I think the novels succeed in making the Empire scary again. After the prequels and original trilogy, the Sith can feel a bit familiar. But the Old Republic era, through these books, presents them at the height of their power, with a fully realized society. You're not facing two Sith in hiding; you're facing a galactic superpower built on the dark side. That scale restores the genuine menace. When a Sith fleet arrives, it feels like an existential threat to civilization, not just a problem for a few Jedi to solve. The stakes are palpably higher.