I lost interest in this trilogy before I even managed to read a third of the first novel. It was a shame too, there were episodes in the story that had the feel of some of Robert Heinlein's young adult SF. It even got exciting for a short spell, but then something ludricous would pop up and derail the fun. I understand that this is more fantasy than SF but still there has to be a certain sort of logic in order to sustain a feel of reality.
It also has a strange failing that I see in many subgenres of the larger genres of SF/Fantasy. This odd and perplexing need to introduce characters who serve no other purpose than as comic relief... Jar Jar Binks in particular. It baffles me because it really destroys the whole feel of a book, its like a speedbump and jars the readers interest. It wasn't very long ago that I read an interesting novel about dark elves. It was a good story until the writer introduced a retarded dwarf named Dagnabbit... yes Dag-Nab-Bit, a cartoon swear word. The whole novel fell completely apart because of it.
It was the same with the Star Wars prequel, ridiculous characters were constantly eroding my interest in the books.
The writing was acceptable, none of the authors of the trilogy are failures at telling stories but they found themselves locked into some of the more embarassing aspects of Lucas's story telling ability.
Not an enjoyable read at all and a bit of a lost weekend for me.

Ah well, I'll take it down to the local used book store and recycle it. Someone will enjoy it. Fortunately I only paid 3.99$ for the book at the Value Village thrift store, so no real loss for me. Not that painful an experience other than lost time.