I just finished reading the Hand of Thrawn duology for the first time... and I have to say. When Zahn handles the Big Three he nails it. I have yet to read Allegiance, but I've read everything else and with the exception of his fetish for Grand Admiral Thrawn I think he's got the best take on Star Wars and has the best feel for the films.

What boggles my mind is this... why aren't the lessons Luke learns from Mara in Vision of the Future carried over into the Del Rey years? I mean, he makes some serious realizations here and it seems to me that the characterization is turned back a few notches. Especially when it comes to the conclusion of the New Jedi Order and the whole new spin on the Force with massive amounts of power being flexed. I thought Luke realized that people who did that are inevitably corrupted? Yeesh.

Zahn's got the right pacing and tone, to the point of you always feel like there's a movie rolling in your head. So much else falls flat on its face in that department. I just don't get it.