Favorite Star Wars Novel?

Self explanatory title. What's your favorite Star Wars novel and why? Personally, I couldn't narrow it down to just one - I think I have three favorites in no particular order.

Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn comes to mind first. I love anything with Thrawn in it and if pressed, I'd say he was probably my favorite character in the entire mythos. Well written, plenty of Thrawn's brilliance, and when even the enemies are likable characters, you know you've got something good.

Revenge of the Sith by Matt Stover comes up next. It's far better than the movie, which is a plus. I'm not always thrilled by Stover's overuse of metaphor, but its easily overlooked once you get into the story. What made me like the novel enough to list it in my favorites were some of the second-person viewpoints he sticks in throughout the work, particularly the "This is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker" towards the end of his duel with Count Dooku, and right in the last few pages ending with "This is how it feels to be Anakin Skywalker...forever." Really powerful stuff to me. It made me feel sorry for Anakin, whereas in watching the movie you really didn't.

Secrets of the Jedi by Jude Watson fills out the third spot for me. I know, I know, it's for Young Adults and whatever, but hey, I'm a bit of a sap and I thought the Jedi version of Romeo and Juliet between Obi-Wan and Siri was really moving. Plus, I think pretty much everyone can look back and think about maybe a missed opportunity with someone we might have had the chance to love. I know I have. So the situation is pretty relatable.

I'd give an honorable mention to Star by Star by Troy Denning. It's a lot longer than most other Star Wars books, but there's so much going on you don't mind. The Anakin scene on Myrkr's worldship and the taking of Coruscant were huge moments in Star Wars history, and Denning describes them so well. Definitely one of his best works.

As an addendum, I'd like to say that I used the advanced search for this and found nothing - and was surprised.

Dark Rendezvous, Revenge of the Sith, Cloak of Deception.

Path of Destruction.

One of: Shatterpoint

Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
Shadows of the empire

Shatterpoint, the Thrawn trilogy.

Shadow Hunter and RoT.

Revenge of the Sith and Yoda: DR.

RotS is simply one of the best books ever and Yoda: DR's characterization of Yoda and Dooku is spot on.

In no particular order...

Shatterpoint
RotS
NJO: The Unifying Force
Labyrinth of Evil
Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
The Thrawn Trilogy (Heir to the Empire in particular)

Crystal Star.

Liar.

You're a liar.

Seriously, though. It's the best Star Wars novel I've ever read. It's also happens to be the only Star Wars novel I've read, but I stand by my sentiment.

Labyrinth of Evil

Still planning on reading Dark Rendezvous and RotS, for which I have high expectations!

Yoda: Dark Rendezvous

[list]
[*]Darth Sidious is at his finest here; manipulating events on a macro scale while terrifying and intimidating Dooku.
[*]Yoda and Dooku's relationship is explored and it foreshadows the one between Obi-Wan and Anakin; Yoda is a stern but loving Master who, despite what he may say to others, cannot overcome his attachment for Dooku. Dooku, meanwhile, suffers from an Oedipal complex (simultaneously hating and loving Yoda).
[*]Yoda's captured perfectly, similar to his first appearance in the Empire Strikes Back; he's hilarious, withdrawn, mysterious, and even scary when the plot demands it
[*]The side characters, including Whie, Scout, Asajj Ventress, and Solis are all three dimensional and enjoyable.
[/list]

Revenge of the Sith

[list]
[*]It adds further dimensions to Anakin's fall, something that the movie leaves out.
[*]General Grievous is upgraded to badass status; he's fearless, capable, and very dangerous (again, something the movie leaves out).
[*]Palpatine's own badassery is augmented as we see that he's more than an aspiring tyrant and politician, but quite possibly a manifestation of the dark side itself.
[*]The book exposes the flaws and corruption that plagues both the Republic and the Jedi; it shows how they were doomed from the start.
[/list]

Cloak of Deception

[list]
[*]Easily the best political thriller in the mythos; Palpatine manipulates and one-ups everyone: Senators, Valorum, the Trade Federation, the Nebula Front, and the Jedi.
[*]Luceno's narrative deliberately avoids any particularly "bad" thoughts that would indicate that Palpatine is Sidious, but if you look hard enough, you see that the links and connections are there and in abundance.
[/list]

The Unifying Force

[list]
[*]Luke's outrageously badass invasion of Shimrra's citadel.
[*]Nom Anor. 'Nuff said.
[*]Nas Choka. 'Nuff said.
[*]Luke displaying some intelligence by somewhat refuting Vergere's Force philosophy.
[/list]

Death Star

[list]
[*]Silly premise, but the novel is carried by the strength of the ensemble side characters, though Tarkin and Vader (and their interactions) are spectacular.
[/list]

Labyrinth of Evil

[list]
[*]One of the best EU premises, the hunt for Darth Sidious, though I was bored with Anakin and Obi-Wan's travels. Of much moar interest was Windu's manhunt and General Grievous's invasion of Coruscant.
[/list]

Dark Lord: the Rise of Darth Vader

[list]
[*]Tarkin. 'Nuff said.
[*]Vader's turn from victim to villain in the badass invasion of Kashyyyk, where -- with newfound confidence and training -- he slaughters all resistance.
[/list]

Shadow Hunter

[list]
[*]Darth Maul. 'Nuff said.
[*]The droid whose name eludes me. I-Qsomething-or-another.
[/list]

No Shatterpoint?

even more better was the outbound flight. That was pretty sweet. Ok, it was only sweet because i read a book a LONG time ago about what happened when the Chiss FOUND outbound flight, and nothing was explained. Anyone remember what that was?

Then along came outbound flight and explained it all, like 10 years later or something. It was like another small darth vader moment for me. So, brilliant.

Vector Prime
• This was the first SW novel I ever read; it mesmerized me.
• A brave new galaxy, with a completely mysterious enemy that was invisible to the Force and almost rendered the Jedi completely inept.
• SPOILER Alert: The Death of Chewbacca….this was unheard of, that a major SW character could ever die. That such an event could ever happen morphed the Star Wars universe into something more real, scarier, and felt much less like a fun sci-fi fantasy. One word: AWESOME.
• Luke is a Jedi Master.
• Kyp Durron: Finally someone who is prodigiously talented in the Force, and NOT a Skywalker.
• The invasion of the galaxy by the Yuuzhan Vong, and the entire NJO plotline for that matter, felt like a parallel of the first Galactic Civil War (Classic Trilogy).
o The mysterious alien race, coupled with their propensity to torture, slaughter, and destroy out of bloodlust and for their gods,
o The darkness into which the galaxy fell so quickly
o The complete 180-degree turn from all the battles you have ever seen or read about in the EU (conventional Star Wars space warfare, with laser against shield, machine versus machine): Star Wars technology being rendered useless against the initial onslaught of the Yuuzhan Vong.
o A galaxy on the brink of destruction that actually has a Jedi Order, and isn’t set in the Old Republic.
• This book, and the rest of the NJO series, essentially changed the entire Star Wars feel for me.

Star by Star
• Anakin Solo’s last stand and his sacrifice to save the Jedi Order from potential annihilation at the hands of the voxyn. Anakin Solo’s story is similar to what Anakin Skywalker could have become, but wouldn’t. Tragic. Amazing.

Tales of the New Republic Anthology (or rather, just the short story with Boba Fett)
• The story of how Boba Fett single-handedly took on an entire Imperial base…wicked.

Dark Rendezvous
• Yoda screaming: “Give me my rose!”
• Dooku realizing that if Yoda ever turned to the dark side, the galaxy would fall into Yoda’s hands, and Sidious would be tossed to the garbage bin.

LOTF Series – still reading it, but has a very dark feel that almost makes up for the lack of action (just started reading Backlash, so don't spoil!)

Originally posted by Gideon
Yoda: Dark Rendezvous

[list]
[*]Darth Sidious is at his finest here; manipulating events on a macro scale while terrifying and intimidating Dooku.
[*]Yoda and Dooku's relationship is explored and it foreshadows the one between Obi-Wan and Anakin; Yoda is a stern but loving Master who, despite what he may say to others, cannot overcome his attachment for Dooku. Dooku, meanwhile, suffers from an Oedipal complex (simultaneously hating and loving Yoda).
[*]Yoda's captured perfectly, similar to his first appearance in the Empire Strikes Back; he's hilarious, withdrawn, mysterious, and even scary when the plot demands it
[*]The side characters, including Whie, Scout, Asajj Ventress, and Solis are all three dimensional and enjoyable.
[/list]

Revenge of the Sith

[list]
[*]It adds further dimensions to Anakin's fall, something that the movie leaves out.
[*]General Grievous is upgraded to badass status; he's fearless, capable, and very dangerous (again, something the movie leaves out).
[*]Palpatine's own badassery is augmented as we see that he's more than an aspiring tyrant and politician, but quite possibly a manifestation of the dark side itself.
[*]The book exposes the flaws and corruption that plagues both the Republic and the Jedi; it shows how they were doomed from the start.
[/list]

I especially liked how the RotS novel gave a good reason why they didn't make Anakin a Master (something the movie sorely lacked). I also like how when Anakin goes to tell Mace about Palpatine's true identity Mace actually shows concern for him and acts like a decent guy.

Originally posted by Gideon
[i]The Unifying Force

[list]
[*]Luke's outrageously badass invasion of Shimrra's citadel.
[*]Nom Anor. 'Nuff said.
[*]Nas Choka. 'Nuff said.
[*]Luke displaying some intelligence by somewhat refuting Vergere's Force philosophy.
[/list]

I haven't read that one. How did Luke refute it?

Originally posted by chilled monkey
I especially liked how the RotS novel gave a good reason why they didn't make Anakin a Master (something the movie sorely lacked). I also like how when Anakin goes to tell Mace about Palpatine's true identity Mace actually shows concern for him and acts like a decent guy.

I haven't read that one. How did Luke refute it?

Really shouldn't spoil this for you, but I believe Luke's performance in the invasion of Shimrra's citadel and his use of Force power did so (Gideon, correct me if this isn't what you meant).

Luke uses basic Socrates vs. Sophist arguments in it, IIRC. Just like Jacen tried to do during Traitor.