Cover to Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor by Matthew Stover. Image via publisher Del Rey
12. Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor
Look, we found the missing Luke book! (Just kidding. The Empire and Rebellion Luke book really did get retooled into Heir to the Jedi.) Instead, this book takes place after the end of the original trilogy, though not very long after. Destroying Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader did not destroy the Empire entirely.
The Dark Side of the Force still has its representatives, and one of them serves as the main antagonist of this book. Naturally, Luke is put on the case. That’s why his name is in the title.
The novel has a curious theory attached to it: that it’s actually a novelization of an in-universe story written by someone in the frame story. Author Matthew Stover has neither confirmed nor denied this, but a pair of blog posts seems to support the theory. (Warning: those posts contain some explicit language.)
Unlike some of the darker entries on this list, Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor is flat-out fun at times. Goodreads praises its look at Luke’s propaganda and the fact that it seems to actually get his character.
However, like many of the entries on this list, it does happen to be Legends. Pick this one if you get bogged down midway through a heavy trilogy or New Jedi Order.