The Star Wars Expanded Universe is a dauntingly large storyline for a newcomer to jump into. I was lucky enough to start my fan hood in the early 90s, right before the time the EU started growing faster than its readers could keep up. Now, the EU spans for thousands of years before and after the movies, correlating stories and characters that are in no way tied or related to the films most Star Wars fans grew up watching. An entire galaxy of possible mini-stories has been created and considered cannon ("official" storyline material). My little brother has probably watched The Saga exponentially more than I have, yet he has never heard of Darman, Coran Horn, or Grand Admiral Thrawn.
All that taken into consideration, there are a few different story lines that a new reader could help themselves to without finding themselves lost in a maelstrom of hodgepodge information.
The Republic Commando Series - Link - One has to begin with Karen Traviss's Republic Commando series, which throws you into the the Star Wars galaxy mere days after the Battle for Geonosis (Episode II: Attack of the Clones). Four clone commandos, canibalized from four different teams that were destroyed during the fight on Geonosis, are forced into a rush/raid mission together on a planet you have never heard of (and probably never hear of again). They meet up with a Jedi Padawan girl who had lost her Jedi Master days earlier, creating a future character arch to evolve into a storyline unlike any other Star Wars storyline I have ever read. This series is, hands-down, my favorite, and if you find yourself disconnected from any of the characters created by Karen Traviss in these books (or any of her characters, for that matter), you shouldn't even be reading anything in the science fiction genre anyways because your real life is probably just too damn interesting. Spoiler: The story of Delta squad and friends abruptly ends four or five books in, but loosely picks back up again in the Legacy of the Force Era decades later in the EU storyline. Like I said before, this is hands down, my favorite series, and because of it Karen Traviss has evolved into my favorite science fiction writer, using her real world military knowledge to write captivating stories showcasing the horrors of war and the necessity of brotherhood. Read it!
The X-Wing Series - Link - Don't let the fact that I read the first novel of this series at age 9 fool you into thinking this series is for children. The storyline takes place shortly after the conclusion of Return of the Jedi, and the Rebellion is still fighting the Empire. The Essential Reader's Companion states that Michael A. Stackpole originally came up with the idea of "Star Wars meets Top Gun" for a novel when he began writing what developed into a ten book series spotlighting the members of Rogue Squadron (and eventually Wraith Squadron). Mr. Stackpole authored the first four books, and Aaron Allston brought the rest of the series home save for Michael coming back to write the eighth installment. This is another series that opens the readers' eyes to a whole new world, creating characters that reach far into the rest of Star Wars cannon. Plus, there's a comic book series that fills the story's void in between the books. All around, this is a great series for action junkies as well as the average suspense readers. With the taking of Coruscant, Industrial espionage, and consistently classic Star Wars dogfights (in space, not Mike Vick style), Stackpole and Allston do an impressive job in getting a Star Wars fan's rocks off.
Shatterpoint - Link - Taking place sometime during the Clone Wars, the story of Mace Windu's trip back to his home world in an attempt to save his former padawan is ranked relatively high on my list of "single story" novels in the Expanded Universe. There isn't a real tie into much else of the EU or the Saga, but Shatterpoint easily builds up Mace Windu's character, adding personality and history to an otherwise frowning mocha face. I'm not quite sure that this novel will help to ease you into the rest of the Expanded Universe, but you could definitely read it with nothing but basic Saga knowledge without getting lost. Plus, if I remember correctly, there was quite a bit of brutal violence. Who doesn't like that?
Shadows of the Empire - Link - Have you ever questioned what happened in between the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi? Well, in 1996, Steve Perry finally answered the SW addicts' beckons. Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, Wedge Antilles, and Dash Rendar (play the N64 game that shares the same name as this book to find out about that guy) take on Darth Vader and Prince Xizor (newly introduced, closet enemy of Vader) in this novel that leads directly into the beginning of Return of the Jedi. I'm pretty sure some of the new characters in this story even had their own action figures. If I think back really hard, I had a Xizor toy before I had any idea who the guy was.
Don't let the Star Wars section at Barnes & Noble scare you, but at the same time, don't let the "conclusion" of the Saga trick you into thinking that the story ends at the Battle of Endor. The Special Extended Edition ending of Return of the Jedi leads newcomers to the Expanded Universe to believe that Empire-controlled Coruscant fell to the Rebel Alliance shortly after the destruction of the second Death Star. Though this may be relatively true in the grand scheme of Star Wars's Expanded Universe timeline (36,000+ years), it still took around three years for the Rebellion (reborn as the New Republic) to liberate the galactic capital from the Empire. I didn't know Coruscant even existed when I started my EU venture. The average Star Wars fan misses so much story by avoiding the novels, comics, and games! So jump on your Kindle/Nook and invest seven dollars into the best fiction decision you will ever make. Happy reading.
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