I was wondering when someone would mention that. I have a soft spot for it, as well as the Han Solo books written by Brian Daley. The Lando Calrissian series written by L. Neil Smith wasn’t terrible either. And, surprisingly, not jam-packed with Libertarian viewpoints.
Jeez, Mike has some Steve-Buscemi-level weird teeth. Does he have one massive tooth on his lower jaw that grows directly under his tongue? Sorry, I’ve never seen a video of him before.
One time, many many moons ago, when I was single and had way too much time on my hands, I decided I was being a book snob and that I should try one of those Star Wars novels I’d scoffed at for so long. After reading several threads like this one, there seemed to be a consensus that the Zahn trilogy was the best of the batch, so I picked them up at a used bookstore and gave them a shot.
For me, they just barely squeaked by on the right side of the finish reading/throw across the room dividing line. Just barely. They were not very good, is what I’m saying. That is, of course, MHO, and YMMV.
I thought these were quite good, simple action pulp and true to the character and feel of the original movies. The best part? They aren’t fetishistically obsessed with The Force, Sith, and jedis—just good old blasters, dogfights, and smugglers.
I think everyone remembers Zahn fondly, but hasn’t read that trilogy recently. Neither have I, and I remember it as being good for Star Wars fiction, but it’s been 10+ years since I last read them.
The Han Solo trilogy was pretty good, and the Calrissian trilogy was…interesting, but it got weird at times.
Personally I really enjoyed the Corellian trilogy by Roger Macbride Allen. I have a soft spot for Han and Leia’s family in general, though.
The Dark Force/Jedi Knight games are fantastic. I don’t care how much of a Mary Sue Kyle Katarn might be, he’s still awesome. (And arguably since he’s a video game protagonist, that gives him the right.)
Generally speaking, though, the quality of much of the EU certainly isn’t much better than fanfic. I made it a point to stay away from any single book; the trilogies tended to be better. Truce at Bakura wasn’t too bad, but the rest get sillier and sillier.
I re-read the Thrawn trilogy + douology just last year, when I put them on my Kindle. They hold up just fine, especially compared to the crap Lucas has come up with since ESB.
When the the Thrawn trilogy come out? I remember reading them a long time ago, and thinking they were decent. I didn’t know anything about them when I picked them up so I guess I was just lucky that the only SW books I’ve ever read are generally considered some of the best.
Interestingly, 60,000 voters voted the Thrawn trilogy into the #88 spot on NPR’s Top 100 Science Fiction/Fantasy list. So some folks at least thought it was good.
…Granted, given that RA Salvatore’s Drizzt series came in at #73, maybe that list’s credibility should be taken with a grain of salt. :dubious:
Some is garbage, some is very good.
Mostly, it’s fun.
In the meantime, get yourself one of these–
You know you wanna.
Children of the Jedi by Barbara Hambly was quite good, I thought. Anyone else like it?
It depends on what you’re expecting.
If you want mind-blowing sci-fi, then very little of it will please you. There are some authors who write for the SWEU who also do critically acclaimed sci-fi outside of it, and their books are usually readable, occasionally great.
If you want something that will entertain you for a few hours, they’re pretty fantastic. The X-Wing series takes Wedge Antilles and some other minor characters and drops them into decent serial space opera. They aren’t deep literature, but they have their moments. The books about the main characters have more baggage to haul around, but some of them are also worth the few bucks it takes to buy them used. A lot of them rise to the level of “top of the pile of fanfic”, basically.
This is coming from someone who has paid actual legal currency for far too many of these, not to mention the licensed Doctor Who novels and other similar money sinks. Don’t expect a gourmet repast, but some of them are enjoyable junk food.
I think that’s a good point - a lot of it probably depends on how much you like novels based on similar properties. I have read truly heinous Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels and comics, and I usually find something to like about them.
I have to disagree with Bosstone on two points: First, I (re)read the Zahn trilogy fairly recently, and I think it holds up really well; it’s a ton of fun. I actually think it comes off better than it used to in light of all the irredeemably horrible prequel junk. Like all EU stuff (Hell, like all Star Wars stuff), it’s goofy as Hell, but that’s a mark in its favor. Second, as awesome as a Star Wars book where Luke fights dinosaur aliens who are immune to the Force sounds, I think Truce at Bakura sucks.
Is any of it viable fodder for a movie, mini-series or even anime? Could it top Phantom Menace or the other 2 of the Vader Chronicles?
I never actually said it didn’t hold up well, only that it’s probably been so long we might just be remembering it from when we were young. 
I know, right? After a while you stop noticing it.
With a bar that low, I’m sure you could find something…
Looking back, there are some good EU books. I did like the Han Solo trilogy (the more recent ones, I never read the ones from the early 80s) and Tales of the Mos Eisley Cantina and Jabba’s palace were good. Still, there are probably hundreds of books out there and the misses far out number the hits.
I still also content the Zahn books are only just okay. I liked the later duology more than his original trilogy.
One thing Zahn should get credit for is Coruscant first appears in his novels. I am pretty sure he created it.
I’m glad to see that there is at least one person for whom the letters “EU” have some significance beyond fucking Star Wars.
Or that you guys can’t recognize letters in context.