What are some good fictional Star Wars books to check out?
I was the Star Wars nerd you’re looking for when I was a teen. I’d recommend starting out with Timothy Zahn’s initial trilogy that begins with Heir to the Empire, which is set in roughly the immediate aftermath of the movies. It is pretty true to the characters from the original trilogy, and entertainingly enough written. I believe they were actually the first official attempts at expanding the franchise via mainstream novels. I remember enjoying Kevin J. Anderson’s novels, which focused more on Luke and the renaissance of the Jedi. He also edited a few collections of short stories which gave backstories to minor characters, from Mos Eisley,
I’m a little out of date, as I’ve not bought or read any Star Wars books for years, but: I’ll nth the Timothy Zhan Thrawn Trilogy books, which as kyleg notes were the first expanded-universe novels to be written. They follow the original heroes’ story and, as noted, are probably the closest you’ll get to Episodes 7, 8 and 9. Likewise a definite recommendation for all of the X Wing series books – Michael A Stackpole and Aaron Allston – and also a bunch of X Wing:Rogue Squadron comics that fill in gaps in the novels. I’ve got five of the short story collections (“Tales…), “
