In the audiobook the narrator pronounces it “Lah-ah-uke”
Also I don’t think I would call it lazy because having Luke fight an insane clone of himself is pretty bold as it’s a pretty out there concept. I think him fighting another Dark Side user who is more machine than man would have been lazy.
It might have been a serviceable concept if it were given time to breathe in The Last Command, but as it is it’s pretty terrible. Most of Zahn’s writing on the Force makes it feel like a comic book superpower, rather than a spiritual one. Also, this is supposed to be a pics thread, so I’ll comment on this general crappiness:
Awkward composition? Check. Glowstick lightsabers? Check. Dopey Luuke? Check.
The worst part about that cover is that it was made by the same guy who made this;
The comic adaptions had some much better cover art (not brilliant, but much better);
https://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n_iv/600/1138601.jpg
https://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n_iv/600/612401.jpg
http://static2.comicvine.com/uploads/scale_large/5/50638/977417-star_wars_thrawn_trilogy_2___dark_force_rising__3___page_1.jpg
http://static5.comicvine.com/uploads/scale_large/5/50638/977421-star_wars_thrawn_trilogy_2___dark_force_rising__6___page_1.jpg
https://d1466nnw0ex81e.cloudfront.net/n_iv/600/644835.jpg
Some of the foreign covers weren’t too bad either;
http://www.starwarsklub.hu/10_konyvek/konyvek_001/jpg/thrawn_1_a_birodalom_orokos.jpg
Also as a side note on Zahn’s writing, I never felt like the Force was written like a “super-power”, at least not to any further extent that what the Force would be when used in an action scenario. Also when you have to describe in text that Luke is using specific abilities to solve specific problems it will by default sound a lot less vague and mystical than what it did in the OT films.
Using the Force as a “super-power” is in my opinion a better description of how it was handled in the PT, but regardless I’d say it’d be close to impossible to keep the Force vague in a written context. Luke doing high Force jump in ESB works well because it’s visual, but when you have to describe in words that he used the Force to enhance his jump, it end’s up sound similar to a super-power. I’m just glad Zahn never refereed to it as a “Force-jump”. Now that sound like something from a superhero comic.