Star Wars Republic Commando book series. [spoiler]Its a gritty realistic take on the Clone Wars which added the warrior basis and Mandalorian culture to the Republic Commandos making them more distinct then their regular troopers, and the Alpha ARCs being trained directly by Jango making them quite lethal and cold. The clones were always highly disciplined, trained to follow orders without question. This isn't say they all knew ever order and contingency order out there, but those in command and also those who did some research like the Null ARC's were well aware of Order 66. Most clones followed orders, most. The Null ARC's and a select few Commandos and a small band of Mandalorians were able to find an exit though. I also like how the Mandalorians in the book series are portrayed as actual warriors and nomads, without a set homeworld, without a set chain of command, just one volunteer leader who may or may not have been voted in. A warrior culture based around an idea, a culture that can rise and fall again because in the end its an idea, not some pansy government from a lame cartoon that added an offshoot lightsaber. [/spoiler]

I always love to read the books by Timothy Zahn involving Grand Admiral Thrawn. This should be the reading order. [u]Thrawn: Ascendancy Trilogy[/u] Book I: Chaos Rising Book II: Greater Good Book III: Lesser Evil [u]Thrawn Trilogy[/u] Star Wars: Thrawn Thrawn: Alliances Thrawn: Treason [u]Thrawn Legend Trilogy[/u] Heir to the Empire Dark Force Rising The Last Command [u]Hand of Thrawn Duology[/u] Specter of the Past Vision of the Future

Andor, the TV show, is for me the best piece of Star Wars in two decades, at least.