A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

George Lucas gave us the tour de force (no pun intended) that is the epic space opera Star Wars. I love Star Wars so much. This is series has been a huge part of my life. I know all the characters, all the ships, the planets, everything. I saw all the films, watched both animated series, read the books, and played the games. I even know what goes on in the Canon and Expanded Universe, which to me is still BS that they changed it so much to a point I still refuse to believe they are both separate because Star Wars is not two things like comic books it is all one whole thing. So in this discussion I want to talk about some of my favorite Star Wars stories (excluding the films). These are stories you may have heard or not.

• Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy: This series of books are great because it introduced us to one of the best Star Wars villains to date, Grand Admiral Thrawn. He was a vicious as Darth Vader and as cunning as Grand Moff Tarkin. This series took place after the events in Return of the Jedi where the New Republic tries to get rid of the last remaining factions of the Empire. This book series is great not only did we get our favorite Star Wars posse from the Original Trilogy but we also get epic battles, drama, and new characters like Mara Jade, who goes on to be Luke's wife. Yes, Luke gets married. Or not anymore. "Thanks Disney" >
  
  
• Darth Bane: In this series of novels we get introduced to the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Bane. Oh you think the Dark Side is your ally. You merely adopted it. He was born with it. Molded by it. Darth Bane was the one who created the Rule of Two, where there shall forever be two Sith Lords, a master and an apprentice. One to harness power and the other to crave it. Here you learn more about the Sith culture and how they harness the Dark Side of the Force. Highly recommended!
  
  
• Star Wars Republic Commando: Much like the video game of the same name, this novel series follows a squadron of elite clone troopers known as clone commandos during the Clone Wars. The series dives into the mind set of each soldier and gives their thoughts about the war, even hinting at the darker events to come.
  
  
• Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: This is by far the best Star Wars game of all time with an expansive story that equals that of both trilogies. Set 3000 years before the rise of the Galactic Empire, you play as a soldier turned Jedi on a quest to stop the Sith Empire from conquering the galaxy. Unlike most games, the actions and sequences in the game are based around the choices you make. Do something good and you'll follow the path of the light. Do something bad and you'll head further down the dark path. So which path would you follow?
  
  
• Star Wars Jedi Prince Series: This was a short young readers series that also took place after the events in Episode 6. This time we are introduced to Ken, a Jedi Prince. Isn't that an unusual title? This series was obviously written before the start of the Prequel Trilogy, but it was still a good read. 
  
  
• Star Wars Death Troopers: Star Wars and zombies. What more do you need?