Right. So. EU.
You said you enjoyed the NJO - did you follow the series that came afterwards? The Dark Nest Trilogy isn't amazing, but sets the scene for Legacy of the Force. I'm still very unhappy with the direction they took Jacen in there, but it does get back towards Star Wars roots - more about personal connections than alien threats. That is followed by the current Fate of the Jedi series, which I am really enjoying. It's written by Allston and Denning and some new chick who's doing well so far.
If you haven't read Zahn's old Thrawn trilogy (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command), I can definitely recommend those. (Am re-reading them myself right now.) His prequel novel 'Outbound Flight' then explains some of the backstory behind them, and the Hand of Thrawn duology (Spectre of the Past, Vision of the Future) sort of follows on in the future.
If you're at all interested in prequel-era stuff, 'Shatterpoint' is one of the best. I'm a huge fan of Matthew Stover, and his novelisation of Episode III is absolutely worth reading too. The 'Republic Commando' series gets really involved in the clone troopers' lives and their roots in Mandalorian culture, but are a bit more gritty than most Star Wars.
Speaking of Stover, 'Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor' is his latest Star Wars book and while I didn't personally fall in love with it a lot of fans did. It's set back in the classic OT era.
And if you don't mind comic books, the Clone Wars series (collected in nine TPBs now) was great. There are also a bunch of Rogue Squadron comics (collected in three omnmibuses), and the new 'Legacy' comics (not to be confused with Legacy of the Force) that are set about 150 years after the NJO. Legacy starts off a little wobbly but I'm enjoying it now.
You said you enjoyed the NJO - did you follow the series that came afterwards? The Dark Nest Trilogy isn't amazing, but sets the scene for Legacy of the Force. I'm still very unhappy with the direction they took Jacen in there, but it does get back towards Star Wars roots - more about personal connections than alien threats. That is followed by the current Fate of the Jedi series, which I am really enjoying. It's written by Allston and Denning and some new chick who's doing well so far.
If you haven't read Zahn's old Thrawn trilogy (Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, The Last Command), I can definitely recommend those. (Am re-reading them myself right now.) His prequel novel 'Outbound Flight' then explains some of the backstory behind them, and the Hand of Thrawn duology (Spectre of the Past, Vision of the Future) sort of follows on in the future.
If you're at all interested in prequel-era stuff, 'Shatterpoint' is one of the best. I'm a huge fan of Matthew Stover, and his novelisation of Episode III is absolutely worth reading too. The 'Republic Commando' series gets really involved in the clone troopers' lives and their roots in Mandalorian culture, but are a bit more gritty than most Star Wars.
Speaking of Stover, 'Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor' is his latest Star Wars book and while I didn't personally fall in love with it a lot of fans did. It's set back in the classic OT era.
And if you don't mind comic books, the Clone Wars series (collected in nine TPBs now) was great. There are also a bunch of Rogue Squadron comics (collected in three omnmibuses), and the new 'Legacy' comics (not to be confused with Legacy of the Force) that are set about 150 years after the NJO. Legacy starts off a little wobbly but I'm enjoying it now.