Is the Zahn trilogy really that great?

Overall, I agree with all of this. There were some excellent elements - Thrawn, Mara etc, and it was a well crafted story. There were also some less well written parts - Joruus and Luuke. But what I really liked about it was that it got me thinking about the wider universe - it asked questions that other writers, and even the prequels, ended up answering. It did a lot for Star Wars, let's hope TFA, JTTFA, and beyond do even more.

I would write more, however, I also am limited in my breath. Uhoh, must stop typing as I am now dead from breath limitations

 

My 2 cents:
No, no it's not, and it never was. It rode on the ravenous hunger for more Star Wars. It's a long-winded, boring story that didn't reflect the adventurous, fast-paced thrill of the original trilogy (not that it had to; it would just be more fitting).
And, to really go against the current grain, the novel that I feel comes closest to having the kind of vitality of the original trilogy is, in fact, Chuck Wendig's Aftermath. Quick scenes that increase the tension, quickly drawn characters which still have depth, a few cool set pieces and there you go.

I remember throwing my money at the books when Zahn's trilogy was published, and trying to keep up with the sheer volume of books that followed; it didn't last long. While semi-entertaining because they were about Luke, Han and Leia, they never really struck me as anything more than mediocre tales. I believe the last one I bought was Children of the Jedi. By that time, I had come to realize that I was spending time reading stuff that wasn't really entertaining me in the right way. I rolled my eyes more often than not. Some of the books were well written from a technical point of view, and some even had a few things that I felt suited a continuation of Return of the Jedi, but for the most part it wasn't any better than fan fiction, albeit professionally packaged and edited (no offense to book fans intended, just my opinion).

Now, Aftermath, and the Star Wars: Shattered Empire comics - so far at any rate - feel more "true" to me, for whatever reasons. It makes me hopeful that some of the other new Star Wars canon tales might be good as well. I have a feeling that people are bashing on Aftermath because it's so different after decades of jaded, plodding EU novels - but just wait. You heard it here first - Aftermath is only going to become more and more appreciated (just a hunch).

With that said, my body is so ready for The Force Awakens by now that I can literally not do anything useful with my life. Come on, JJ, give me something. Hopefully it is true that we have a trailer in nine days.

 

While I'm not an Aftermath basher per se, my dissatisfaction with it has nothing to do with past EU novels. My main problem with the story is simply shoddy characterization of the new characters that it introduces(other than Sinjir). The best bits of the novel were sections involving already established characters like Rae Sloane, or the short but enjoyable interludes. I wanted to like Aftermath, I really did, and while it wasn't terrible as some seem to imply, it certainly isn't a feat of great Star Wars literature either, its simply ok. That being said, I can see the next two novels in the trilogy being much better once Wendig better develops some of his new characters.