroyers, oh my!!

9 = Shatterpoint, Matthew Woodring Stover. "I love the smell of
tibanna in the morning!"

7 = X-wing: Rogue Squadron arc, Michael A. Stackpole. Almost all the
novels with serious X-wing action make the top 20. The series that
kinda started it all is the highest-placed of the specifically
squadron-focused entries.

7 = Star Wars: Legacy: Broken, John Ostrander/Jan Duursema. New
Century. New Skywalker. New Empire. New Sith.... Same Galaxy. Welcome
back.

6 = The Hand of Thrawn duology, Timothy Zahn. In the mid-1990s, there
was a meme called "How Zahn Could Fix This Mess". Then he did.
Because everyone loves an all-too-human Luke Skywalker and thoroughly
professional Imperial officers, with a side-helping of roguish
smuggler types.

5 = Knights of the Old Republic, LucasArts. Before the fortieth
century BBY re-emerged as an established setting for stories, there
was just this computer game, and the concept which its creators were
aiming for was palpable and simple: Star Wars.

4 = The New Jedi Order: Star by Star, Troy Denning. Anakin Solo dies.
Coruscant falls. Luke Skywalker gets back in the cockpit and leads
the Jedi Knights out in X-wings against the Yuuzhan Vong. Still the
biggest single story in the Expanded Universe.

3 = The New Jedi Order: Traitor, Matthew Woodring Stover. From the
biggest, to the most tightly-focused. It wasn't Jacen who realy
changed here, it was the Star Wars Galaxy, and the fandom.

2 = The Thrawn Trilogy, Timothy Zahn. Forget the Prequels. Forget the
Special Editions. This is where it all began again.

1 = Revenge of the Sith novelization, Matthew Woodring
Stover. "Though this is the end of the age of heroes, it has saved
its best for last." And it's at the very top of our list!

Well, that's the climax of the "Top 100" poll: but there's more to
come from us.
Over the next few days, the TF.N Books team will be bringing you our
own, personal count-downs of our personal favourite Expanded Universe
works.
If you wish to check them out, check out www.theforce.net