Looking back on the last 10 years of Star Wars books

Oct. 30, 2022, marks 10 years since Disney bought Lucasfilm for a whopping $4.05 billion. Since then, there have been dozens of entertainment projects released for blockbuster franchises like Star Wars and Indiana Jones. The last 10 years has also seen a resurgence in popularity for Star Wars books and comics, including new formats and fans for the original Expanded Universe stories — now dubbed Legends.

Since 2012, there have been (96) nearly 100 Star Wars books published. That includes adult, YA, and middle-grade books, and film novelizations published by Del Rey and Disney Books Publishing. But that doesn’t include all the excellent art books and comic collections published over the last decade.

To celebrate each film’s 40th anniversary, Star Wars published collections of stories called From a Certain Point of View for A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. The collections told the classic Star Wars story through differing perspectives — from the Jawas of Tatooine and Luke’s Aunt Beru to Imperial officers and bounty hunters.

There has also been one “non-canon” book published — Ronin: A Visions Novel by Emma Mieko Candon. The adult novel continues the story of a disgraced Sith samurai that began in The Duel episode of the anime series Star Wars: Visions.

And we couldn’t reminisce on 10 years of Star Wars publishing without talking about Legends. The collection of books may not be considered “canon” as of April 25, 2014, but the former EU is still a beloved well of stories and characters — many of which have been brought over to the “new canon.”

Disney-owned Star Wars hasn’t forgotten about Legends, either. Since June 2021, Del Rey has been reintroducing EU books with new cover art and new unabridged audiobooks via the Essential Legends Collection. There have been more than a dozen Essential Legends books so far, with more waves of releases coming soon.

Shoutout to Wookieepedia for keeping an updated, comprehensive list of canon and Legends books in timeline and release order.

Looking back on the last 10 years of Star Wars books, here are some highlights.

The first Star Wars book published post-Disney purchase: A New Day by John Jackson Miller

• Tarkin by James Luceno
• Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne
• Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp
• Dark Disciple by Christie Golden

The Star Wars book everyone recommends for new readers, and one of the best Star Wars novels of all time: Lost Stars by Claudia Gray

The books that prepared us for The Force Awakens: The Aftermath trilogy by Chuck Wendig

• Aftermath
• Aftermath: Life Debt
• Aftermath: Empire’s End
• Battlefront: Twilight Company by Alexander Freed
• The Force Awakens expanded edition by Alan Dean Foster

The Princess Leia POV book we’d been waiting for: Bloodline by Claudia Gray

• Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston
• Catalyst by James Luceno
• Rogue One novelization by Alexander Freed

The reintroduction of a classic villain to the new canon: Thrawn by Timothy Zahn

• Rebel Rising by Beth Revis
• Guardians of the Whills by Greg Rucka
• Battlefront II: Inferno Squad by Christie Golden

The other Princess Leia POV we’d been waiting for: Leia: Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray

• Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson
• The Last Jedi: Cobalt Squadron by Elizabeth E. Wein
• The Last Jedi novelization by Jason Fry
• Last Shot by Daniel Jose Older
• Most Wanted by Rae Carson
• Thrawn: Alliances by Timothy Zahn
• Solo: A Star Wars Story novelization by Mur Lafferty

The Padme Amidala stories we’d been waiting for: The Queens trilogy by E.K. Johnston

• Queen’s Shadow
• Queen’s Peril
• Queen’s Hope
• Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray
• Alphabet Squadron by Alexander Freed
• Thrawn: Treason by Timothy Zahn

The books that welcomed us to Batuu, the land of Galaxy’s Edge at the Disney Parks: A Crash of Fate by Zoraida Cordova and Black Spire by Delilah S. Dawson

• Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott
• Force Collector by Kevin Schinick
• Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse
• The Rise of Skywalker novelization by Rae Carson
• Alphabet Squadron: Shadow Fall by Alexander Freed
• Poe Dameron: Free Fall by Alex Segura

The Thrawn Ascendancy trilogy by Timothy Zahn

• Chaos Rising
• Greater Good
• Lesser Evil

The Star Wars book we never got translated into English: The Vow of Silver Dawn

The High Republic era

• Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule
• A Test of Courage by Justina Ireland
• Into the Dark by Claudia Gray
• The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott
• Race to Crashpoint Tower by Daniel Jose Older
• Out of the Shadows by Justina Ireland
• Tempest Runner by Cavan Scott
• Mission to Disaster by Justina Ireland
• The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray
• Midnight Horizon by Daniel Jose Older
• The Edge of Balance Vol. 1-2

• Alphabet Squadron: Victory’s Price by Alexander Freed
• Doctor Aphra by Sarah Kuhn

The in-universe biography of the Skywalker family: Skywalker: A Family at War by Kristin Baver

• Brotherhood by Mike Chen
• Shadow of the Sith by Adam Christopher
• Padawan by Kiersten White
• The Princess and the Scoundrel by Beth Revis

The High Republic era: Phase 2

• Path of Deceit by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland (Oct. 4, 2022)
• Quest for the Hidden City by George Mann (Nov. 1, 2022)
• Convergence by Zoraida Cordova (Nov. 22, 2022)