Children of the Jedi
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Put down your flamethrowers and let me clarify:
Mara Jade is uninteresting to me, and uninteresting as Luke's romantic interest. Callista makes a far better fit in my opinion, as she represents the old order of the Jedi; a Jedi from a more civilized age. Luke and Callista are both anachronisms, so of course they would be attracted to each other.
The ideas concerning mechanical beings and the Force, and in particular the character of Nichos are interesting to me. What makes a person, a person?
Triv Pothman is a cool character. I always wanted to see what the Stormtroopers would do when told that the Empire was no more. He takes it well.
The fact that Luke is relatable and human is nice to see. It has been suggested that this novel be called "Luke Passes Out", yet I think it's realistic that a hero like Luke would constantly be trying to live up to his own legend and failing. He failed throughout ESB after all.
I like that the Eye of Palpatine is not taken very seriously as a threat. Luke even realizes that destroying it would be the easy part, the difficult part being getting all of its innocent passengers to safety.
Speaking of that, I like the very Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy way in which different species are brought on board the Eye and brainwashed. It's farcical, but Star Wars should have its goofy bits.
I like the idea of Luke finding toys that the Jedi children used to play with. It's a nice touch and reminds me that the Jedi weren't always the creepy cult that Lucas made them in the Prequels. They had families and lived happy peaceful lives for the most part, like a life-affirming spiritual tradition should encourage.
I'm not such a big fan of much of the Belsavis storyline, as much of it feels like filler in order to involve the rest of our heroes in pointless busywork. But not every story needs to involve everyone.
So is the novel perfect? Absolutely not. But some parts really feel like Star Wars, and it exists along with many other Star Wars novels in the wonderful cocoon of the Pre-Preqels EU.