Claudia Gray has quickly become a favorite author of mine within Star Wars. I can definitely see why so many fans love her work. I’ve only read four of her novels but here’s my ranking: 1. The Fallen Star - Arguably my favorite HR novel. The Rising Storm is probably more solid overall but I loved the second half of this one. 2. Lost Stars - I agree with your points on aspects of this book not really fitting Star Wars. But even then I really loved the story of this book. I’m not really a romance fan so I didn’t know if I’d like it, but I was pleasantly surprised. 3. Into the Dark - The characters are what really stand out for me in this one. Reath is one of my favorite HR characters, the Vessel crew is lots of fun, and the other Jedi are great too. I also think I may prefer this one over Light of the Jedi. 4. Master and Apprentice - Didn’t really grab me for the first half, but I loved the second half. Again, great character work, especially for Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon and their relationship. I never really saw why Qui-Gon is such a popular character in the fandom, but this book gave me much more appreciation for him.
100% agree that there are some things that don't belong in Star Wars that feel like they don't fit. Thank you so much for your content, you are the reason I am launching my own book review channel in a few days. I am inspired by how much you love to talk about books that I feel the same!
I've only read Master and Apprentice so far and to be honest I was a bid underwelmed. I loved how all the jedi are written, they felt really close to the movies. The new characters were interesting, too and I loved their backstories. I also love the concept of the planets art beeing inward. Some plot threads just ended. For example the opposition, as soon as they get their reveal they are just gone from the rest of the book. The plot starts out interesting, but the ending felt really rushed to me. The ending just felt too perfect to me. Everyone survives, the hyperlane is build, the big, bad cooperation is gone from Pijal, slavery is banned to a point where every slave that comes to the planet is automaticly freed, the planet has a perfect democracy, Pax and Rahara get together, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are now great at working as a team, the princess just gets house arrest and the guard was really just a good guy doing his job.
I kind of liked how perfect the ending was. It felt a lot like the old “Jedi Apprentice” series and how those books usually ended perfectly too. But I can understand how it can be frustrating. It was just the right book at the right time for me.
Yeah the ending of Master and Apprentice was just straight-up awful. So much tension and build-up and then the worst climax I've read in any Star Wars novel so far. The resolution is so easy, with all good guys and bad guys living happily ever after lmao. Lame asf book
Great Ranking. Leia is the only one I haven't read. But out of the ones I have read, Master and Apprentice is my favorite but Lost Stars is a very very close second. She has some of the best character work out there.
That seems to be the consensus that her character work is better than her favorite plot. She’s kind of the opposite of Delilah Dawson, who I think has great plots but not good character work.
Awesome list….I’m starting to catch up on my Star Wars reading and honestly never considered Master and Apprentice to be way up on my reading list (that has obviously changed!); thanks for vid!
I’m so happy that you’re bumping up master and apprentice on your TBR. It is a wonderful book. It will make you nostalgic for the early 2000s and the prequel‘s. Thank you for watching!
I personally quite enjoyed Lost Stars. I completely agree with your comment on sexual elements and swearing, but other than that I think it's one of the best Star Wars books. Exploring the events of the OT from an alternate perspective was incredibly fascinating and fun.
great video my friend. i need to read some of her star wars books for sure lol im just starting from the beggining of legends right know. im sure i will get there over time, but as of right now thats were im at lol
I really like Claudia Grey! Master & Apprentice is my #1 Canon Star Wars book. I haven't read Fallen Star yet (the next one on my list), but I have to say that Into the Dark disappointed me a bit.
My ranking would probably be 6/5: Leia and Bloodline, have not read yet 4 Into The Dark, id have to agree with you, besides Geode, the book wasnt fun 3 The Fallen star, i enjoyed it but it was not quite as good following the rising storm, but its a really hard book to follow 2 Lost Stars, fun book, i really enjoy empire era 1 Master and apprentice, it is just a good book
Good ranking. I definitely think you’re in for a treat with Bloodline and Leia: Princess of Alderaan. Definitely go hand in hand. Thank you for watching.
@@jonathankoan if be surprised if that was Grays intention and its been a while since I've read it, but I recall some passages around centralised power that could have easily applied to the EU. That might be as im in the UK and that was on everyone's mind back then though
Hello again Jonathan! Is Leia a YA book? You gave it a real great review, but I have never read a YA book in my life--deliberately. It would be very strange to start *now*, when I'm 74-years-old! Are there any good adult books that focus on Leia? (By any author.)
This is a YA book, but it’s probably one of the best Star Wars YA book, so you could use it as a barometer for whether you find them interesting. This and Bloodline, which are both by Claudia grey, are amazing Leia novels. In the Legends/EU continuity, there are several books where Leia is a very central figure to the plot, but not necessarily that many Leia specific books that I have read. She has a major part of the Heir to the Empire Trilogy, but not necessarily the main focus.
For Claudia’s books, no not really. If you want to read the High Republic, it’s a more complicated answer. But most of the books not part of a series can be read as a stand-alone.
I agree with your review of lost stars. It’s a great read but the teen romance really didn’t appeal to me. The whole descriptive language of the characters getting physical and then the dramatization of longing for more in later parts felt so dumb to me. Master and apprentice is a masterpiece. Awesome videos and I appreciate your thoughts and passion about reading.
Absolutely! I’ll read that on release day and have that review probably ready the next week afterwards. I do not receive review copies, so I have to wait until it is officially out to read it.
I'm currently reading "Lost Stars". I think it's okay. I'm about halfway through it and it's finally getting more interesting. A non-Star Wars series of hers that I read is the "Defy The Stars" series. It's a trilogy -- Defy The Stars, Defy The Fates, Defy The Worlds. I loved that trilogy! Really action-packed with some humor. It is YA, but I really enjoyed that one.
Thank you! I don't get why Lost Stars is so beloved. It was ok, but it was too YA for my Star Wars tastes. It feels like maybe it was already written as a non-Star Wars book and then shoved into a Star Wars wrapper.
Claudia Grey's High Republic is the *weakest* of the three? Oh dear; I was really kind-of hoping she might save it... Certainly "Into the Dark" was nothing truly special, but I had fun with it and was especially impressed when the thing I expected to happen (creepy artefact to Coruscant) happened already *halfway* into the book; and from there, it was really a mystery of whatever was going to happen next. On the other hand, I just don't get all the love for "Light of the Jedi". It just didn't do anything good for me at all. I haven't bothered to continue investigating THR ever since. And if even Claudia Gray's adult entry is no better than LotJ, I fear it's all just not for me... Shame, really. At first, the concept really did intrigue me. But those Nihil are strange villains. And messing around with hyperspace travel is just SUCH an annoying plot point. Just let travel be travel. After my annoyance with Ep 9 (which included the *ugh* "hyperspace skipping"), I escaped to Legends for quite some time. Finally gave Heir to the Empire a chance for the first time and *so* enjoyed the sensible realism of interplanetary travel taking hours, days, sometimes *weeks*. FINALLY some Star Wars that understood that *a full galaxy is a big - dam - place*!! Then I think I read LotJ around the same time and that is all about doing the exact opposite. Distances suddenly don't matter. And most characters seemed to kind-of just "be there". I never got to really understand who they were. Unlike "Into the Dark". Smaller scale story, but I did again get to *know* these characters; their feelings, their fears, their motivations...
Light of the Jedi just told the type of story I enjoy. Multi-protagonist, but with a focus being the main plot. Same with The Rising Storm, and I really like these plot based books as opposed to character based works, but I understand that it’s not for everyone.
I thought she was highly entertaining in Leia Princess of Alderaan, which is one of my favorites. That’s the most we’ve gotten from her, and she was really funny and interesting there. Basically the Star Wars version of Luna Lovegood.
She's honestly one of the more overrated Star Wars authors. She's often praised as one of the best canon authors, but in my opinion only half her books are standouts. 1. The High Republic: The Fallen Star - Masterpiece. One of the two fantastic things to come out of The High Republic, along with Light of the Jedi (though I'm still not done Phase II yet) 2. Lost Stars - Great 3. Leia: Princess of Alderaan - Great 4. Bloodline - Good but sometimes boring (the politics were intriguing half the time and prequel-level boring the other half) 5. Master and Apprentice - One of the most - if not THE most - overrated Star Wars books. Painfully mid. Will never understand the love it gets (I know, people have different tastes etc., still doesn't mean I understand) Didn't finish Into the Dark, but will eventually. Have read the first half and didn't like it.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy Master and Apprentice and Bloodline, those are some of my favorites! But I understand that they don’t work for everyone. Thank you for watching!
Claudia Gray has quickly become a favorite author of mine within Star Wars. I can definitely see why so many fans love her work. I’ve only read four of her novels but here’s my ranking:
1. The Fallen Star - Arguably my favorite HR novel. The Rising Storm is probably more solid overall but I loved the second half of this one.
2. Lost Stars - I agree with your points on aspects of this book not really fitting Star Wars. But even then I really loved the story of this book. I’m not really a romance fan so I didn’t know if I’d like it, but I was pleasantly surprised.
3. Into the Dark - The characters are what really stand out for me in this one. Reath is one of my favorite HR characters, the Vessel crew is lots of fun, and the other Jedi are great too. I also think I may prefer this one over Light of the Jedi.
4. Master and Apprentice - Didn’t really grab me for the first half, but I loved the second half. Again, great character work, especially for Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon and their relationship. I never really saw why Qui-Gon is such a popular character in the fandom, but this book gave me much more appreciation for him.
Bring back Rael Aveross! He is such a cool character that I want to see some more of. I also agree with the Jude Watson comparison. Interesting list!
Yeah it’s such a shame for him to be essentially in two things.
100% agree that there are some things that don't belong in Star Wars that feel like they don't fit. Thank you so much for your content, you are the reason I am launching my own book review channel in a few days. I am inspired by how much you love to talk about books that I feel the same!
I've only read Master and Apprentice so far and to be honest I was a bid underwelmed.
I loved how all the jedi are written, they felt really close to the movies.
The new characters were interesting, too and I loved their backstories.
I also love the concept of the planets art beeing inward.
Some plot threads just ended. For example the opposition, as soon as they get their reveal they are just gone from the rest of the book.
The plot starts out interesting, but the ending felt really rushed to me.
The ending just felt too perfect to me. Everyone survives, the hyperlane is build, the big, bad cooperation is gone from Pijal, slavery is banned to a point where every slave that comes to the planet is automaticly freed, the planet has a perfect democracy, Pax and Rahara get together, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are now great at working as a team, the princess just gets house arrest and the guard was really just a good guy doing his job.
I kind of liked how perfect the ending was. It felt a lot like the old “Jedi Apprentice” series and how those books usually ended perfectly too. But I can understand how it can be frustrating. It was just the right book at the right time for me.
Yeah the ending of Master and Apprentice was just straight-up awful. So much tension and build-up and then the worst climax I've read in any Star Wars novel so far. The resolution is so easy, with all good guys and bad guys living happily ever after lmao. Lame asf book
She's better at character writing than plot if Fallen Star and Master & Apprentice are anything to go by
I think you’re right about her character work being superior to her own plots.
Great Ranking. Leia is the only one I haven't read.
But out of the ones I have read, Master and Apprentice is my favorite but Lost Stars is a very very close second. She has some of the best character work out there.
That seems to be the consensus that her character work is better than her favorite plot. She’s kind of the opposite of Delilah Dawson, who I think has great plots but not good character work.
Awesome list….I’m starting to catch up on my Star Wars reading and honestly never considered Master and Apprentice to be way up on my reading list (that has obviously changed!); thanks for vid!
I’m so happy that you’re bumping up master and apprentice on your TBR. It is a wonderful book. It will make you nostalgic for the early 2000s and the prequel‘s.
Thank you for watching!
Do it man! You won’t regret it!
Thank you for the video.
I personally quite enjoyed Lost Stars. I completely agree with your comment on sexual elements and swearing, but other than that I think it's one of the best Star Wars books. Exploring the events of the OT from an alternate perspective was incredibly fascinating and fun.
Hi 👋 great review video!! Happy reading to you!! 📚🎥📓📖
Thank you for watching!
great video my friend. i need to read some of her star wars books for sure lol im just starting from the beggining of legends right know. im sure i will get there over time, but as of right now thats were im at lol
I really like Claudia Grey! Master & Apprentice is my #1 Canon Star Wars book. I haven't read Fallen Star yet (the next one on my list), but I have to say that Into the Dark disappointed me a bit.
My ranking would probably be
6/5: Leia and Bloodline, have not read yet
4 Into The Dark, id have to agree with you, besides Geode, the book wasnt fun
3 The Fallen star, i enjoyed it but it was not quite as good following the rising storm, but its a really hard book to follow
2 Lost Stars, fun book, i really enjoy empire era
1 Master and apprentice, it is just a good book
Good ranking. I definitely think you’re in for a treat with Bloodline and Leia: Princess of Alderaan. Definitely go hand in hand. Thank you for watching.
The centrists and the populists evoked the brexit debate more than anything
That hadn’t occurred to me, that’s an interesting take.
@@jonathankoan if be surprised if that was Grays intention and its been a while since I've read it, but I recall some passages around centralised power that could have easily applied to the EU. That might be as im in the UK and that was on everyone's mind back then though
Hello again Jonathan! Is Leia a YA book? You gave it a real great review, but I have never read a YA book in my life--deliberately. It would be very strange to start *now*, when I'm 74-years-old! Are there any good adult books that focus on Leia? (By any author.)
This is a YA book, but it’s probably one of the best Star Wars YA book, so you could use it as a barometer for whether you find them interesting.
This and Bloodline, which are both by Claudia grey, are amazing Leia novels. In the Legends/EU continuity, there are several books where Leia is a very central figure to the plot, but not necessarily that many Leia specific books that I have read. She has a major part of the Heir to the Empire Trilogy, but not necessarily the main focus.
For someone that has only seen the movies, is there any prerequisite reading you would recommend before any of these books?
For Claudia’s books, no not really. If you want to read the High Republic, it’s a more complicated answer. But most of the books not part of a series can be read as a stand-alone.
I agree with your review of lost stars. It’s a great read but the teen romance really didn’t appeal to me. The whole descriptive language of the characters getting physical and then the dramatization of longing for more in later parts felt so dumb to me.
Master and apprentice is a masterpiece. Awesome videos and I appreciate your thoughts and passion about reading.
Thank you for watching! Glad you enjoyed Master and Apprentice!
Will you do a review on the princess and the scoundrel?
Absolutely! I’ll read that on release day and have that review probably ready the next week afterwards. I do not receive review copies, so I have to wait until it is officially out to read it.
I'm currently reading "Lost Stars". I think it's okay. I'm about halfway through it and it's finally getting more interesting. A non-Star Wars series of hers that I read is the "Defy The Stars" series. It's a trilogy -- Defy The Stars, Defy The Fates, Defy The Worlds. I loved that trilogy! Really action-packed with some humor. It is YA, but I really enjoyed that one.
Thank you! I don't get why Lost Stars is so beloved. It was ok, but it was too YA for my Star Wars tastes. It feels like maybe it was already written as a non-Star Wars book and then shoved into a Star Wars wrapper.
Claudia Grey's High Republic is the *weakest* of the three?
Oh dear; I was really kind-of hoping she might save it...
Certainly "Into the Dark" was nothing truly special, but I had fun with it and was especially impressed when the thing I expected to happen (creepy artefact to Coruscant) happened already *halfway* into the book; and from there, it was really a mystery of whatever was going to happen next.
On the other hand, I just don't get all the love for "Light of the Jedi".
It just didn't do anything good for me at all.
I haven't bothered to continue investigating THR ever since.
And if even Claudia Gray's adult entry is no better than LotJ, I fear it's all just not for me...
Shame, really.
At first, the concept really did intrigue me.
But those Nihil are strange villains.
And messing around with hyperspace travel is just SUCH an annoying plot point.
Just let travel be travel.
After my annoyance with Ep 9 (which included the *ugh* "hyperspace skipping"), I escaped to Legends for quite some time.
Finally gave Heir to the Empire a chance for the first time and *so* enjoyed the sensible realism of interplanetary travel taking hours, days, sometimes *weeks*.
FINALLY some Star Wars that understood that *a full galaxy is a big - dam - place*!!
Then I think I read LotJ around the same time and that is all about doing the exact opposite.
Distances suddenly don't matter.
And most characters seemed to kind-of just "be there".
I never got to really understand who they were.
Unlike "Into the Dark".
Smaller scale story, but I did again get to *know* these characters; their feelings, their fears, their motivations...
Light of the Jedi just told the type of story I enjoy. Multi-protagonist, but with a focus being the main plot. Same with The Rising Storm, and I really like these plot based books as opposed to character based works, but I understand that it’s not for everyone.
@@jonathankoan Plot-based can indeed work very well too.
Hand of Thrawn was like that too in a way; and I'm very grateful those two exist.
Bro how u like Holdo
I thought she was highly entertaining in Leia Princess of Alderaan, which is one of my favorites. That’s the most we’ve gotten from her, and she was really funny and interesting there. Basically the Star Wars version of Luna Lovegood.
I think you were looking for the word wokeness in politics
She definitely includes liberal ideology in some of her books, as do some of the other recent authors.
She's honestly one of the more overrated Star Wars authors. She's often praised as one of the best canon authors, but in my opinion only half her books are standouts.
1. The High Republic: The Fallen Star - Masterpiece. One of the two fantastic things to come out of The High Republic, along with Light of the Jedi (though I'm still not done Phase II yet)
2. Lost Stars - Great
3. Leia: Princess of Alderaan - Great
4. Bloodline - Good but sometimes boring (the politics were intriguing half the time and prequel-level boring the other half)
5. Master and Apprentice - One of the most - if not THE most - overrated Star Wars books. Painfully mid. Will never understand the love it gets (I know, people have different tastes etc., still doesn't mean I understand)
Didn't finish Into the Dark, but will eventually. Have read the first half and didn't like it.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy Master and Apprentice and Bloodline, those are some of my favorites! But I understand that they don’t work for everyone. Thank you for watching!