[Top 10] Best Star Wars Audiobooks To Listen To

Updated:

29 Aug 2022

What are the best Star Wars audiobooks?

There are over four hundred Star Wars novels, many of which have received excellent audiobooks. From a first glance, this can make it seem impossible to find a good place to start.

This article has found the best Star Wars novels with amazing audiobook recordings. These incredible audiobooks have been ranked based on their narratives and quality, and each one is deserving of a listen as soon as possible.

10. Revenge of The Sith
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Revenge of The Sith's cover features Darth Vader standing amdist the lava that consumed him.

19 years before the Battle of Yavin, the Clone Wars are coming to an end. Chancellor Palpatine has been kidnapped by General Grievous and Count Dooku, while Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi rush to save the day. Unknown to either, Palpatine plans on betraying the Jedi and building a new Galactic Empire.

This novelization of the titular movie expands upon well-known scenes while adding entirely new scenes that flesh out the story. From Grievous' sadistic murders of his own subordinates to Mace Windu's self-reflection in his final moments, this book elevates Revenge of The Sith to a whole new level. The audiobook also brings to life the most chilling and forlorn line in Star Wars, "This is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker."

9. The Old Republic - Revan
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Revan's cover depicts an epic lightsaber duel between the titular character and a Sith.

Thousands of years before the Star Wars movies, The former Sith Lord Revan does not sleep. To quell his endless nightmares, Revan embarks on a journey to discover his own past as a Sith. This will lead Revan and his allies down a path they never could have expected.

This novel serves as a sequel to the Knights of The Old Republic video game, and a soft prequel to Knights of The Old Republic 2. The novel offers an interesting introspection into what it must be like for a character that has had their memories robbed and yet was expected to lead a "normal" life afterward. It also features several beloved characters from the video games.

8. Darth Bane: Path of Destruction
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The updated cover to Path of Destruction features a chilling drawing of Darth Bane.

A thousand years before the Star Wars movies, a boy is born into poverty, essentially a slave to a mining company on a remote outpost of a world. Fate would have him leave that planet to join the Sith Army, setting him on a path of destruction as he becomes a Sith Lord. From Bane, all future Sith would descend.

Darth Bane is perhaps the most important Sith not seen in the movies. He established the Rule of Two, that there could only ever be two Sith Lords at one time. He led directly to Palpatine, ensuring generations of Sith would remain in the shadows and take their time plotting the downfall of the Jedi.

7. Shadows of The Empire
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The cover of Shadows of The Empire features Luke Skywalker and the book's antagonists.

After Luke Skywalker's defeat at the hands of Darth Vader, the Rebel Alliance is left on the run. Botham spies have uncovered the plans for a new Death Star, while Darth Vader hires bounty hunters to capture his son, and the Black Sun crime lord Xizor seeks to kill Luke just so Vader can't have him.

This story fills in the gaps between Episodes V and VI and was a multi-media effort that included the novel, a video game, roleplaying games, comics, and more. Shadows of The Empire fills in many of the gaps left by the time skip in the movies, such as how Luke acquired his green lightsaber and where Leia got her bounty hunter disguise.

6. Death Troopers
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The dead search for fresh meat on the cover of Death Troopers.

A Star Destroyer drifts through space, seemingly dead and abandoned. An Imperial prison ship docks with it, hoping to scavenge engine components. Instead, most of the prison population is infected with a mysterious disease. Within hours of brutal symptoms appearing, they die. Their bodies would quickly rot away before they would rise again, hungry for the flesh of the living.

The idea of zombies in the Star Wars universe is laughable, but the execution is expertly done. Death Troopers truly beings to life the soul crushing existence of what it's like to be a prisoner aboard a space ship, before replacing that horror with one far worse. From the terror of the airborne pathogen, to the relentless attacking of the dead, the confines of a spaceship have never been this terrifying.

5. Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
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The cover of Dark Lord shows off Darth Vader.

This is not seeing. This is not hearing. This is not breathing. This is not living. Darth Vader is a shell of the man he once was, dismembered and left to burn alive at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi and horribly rebuilt by Darth Sidious. With nothing to live for, Vader is tasked with hunting down the survivors of Order 66, reigniting the spark that had been snuffed out of him.

This book serves as a soft sequel to the Revenge of The Sith novelization, and despite the name, actually sees Vader as the antagonist. The heroes of the book are relentlessly chased by Vader as he slowly regains his confidence and power, proving to himself, Palpatine, and the entire galaxy that he is the Empire's most brutal and effective weapon.

4. The Bounty Hunter Wars: The Mandalorian Armor
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The Mandalorian Armor's cover showing off the most important characters in the novel.

Boba Fett is dead. At least, that's what the galaxy believes. As Dengar scavenges the remains of Jabba's skiffs, he discovers the Sarlaac is dead and that a charred body lies nearby. Dengar chooses to try and heal the comatose Boba Fett, setting forth a path he couldn’t have expected. As Fett sleeps, he dreams of events just a few years ago, but now resides in a previous lifetime.

This book is the first appearance of The Bounty Hunter's Guild, and heavily follows Boba Fett's destruction of it. The Empire sought to create a bounty hunter Civil War, using Fett as their tool. The Book deals heavily with the toll of the guild on normal people and its own hunters, as well as the bonds that form between them.

3. Darth Plagueis
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Darth Plagueis' cover, featuring the titular Sith and his apprentice.

Before there was Palpatine, there was Plagueis. The novel follows Plagueis as he murders his master and begins studying ways to escape death, while in public appearing as a respected CEO. Eventually, he finds his apprentice, Sidious, and together they orchestrate a plan to destroy the Jedi and the Republic. Together they explore the Dark Side of the Force and the political landscape of the galaxy.

Darth Plagueis is essentially a biography of the titular Sith Lord. The author heavily researched Star Wars lore to ensure the novel strictly adhered to the timeline and expertly tied in other novels, comics, and of course the movies. Both Plagueis and Palpatine's backstories are explored, shedding new insight into both Sith Lords and just how evil they truly are.

2. Heir To The Empire
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Heir To The Empire's strange cover.

Five years have passed since Emperor Palpatine was defeated, and the New Republic seems to finally be reaching peace. Luke Skywalker is a fully realized Jedi, Han and Leia are married and expecting twins, and the Imperial Remnant seems defeated. Enter stage left, Grand Admiral Thrawn. Palpatine's greatest military mastermind has gathered the last of the Imperial Remnant and plans on ending the New Republic before it can even get off the ground.

Thrawn is one of the most intelligent characters in Star Wars and has become a fan favorite character since his explosive debut. This novel also sets the tone that most of the Legends continuity will follow, and the Thrawn Trilogy are perhaps the most important Star Wars books.

1. The New Jedi Order: Vector Prime
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The chilling cover to Vector Prime.

Twenty one years after the death of Emperor Palpatine, the New Republic barely holds control in the face of uprisings and Luke has discovered that rogue Jedi have been performing vigilante justice across the galaxy. Then appear the Yuuzhan Vong in ships made of flesh, seeking to conquer the entire galaxy.

The Yuuzhan Vong are alien even within the context of Star Wars, coming from another galaxy and using technology never seen before. They were immune to the Force and were brutally efficient in their slaughter of the galaxy. Vector Prime does an excellent job in showing the terror of those first days. Following Vector Prime, New Jedi Order would drawn in characters from across the Star Wars universe as the was progresses.