Our favorite Star Wars moments

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 27: Toy light sabers ar eseen at the Sons of Obiwan Saber Academy on June 27, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. The Sons of Obiwan Saber Academy is a volunteer organisation of Star Wars fans who use stage combat as a way to promote fun, fitness and education. The Australian designed and manufactured lightsabers used in classes are made from aluminium with poly-carbonate blades. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

The Dork Side of the Force writers got together to share a list of their favorite Star Wars moments. Check them out and tell us yours!

My all time favorite Star Wars moment comes not from the films or the shows, but from the now defunct Expanded Universe.

In 2002, the New Jedi Order series received its greatest addition, the novel Traitor, by Matthew Stover.  This stands as not only my favorite Star Wars novel, but also my favorite novel, period.

In this novel, Jacen Solo is imprisoned and tortured by Vergere, a sequence of events that not only leads to Jacen Solo unlocking the ability to sense the Yuuzhan Vong in the Force (which in turn brings about to the eventual conclusion of the war, but also leads to his eventual transition to Darth Caedus in the Legacy series).

It is in this story where Jacen develops the mentality of what many would describe as a “Gray Jedi,” a Jedi who embraces a little of both sides.  He bonds with a dhuryam, a Yuuzhan Vong creature that becomes the “world-brain” of reformed Coruscant – Jacen’s connection with the dhuryam will come into the story many times over the ensuing tales of Star Wars.

Vergere is an intriguing character herself, full of maddening cyclical phrases of wisdom that torment and twist Jacen throughout the novel and even years later as Jacen realizes all the ways that Vergere has shaped him.

In addition to being an amazing read, Traitor also serves as a launching point for the next era of Star Wars, where we begin to see the next generation of characters rise to the forefront. Characters like Jaina Solo, Tahiri Veila, Jagged Fel, Tenel Ka, and Ben Skywalker all find their moments to shine in the era that follows.

The following series of the Dark Nest, Legacy, and the Fate of the Jedi all focus much more on the characters that earned their stripes in the New Jedi Order, and that’s an evolution that is as exciting to witness now as it was then.  The New Republic era laid the foundation for the epic saga of the New Jedi Order, and Traitor is where the expanded universe took a much different turn.

Give Traitor a read if you haven’t done so already!  If you have, read it again!