Man I'm gonna miss the EU. It was a bit all over the place at the beginning but all of the major arcs after Hand of Thrawn were tightly plotted and really expanded the lore. The yuuzhan vong arc was a treasure trove even if they did kill off the two best character in the whole damn universe (Anakin JR & Chewi).
Zahn's ability to scope a plot that goes from everything-is-doomed to amazing-twist-saves-the-day in each of his _Heir to the Empire_ series is fantastic. Plus, his pacing and character development feel significantly richer than other Star Wars Universe books I've skimmed, and really feel like they naturally build on the original 3 movies.
