Yeah. I expected very little quality from this book, having read a lot of “officially licensed” books in my youth (from various companies) that had been varying degrees of terrible, but Heir To The Empire was actually a pretty good read. It rises above the rest of its brethren for two reasons: one, the situations and characters actually feel like natural extensions of the Star Wars movies, and on this count it even outdoes the Prequels. And secondly, there’s no hint of self-consciousness in Timothy Zahn’s writing. A lot of authors of licensed books have this feeling of “oh my god I’m writing Luke Skywalker SQUEEE” creeping into their books, but Zahn keeps it calm and natural, which is great. The story’s compelling – I particularly like the fact that the Rebel victory at the Death Star at the end of Jedi isn’t the quick and easy end of the Empire’s story – and it ends in a way that makes me want to read the next book. Surprisingly recommended.

This trilogy (along with Timothy Zahn’s other SW novels) and Kevin J Anderson’s Jedi Academy Trilogy are the best books of the Expanded Universe as they most closely capture the spirit of the films and remain truest to the characters.
If only all the EU books could have been this successful.