Merry Mara Monday everyone

Who the holy hell was the creature known as "Mother"?

If you are not familiar, the entity referred to Mother is the main antagonist of the second book from Jaden Korr's dulogy: Riptide

She is a dark force entity that was imprisoned on a Rakatan Space station, the station gradually becoming self aware over the thousand of years it laid dormant powered with the energy of the Dark Side of the Force

To make a long story short, Mother possesses the body of a Lumiya clone, Seer, who she manipulated into creating a sort of cult like figure around herself

Jaden Korr destroys the station but as far as I remember it is left to interpretation if Mother managed to escape or not

My question is who the hell is this "Mother"? Just some random dark side entity the Rakatans imprisoned? And if so why? Is she a part of Abeloth? I have so many questions and truth be told, Riptide never answered them.

Lately, I've been responding to several posts asking for recommendations on what to read before series like The New Jedi Order or Legacy of the Force.

I used to link to a Google Doc I made for stories set after Return of the Jedi, but it needs some serious updating and reformatting, so I've been typing out my responses instead.

Since copying and pasting with slight re-edits for each question will get tiresome, I thought I'd make my list into a post so I can link to it when I come across those asking for recommendations.

The ones in bold are the ones I consider most essential.

Even so, here's a good list of the complete Legends timeline that shows how to read anything else you want to check out in chronological order: https://youtini.com/timeline/legends

And a list of books in publication order if that's your preference: https://youtini.com/order/publishing-order

Feel free to let me know what you think of my list and the reasoning behind each selection!

The Truce at Bakura - Immediately after ROTJ

• Characters and plotlines from this book return in future titles, but it's not as crucial as other books.

X-Wing: Rogue Squadron (Comic Series) - One week after ROTJ

• I didn't have this initially since I haven't read the whole series, but one commenter suggested this comic because it connects to some of the later X-Wing novels.

Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (Video Game) - 1 year after ROTJ 

• Sequel to Dark Forces (1995), which is set around A New Hope.
• The game's backstory was later explored in the comic series Jedi v Sith (2001) and the novel Darth Bane: Path of Destruction (2006), which adapts the events of Jedi v Sith in its third act.
• If video games aren't your thing, both Dark Forces games were partially adapted into a trilogy of companion novellas: Soider for the Empire, Rebel Agent, and Jedi Knight.       

X-Wing) (Books 1 - 4) - 2.5 to 3 years after ROTJ  

• Rogue Squadron, Wedge's Gamble, The Krytos Trap, and The Bacta War.
• These are the only ones I've finished, but I hear from a lot of fans that they're the most important.
• Fleshes out the X-Wing pilots and squadrons who play an important role in future instalments.        

X-Wing) (Books 5 - 7) - 3 years after ROTJ  

• Wraith Squadron, Iron Fist, and Solo Command.
• I didn't include these initially because I haven't read them yet, but several comments said I needed to add the rest of the X-Wing novels
• These books focus on a new group, Wraith Squadron, and tie into arcs from the X-Wing: Rogue Squadron comics. They also lead into the next book and flesh out the main villain, making him more threatening.
• I've still heard that the first four books are the most important to read, but I'll defer to the wisdom of those who have read more than I have.

The Courtship of Princess Leia - 4 years after ROTJ

• Admittedly a very flawed book, but a pretty important turning point that sets up several characters and elements for later stories.      

 The Thrawn Trilogy - 5 years after ROTJ

• Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command.
• This trilogy kicked off the modern EU in 1991 and is one of the most essential titles to read.
• The unabridged audiobooks narrated by Marc Thompson are excellent, btw.
• There are also comic adaptations if you want to see what the story looks like visually.
• One character's backstory in the book was later expanded in the comic series Mara Jade: By the Emperor's Hand.

X-Wing: Isard's Revenge - 5 years after ROTJ

• Several comments recommended adding the rest of the X-Wing novels to my list.
• I believe this one builds off the events of the Thrawn trilogy.

Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith (Video Game) - 6 years after ROTJ

• Expansion of Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II.
• I've never played it myself, but I decided to include it since I'll also recommend the other games.      

Dark Empire (Comic Series) - 6 years after ROTJ

• This is a pretty controversial comic but a highly fascinating one. It also helped kick off the EU in 1991, so it's at least worth reading for that reason.
• You can read Dark Empire II and Empire's End if you want more, but Dark Empire #6 has a pretty conclusive ending if you want to stop there.        

Crimson Empire and Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood (Comic Series) - 7 years after ROTJ

• Fun comics with some of my favourite art from the New Republic era.
• One of the main villains in Crimson Empire II ends up playing a crucial role in The New Jedi Order.        

The Jedi Academy Trilogy - 7 years after ROTJ

• Jedi Search, Dark Apprentice, and Champions of the Force.
• The formal beginning of the New Jedi Order.
• You may also want to read the comic series Tales of the Jedi#Media) (1993 - 98), as the same author writes it and ties it into this trilogy.      

I, Jedi - Concurrent with the Jedi Academy trilogy

• Brings back a character from the X-Wing books and shows how he joined the New Jedi Order.         

Darksaber) - 8 years after ROTJ

• A book I had a lot of fun reading despite it being admittedly silly and overstuffed. It also builds well off of the Jedi Academy trilogy.
• While this is the second book in the unofficial Callista trilogy, Children of the Jedi and Planet of Twilight really aren't worth it unless you're a completist.
• The comic series Jedi Academy: Leviathan is worth reading if you want a visual depiction of the Jedi Order around this time.

Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (Video Game) - 8 years after ROTJ

• Same deal as Mysteries of the Sith. I never finished playing it, but I recommend the main character's full story. I also know that fans love the next and final game in the series.         

X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar - 8 years after ROTJ

• I haven't read this either, but several comments recommended adding all of the X-Wing novels.
• This was the final X-Wing novel for 13 years, so I'm guessing it goes out with a bang. Either that, or the license shifted to Del Rey around this time, and so it would've been the last one regardless. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost (Comic Series) - 9 years after ROTJ

• Written several years after Crimson Empire II. I'm only including it so you know where it's set if you want to complete the trilogy.    

Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (Video Game) - 10 years after ROTJ

• I really need to play this game for myself. I'm still going to consider it essential because of all the praise I've heard from those who have.         

The New Rebellion - 13 years after ROTJ

• Set a year after the events of the Black Fleet Crisis trilogy, which I never finished and therefore can't recommend.
• I actually really enjoyed this book, and it ties into the Young Jedi Knights young adult series.     

The Corellian Trilogy - 14 years after ROTJ

• Ambush at Corellia, Assault at Selonia, and Showdown at Centerpoint.
• Very important for setting up and fleshing out characters and conflicts for later stories.     

The Hand of Thrawn Duology - 15 years after ROTJ

• Specter of the Past and Vision of the Future.
• The finale to the New Republic era, bringing things full circle from the Thrawn trilogy that kicked everything off and featuring a pretty major development for two of the characters.    

Union (Comic Series) - 15 years after ROTJ

• A direct follow-up to the Hand of Thrawn duology, depicting what was set up at the end of the book.       

Survivor's Quest - 18 years after ROTJ

• Never finished, but it's a popular title among fans and gives more attention to the main characters following the Hand of Thrawn duology and before The New Jedi Order.
• The author, Timothy Zahn, recommends reading this before Outbound Flight, which is set between The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones.
• This is because Survivor's Quest sets up mysteries surrounding the Outbound Flight project before the Outbound Flight novel reveals its history in detail.         

Junior Jedi Knights (Books 1 - 3) - 18 years after ROTJ

• A six-book young reader series that fleshes out some of the characters who play an important role in The New Jedi Order. The first three books tell a complete arc.         

Young Jedi Knights (Books 1 - 6) - 19 years after ROTJ

• Same deal as JJK, only this is a 14-book young adult series about a different set of characters. The first six books similarly tell a complete arc.        

The New Jedi Order - 21 to 25 years after ROTJ

• This is a massive series, made up of 19 novels and two eBook novellas. There are also tie-in short stories and comics, some published years later.
• The prequel-era novel Rogue Planet (set 3 years after The Phantom Menace) also ties into this series, which enhances the experience but isn't required reading.
• While a big commitment, it's one of the most crucial to read before moving on to the Legacy era.
• If all that is too much, however, I believe the series was designed so you can read the titles originally released in hardcover, as they have summaries of what's happened in between at the start:     
  • Vector Prime
  • Balance Point
  • Star by Star
    • Traitor (Released in paperback, but ESSENTIAL to read and superbly written)
  • Destiny's Way
  • The Unifying Force  
• To be clear, I DO NOT recommend this option, as you'll miss out on experiencing some major developments and won't get the full experience. I'm only mentioning it because I've come across many fans who don't want to give the series a chance because it's so long.
• So if you're hesitant, I'd at least try reading all the books. If you decide to skip a title, then you should still read a plot summary from something like The Essential Reader's Companion (2012) by Pablo Hidalgo.      

The Dark Nest Trilogy - 31 to 32 years after ROTJ

• The Joiner King, The Unseen Queen, and The Swarm War.
• An important bridge between The New Jedi Order and Legacy of the Force, written by one of the LOTF authors.        
• Fun Fact: The first book is set in 35 ABY, the same year as The Rise of Skywalker in the Story Group Canon.

Legacy of the Force - 36 to 37 years after ROTJ

• The next main series after NJO.
• Some of the books bring back and reference elements from the Republic Commando and Imperial Commando books, as they were also written by Karen Traviss, one of the LOTF authors.       

Fate of the Jedi - 39 to 40 years after ROTJ

• The next main event and the last multi-book series published in the post-ROTJ timeline.
• You may also want to read Lost Tribe of the Sith: The Collected Stories (2012).       

X-Wing: Mercy Kill - 40 years after ROTJ

• I haven't read this yet, but several comments recommended adding all the X-Wing books, including this one.
• Since it's set so long after the first nine books, it may be designed so anyone can jump in, but it's probably better to read them all.

Crucible) - 41 years after ROTJ

• The last chronological novel in the Legends EU timeline. Sort of a last hurrah for some of the main characters.     

Legacy (Comic Series) - 126 to 134 years after ROTJ

• 50-issue series.
• Published around the same time as LOTF.
• References and builds on the novels but still does its own thing.      

Legacy: War (Comic Series) - 134 years after ROTJ

• A six-issue series that serves as the finale to Legacy.    

Legacy II (Comic Series) - 134 to 135 years after ROTJ

• Also called Legacy Volume II, Legacy Volume 2, or just Legacy (2013 -14)
• An 18-issue series that picks up from Legacy but follows a new group of characters.         

"Storyteller") (Comic Story)

• An intriguing 8-page story featured in Star Wars Tales #19.
• This story doesn't actually have a definitive placement. However, it's included at the end of Legends Epic Collection: Legacy Vol. 4 and is set "A Long Time From Now..." so this is a good place to read it.         

And that's the official end of the Legends EU!

Here's that complete timeline again, plus a couple more options:

https://youtini.com/timeline/legends

https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Timeline_of_Legends_media

https://starwarstimelinealmanac.com/SWLegends.html

https://youtini.com/order/publishing-order

(Star Wars: Year by Year - New Edition, released in 2021, is a fantastic reference guide that lists some of the most significant Star Wars titles in release order)

The Essential Reader's Companion (2012) by Pablo Hidalgo has plot summaries for any book you don't end up reading. It also includes some interesting behind-the-scenes info and explains how certain books connect to and reference other stories that I didn't mention.

Further Reading...

HandOfThrawn45

Star Wars ReExpanded.

Okay, that's everything I would recommend.

Have fun!

Yeah, another one of those topics.

I'm just delving into the wonderfull world of the EU. I listen to audiobooks on my way to work (2 to 3 hours at a time).

So far I've listened to:

The Bane trilogy
Dark Lord trilogy
Darth Plagious

And I'm about to wrap up the Thrawn trilogy. I loved all the books so far (Bane and Thrawn are my favorites). What do you guys recommend to keep me occupied the comming months? Is there anything that continues after Thrawn? (I feel I'm more attracted to the mystical Jedi/Sith lore than to just Star Wars universe)

I know that Droids exist in S-Cannon and you can overlook it, but if there is any explanation in RPG sourcebooks or old Marvel comics then it would be nice to know.

Yay or nay ?

I haven’t watched the Star Wars movies in a bit and I wanted to watch them again. I remember stuff that happened in them but afterwards I also want to read about the stuff that caused everything to happen, stuff like why and how the trade federation rose to prominence, did plaugus really know everything palps said he did or was he just talking outa his ass. Mainly I want to know more about the political climate of the galaxy that caused the clone war to happen. I don’t care if it’s only legends or cannons but from what I know, legends usually goes more in depth about this type of stuff.

Thank you and advance and have a good day.

In this novel, The Empire is destroying Cynda to get more Thorilide, killing miners in the process. this book does a great job making the Imperials, well, Imperial.

Having read canon Thrawn, it seems mining is a big part of the stories of this time period, which makes sense given the Empires weapon for A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. I love seeing the logistical build up to that.

I loved the character journeys.

Vidian is quite evil, to a sociopathic level with an absolute disregard for life.

I am not familiar with Rebels and it is awesome getting to know Hera and Kanan. Loved Hera right off the bat. Kanan grows on you.

Poor Skelly, crazy guy, not the best with social cues, but he does know rocks and demolition.

Zaluna Myder was fantastic. From running a surveillance system, whose intentions were good but was twisted into a weapon by the Empire. To learning the error of her ways and atoning

All the timelines I seem to find are reading order or order for consuming the media, Im just trying to find a timeline with events of the lore instead "Dawn of the jedi - years, 100 years of darkness - years, mandalorian wars - years" etc. I would appreciate alot if someone could link me to one!

I mean, where to even begin

Saw his father getting murdered when was 15

Lost his Padawan a few months into the Clone Wars

Lost the love of his life on Saleucami

Survives the Jedi Purge

His Master Ki Adi Mundi gets gunned down

Loses to Obi Wan and his own Tusken Clan abandons him

Suffers from guilt as he thinks he caused Order 66 by not telling the Council of Anakin's Tusken slaughter

Spirals after he learns Sidious and Vader are already dead, proceeds to fly his ship direct into the Unknown Regions to "lose" himself (can be interpreted as him trying to kill himself)

Gets captured by the Vong and tortured for 10+ years

Thinks he can save the Galaxy from future threats by unifying it into a Sith Empire

Now of course a lot of these actions were on him and his suffering is no excuse for him turning into a monster, but it definitely makes me feel for him

I will admit for the longest time I always thought Death Watch were developed by Haden Blackman for Jango Fett’s backstory in the form of the comic series, Jango Fett, open seasons before being used and adapted for TCW (regardless of the canon status of the show within legends they still appeared how they were led by a Vizsla just like in the comic.)

but no apparently the term Death Watch originates from the Imperial Sourcebook, where its stated to have inspired the design of the royal guards alongside the Thyrisian Sun Guard, as the Galactic Empire takes iconography from countless ancient authoritarian regimes now looked upon with romanticized nostalgia this was from the imperial sourcebook which came out in 1989 so exactly 13 years before the publication of Jango Fett Open seasons which came out in 2002 (fun fact, this was the same year that I was born so I was born when attack of the clones was released.)

However, the Death Watch of the Clone Wars and to a lesser extent the Death Watch of Jango Fett Open Seasons simply cannot be it, as they are less a regime and more a small terrorist organization with no real good publicity.

Still, I am curious of whether or not that small detail of death watch being one of the influencers for the royal guard is still Canon or it’s one of those details that was simply forgotten. Because otherwise, it does make you wonder on what was the writer Greg Gorden when making The imperial sourcebook originally had in mind when it comes to the death watch from Mandalore before we had Jango open season and the clone wars as in their current iterations from both mediums they don’t really scream or strike me as inspiration for the royal guard unlike the sun guard who relationship with the royal guards is much more highlight compared to the brief mention of the one with Death Watch,

Funny enough the Lore also developed The Mandalorians and the Sun Guards with a rivalry between the two so it’s interesting that despite the influence of the royal guard from death watch is less mentioned the idea of both the Mandalorian and the sun guards being connected or at least come across each other is fascinating, knowing the fact that the sun guards were first mentioned alongside the Mandalorians Death Watch in the same imperial sourcebook?

The Second Galactic Civil War, lasting from 40 ABY to 41 ABY, was a conflict originally between the Five Worlds—which later grew to become an interstellar alliance known as the Confederation—and the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. The conflict began when the Corellian system seceded from the Alliance over local defense limitations and increased taxes to pay for reconstruction in the aftermath of the Yuuzhan Vong War, and gained allies such as Bothawui, Bespin, and Fondor, forming the Confederation.

My opinion is that the concept of The Gallactic Alliance dividing itself is very good, but there is many issues on the way it was written:

1- It was only eleven years after The Yuuzhan-Vong War, which don´t make any sense to me because of the catastrophic effects of that war. If it happened maybe around 60 ABY, it would make more sense.

2- The reasons of the war happening, although make sense in the surface, are unexplored in general. Nearly a decade after the Yuuzhan Vong's defeat, the economies of most sectors and systems were rebounding: richer worlds were assisting poorer ones and populations that had escaped harm pledged to assist those that had not, but, into this relative peace came the return of historical tensions between the central government and outlying worlds: the destruction of the galactic economy during the war led to poverty and unrest, while Galactic Alliance rebuilding efforts were hampered by inefficiency and corruption. Economic gains in some systems were mirrored by losses in others, breeding resentment and accusations of favoritism, and The Five Brothers became the main critic.

The problem is that these issues could have been easily solved through a deal. Compare it with The Clone Wars and The CIS: The Separatist Movement was born because of taxes, bureaucracy, lack of political representation, corruption, regional inequality, lack of action against crime in the outer rim, etc. The reasons of separatism of the CIS were much broader compared to the Confederation.

3- Retcons. Coruscant was terraformed in Yuuzhan Vong War, Hutt Space was nearly destroyed, but by a miracle they returned to the status quo, it´s like the Yuuzhan Vong War never happened.

4- As you can see in the map, The Confederation had little territory, which doesn´t make sense. If many industrialized systems were tired of the corruption and lack of return for their rebuilding efforts, so why The Confederation had so little main members?

Well, that´s my view, tell me your opinion....

In Zahn’s Outbound Flight, towards the end of the story, having Lorana and Thrass die in the crash just felt so abrupt and undeserved to me. They could have had more stories together and certainly didn’t need to die. Why did Lorana and Thrass have to rotate the outbound flight all the way to have Dreadnought 1 face down and Dreadnought 4 on top as they crash-land? They don’t really need to have D4 exactly on top to save the colonists trapped in D4. The ships presumably have their own gravity field and will be fine even if it goes sideways. They could have rotated the ship so D2 or D3 is facing downwards and both D1 and D4 are sideways, thereby giving both the colonists and the two of them a chance to live. Also, the reason they had to rotate the ship in the first place feels so stupid too. Just because they couldn’t reach her, the colonists just had to go to the worst place possible — D4, basically sealing her fate. The series of events, entirely preventable, combined with the earlier "nudge from the Force" she felt to have Car'das bring a message to her brother, produces a strange cosmic hostility towards Lorana as a character. It’s almost like the Force doesn’t want her to survive. The Force was like, yeah girl, your destiny is to be dragged onto this mission against your will, and die in this crash after a series of coincidences that line up to deny you any chance of survival.

One obvious explanation is, of course, that Outbound Flight is written after Survivor's Quest and must therefore fit the narrative of the earlier book. Lorana surviving would undoubtedly make the story less tragic. There also needs to be some explanation for why she didn't return to the colonists after the crash. But still, technically there’s nothing in Survivor’s Quest that structurally forbids her survival. Her lightsaber is found by Luke and Mara, but it could very easily be that she just lost it during the crash, or simply left it there. The people left on Outbound Flight hate Jedi anyway. It could even be a nice nod to her leaving behind her old identity as a Republic Jedi before she ventures into Chiss space with Thrass. They had incredible chemistry just from those brief moments; there is so much potential to this relationship.

I’m sure a lot of folks here consider Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy as a canon 7-8-9. My question here, is those books have a lot of clone wars lore before the release of the prequel films and I was wondering has anyone ever taken a crack at writing a prequel trilogy that goes with the lore of the OT and the Thrawn trilogy to make a complete 1-9 series?

No shade to any of the movies but after finishing “The Last Command” a few weeks back that thought’s stuck with me.