Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aftermath | 2015 | Chuck Wendig | Buy |
| 2 | Life Debt | 2016 | Chuck Wendig | Buy |
| 3 | Empire’s End | 2017 | Chuck Wendig | Buy |
The Star Wars: Aftermath trilogy by Chuck Wendig was a major entry in the new Star Wars canon established by Lucasfilm after Disney’s acquisition. Published by Del Rey, the three novels cover the period between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, showing how the Rebel Alliance became the New Republic and how the remnants of the Empire regrouped.
Aftermath (2015) begins shortly after the destruction of the second Death Star. The story follows a new cast of characters, including pilot Norra Wexley and her son Temmin, as they get caught up in a mission on the planet Akiva where Imperial loyalists are secretly meeting. Life Debt (2016) and Empire’s End (2017) expand the scope, bringing in Han Solo and other familiar faces while building toward the Battle of Jakku, the final major conflict of the Galactic Civil War.
The trilogy was notable for its present-tense writing style, which divided Star Wars readers. Wendig also included the franchise’s first openly gay character in a major novel. Regardless of the stylistic debates, the books fill in an important stretch of Star Wars history and explain how the galaxy ended up where it did by the time of the sequel films.