hi there! what are the best SW books in your opinion for the luke x mara ship? i'd be interested to read them
Oh hi there!
Well first off you have the Thrawn Trilogy which is the start of everything, where Luke and Mara meet for the first time and where Mara is introduced to the SW universe proper.
After that Mara only appears in a couple of books but she’s mainly a minor character in them and imo get’s treated poorly. She also barely interacts with Luke apart from a scene in Darksaber where she flirts with an already committed Luke.
Luke pretty much gets in other relationships in those books. And Mara herself gets this “are they sleeping or not together” with Lando. So really cannot recommend those books.
Now the actual recommendation after this is I, Jedi. This book while focused on Corran Horn has a couple of shipping scenes between Luke and Mara. Specially from Mara. Although because of the nature of the book (you need to read the first X-Wing books at least plus the Jedi Academy Trilogy) I leave it to your discretion if you want to read it or not.
Then you finally have the Hand of Thrawn Duology which is a sequel to the original Thrawn Trilogy and also the books where Luke and Mara get together. So definitely recommend.
After that you have Survivor’s Quest a standalone book focused on them after Hand of Thrawn. This books and the previous ones mention are all written by Timothy Zahn, Mara Jade’s creator.
Later you have the New Jedi Order series. While this series doesn’t have Luke and Mara as the main characters. The series is the first to show us Luke/Mara as a married couple and there are many moments between. Special mention to the sixth book Balance Point which is effectively the Luke/Mara book of the series (alongside Han/Leia).
After that you have the Dark Nest Trilogy but I do not recommend them. What they do to the characters is imo not great.
And finally Legacy of the Force which you should avoid at all cost since this is the series where Mara Jade is fridged.
Bonus:
The Star Wars Union Comic Book, which is about Luke/Mara’s wedding
Not Luke/Mara together but I would definitely recommend them as well, Allegiance and Choices of One which are two books shortly after Episode 4 with a Farmboy Luke Skywalker and Emperor’s Hand Mara Jade.
And that’s it. Honestly there are not that many stories with them because Luke got constantly paired off with other people and Mara reduced to a one dimensional side character.