James Luceno Star Wars Books Ranked!

[@Gunnumn]

I got a funny story. Back in Eighth grade, the literature teachers would assign books throughout the year varying between different genre's. So we finished our first novel of the year and we all had to vote what our book was going to be for sci-fi. Long story short we picked some obscure book nobody heard of because our literature teacher was a senior and was out of touch. But i found out the class next door to us picked out Millennium Falcon by James Luceno. As a life long star wars fan, i was pretty pissed, so much so i tried to switch classes but my guidence counselor didnt buy my act. I just wanted to read star wars and get graded on it so i can rub it in my parents face that i got an A on a Star Wars test.

[@josiahpeterson17]

Only one I've read so far is Darth Plagueis, and I think it remains the best Star Wars book I've ever read. The exploration of the dark side and the dense politics was incredibly intriguing (which was surprising since I despise politics). Seeing Palpatine's rise to power and the connections with Episode 1 was just amazing.

[@jonathankoan]

It’s very good and very popular indeed. That’s the book that cemented Luceno in the Hall of Fame for most people.

[@lexofpower2822]

It was the first Star Wars book I ever read! I do have a comprehension disorder so the politics (I know they’re important) but I was a little lost. The Plagueis and Palpatine dynamic as well as the dark side aspect was my favorite part of the book, not to mention Maul is brought up whom I love. Still a great book! I’m gonna reread it this summer.

[@Bizzon666]

Plagueis is the best indeed

[@JohanHerrenberg]

Funnily enough, I read both Catalyst and Tarkin these past three days, and - liked them equally well... I don't think that opening chapter of Tarkin is bad at all - we get the creation of the Tarkin 'image' to the outside world. His formative childhood, how it shapes the man he will become, was also excellently done. And I was engrossed by all the politics and technology. So - I loved it. Catalyst is, perhaps, a more exciting read. All the characters leapt off the page, and as a set-up for Rogue One, it's perfection. All in all, I enjoyed both books enormously and will certainly be reading James Luceno's other books.

[@brettstalling2269]

I don’t know why but I loved that first tarkin chapter. I loved how descriptive it was. I love wordy nonsense if that makes sense, it makes me feel smart and even if the information isn’t hugely important I still love it because I think it’s subtlety creating who tarkin is. Plus I just love reading no matter what it is

[@forcesmuggler7667]

James Luceno is Top 5 best SW Authors imo. Stover, Allston, Zahn as well for certain. Maybe Crispin, Keyes or Karpyshyn for 5th. The Unifying Force and Darth Plagueis are my Top 5 Favorite books ever list. Reading the NJO series, it's like you wonder, how can this series end on a high note? Or have a happy decent ending? And Luceno delivered. My parents got me the hardback for Christmas 2003. Finished it a couple days later, and man. That ending still sticks with me more than 18 years later. So many moments I could visualize. Darth Plagueis. I liked the book well enough the first time I read it, really helped improve TPM for me, but listened to the audiobook last year, after listening to the Darth Bane trilogy and man. What a ride. I remember when Darth Plagueis was first announced back in 05/06 and was so excited for it, just to have it be cancelled. Didn't read the first Darth Bane book for a month, because of that, just to fall in love with that book. Labyrinth of Evil. That and the ROTS novel made the hype for the movie that much more real. I was under the weather for one of releases, but wasn't going to miss getting those books. Had to promise my parents, I wasn't going to get sick when we went to Barnes and Noble to get it, but would have been worth it.

[@jonathankoan]

That’s a great story. I do love most of his work. I sadly did not get into Star Wars books until late 2015, so I missed quite a lot of the big releases and moments in the fandom. But I’ve been there for all the book releases since, and have read just about every subsequent book on release day.

[@SteveHolm89]

Good list. Only read Plagueis and Cloak of Deception and loved both. Planning on reading Labyrinth, Vader and Catalyst soonTM. Really like Lucenos writing.

[@jonathankoan]

He has a very classic and satisfying style. His action isn’t particularly impressive, but his tone is excellently Star Wars!

[@topdog5252]

You might love the Darth Bane trilogy, and the RotS novelisation is really great too

[@SteveHolm89]

@@topdog5252 I just started the Bane trilogy right now actually. One of my most anticipated reads :)

[@topdog5252]

@@SteveHolm89 You’re gonna love it. I’ve listened to the audiobook at least 4 times now I think!

[@Bizzon666]

Bane trilogy and Plagueis are the best! But I like Catalyst very much too

[@davidvissersbooks]

I was a big fan of Dark Lord: the Rise of Darth Vader and it stands at the top of my Star Wars list for favorite books (very close with Outbound Flight - I have yet to read the Thrawn books so I'm sure those will rise above this book when I do). I have always loved Vader and the turmoil of his story arc and I always wanted to see a young Vader film where he's hunting down the Jedi who survived Order 66 (childhood dream haha). I hope Obi-Wan Kenobi delivers my Vader desires, but until then, I was very excited with how this book played out - even though it is a Legends book. I have tried a couple times to read Tarkin but have never made it past the first chapter. Guess I should have kept going! Maybe I will re-add it to my TBR shelf and try again. As a character, Tarkin was always high on my list. Darth Plagueis is a book I have been wanting to read for a long time. I always meant to read it after I finished Dark Lord but I just fell out of Star Wars for a while when I slipped into a reading slump that lasted from 2017-2020. I have always been drawn to the Dark Side and fascinated by the Sith. Darth Plagueis sounds like it will definitely deliver what I seek! Great video and thanks for the review!

[@jonathankoan]

Thank you for watching!

[@redfivereviews6132]

Great ranking! I just bought catalyst recently and it’s been highly recommended so I’ll have to check it out very soon. So far, my top favorite luceno novel would have to be Darth Plagueis. Started reading that when I was on a plane heading home on my way home from Disney world. Great video!

[@jonathankoan]

Thank you for watching!

[@MichaelWilliams-ti7pn]

Plaguis is my top I'm reading it again 4th time second dark lord rise of Darth Vader

[@TheChosenOne66501]

I finished Plagueis today and I have Labyrinth of Evil and Dark Lord: RoDV on my list!

[@iamdarthketa]

great video again my friend lol !!! there is quite a few books that i would like to read there so im happy for your info on them :D

[@bigbird2240]

I don’t like the Disney canon but I read that catalyst book and it’s actually great

[@TheSunStudio1]

I always treated Cloak of Deception as a sequel to Darth Plagueis. It felt like a 'part 2', almost...

[@Sabastian2000]

Love these types of Videos!!! Hope to see Karen Travis on this type of video some time.

[@jonathankoan]

I’ve only read about 5 of her books, and still have a few more to go, but she’s definitely one I could do a video for in the future.

[@joenovak4428]

Entertaining video. Any thoughts on how strong Drew Karpyshyn as a Star Wars author? Would love to see maybe an author comparison video (for any authors, not just star wars) or something like that, could be fun.

[@jonathankoan]

Definitely a good video idea. I’ll see if I can get it on the schedule!

[@Revan-sk4qx]

So far I’ve only read Dark Lord and Plagueis, both of which I enjoyed a lot. It’s been several years since I last read Dark Lord though, so that’s on my re-read list at the moment

[@jonathankoan]

It’s pretty entertaining. Catalyst should definitely be on your list, it really adds a lot to Rogue One.

[@Revan-sk4qx]

@@jonathankoan I’m sure I’ll get to it eventually. I hope to have read every Legends and canon book someday, at least the ones that are still being printed. But that’ll definitely take me quite a long time!

[@sane8176]

I'm reading Tarkin currently and I've liked all the scenes from his past and would've actually preferred that to be the books main focus. I just think the main plot of the book is really boring and feel like the chase over Carrion Spike has lasted way more than it should. Everything with Palpatine and Coruscant has been great though. Looking foward to Catalyst! Great video!

[@jonathankoan]

Catalyst really is a significant step up, even though they were written close together. I hope you enjoy it!

[@randyrayborn4405]

My Luceno list is not far off: 1. Catalyst 1. Darth Plagueis - not a typo; I kept switching this and Catalyst between 1 and 2 until I gave up and ranked them a tie. 3. Millennium Falcon - my favorite until Plagueis and Catalyst. Hope you get to it soon; I'd enjoy your take on it. 4. Dark Lord - I just really enjoyed this one. Maybe it's my "rose-colored" Luceno. 5. Unifying Force - great NJO ending! 6. Cloak of Deception - I just didn't like it and I've re-read it to be certain; the politics in this one bored me - oddly, my complaints about this book are the same as my praises of Plagueis and Catalyst and maybe that says more about my growth in 20 years than it says about Luceno as an author. 7-8. Agents of Chaos - agreed on your points. I do like (or rather understand) grieving Han and like how those themes were carried into Force Awakens Han and his broken relationship with Ben and Leia. 9. Labyrinth of Evil -agreed on your points; Clone Wars 2D is superior. 10. Tarkin - agreed on your points. Fun to watch and reminisce about Star Wars books - as always. Keep 'em coming!

[@jonathankoan]

Thanks for watching, and excellent list!

[@davidvissersbooks]

I would have to agree with #4. I feel like Dark Lord is my "rose-colored" Star Wars book. As a Vader fan, I just thought it was so cool to follow him just weeks after becoming bound to the suit and how he adjusted to his new life.

[@Bazscoobz]

Damn I loved Tarkin. Aside from loving the character i loved all the flashbacks to gis childhood and past in general. To me it almost felt like some kind of autobiographical work.

[@jonathankoan]

Right, the intimate character study is what worked for the book, it just had odd pacing.

[@wilhufftarkin8543]

Thank you.

[@atem4i875]

Как всегда интересный ролик. Мой топ-5 лучших книг Лучено: 1. Дарт Плэгас 2. Тёмный Повелитель: Восход Дарта Вейдера 3. Лабиринт зла 4. Катализатор 5. Под покровом лжи

[@brettstalling2269]

Have you ever heard the tragedy of Darth plaejis the wise

[@jonathankoan]

It’s not a story the Jedi would tell…

[@brettstalling2269]

@@jonathankoan oh I was just spelling it like that because you say it a different way than what I’ve heard. But crap, I want to continue the quotes but I can’t remember. 😂uhhhhhh “the dark side of the force unlocks many abilities some consider to be unnatural.”

[@jonathankoan]

@@brettstalling2269 that’s something I get complaints about, but many characters have many pronunciations in Star Wars, so pronunciations never really bothered me. Especially since I read everything in physical paper back, I don’t hear the pronunciations as much.

[@brettstalling2269]

@@jonathankoan I see

[@Yuuzhanvon]

Its pronounced with a hard G Like the word Plague. Not Plajueis. Plagueis

[@jonathankoan]

Gotcha. Timothy Zahn always talks about how characters names are inconsistent, and since I don't listen to audiobooks I normally am just assuming the pronunciation. But the hard G makes sense.

[@kristianwhite1061]

@@jonathankoan ​ He is name dropped in Revenge of the Sith so the character isn’t book/audiobook exclusive.

[@jonathankoan]

@@kristianwhite1061 I remember him being in the movies, I just don’t rewatch them that often. Unless a show is a new, I really am not rewatching the movies and shows.

[@carolynmcmaster7280]

Why do you insist that books be fun to get a high score? There are many virtues books can possess besides being fun. I like fun, but not if it leaves out other good qualities.

[@jonathankoan]

There are books that aren’t necessarily fun that I really respect and view as well done, but the whole point of ranking and rating books, at least to me, is to focus on the enjoyability factor of the book. Thankfully, authors like James Luceno have excellent track records.

[@carolynmcmaster7280]

@@jonathankoan Thanks for answering my question. I think I may have misunderstood what you meant by "fun." I can like books that I can *enjoy*, but they aren't always fun to read, whether because of a heavy theme, the complexity of the plot, or emotional bleakness. BTW, I enjoy reading your posts very much. They've very much influenced which of the Star Wars books I've bought. You're not my only source of information on the two series, but you're a very good one. Thanks!

[@kjtj397]

2:43 just like everything else with Disney 💀🤡

[@jonathankoan]

I would not say everything. There’s been a ton of great books and shows produced that display a lot of creativity and excitement for the brand. There have been stuff that I thought was weaker or not as good, or even going through the motions, but I’d never say it was all of what they’ve produced.

[@kjtj397]

@@jonathankoan nah fam its Disney corpo slop

[@kjtj397]

@@jonathankoan Maybe there is some good books or comics but none of the shows have been good…

[@brettstalling2269]

@@kjtj397Good thing opinions aren’t facts