Curious - anyone actually read any of these? Are they horrible?

I read Heir to the Empire when it came out, and loved it.
I really liked the sequel, "Dark Force Rising".
And the trilogy wrap-up was OK... "The Last Command".

I then read the "Jedi Academy" series that followed, and thought it was pretty bad. After that, I couldn't bring myself to read any of the other novels.

Are there any good ones out there?

I heard Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina is a must-read for any Star Wars fan.

With so many interesting and creative IPs out there, I'm really getting a bit sour on the Star Wars universe. The Vong were interesting, but it felt like how Star Trek introduces a new supervillain like the Borg. Pretty good, but just a hair shy of amazing and completely original. It's the diet coke of sci-fi.

It just seems regurgitated. I got into Warhammer 40k, and it's much more interesting, for me at least.

I own two Star Wars books that are not direct adaptions of the films-

Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina
Tales of the Bounty Hunters

Both of them are by Kevin J. Anderson who, for all practical purposes according to all Star Wars geeks, should be the only author you read for Star Wars non-movie stuff. I like the two books, the Bounty Hunters one being better than Cantina. Of course these books are like over 10 years old, and I have read none of the new stuff. So take my opinion/advice for what it is worth..

I will stand by Kevin J. Anderson as being the only Star Wars author you should read, however...

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I found the following series decent:

Last of the Jedi, auth: Jude Watson

I, Jedi stands out as one of my favorite Star Wars books. Corren Horn is a really cool character with a deep background and a not so cookie cutter personality, which is sometimes hard to come by in the SW Universe where "most" characters are based on common archetypes.

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The Yuuzhan Vong series which was idk, 20 paperbacks long, was quite good I thought

[edit] The New Jedi Order
Vector Prime by R.A. Salvatore (25 ABY)
Dark Tide I: Onslaught by Michael Stackpole (25 ABY)
Dark Tide II: Ruin by Michael Stackpole (25 ABY)
Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial by James Luceno (25 ABY)
Agents of Chaos II: Jedi Eclipse by James Luceno (25 ABY)
Balance Point by Kathy Tyers (26 ABY)
Recovery by Troy Denning (26 ABY) (E)
Edge of Victory I: Conquest by Greg Keyes (26 ABY)
Edge of Victory II: Rebirth by Greg Keyes (27 ABY)
Star by Star by Troy Denning (27 ABY)
Dark Journey by Elaine Cunningham (27 ABY)
Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream by Aaron Allston (27 ABY)
Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand by Aaron Allston (27 ABY)
Traitor by Matthew Stover (27 ABY)
Destiny's Way by Walter Jon Williams (28 ABY)
Ylesia by Walter Jon Williams (28 ABY) (E)
Force Heretic I: Remnant by Sean Williams & Shane Dix (28 ABY)
Force Heretic II: Refugee by Sean Williams & Shane Dix (28 ABY)
Force Heretic III: Reunion by Sean Williams & Shane Dix (28 ABY)
The Final Prophecy by Greg Keyes (28 ABY)
The Unifying Force by James Luceno (29 ABY)


I also enjoyed the last series probably the most, very intriguing

Legacy Of The Force

Betrayal by Aaron Allston (40 ABY)
Bloodlines by Karen Traviss (40 ABY)
Tempest by Troy Denning (40 ABY)
Exile by Aaron Allston (40 ABY)
Sacrifice by Karen Traviss (40 ABY)
Inferno by Troy Denning (40 ABY)
Fury by Aaron Allston (40 ABY)
Revelation by Karen Traviss (40 ABY)
Invincible by Troy Denning (40