21 Star Wars Books You Should Read

Cover to Allegiance by Timothy Zahn. Image via publisher Del Rey

11. Allegiance

Not every Rebel started out as a farm boy or a princess. In this Legends work, Timothy Zahn introduces some Stormtroopers who become disillusioned with the Empire after orders to execute citizens who clearly don’t have to do anything with the Rebellion.

So, they have a small revolution of their own and find themselves teaming up with Han Solo and the rest of the crew not long after the Battle of Yavin in A New Hope. Leia in particular gets some extra focus.

On the other side of things, we also get a look at a younger Mara Jade, right as she starts to earn the trust of the Emperor, and her rivalry with Darth Vader for Sidious’ attention and favor.

Goodreads reviews praise the Stormtroopers getting characters of their own as well as the intertwining plots.

This one can stand alone. However, Zahn later released a sequel, Choices of One, which further features Luke, Han, Leia, and Mara Jade.

In terms of in-universe timeline, you can pair both books with the Empire and Rebellion series, as all four take place between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. You can also read these as part of a Zahn-Star Wars binge, where you can slot them either before or after the Thrawn trilogy.