Hi there! I love all your clone and Mando content, and I was wondering if you had any recommendations as to where to start if I want to get into EU clone and Mando stuff (especially legends)? I have a lot of Jedi related legends books and I wanted to start broadening my star wars reading horizons - and you seemed like you are very knowledgeable in the area!
Yes, of course! Here’s my recommended reading order (I'll highlight the most important ones lore-wise (imo) in blue):
Disclaimer: This list is NOT an endorsement of any of the authors/writers/illustrators. This is from a lore perspective ONLY.
Jango Fett: Open Seasons- Read this first if you can. It lays the groundwork for most EU Mando and clone books
Star Wars Insider Articles: History of the Mandalorians/Mandalorians: People & Culture/Mando’a Guide
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (Game)-The sequel to Open Seasons, starring Temuera Morrison himself. You don’t have to actually play it. There are gameplay/cutscene compilations on YouTube. Try to have some patience with the graphics quality if you can. It’s over 20 years old now.
Star Wars Insider Article: Guide to the Grand Army of the Republic
Star Wars: Republic Commando (Game)- Also starring Mr. Morrison. Good to watch before reading the Republic Commando/Imperial Commando series. Gameplay/cutscene compilations are on YouTube. Once again, try and have some patience with the graphics. It’s almost 20 years old.
Boba Fett: The Fight to Survive-Boba Fett’s POV from before AOTC to a little bit after Jango’s death
Republic Commando: Hard Contact, Republic Commando: Triple Zero, Republic Commando: True Colors-The sequels to Open Seasons & the video games (Links to really well done fan-made YouTube audiobooks for Hard Contact & Triple Zero here)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars novelization-Probably not essential, but it has a good Dooku POV moment that ties into Open Seasons. Also clones.
Boba Fett: Crossfire, Boba Fett: Maze of Deception, Boba Fett: Hunted, Boba Fett: Pursuit, Boba Fett: A New Threat
The Clone Wars: Defenders of the Lost Temple comic-Force-sensitive clone trooper vs. Pre Vizsla! Also Bo-Katan, Pre Vizsla’s and the Darksaber’s first appearance in the SW universe. Somehow this is not on Bo-Katan’s Wookiepedia. I am apparently nerdier than my fellow lore nerds for knowing this.
The Cestus Deception- An Obi-Wan & Jedi book but has a great clone-centric storyline
The Clone Wars: No Prisoners
Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel & Imperial Commando: 501st
Important Miscellaneous Boba Comics-“Outbid But Never Outgunned" - Star Wars Tales 7,Empire 7, Boba Fett ½, Boba Fett: Agent of Doom, Blood Ties: A Tale of Jango and Boba Fett 1, Blood Ties: A Tale of Jango and Boba Fett 2, Blood Ties: A Tale of Jango and Boba Fett 3, Blood Ties: A Tale of Jango and Boba Fett 4, Blood Ties: Boba Fett is Dead 1, Blood Ties: Boba Fett is Dead 2, Blood Ties: Boba Fett is Dead 3, Blood Ties: Boba Fett is Dead 4, Empire 28, Boba Fett: Twin Engines of Destruction - These are about Boba’s life after TCW/Boba’s ties to Concord Dawn and his family. Important lore for the Legacy of the Force series.
Star Wars (1977) 68, Star Wars (1977) 69, Star Wars (1977)101, Star Wars (1977) 99, Star Wars (1977) 100, Star Wars (1977) 107-Adventures of Luke, Leia, Lando, Han & Chewie and the Mandalorian Protectors. Old but still fun comic series. More lore that’s referenced in the Legacy of the Force series.
Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor- Really fun book. Good for both Jedi and Mando lovers. Features Fenn Shysa and the Protectors
Boba Fett: A Practical Man
Legacy of the Force: Bloodlines, Legacy of the Force: Sacrifice, Legacy of the Force: Revelation, Legacy of the Force: Invincible: Part of a longer series but these are the ones where Mand’alor Boba and the Mandalorians feature heavily.
For more Mando stuff: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (game) & Star Wars: The Old Republic (game)- cutscenes are on YouTube if you’re not a gamer. Mando stuff in SWTOR is mostly under the bounty hunter storyline and new stories are still being put out semi-regularly.
Also, some important Mando & Clone EU reminders/facts/tips before you get started:
Do your own due diligence and research authors before reading if that’s something that concerns you. As I’ve mentioned, most of these books were written around 20 years ago (some of these comics are even older). You’ll occasionally see some outdated ideas/attitudes/terminology. If these are things that will bother you to read, be forewarned.
Remember that EU authors usually had to abide by rules set into canon by previous authors to be approved by the Lucasfilm story group, so not everything in a book/comic is an author’s original idea. EU books/comics always work off of stories that came before so everything feels like it's mostly part of the same narrative & universe.
Keep in mind that 20 years ago there was no concept of clone trooper brain chips. The lore at the time of AOTC was that clone troopers were pretty much mindless drones who literally could not disobey orders. The RepComm game and tie-in novels challenged and changed this, but sometimes this concept pops up.
Because of the non-existent chip lore, Lucasfilm commissioned the book series Republic Commando. We saw the Jedi’s side of the story in the movies, and the entire point of these books was to see Jango and the clones’ side of the story. The endgame was a canonically successful Order 66, so these books were written to see these characters get to that point. The intention was to make sense of WHY the clones would so easily go through with Order 66. The books are written from the POV of characters who managed to escape the massacre depicted in the Open Seasons comic. So when you see negative sentiment regarding Jedi in RepComm, these are the reasons.
