I'm in the minority I know - but I don't care for Timothy Zahn's characterization (Mara Jade for example is a character that I think should be renamed "mary sue" - I could rant about how a character known as DARTH VADER was already the Emperor's Right Hand but ... eh ... ) and I find his writing style ... dry to put it lightly. However I have to give him some props for starting the Star Wars in book form popularity.