So even though I'm no where near finishing Cardinal of the

Don't.

Licensed media is shit.

Read something like Leigh Bracketts C.L. Moores planetary romances, they are both influences on Lucas - Brackett wrote the first draft of Empire and Moores character Northwest Smith is basically Han Solo on Mars & Venus.

You can try some other Golden Age space opera

Or move onto New Wave reinventions like Samuel R Delanys Nova and Babel-17 and Einstein Intersection, or Frank Herbert's Dune.

Then there is the modern nu-Space Opera. Vernor Vinge, Stephen Baxter, Ian M. Banks, Alastair Reynolds, Peter F. Hamilton, Dan Simmons, Anne Leckie, etc

Avoid anything published by Baen.

How's the thrawn trilogy? Bought the series used for cheap, still haven't read it - been sitting on my shelf for awhile. For some reason I tend to hold a stigma towards it because there was nothing really comparable to it when it came out, so of course its good at least we have star wars again

>>8967396
But i want to read star wars EU because i like star wars

>>8967396
none of those have monks with lightsabers tho

>>8967405
The Thrawn Trilogy is worth reading, as is the Hand of Thrawn Duology
And I'd say that the X-Wing novels are decent too, but you're probably better just reading wookiepedia synopsis on most stuff

>>8967535
Thats my thing though i read Plageious' wiki and there so much shit that went one even behind the scenes while the movies were taking place and i want more of that