The Weekly Shelf Talker: Star Wars Legacy of the Force

The Weekly Shelf Talker is our Friday column, in which a Vroman's employee recommends a great book, new or old, fiction or not, for you to enjoy. This week's Shelf Talker is from J. Clark Mason who recommends Star Wars Legacy of the Force, by Aaron Allston, Karen Traviss & Troy Denning:

I’ve been a Star Wars fan since seeing Star Wars in 1977 when it was first on the big screen. There have been a lot of Star Wars books released over the years that have expanded the universe of Star Wars, but I have only dabbled at reading a handful of them, never sure which of the many books to read or when they were set it the Star Wars timeline.

Then in December 2007 I stumbled upon the Legacy of the Force series. The series' first book was released in the summer of 2006. The series is planned for 9 books (8 of the books have been published as of March 2008, the 9th book is due out in May 2008) and has re-energized my love of George Lucus’ world. The series starts about 40 “standard” years after Star Wars: A New Hope. The main focus of the series is the current lives of Luke, Han, Leia and their families. Many of the characters from the original movies are in the series including R2-D2, C-3PO, Lando, Boba Fett and Wedge Antilles. I am listening to the abridged audio books and I’m on book six, I love every moment and can’t wait to drive into work listening to the high points and low points of the Galactic Alliance and the current heroes and villains.

The series is not as light as the first three movies were, the series is darker and similar to the prequel movies (Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith), but it is a wonderful series and can’t be missed by any Star Wars enthusiast. You don’t need to have read any other Star Wars book, but you definitely need to have read the book version or watched the six movies to have a good base for this series, but who hasn’t seen the six Star Wars movies? Anyway, I strongly recommend these books on either audio or in print; they are listed below in order:

#1 Betrayal
#2 Bloodlines
#3 Tempest
#4 Exile
#5 Sacrifice
#6 Inferno
#7 Fury
#8 Revelation
#9 Invincible (due out May 2008)

J. Clark Mason is Vroman's Chief Financial Officer.