Pre09:

Characters: Of course you know them. Of course they are great. Han Solo is of course the best. Vader really makes the story too though. Good bad guys are a must.
Plot: Yea, there's not much too it. Still, one up for the little guy eh?
Style: Space opera at it's best.

If you at all like the movies, these books are actually pretty solid. The rest of the 'sanctioned fan-fic' that followed just wasn't quite the same. Although Zahn wrote some good stuff. ( )

As a longtime fan of Star Wars, it was a pleasure to read the novelizations of this beloved trilogy. One could almost hear the Millenium Falcon's engines as they soared into space, or that unique sound of the jedi lightsabers, or even recall various scenes from the movies as we read them in the books, the familiar lines coming to our lips. It gives an interesting sense of nostalgia.

It was particularly nice to read some missing scenes we never got to see in the movies, like a few more moments in Luke Skywalker's training by the Jedi Master Yoda, or impassioned speeches at an Ewok assembly that would eventually lead to their alliance with the Rebels in Endor. We got a close look at some of these character's motivations as the writers explored the character's minds. It made for a pretty interesting and entertaining reading.

The books are not without flaws, though. As should be expected of everything written before the prequels came out, there are some things that directly contradict the new canon established by the prequel movies, especially concerning Vader's knowledge of his wife's pregnancy. James Kahn's novelization of Return of the Jedi also has the annoying aspect of trying to write vocalizations that should never have been put into writing, like Chewbacca's growls or R2-D2's beeps and chirps. Still, by the time I read Darth Vader's death scene, I was actually crying, because it was impossible not to. Reading this has inspired me to go out and order some more Star Wars books... :) ( )