darth_ender said:

Clones have been overused and are about as cliched as any sci-fi plot device, but I personally think it mirrors Luke's challenge in ESB in the cave nicely, and also makes use of seemingly lost...er...artifacts (trying to preserve some surprise for the unenlightened) in the creation of Luuke.

I also thought the artifact was an interesting twist, as was it's final destination. ;-)

Mara's arc is fantastic and deep. I found both major antagonists, Thrawn and C'boath, worthy successors as primary villains. Neither is either the Emperor, Vader, or even Tarkin, yet they are worthy opponents with their own unique dangerous traits.

Agree. The antagonists are as worthy as any in the films. They certainly have more depth. Personally, I've always felt the emperor was a poorly written character. A cardboard cutout. People's memories of him in the Zahn books are handled much better than the actual filmed character was in Return.

Mara, as I mentioned before, should be "How To Properly Create And Develop A Character 101" Her past, her internal struggles, her arc, etc - all handled perfectly. I really dug Karrde also. Glad to see he's still around in Spectre.

As for Spectre of the Past, I enjoy Zahn's writing, but for me personally the EU had been ruined by the time this book came out, and efforts at redeeming it on his part could only go so far.

I've attempted to read some really bad EU and ended up throwing it in the trash (literally) after a few chapters, so I know I'm entering some sketchy territory. I have enough Zahn to hold me for a while. As to whether or not I venture into other EU authors; I'll have to defer to those around here who are much more versed in the later EU.

If I don't read any more, the Zahn novels will more than suffice for my Star Wars universe. To me, they're that good.