Anchorhead said:

Looking just at Zahn's Star Wars novel list, there seems to be several that might be good reads. Looking at a few non-spoiler write-ups, some of these sound interesting.

Heir to the Empire
Dark Force Rising
The Last Command
Specter of the Past
Vision of the Future
Survivor's Quest
Outbound Flight
Allegiance

Are these Prequel\Annikin\Padme heavy? The write-ups make it sound like they're more about the OT characters later in life, which could be very interesting.

Apologies ahead of time, I'm an EU newb.

None really have anything to do with the PT except Outbound Flight which I think you can safely skip. Otherwise really good reads.

Also try the Han Solo trilogy (The Paradise Snare, The Hutt Gambit, Rebel Dawn) for more classic style Star Wars.

Damn. Now I want to read good EU again. Wish it was 1995.