11/26/20 Thanksgiving Present--More Humane than Turkey!

Rebels Magazine UK and German: all 39 comic-book issues in English! These have never been officially available in the U.S., while the German ones have only seen English translations (and only a handful) in the Australian K-Zone magazine. Special thanks to the translators, to Exxan, and to anyone else I might have forgotten (please remind me if I've left you out) for these! Please note that at any time they are officially reprinted or collected, I'll be taking them down. They're only available here because they've been out of print now for nearly four years.

11/21/20 SE FAQ!

As I've been getting a few questions about the continuity status and behind-the-scenes history of Supernatural Encounters, I thought I'd answer them all in one post! A lot of this is detailed further in the full publication, but I thought I'd briefly answer some of the most frequently asked questions here.

11/16/20 SE Update! (Now, with hi-res version)

SE fans and contributors: thank you again for your support! Meet the horrid Xanxathotep who presides at the Temple of Shadows in Xanthiir!

As we draw nearer to the release of the extended edition--some time after winter's end--I removed the online version, leaving only the first eight chapters of the extended edition (adding two more from the six I'd earlier added). As some of you know, I'm not thrilled with the prior edition; I had cut it in haste, leaving numerous grammatical errors; and, ultimately, it just didn't reflect my vision. (For purists, I haven't discarded it; I just put it in a file for posterity).

11/3/20 Site Update

Added Chapter 9 of the Mandalorian and moved Twin Engines of Destruction from 5 ABY to 10 ABY, based on the presumption that Fett didn't have a spare set of armor. If he does, it could be put back, but that story was never internally dated anywhere. In the Ominbus reprinting of it, Stradley placed it in 5 ABY, which is where fans (such as myself) had placed it. But it works five years later and gives Jodo Kast a few more years to live.

Update (11/15): I re-placed the Fett stories in 7 ABY, as it's known that he had a spare set of armor. I also added two stories from the Target-exclusive edition of Dark Legends to the High Republic era (circa 200 BBY), "Sleep of Ages" and "A Bitter Harvest" and one in Infinities, "Bakurat," which references the First Order.

Update (11/16): I added the Target-exclusive edition of Myths & Legends. "The Sleeping Eye" and "The Leviathan" to the High Republic era (circa 200 BBY), which is little more than guess, as they could take place any time on the timeline (though if the creature in the latter story is related to the one Vader faced in Dark Lord of the Sith #15, then it would take place before 18 BBY). "The Golden One" takes place after Return of the Jedi, and appears to involve an Ewok legend. I'll be adding the Galaxy's Edition-exclusive edition stories when that book arrives.

11/1/20 Satele Says

Thanks again to Ryan Winters for pointing out that the notes from Jedi Grand Master Satele Shan likely occur in 3645-3643 BBY. I placed them in the 3645, which would be the date for the frame story of the Journal (for those who like to read it in one sitting).

10/25/20 Thrawn Ascendency: Chaos Rising Chronology

Big thanks to Matthew Smith for arranging this timeline of events, and for sagaciously noting that Timothy Zahn places Outbound Flight later in the timeline than Leland Chee's "official" placement (in 27 BBY), much closer to the Clone Wars. Hence, I've moved Outbound Flight to 24 BBY.

Here's the basic rundown:

Approx. 45 BBY – Thrawn Ascendency: Chaos Rising (Memories I, II) (Thrawn is first enlisted in the Taharim Academy; contextual clues indicate he may be a teenager, possibly 14. By the second Memory he is older than Al’iastov, age 13)

Approx. 41 or 40 BBY – Thrawn Ascendency: Chaos Rising (Memories III, IV) (Ar’alani has been in the academy for four years; both Ar’alani and Thrawn are of reasonable drinking age)

Approx. 38 BBY – Thrawn Ascendency: Chaos Rising (Memories V, VI, VII) (Thrawn is a Junior Commander; assuming this is equivalent to a junior officer/ensign in the US Navy, he would still be fairly recently-graduated from the academy. Ar’alani has been part of the Expansionary Defense Fleet for “years”)

Sometime between 30 BBY and 27 BBY – Thrawn Ascendency: Chaos Rising (Memories VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII) (Thrawn is a Senior Commander, assumed to rank just below Captain)

“A few months” after the Vagaari pirate operations (Outbound Flight)

23 BBY – Thrawn Ascendency: Chaos Rising (Prologue, Chapters 1-2)

22 BBY – Thrawn Ascendency: Chaos Rising (Chapters 3-9)

21 BBY – Thrawn Ascendency: Chaos Rising (Chapters 10-16; Chapter 17 concurrent with Thrawn: Alliances Chapter 2;

20 BBY – Chapters 18-23)   

Big thanks, as well, to Alex Payne for the proper placements of the Darth Vader and the Lost Command and Darth Vader and the Ghost Prison!

10/10/20 Site Updates

Thanks to Aaron Sawyer and Ryan Winters, who gave me updates to Knights of the Old Republic (flashback portions) and The Old Republic MMORPG, with the addition of several online stories I didn't catch the first two times! :) Lots of small bits of in-universe fiction for TOR, which is pretty cool, though it would be nice to have more novels and comic-books detailing the events of this era covered in the game. Also added the  Millennium Falcon 3-D Owner's Manual from 2010 and the Death Star: Imperial DS-1 Orbital Battle Station: Owner's Technical Manual.

9/20/20 To the Fans You Must Listen

I updated the placement of the five-part comic-book series Obsession, in which Anakin believes he's killed Asajj Ventress, but Obi-Wan believes she's alive. In the series, she leaves Dooku. The new placement is predicated on a good retcon provided by theforce.net poster HEDGESMFG, who wrote: "Obsession is perhaps the single toughest issue to tackle in the entire new timeline, due to it being the original ending story for both Ventress and Adi Gallia, both of whom have seemingly had their fates changed by TCW. Officially, Chee said that it is not Adi's final canon death nor the canon end of Ventress' story. After debating what to do about this story for 3 years, I have stumbled upon what I believe to be the best possible solution. Obsession occurs between seasons 3 and 4, after Ventress leaves Dooku, but before she begins bounty hunting. Dooku secretly recaptures her and brainwashes her. Anakin assumed her dead because of the chaos in their last fight in Witches of the Mist. Adi is wounded by Grievous, but survives this fight. After faking her death, Ventress escapes and eventually returns to the Nightsisters. Because she never works with Dooku again after Obsession, the original intent of the story (her escape from the war, and from Dooku) is preserved, while the story can still happen before Adi dies. Ultimately, her fate can be decided by future canon without contradiction, if ever."

It's a good retcon and yet another reason I believe the powers-that-be who run entertainment franchises should pay attention to what the serious fans have to say, not to do "fan-service," which is cheap pandering, but because they're more in-tune with the series and often have good ideas! Serious fans are the people these companies should be hiring to help build their franchise.

8/30/20 Site Update

Wanted to thank Kenneth (Kacey) Close for providing an updated and far better version of West End Game's The Roleplaying Game: Second Edition (WEG40055), which you can download from this page!

Update 2: I added the chapter "The Order of the Terrible Glare," from Cult Encounters to 10,941, 25 years after the end of the Pius Dea Crusade, as Master Simikarty notes that it's the anniversary of the end of that war. I added "The Guild of Vindicators" chapter to 3 BBY. "Seekers of the Soulworm" was already dated at 36 ABY, but the "Datapad Found in a Deserted Ship" section has only now been dated to 55 BBY.

8/29/20 Site Update

I moved Willow and its sequels Chronicles of the Shadow War to much earlier in the timeline for reasons that I'm not yet ready to talk about...

8/9/20 Site Update

After nearly a week without power due to Tropical Storm Isaias, I'm happy to be back in business. I added the stories from the new anthology Dark Legends (a sequel of sorts to Myths & Fables) to the timeline. These are fun shorts that generally fit into the EU (with the exception of one or two that don't). I quite enjoy the dark fantasy/horror motifs that author George Mann runs with, and find that he does it well. Note that I moved "Gaze of Stone" to Circa 1500 BBY. We're going to have to assume that Allya resurrected an older tradition with the Nightsisters. There are Sith roots on Dathomir from at least the time of Kaan's Brotherhood.

Speaking of dark fantasy EU, I'm back to work on Supernatural Encounters after a too-long delay due to extraneous, annoying circumstances. The good news is that I'm in the final few chapters. Then, my proofreaders get to catch and fix my mistakes. Then, it gets a final read, and I do the layout. I'm not yet setting a release date, but I'm hoping to have it in your hands by year's end!

8/4/20 Site Update

So, after a conversation with Nathan Butler, I restored the "Citadel" arc, episodes 18-20 of The Clone Wars: Season 3, taking it out of Infinities and placing it in the main body of the timeline. If you recall, the problem had been Jedi Master Evan Piell. In the Coruscant Nights: Jedi Twilight book (published in 2008), which take place after Revenge of the Sith, Master Piell meets up with his student Jax Pavan. But in the Citadel arc (released in 2011), which takes place two years earlier, he's killed. I won't get into how LFL screwed this up, save to say that according to Nathan, the planned fix was that the character Pavan meets up with in Coruscant Nights was not Evan Piell, but another Jedi Master. As far as retcons go, it's not particularly stellar, but it's good enough to retain both. What LFL should immediately have done is ensure that subsequent printings of that book included the change, which would have required only a few changed lines, since Piell's appearance amounts to a cameo in the book.

8/2/20 Site Test

Just checking to see that the new computer is functioning correctly with this site.

7/24/20 Site Update

Still in the process of getting my new computer up and running after my previous one (which thankfully still works) was wrecked by Starbuck, one of my cats. While that occurs, I've had a chance to properly re-read the Star Wars comic-book series by Dark Horse, published in 2013, and written by Brian Woods. As with several of the titles that came out by Del Rey during this period (Honor Among Thieves, Razor's Edge), it feels off. It's not that it's terrible, per se, it's just mediocre and difficult  to reconcile in the context of the EU. Fans from that time will recall that it was stated to be a "sequel reboot," with the author allowed to pretend that only A New Hope was canon, and nothing else had come out. While Stradley threw in minor continuity bits (the Rakata, the names of various ships and weapons), there's a lot of contradictions that shouldn't exist. In other words, this feels like a soft reboot that ignored the Expanded Universe and its fans for the sake of a quick cash-grab. Putting aside the issues of characters speaking or acting out-of-character, and the fact that the Star Wars Expanded Universe Timeline takes a dim view of intentional contradictions (soft or otherwise), here are some of the reasons this series will remain in Infinities for the time being until someone can convince me it can be made to fit.

* The origin of Rogue Squadron is different.

* The members of Rogue Squadron are different.

* The evacuation of Yavin 4 takes place two months after the Battle of Yavin, which is four months too early, which needlessly crowds out an already crowded period.

* Despite the Alliance having evacuated, Hoth hasn't been discovered yet, which is a problem, since the Archie Goodwin newspaper strips has them evacuate Yavin to go directly to Hoth. While it can be argued that Hoth isn't yet ready to be inhabited (and thus the rendezvous with the fleet in space for a time), there, nevertheless, would be no need to search for a new Rebel base, as they do in this series.

* Leia attempts to bring in a world (and new Rebel base) for the Alliance by marrying it's prince, which is almost the exact story told in The Courtship of Princess Leia.

In the final analysis, while there were some good things in this series, they're not enough to save it, or to override the major contradictions that were created by an author and editor who didn't care about the existing history, or those who read and support it. Sure, that's why we have Infinities. The shame of it is that, as with several of the standalone books Del Rey released around this time, it's a waste of time, money, and effort, particularly on the part of fans, who deserve better. Take a look back at the way the editors approached Heir to the Empire or Dark Empire. This is what was ultimately lacking in 2013-14. There was no leadership, guidance, or strictures from LFL, Dark Horse, or Del Rey helping steer the authors along the right path, story-wise and continuity-wise. As a result, fans got saddled with a bunch of a disconnected, disjoined, contradictory stories, all of which had potential, but fell far short in numerous ways. Star Wars needs someone to guide it who has a vision, and that vision needs to understand Lucas' themes and the well of stories that he was tapping into. Hopefully, in the coming year, we'll see that vision return.

7/20/20 Site Update

I added The Seventh Tower series, by Garth Nix, to the Cosmic Wars III: Twilight section. Why? Because this Scholastic series was published in accordance with Lucasfilm. In case you were wondering, yes, there are "prequel" elements of this series that are in the forthcoming extended edition of Supernatural Encounters.

7/18/20 Site Update

I moved "Maze Run" (Star Wars Insider #131) and the Playskool book "Jedi Force: Watch Out for the Wookiee" to 1 BBY. Meh.

7/5/20 Site Update

Thanks to Trevor Davey, I added "The Soldier's Story: Notron in Flames" (from The Essential Guide to Warfore) to the Primeval Age.

7/2/20 Site Update

Thanks to Alex Payne for finding and pointing out where the following should be placed: Episode I: Racer, Racer Revenge, and the RPG adventures, "Shadows of Coruscant," "Smugglers of Naboo" (aka. "The Predators"), "Signal Interruption," "Battle in the Streets!," "Operation: Clodhopper," and "Peril in the Ionosphere."

I also want to thank Jaaj Juuj for correcting the order of the Boba Fett books in relation to TCW, in terms of it making more sense in relation to Aurra Sing, who starts off as his mentor (TCW S2) before becoming indifferent to him (Boba Fett #3), and Mace Windu, who he first tries to kill by means of sabotage (TCW S4), and then goes after him directly (Boba Fett #6).

7/1/20 Site Update

Thanks to Ryan Winters for finding and pointing out that Tales of the Jedi Companion: Chapter 4 (story #3) belongs in 4400-4398 BBY, and, in the TOTJ era, where the other three stories go.

6/30/20 SE Updates!

I've added a list of the new chapters of Supernatural Encounters to the Complete Saga page of the timeline (on the Facebook page, you can find the list as it appears in the Table of Contents) and updated the primordial era into better delineated periods. The Primeval Age becomes the era prior to the start of the Cosmic Wars, then the Ages of War covers three periods, the Cosmic Wars I: Empyrean, Cosmic Wars II: Temporal Planes, and Cosmic Wars III: Twilight.

I've also added the first six chapters of the new version. There's not much there in terms of expanded material, but there are a few new scenes that readers will spot.

6/29/30 Site Update

I added some tales from Myths & Fables to the timeline, all of one of which are EU-Compatible.

• "The Knight & the Dragon" was placed in 24,000-15,000 BBY. It seems earlier in the history of the Sandpeople, but after the establishment of the Jedi Knights.

• "The Droid with a Heart" was placed in Infinities. It's not a bad story, but it's premised on the notion that General Grievous wanted to become a droid, and so replaced his organic parts with mechanical ones, rather than being tricked by Dooku who got him so damaged, he had no choice but to have his body replaced with robotic parts. Arguably, Grievous' memory might have been altered so that he later came to believe the former story, and if so, this would take place in 22 BBY.

• "Vengeful Waves" was placed in the Cosmic Wars III: Twilight period. It deals with the split between the Anselmi and the Nautolans, something I also touched on in Supernatural Encounters.

• "The Wanderer" and "The Dark Wraith" were a little more difficult to place, but there is a sense of antiquity to these stories, so I put them in the same span of time as "The Knight and the Dragon."

• "The Black Spire" is another one that's hard to place, but given Batuu's role early in pre-Republic galactic history, I placed it in the same early date-range as the previous two stories.

• "Gaze of Stone" deals with Darth Caldoth and his apprentice, the Twilek Ry Nymbus. As per Sith historian and editor Edward Dodds, it "has to be after 5,000 BBY, since he's a Duros (rather than a Sith pureblood/hybrid), but since he's described as an ancient Sith Lord, then he's likely part of the Old Sith Wars, so either Exar Kun's or Darth Revan's Sith Empires, or in Vitiate's Sith Empire after it began relaxing the xenophobia thanks to the initiatives of Malgus and others." Based on this, it can go anywhere between 4,000 and 3,600 BBY. Now, given that TOR covers a lot of ground, and Caldoth isn't mentioned, I would avoid the main TOR time-frame. Based on the pragmatic reaction of the mother (who doesn't see the Sith as boogeymen) and the aesthetic of the two Sith, I'm going to argue that it most closely matches Revan's empire, and place it in 3957 BBY.

• "The Witch & the Wookiee" takes place during the Imperial period, likely early on. I placed it in 16 BBY.

• "Chasing Ghosts" is also post-Empire. No reason it can't take place around the same time as the previous story.

Also want to thank Alex Payne for helping me better chronicle Imperial Commando in that post-ROTS timeframe!

6/24/20 Site Update

Thanks to Ryan Winters for helping me demarcate the flashback portions of Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void, which go in the 25,804-25,802 BBY section!

6/23/20 Site Update

Thanks to Vaughn Everlast, I added the Dorin's Sky conflict from The Old Republic MMORPG, called "Flashpoint: Boarding Party," to 3642 BBY.

Also moved Adventures in Wild Space to later in the year, and added the alternate titles. Also, I gave an order for Nar Shadaa that is completely random. Finally, I added Dave Filoni's dialogue for the unseen scene known as Meeting of Ahsoka Tano and Bendu, which takes place after Rebels: Season Two: "The Mystery of Chopper Base."

6/20/20 Site Update

Added links to the current location of former Hyperspace and other online exclusives (thanks to Eddie Van Der Heijden who's hosting them on his Facebook page), and thanks to Aaron Sawyer for reminding me to do that, as well as to add the X-Wing and TIE-Fighter Pocket Manuals (to O BY). Added "The Written Word" to 38 ABY, "The Forgotten War" to 40 ABY, and "Aliens in the Empire" to 17 ABY. I also added the rare TVTimes Magazine's two-page comic-strip from 1982: "Once Upon a Galaxy" to the spot between Chapters 21 and 22 of the Rogue One novelization. You have to squint a bit to make it work, but it's close enough. ;)

6/19/20 Site Update

Thanks to Aaron Sawyer, I fixed some TOR placements and added The Imperial Handbook (which is, apparently EU) to 0 BY. Also added the 3D comic-strip "Duel of the Fates!" to 33 BBY from Totally 20: The Phantom Menace magazine and the Star Wars Insider #136, Celebration VI Exclusive Edition.

6/18/20 In His Image

Another rarity available again thanks to Christopher Nelson! "In His Image" first appeared in the Comic-Con Exclusive magazine Vader: The Ultimate Guide. It was reprinted in the U.K. in their Star Wars magazine #61. I also believe it found a home in the paperback version of Legacy: Betrayal, along with its sequel "A Two-Edged Sword." Find "In His Image" on the right-hand sidebar. (Note: the illustrated version will replace this one in a few weeks. Stay tuned for future developments).

6/17/20 Star Wars Junior and Coruscant Holo Net

Thanks to Aaron Sawyer, Stef.C.UK, Plaristes, and Get Free Dregs for making available the twelve books in the very hard to find Star Wars Junior series that was put out by Scholastic in 1999-2000.

Thanks as well for the four Coruscant Holo Net articles that appeared in the UK Clone Wars Comic magazines, published by Titan in issues #49, 50, 52, and issue #4 of the Star Wars Comic (the U.S. only reprinted two of these in issues #20 and 21 of the Clone Wars Magazine).

Click on the links to download them, or scroll down on the right-hand sidebar.

Site Update: Thanks to Alex Payne, I've added two FunWorks adaptations of parts of Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope to the 0 BY period. At some point, I need to go through all of those and arrange them in chronological order, as I did for Episodes I-III, but that's another project for another day.

More Goodies: Thanks to Christopher Nelson, you can all enjoy the super-rare Dig Magazine and it's exclusive short story (never reprinted or collected) "Lost City of Tatooine." Enjoy!

6/16/20 Site Update

Thanks to Aaron Sawyer, added a number of things, several short TOR short stories to 3639 BBY and 3629 BBY, three in-universe sections from The Millennium Falcon Owner's Workshop Manual, in 72 BBY, and in-universe sections from The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels, in 5 ABY, and New Essential Guide to Droids in 2 BBY.

I also want to thank Dawgtide on the swtor.com community pages here for putting together a chronology of events in The Old Republic MMORPG, going by planet and class. I've followed his chronology to the letter!

6/7/20 Site Update

Thanks to Ryan Winters, I added Dawn of the Jedi #0 and the collection of that series in Legends Epic Collection: Tales of the Jedi Vol. 1.

Also thanks to Carlos Esteban Muñoz for supplying me with the dates for the MyComyc Droids and Ewoks comics! More research is required for the first two issues of the Droids to see if they can actually fit, but this is a great start and I would not have otherwise been able to place these!

While I was at, I've rearranged the dating of the Droids comics and animated series, partly because the Plaza Joven Droids book suggests a different chronological order, with the first three episodes occurring at the end of the series! Additionally, in the Star Comics Droids series, the time-travel issue has C-3PO proclaim they've traveled 100 years in the future, when a 10 year span seems considerably more likely given that the Ewoks on Endor that they meet (Wicked and company) are the same age they are in the Ewoks comic-book series that they crossed over, which takes place at 3 ABY. So, that was likely a typo on the letterer's part. This gives us a 7 BBY dating for the Droids comic-book series, which according Rich and Abel's Droids Re-Edited article, takes place prior to the animated series of the same name.

This, of course, means that I'm ignoring the 15 BBY chronology, which was always an arbitrary date anyway, and never attached to any narrative, internally or otherwise. Now that we have more concrete internal evidence, it makes more sense to follow that. Of course, this is all based on the idea that the Ewoks comics and animated series actually takes place in 3 ABY, which came to us from Sue Rostoni back in the day, which was a change from an earlier conception which saw the Ewoks in the late BBY period (given that it takes some years for a Death Star to be built, and it's clear from the "Battle for the Sunstar" episode of the Ewoks (Season 2) that Empire hasn't begun construction). So, irrespective of LFL's date, I'm not entirely convinced of the 3 ABY placement for the Ewoks animated series, and if I decide at some point to move it back, then the Droids will also be pushed (recalling that originally they had a 15 BBY date attached to them).

6/3/20 Site Update

Added "Relic" from the Star Wars Adventure Journal #6 to 9 ABY.

6/1/20 Site Update

Thanks to Ryan Winters for pointing out that I was missing Thrawn: Treason! It's now there after Rebels: Season 4: Episode 9.

5/27/20 Site Update

Broke up Lords of the Sith to fit "Orientation" in between, and moved "Mercy Mission" to 13 BBY. Having just finished reading Lords of the Sith, I can add that it's safe to place in the context of the Expanded Universe. Paul S. Kemp generally writes a good story. This is no exception, although it feels more like a short story that's been padded out a bit, which may be because it takes place in one setting, Ryloth, or because the supporting cast are pretty nondescript, but, by and large, the main cast of Vader, Palpatine, Cham Syndulla, Isval, Mors, and Belkor make up for it, and it's interesting seeing Vader and the Emperor on a dangerous mission together. I thought it a bit of a missed opportunity that Kemp didn't use all the destruction above and on Ryloth to show how that world became the tide-locked, non-rotating one established earlier in the EU, as this would've been a potential opportunity to retcon the one seen in The Clone Wars to the one described in The Essential Atlas (and other sources).

5/25/20 Site Update

Thanks to Aaron, I added "The Force Unleashed II: Cloning Tank" (Lucasarts.com), which is an interactive game that had been available on their website. Unfortunately it's lost, as are a number of other Star Wars flash games from the early 2000s. This is a problem. When you have lore that is exclusive to games that become obsolete, that lore becomes lost. This is a situation Lucasfilm should never have allowed. The lore should be published in another forum, whether that's in the Prima Guide, or in a short story, novel, comic-book, whatever. There are fans who are deeply interested in the story, and when even a small part of that story vanishes, it's frustrating. And there's no reason for it. If you can't ensure that you'll keep the game from going obsolete, then at least see to it that the story is published in some other way.

5/23/20 The Godform Assumption of StarCrow the Wise!

At long last, Michael K. Brennan's illustrated epic poem is here! If you recall mention of Solomites and StarCrow in Supernatural Encounters, this is where that comes from! Due to the fonts and layout, it's only available as a PDF, which you can access with the introduction here.

5/22/20 Escape from Auren, not Aaron, and More Goodies!

Thanks again to Aaron for pointing out the Droids 1988 video game is not "Escape from Aaron" but "Escape from Auren." The written prologue, for those who can't play obsolete games on the ZX Spectrum or Commodore 64, gives us the basic story premise, and it is up here! If you're a MAME enthusiast, I do believe there's a ROM of the game out there.

I've also added the nine Recovered Messages from the Imperial Prison Barge Purge for your reading pleasure.

Finally, everyone's been asking me about the Clone Wars and Star Wars UK comics from Titan Magazine. They're up here until I hear they're going to be reprinted, which hopefully Marvel will at some point. Vol 6 and Vol 7. Enjoy!

Addendum: Thanks to Ryan Winters for pointing out that the "Design an Alien" article from Star Wars Galaxy Magazine #9 could be dated to early in Yoda's life (we now know, thanks to The Mandalorian, it's obviously after he was 50 years old!) I've put it circa 820 BBY.

5/21/20 Happy 40th TESB and Site Update

The Empire Strikes Back debuted in the U.S. today 40 years ago in 1980! How time flies!

I wanted to briefly revisit and expand on Scoundrels, which I started but didn't finish on the 18th. I moved Scoundrels (and its associated stories) a little further up in time, but that doesn't quite work, so I'm moving it later, by "World of Fire." Contextually, it reads like it takes place shortly after Han loses the reward money to Crimson Jack and is a looking for a way to make money to pay him off. This would a very short time after the Battle of Yavin. One problem is that he says that Leia doesn't know that happened because if she did, she'd give him one of those looks. But, of course, he knows she's aware of it, since she was also kidnapped by Crimson Jack a short time later. I guess it can argued that he didn't tell her THAT part. Ok, but compounding the chronology problem is the conversation Han and Winter have, in which she's noted to have replaced the Millennium Falcon's escape pod (jettisoned prior to being brought aboard the Death Star) seven months ago, placing this story long after the Battle of Yavin, and leaving Winter without knowing if Leia was alive or dead for a bit longer than seems plausible. But it's a big galaxy. The story is less intrusive in that time slot than the earlier one, and because Jabba raises Han's bounty to a million credits, the later date is really the way to go.

It's nice to see Zahn play in the larger Expanded Universe, referencing things like Crimson Jack (by event rather than name), Jaxxon (by race), the Yavin Vassilika, and Bidlo Kwerve (establishing his recent death, which was an investigation I'd had some time back that I'll have to reopen). There's not a lot of it, but given Zahn was more known for sticking to his own creations (and Stackpole's), it's good to see him adjust and work in the context of the larger EU, which helps make the whole thing feel like it's a living history.

The problem with Scoundrels is that it doesn't much feel like a Star Wars book. Take away the names and you have an Oceans-11 story, which can be fun, but this one is a bit of a chore to get through as it's overwritten and detail-heavy. If you like these kinds of capers and heist-stories and don't mind excessively long buildup, you might want to check it out.

5/20/20 Site Update

Thanks to Ryan Winters, who did some research on the subject, I took Tartakovsky's Clone Wars: episode 21 (second segment) out of Infinities and placed it after Jedi Trial. It works!

Also thanks to Aaron Sawyer for letting me know of the existence of four Ewoks adaptations published in the UK by Dragon Books (who also published four Droids adaptations)!

5/18/20 Site Update

See 5/21/20

5/11/20 Sith Update

Thanks to Ryan Winters for informing that The Jedi Path was missing from the timeline! I'm sure it was there at some point, but who knows?! At any rate, it's back now, and placed where it takes place according to Dan Wallace, in 990 BBY.

5/11/20 Site Update

Thanks again to Alex Payne for his keen vision in noticing that a chapters in the the Republic Commando: Order 66 book weren't quite where they should be. The Prologue is now at the end of 21 BBY, and Chapter 2 is now at the start of 20 BBY. I've said it before and I'll say it again: this site could not be what it is without all the help you guys have given over the years!

By the way, these changes are as of now only being made to the Complete Saga page. I will eventually transfer them over to the individual pages, but not until I'm confident that most of the problems have been identified and corrected.

Addendum: After trying to see if it could fit into the EU, I've added Heir to the Jedi to Infinities. With these three books, what was intended as standalone titles in the Empire and Rebellion trilogy, there's little connection to the larger universe, save perhaps in one small aspect of Razor's Edge, in which Princess Leia uses the alias Leia Durane when going undercover, which seems to be a pretty cool callback to Giles Durane, her weapons master from the old Marvel series.

Heir to the Jedi had different issues. Luke saying he's never heard Ben Kenobi speak to him since Yavin is problematic. In the stories I've edited, I always flag dialogue from main character who say things like "I've never done" this or that. With an ongoing series, it's easy for editors to forget such lines, and inevitably stories crop up in which the same character who said "I've never done this" ends up doing that very thing, and probably doing it well or multiple times, at a time prior to the story where he claims never to have done it.

Another problem is that Luke and his love-interest are overly casual about his identity as the guy who blew up the Death Star, which in both the EU and DU, was a big deal that had Vader going across the galaxy several times over to discover that name. This is part of Luke feeling out-of-character, just as he did in Tim Zahn's novel Allegiance. Luke may be a little green, but these authors wrote him like he's never seen the outside of a barn. ;) Granted, Luke's not sophisticated like Leia, or world-weary like Han, but he's hardly a "hee-haw" country bumpkin either!

5/8/20 Site Update

Thanks again to Alex Payne for detecting anomalies in my placement of certain Clone Wars comics, specifically the appearance of Phase One Clone armor, I've moved Clone Wars Adventures: Volume 4: "Another Fine Mess," "The Brink," Volume 5: "Heroes on Both Sides," and Volume 10: "Thunder Road" and "Waiting" to early in 20 BBY. Conversely, Vol 10: "Chain of Command" was moved to in between episodes 16 and 17 of Season 5.

I'm aware of the contradiction between the flashback events in the book Ahsoka and the final episode of The Clone Wars. When I have time again, I'll explore these in greater depth, as well as work out a chronology that makes sense of Anakin and Obi-Wan's whereabouts during that time frame, taking into account Labyrinth of Evil, Reversal of Fortune, TCW: Season 7, and Tartakovsky's misbegotten third season of the Clone Wars.

5/5/20 May the Fourth/Revenge of the Fifth!

Hope everyone enjoyed their Star Wars celebrations at home with the excellent conclusion of The Clone Wars and debut of the Mandalorian documentary! Here at the Star Wars Expanded Universe Timeline, we're hard at work on the extended edition of Supernatural Encounters, as well as site updates, the most recent including the addition to Infinities with Heavy Metal magazine's March 1985 parody "Rock Opera II."

5/2/20 Site Update

Thanks to Aaron Sawyer, I added some RPG material from Star Wars Adventures Magazine (Scholastic) to their appropriate places. There's a LOT more RPG adventures to add, but I don't have the time as of yet! Also, thanks to Alex Payne, I moved the Clone Wars Magazine issue 50 stories, "The Runaway Ride" and "Coruscant Holonet" to shortly after Clone Wars: Gambit due to the Clone's use of Phase 1 armor.

4/29/20 Site Update

Moved the Clone Wars Magazine issue 42: "The Collector" to shortly after Clone Wars: Gambit. Thanks to Alex Payne for the heads-up!

4/28/20 Site Update: Honor Among Thieves

I moved Honor Among Thieves (and its associated short story "Silver and Scarlet") to 7 months ABY. This is a tougher book to place, in large part because it feels disconnected to the larger universe, a situation we also saw Dark Horse do with Brian Wood's infamous Star Wars series. The characterizations are good, particularly Han's, but it does take you out of the story to see a Noghri at a time when they were supposed to be confined to their world and unknown to the larger galaxy. We're introduced to old friends of Han who we've never met before and it would've been better had the authors chosen one of Han's many old companions. If the K'kybak been the Rakata or Esh-kha, if Scarlet Hark had been Platt Okeefe, if Baasen Rey been Rik Duel, then I think the stakes would've been higher.

Chronology-wise, the book is hard to place because Han is struggling with his role in the Rebellion, something we saw also in Allegiance (though it's admittedly handled much better here), and Han is acting as if the Death Star destruction only recently happened. Yet, they're off Yavin base, which means the Death Star was destroyed at least six months earlier. The authors do mention Han' having adventures with Luke and Leia, but they're general references that make it seem as if those stories were just milk-runs. Also, the Alliance hasn't yet chosen Hoth as their destination, which is a slight change from the Star Wars newspaper strips in which it seemed there was no question that that was where they were going to set-up shop, but that's workable.

Others have commented that the story feels low-key instead of grand, and that may be in part because the villains are either a faceless Imperial threat, or bland like Baasen Rey. It all combines to leave the last of the EU books with a whimper instead of a bang.

4/27/20 The Adventurer's Journal

Missing West End Games and the Star Wars Adventure Journal? Miss it no more! Brian L. Bird and his team of writers, editors, and graphic designers have been creating NEW material free as PDFs called The Adventurer's Journal, which will total 15 issues with new content, including RPG adventures, short stories, supplements, NPCs, maps, and much more! There's even a new RPG supplements book, with plans for cleaner versions of the unpublished issues 16-18! Check all that out and the current four issues here, and join their Facebook page here!

RPGAs

I wanted to thank Aaron Sawyer for providing us with some lost and very hard-to-find RPGAs from the early days of WOTC. I haven't made of any of these available as of yet, since I just have the time right now and am also hoping some more will be discovered, but I will in the coming year.

4/25/20 The Wrath of Darth Maul

In honor of the recent Darth Maul episode in The Clone Wars Season 7, I've added those titles, which at this point are really just best-guess estimates as to when exactly they occur during Revenge of the Sith, as well as the chronological chapter breakdown of The Wrath of Darth Maul, which is entirely thanks to Alex Payne, who put it together for us!

More Site Updates

Thanks are also due to Danni Scarpa who informed me that Clone Wars: Gambit references the events of The Clone Wars Season 1 episodes, "Jedi Crash" and "Defenders of the Peace," which have now been moved to reflect that!

4/21/20 Han Solo Books and Site Update

The latter first, put X-Wing: Mercy Kill, chapters 1, 12, and 17 into their appropriate time-slots; added the unpublished Ryder Windham Droids sketch to before the published Apple Jacks Droids sketch in 1 ABY, where it's been moved (figuring that the Tatooine trip all happened around that time around Mystery of the Rebellious Robot and Tales #4's "Spare Parts."

I've also added the four Hungarian Han Solo books to the timeline, which relates to the next topic. As posted on this site's Facebook page earlier today, there is a new development in the translation of the these books!

For those of you hearing about this for the first time, long story short: these were four books set after the Brian Daley series, written exclusively in Hungary in the early '90s by Dale Avery (Nyulászi Zsolt) and Ed Fisher (Gáspár András), published by Valhalla, who were the leading sci-fi/fantasy publisher in the country and had been doing official Hungarian translations of the Thrawn books, Han Solo trilogy, and Splinter of the Mind's Eye. While Avery believed this was an official Lucasfilm publication, and had worked as Daley's Hungarian translator, in fact, Lucasfilm only later acquired the rights from Valhalla for these books, making them official after the fact, likely because they were very well-received in that country and diligently followed continuity!

4/15/20 Site Update

Thanks again to Alex Payne, I moved several Clone Wars comics to more chronologically-appropriate places. This includes "Slaves of the Republic," "Suited," and "Mandalorian Memories"! I also moved the public service announcement ("Danger! Mystery Infection on Geonosis") to between episodes 7 and 8 of The Clone Wars: Season 2.

4/7/20 Site Update

Thanks again to Harry Thornton for catching Children of the Jedi being a year too early! Not sure how that happened, but it's fixed and in 12 ABY where it belongs! :)

4/6/20 Jedi Fallen Order

Thanks to Harry Thornton for reminding me to place Jedi: Fallen Order and its comic-book series! You'll find them in 14 BBY.

4/4/20 Site Update

Thanks to Alex Payne, I moved The Clone Wars Magazine story "The Only Good Clanker" to BEFORE The Clone Wars, Season 3, episode 12, due to the fact that Asajj is still working for Dooku.

4/1/20 Updated Gamemaster Guide

Just wanted to give a shout-out to David Sell for providing us with the missing page 4 of the Lords of the Expanse: Gamemaster Guide! Download it here: Gamemaster Guide

You can find additional fan-made RPG sourcebooks, supplements, adventures here!

3/20/20 Infinities Addition

Due to the fact that Greg Rucka's Smuggler's Run: A Han Solo & Chewbacca Adventure has the Alliance leaving Yavin 4 immediately after the Battle of Yavin, which contradicts the EU version of events, which has them staying there for at least six months, it's been placed in Infinities.

3/18/20 TOR Updates

Thanks to Alex Payne, I added two additional TOR short-stories that I'd missed: "The Search for Oricon" and "Lana Benikos' Journal: Darth Arkous" to 3639 and 3638 BBY respectively. There's some additional stories that need to be added as soon as we figure out exactly where they go.

3/9/20 Shuffling (update)

The 0 year ABY has gotten some shuffling in order to accommodate the Marvel 2015 series, Star Wars, Darth Vader, Vader Rising, Lando, Chewbacca, and Doctor Aphra.

The 2015-on Marvel series has been surprisingly free of contradictions with the Expanded Universe stories in this time-frame, not entirely, but enough to allow them to be placed. I say surprisingly because the Dark Horse 2013 series—which was supposed to be in continuity with the Expanded Universe—was far more problematic (for which reason it currently sits in Infinities). These Marvel stories are generally self-contained, and well-written, though they do require some adjustments.

The Doctor Aphra series required shifting the Alan Moore story "Blind Fury" (from Marvel UK #159) to the earlier (now in 7-12 months ABY period), which is no problem as that story is free to be moved any time after the Battle of Yavin and before the Battle of Hoth. Due to the fact that Leia is shown swimming in issue #34, Star Wars #21-on and Doctor Aphra stories have to be placed after Splinter of the Mind's Eye (where Leia says she can't swim, a statement that isn't challenged by Luke). It's either that, or place SOTME earlier in the 1 ABY time-frame, which itself wouldn't be problematic. In either case, Leia learns to swim.

Due to various continuity conflicts, Princess Leia has been placed in Infinities.

Added Han Solo, but the placement can be in several places post-evacuation, pre-Hoth. Similarly, Star Wars Annual #3 could fit in several places prior to Luke's discovery of Hoth in the newspaper strips.

As regards Darth Vader's discovery of Luke Skywalker as the destroyer of the Death Star, it seems reasonable that Vader would triple-check the information to ensure its veracity, allowing readers to better understand why there are three instances in which Vader gathers this intel—the original Marvel series (issue #35), Vader's Quest, and Darth Vader #6/Star Wars #6.

As regards the existence of the Super Star Destroyer, the Executor, there were numbers SSDs created at the time. Either the Executor was built or rebuilt and/or upgraded at Kuat, Scarl, and Fondor, or there's an Executor I and an Executor II. Keep in mind too that The Force Unleashed had the Executor in existence three years prior to its appearance at the Starship Yards of Fondor in the Goodwin newspaper strips.

For those puzzled as to why the post-Disney buyout titles would be included on a Star Wars EU timeline, the Complete Saga page follows the "One Canon" approach, which permits any story that reasonably fits into the Expanded Universe on the timeline. For purists, the other pages on this site remain free of post-2013 stories.

3/4/20 Site Update

Added the five part Lando comic-book series to the 7-12 months after Episode IV: A New Hope period.

This takes place after "Lady Luck" (Tales #3), which I have placed in the 1-6 month period (earlier than the placement given it on other timelines), to account for the fact that Lando met Lobot around the time he won Cloud City. As with the latter story, it could take place later (or earlier for that matter).

1/23/20 Site Updates

Moved Master & Apprentice to before Jedi Apprentice #17 for continuity (Valorum) and thematic (Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's relationship) reasons. Thanks to Alex Payne for catching that!

Also added the forthcoming The Clone Wars Season 7 to the timeline, in the knowledge that the four unfinished "Legacy" episodes, starting with "The Bad Batch" will appear in that seasons in their completed forms.

1/21/20 Batch of Interviews

The final batch of interviews with Doug McCausland is up, and includes Mike Stackpole, James Luceno, Christie Golden, and Kathy Tyers! Find them all here!

1/20/20 The Mandalorian is Up

All eight episodes are listed in 9 ABY (on the "Complete Saga" page only), placed prior to the return of Thrawn in Heir to the Empire.

1/14/20 Interview with Dave Wolverton!

Next up in our EU interview series with Doug McCausland is author Dave Wolverton! Check it out here!

1/6/20 Interviews for the New Year

Today I was interviewed by my friend Matt Wilkins for his Princes of the Universe podcast on Youtube! We had a blast as we always do when we talk Star Wars!

Additionally, I'm starting a new section on the Archives for interviews with Star Wars Expanded Universe authors. These were all conducted by writer, Star Wars fan, and all-around great guy, Doug McCausland! We start off with an in-depth interview with Kevin J. Anderson, and one that's going really to appeal to Expanded Universe fans because the interviewer asks the kinds of questions that readers want to know! Check it out here! There will be more coming down the pike!

Finally, I've updated my email address on here. I'd forgotten how when I switched hosting companies, the old one wouldn't work. But if you find any that still don't, drop me a line here. Thanks to Noam Nederby Jessen for the heads up!

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