A good gateway book for Star Wars fans to get into the old so-called legends timeline is the novel “Vector Prime” (the true episode seven if you ask me) in “The New Jedi Order” franchise.  

Set 25 years after the battle of Endor, the universe is at peace, while united under the new Republic which is protected by the new Jedi order that was trained by Luke Skywalker. Luke is now a Jedi Master and married to a former Sith agent sent to kill him. But hey, it beats the old bum Luke that Disney gave us.  

The Skywalkers and rebel heroes of the classics have saved the universe many times over from the remnants of the Empire and now have families of their own such as the Solo children Jacen (not emo Ben Solo), Jaina (the real OG Rey) and Anakin.  

The Jedi, as they did in the times of the Old Republic, travel across space keeping the peace with the Republic Star Fleet. But in this time of peace, a new evil from beyond the outer rim of dark space invades the Republic from within. This new evil is an alien race that is hell bent on bringing never ending pain to the universe as their gods demand nothing less. These beings, known as the Yuuzhan Vong, are such dark, otherworldly things that not even the Jedi can sense them.  

“Vector Prime” stands out as it is the perfect depiction of the next generation of Star Wars history filled with great old and new heroes and villains. Just as the Disney trilogy depicts the passing of the torch of one generation to the next, this book does a better job than Jar Jar Abrams ever did.  

This book is filled with worldbuilding and Jedi lore and continues the hero’s journey that the Jedi are known for. It is filled with all sorts of vast alien worlds and monsters, as well as massive space battles. But this book franchise also takes the saga to some very dark places and not all heroes make it out alive. No one is safe in this war between good and evil. Come and take your first step into a much larger, darker world.