How Star Wars Audiobooks Changed My Life Forever

I imagine most folks know at least one person who lived through the summer of 1977. You may even be one of them. While I am not counted among that number, I have lived through the legacy left by Star Wars’ cultural zeitgeist, which has only ramped up in recent years. So what dug its claws into me when I can’t even remember seeing Attack of the Clones in theaters?

My Introduction to Star Wars

In 2006, my brother and I picked up LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy for Xbox 360 from the local Family Video (RIP). With no prior knowledge of the film franchise — much less the expanded universe — or even knowledge about the first LEGO Star Wars game, I couldn’t tell you why we decided to pick it up. Maybe it was the only game available that featured cooperative play. Regardless, we were enamored. This was before LEGO games were voiced or even had subtitles, so, really, the story onscreen was whatever we made of it. Han was my favorite character, and I came to find out that he pronounced his name the same way Lando Calrissian does.

Lucasfilm Ltd.

Once our grandparents caught wind of our interest, we received a VHS set of the Original Trilogy from the media resale shop, and all of our uncle’s action figures from when he was growing up became ours. Eventually, we could quote entire swaths of the films verbatim, and it became, at times, a hyper-fixation of mine that has always ebbed and flowed but never fully left me.

Digging Deeper into Star Wars

Let me get this out of the way quickly: I am not good at consuming any entertainment medium in a timely manner. I grabbed Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order on some sale during lockdown — probably around the time of The Mandalorian’s second season release. I played a bunch of it but hadn’t beaten it. The wind shifted or something, and I picked up a different game despite how much I enjoyed Cal Kestis’s adventure.

Electronic Arts

Sometime after not-yet-beating Fallen Order, my partner and I watched the films in release order, her first time seeing all nine core films. To my great delight, she enjoyed them, so long after its release, we started The Mandalorian. Of course, this sparked my desire to return to the beloved galaxy. Luckily, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was announced just as I left Bogano again.

After the Star Wars Jedi: Survivor announcement, I needed even more. While the soundtracks for these games are fantastic, I had discovered the joys of multi-tasking (i.e., listening to audiobooks or podcasts while playing games). While this game certainly took more of my focus, there were enough moments of reprieve when I could enjoy listening to a story, and I realized no average science fiction novel would cut it.

As I said, Star Wars was always a constant companion, but the Expanded Universe had always seemed daunting. Yet something about Fallen Order and my only ancillary understanding of its scope made me feel slightly left out. I wanted to be part of this beautiful world that I felt I was experiencing again for the first time.

Preliminary Research

Somewhere between my initial playthrough of Fallen Order and rewatching all of the films, I read Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn. I loved it. It was an adventurous foray into unknown-to-me Star Wars territory featuring both characters I knew and loved while also introducing new characters, including a fascinating villain.

Random House Worlds

When you walk into a bookstore, be it chain, independent, or secondhand, you’re bound to find a Star Wars novel. It can be confusing enough in person when dozens of books range from illegible, cracked spines of mass-market paperbacks to gilded hardcovers and sprayed edges. Some of them say Legends, and others have no additional branding. Online, it's even more difficult to parse through the deluge of wikis, forums, and video essays to find what’s worth your time. Before Youtini, how did I block out all of the noise?

Trepidatiously.

Or, reaching out to some old friends I knew had obsessively consumed Star Wars media for a time. To this day, they may be the only books these guys read, and I respect that. 

One such friend recommended anything featuring Thrawn. Finally, a definitive answer! It was a great starting point until I realized I had to navigate Legends versus Canon. On forums, consensus indicated reading the Thrawn novels in publishing order is likely the best bet. So that’s what I did — I read the Legends Thrawn trilogy.

And then I found Youtini.

Finding Youtini

Finding Youtini was genuinely like finding a light in the dark. Reading is so often a solitary experience, yet here was a dedicated group of fans who volunteered their time to make sense of this sprawling, detailed universe purely out of their love for the saga. Even the website design at the time was stellar. It looked too professional to be volunteer-run, which made me trust their guidance even more.

So I read The Thrawn Trilogy and looked into the Youtini Reading Order and the then-Foundational Five [now the Essential Six - Ed.] I perused reading guides to suit my interests and book availability. I looked at all of the other articles dedicated to things like comics, games, and film artifacts.

But what connected to me most were the audiobooks. 

As I explored different worlds, I wanted to read more about the Force. During downtime at work, I sought to explore the galaxy in any ship that would take me somewhere. 

So, I found audiobooks with narrators such as Marc Thompson and Jonathan Davis and soundscapes that still sound like the films, even sped up. When I switch between audio and print, sometimes I’m thrown by the number of apostrophes in an honorific or where the spaces go between world names. But as a librarian, I support storytelling in all formats — and wow, is it magical either way!

Below are some of my favorite audio performances. It’s by no means exhaustive, as I haven’t read every single book or audio drama, but these stand out in my mind for their own reasons. 

In no particular order:

1. Lost Stars: While very high up in the Youtini Reading Order, I took my time getting to this one — perhaps because folks love it so much, I was nervous it wouldn’t live up to expectations. The story is wonderful, showing so many aspects of Star Wars, and the narration is great. It’s one of the top titles that made me a fan of Claudia Gray. 

   

   Disney Lucasfilm Press

2. Master and Apprentice: You’ll see Jonathan Davis’ name in a ton of places on Youtini.com because he is an excellent narrator. And you’ve already seen Claudia Gray’s name mentioned above. Combined, it creates a propulsive listening experience. Plus, Davis does fantastic Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan voices! 

   

   Random House Worlds

3. Death Troopers: I’ll say it; I don’t think this, nor Red Harvest, needed to be Star Wars novels to be good, but they were certainly an interesting take. Be warned if you listen to the audiobooks because while the narrator reads the chapter titles in a perfectly understandable voice, there are subtle, almost inaudible cries of pain just underneath it. 

   

   Random House Worlds

4. Bane Trilogy: Jonathan Davis, as stated, is a beloved, top-tier Star Wars narrator. His portrayal of Bane is simply unmatched, and Drew Karpyshyn’s writing style is perfectly congruent with Davis’s voice. 

   

   Random House Worlds

5. Dooku: Jedi Lost: This is one of the first full-cast audiobooks I listened to in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. It’s also written by Cavan Scott, who is well known in this corner of the galaxy for his extensive work in the Star Wars IP. 

   

   Random House Worlds

6. From a Certain Point of View: I mean, written by a bunch of different authors and narrated by a bunch of different voice actors? It would be silly not to include any of the FaCPOV books. Some, such as Daniel José Older, both write and read!

   

   Random House Worlds

7. Alphabet Squadron Series: Consider this a "bonus track" because while I haven’t finished the series, the ambiance of a starfighter's steadily humming engine puts you right in the scene!

   

   Random House Worlds

With Youtini, I have found both structure and purpose for my reading, as well as a community that inspires me to keep up with Star Wars for more than just myself. I love learning more about the world with my fellow Youtinians, and I am so at peace with writing for other fans. If you haven't already, I hope you find your place in the galaxy as well as a space with us.