21 Star Wars Books You Should Read

Cover of X-Wing: Mercy Kill by Aaron Allston. Image via publisher Del Rey

2. The X-Wing Series

Michael A. Stackpole and Aaron Allston wrote this series of 10 Legends novels. Unsurprisingly, it deals with X-Wing squadrons, including Rogue Squadron and then Wraith Squadron.

You can divide the books into several smaller series. The first four books follow Rogue Squadron, featuring Wedge Antilles, as the Rebel Alliance looks to retake Coruscant after the fall of the Emperor and then deals with the machinations of Imperial intelligence director Ysanne Isard.

The next three take a look at Wraith Squadron facing off against a warlord named Zsinj, so they go best with The Courtship of Princess Leia.

Finally, the other three books do not link to each other, though Isard’s Revenge follows up Stackpole’s first four books. Wedge Antilles also features in Starfighters of Adumar, the ninth book. Mercy Kill, the last book in the series, does return to Wraith Squadron, however, so you should likely read it after Allston’s first three books.

Goodreads compares Rogue Squadron to Top Gun, though no highways to the danger zone exist in the Star Wars universe to my knowledge. Also, no one plays “Take My Breath Away” or beach volleyball.

These can get paired with The Thrawn Trilogy and The Hand of Thrawn, though they are a self-contained series.