FoF's fun for a number of reasons, but I think the number one reason is that you're making Jedi fun. I haven't been a big fan of the whole Jedi thing since the Young Jedi Knights books, which I still need to read the last novel of. They're boring characters with no real joy to their being. FoF, via Obi-Wan, Len, Emmy, etc. injected live into the order that I don't think I've ever felt.

You've made Count Dooku a threatening presence -- I keep waiting for him to kidnap Padme, which is what seems to be the act he's best positioned to perform, but maybe not. You've made Darth Vader interesting, and while it's not FoF exactly, you've even made Anakin (the Star Wars character I loathe most) interesting. You made Obi-Wan interesting and funny and honorable and caring and wily. And that doesn't even touch on Yoda, the Griffindors, Juniper, or the only-mentioned Morpheus.

The number two reason (and maybe not the best reason, but it's topical for me) is that you've mentioed Kei again. I'm on a Dirty Pair kick lately, so having her even mentioned draws my attention.

Which leads to number three: extra-galactic invasion. I realize/guess this is an Eddore reference, but couched with the more modern flair of UF and the mythology of UF epochs, the idea is breath taking. How do you go about finding enemies in another galaxy, even when you have extra-dimensional help at hand and databases the size of planets at your disposal? Can magic make the trip faster? Is there ancient Atlantean (heh heh, pun intended) technology that can help? Do the Time Lords figure into this in any way?

This is where UF succeeds where modern comic books fail: the over-arc is stunning and amazing, but it neither overshadows nor overtakes the here-and-now story. I'm equally as interested in them finding Kei as I am seeing if Vader can be healed. It's a perfect balance.

Number four: throw away references. Hermione, Ron, Scud, "How It Works," the Ebon Hawk, etc. Those are always fun, like sprinkles on icecream.

Plus, and this is topical to me, but winter (or chilly mid-autumn) is just an awesomely fun time to read new UF stories. I think I read most of Twilight in early December a few years back, and that's always been a fond memory. Having three chapters of FoF to read yesterday, sitting in Starbucks, is going to be another fond memory of UF-ness that I'll always enjoy.