Rating: 
Summary: An excellent story
Review: [THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THIS STORY - THE VIDEO GAME, THE COMIC BOOK, THE YOUNG ADULT NOVEL, AND THIS - THE TRUE NOVEL. THIS IS THE ONLY TRULY OFFICAL VERSION OF THE STORY.]In recent years, I became a fairly large fan of the Star Wars films, but was a bit disappointed to discover that there were only three of them (this was BEFORE the prequels game out.) But then I made an amazing discovery - there was an expanded universe! This expanded universe was composed of video games, comic books, and most importantly, full-length novels. In or around 1997, author Steve Perry set out to do something that no other writer of Star Wars novels had done - write one with a "between films" storyline. His novel, Shadows Of The Empire, did just that. Read on for my review of this story. BASIC PLOT:
For those of you not too familiar with the Star Wars universe, there is a one-year gap between The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi. The events in this novel take place immediately after those of The Empire Strikes Back. Basically, Luke, Leia, and Lando are plotting a way to rescue Han Solo from Boba Fett's clutches (who took him after he was frozen in carbonite). While they're plotting this, they are unaware that a sinister new plot is being set into motion. Prince Xizor, the leader of the Black Sun crime organization based on Coruscant, learns of Luke Skywalker. His Black Sun organization is an ally of the Galactic Empire and Emperor Palpatine, but he hates Darth Vader (an experiment by Vader gone horribly wrong took place on his homeworld, killing many of his people.) Xizor knows that Vader wants to capture Luke alive and turn him to the dark side, so he comes up with the perfect plan - Kill Luke so Vader can't capture him. The plot of the book involves Xizor plotting to kill Luke, and the Rebels trying to get Han back. STORY OPINIONS:
Great story. I must commend Steve Perry for his idea of writing a story that took place between two of the films. Because of his strategy, Darth Vader has as large a role as he did in the films. The story covers many of the locales the films do, and then some. Many new and interesting characters are introduced here, but most of them don't appear in Return Of The Jedi or future films since many of them die. And, of course, Perry doesn't ignore the characters that appear in the films. Luke, Leia, Lando, and many of the other characters you've grown to love appear here. The fact that there are two enemy groups - one that wants Luke alive, and one that wants him dead, only add the excitement. If you're a fan of Star Wars, I can almost guarantee you'll enjoy this story - and YES, it's WAY better than the prequel films. Just be sure THIS is the way you choose to experience Shadows Of The Empire, since it's the only true version of the story (the video game is HORRIBLY inaccurate). OVERALL:
To put it simply, if you're a Star Wars fan, read this story. There's really not much else to say - just read it!
Rating: 
Summary: You must read Shadows of the Empire!
Review: Shadows of the Empire is a wonderful, fast paced , and action packed addition to the Star Wars series. Perry's representation of the characters is marvelous, and I dont think I've ever seen a better supporting villian than Xixor, head of the infamous underground crime syndicate, Black Sun.The way Perry usurps the role of transforming Luke from a young(and in some ways immature)man to a hardened Jedi Knight is done brilliantly. The plot couldnt have been written any better either. Perry does a great job of balancing out the many conflicts that seem to be occuring at one time(as seen in the Trilogy). Dash Rendar, the other new main character,is a piece of work as well. He is a smart-mouthed, arrogant, and fast talking smuggler who eventually drops the hard outer shell revealing that he is really a nice guy(kinda like Han Solo). This book, all and all, is great on many platforms. It combines the typical problem of the Star Wars Trilogy: The evil Galactic Empire, with the introduction of Xixor and his quest to be the Emperor's right hand man. And it combines them well. Fans like myself couldnt have asked for anything any better, and if you havent read it already, PLEASE DO.
Rating:
Summary: Starwars:Shadows of the Empire
Review: wrote by : Jim Bayes#
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#Star Wars
Shadows of the Empire
This book is between "Empire strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi ." The book is about Luke Skywalker being hunted down by Darth Vader (which we know is Anakin Skywalker ) and during the time Luke is constructing a new lightsaber and also training to become a Jedi Master . With him is Leia , Chewie , Lando and the two droids named R2-D2 and C-3p0. Alongside his companions they are trying to spring a plan to get Han Solo back and out of Frozen Carbonite . Which they are distracted by a character named Prince Xizor , which he is very wealthy and the boss of the Black Sun . He is also trying to get Luke but he wants to kill him . This book is very impressive which shows what they did between the sequels . I give this book a 10 out 10 and I would advise this book to anyone with a good since of adventure . Publisher- Lucas film LTD Author- Steve Perry
Year- 1996
Pages- 384 pgs.
Price- $5.99
Isbn- 0-553-57413-2
Rating:
Summary: A great read!
Review: This book is very well written; it's easy to get into, and descriptive enough without being wordy and redundant. It's exciting from beginning to end, and there's not a dull moment in the entire story. The characters are nicely written, believable and interesting, and Perry remains true to the original characters' personalities. The book kind of re-hashes the basic story plots from the movies, however. Leia gets herself captured again, and Luke has to put himself on the line to save her. And the typical space battles are included: Rebels vs. Imperials. The inclusion of a new villain is very welcome. Xizor is a great baddie, even decides to go against Vader and the Emperor. We also get into Vader's more emotional and personal side. You can see his inner struggle when dealing with Luke, and he even disapproves of the Emperor at times. A great book overall, it fills in a lot of gaps and answers lots of questions about the time period between Empire and Jedi. Very good read for any fan of Star Wars, or of a great action book.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty Good Segway
Review: Shadows of the Empire is set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Steve Perry does a really nice job of incorporating your favorite Star Wars characters along with some new ones. The action is quite intense throughout the entire book, and the new approaches to the Star Wars saga make for good reading. Prince Xixor and the Black Sun Organization were incredible additions and were used nicely in the storyline. I would have liked to see a little bit less of the typical good vs. evil. The Star Wars movies and most of the other books always have characters that can side either way. Here, there really wasn't any of that. The storyline and all of the characters were well-developed and the plot seemed to have the usual twists and turns, loaded with action and adventure, leading up to a nice enjoyable ending. The writing style was was not overly descriptive and had a nice flow, making it an easy read. All in all, the novel was pretty adequate and fun to read.
Rating:
Summary: An overall great book
Review: This is a really interesting Star Wars book that answers a lot of questions regarding the movies. Set in between the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, it mostly focuses on Prince Xizor and Black Sun. Xizor, who is the 3rd most powerful man in the galaxy, (behind the Emperor and Vader, of course) wants to get rid of Vader, not only to become more powerful, but to seek revenge, because Vader killed his family. So when Xizor finds out that Vader has a bounty out for Luke Skywalker alive, he figures, why not put out one for him dead? It answers a lot of questions, like how the Bothans got a hold of the Death Star plans and how the Emperor arranged all that. And it even includes stuff like where Leia got the Boushh outfit and the thermal detonator. Overall, it's an easy read, mostly because it lacks all of the descriptions that other SW books have. You can picture lots of the scenes in your head, as if this book was a movie, too.
Rating:
Summary: Flawed, but still entertaining.
Review: The most interesting thing about "Shadows of the Empire" and what makes it most valuable to read is the fact that its an attempt to describe the events between the far superior "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" and succeeds in explaining a few things that a die hard Star Wars fan might have mused upon after many viewings of the movies themselves. The fact that "Shadows of the Empire" sadly falls short of expectations isn't so much the ideas contained within the plot, but more because of the clumsy writing style of the author, as well as his introduction of new, but unoriginal and lukewarm characters that overall do nothing to add to the totality of this most noble creation of science fiction.
For instance, two of the most notable of the new characters failed to achieve the lofty ambitions the author evidently held for them. Xisor, the head of the largest interstellar criminal organization in the Star Wars mythos, tries too hard to be as evil and dominating as Lord Vader; instead, ending up being the stereotypical "bad guy" engulfed in a sea of self conceit while frustratingly pining away over Princess Leia. And then there is Dash, a carbon copy plagarism of the inimitable Han Solo; enough said.
I think this book had a lot of potential and could have even come off as at least a decent addition to the flourishing genre of Star Wars literature if only the author spent more time with character and plot development. Too clumsy and far too unoriginal for anyone but a diehard Star Wars fan.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best Star Wars books Written!
Review: Steve Perry does and excellent job of bringing the Star Wars universe to life with this Novel. This novel is place inbetween Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi. Perry does a great job of bridging these two movies together. As your read this book you will continually be saying to yourself, "I remember that in the movie!" Perry does a great job of showing our Favorite Star Wars characters in a deeper light and developing them more. This book is a must read for any Star Wars fan!
Rating:
Summary: "Shadows" is a crowd-pleaser...where's the film version?
Review: Steve Perry's Shadows of the Empire, first published in 1996, is the centerpiece of a Lucasfilm multi-media marketing campaign that could be summed up with the tag line "Everything but the movie." Not only was Perry assigned to write the novel, but Kenner (now Hasbro) rolled out a line of action figures, Dark Horse Comics published a multi-issue series, Nintendo released a console-based game for its Nintendo 64 system, and Joel McNeeley (The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles) composed an original score. In short, all that was missing was the feature film. And what a film Shadows of the Empire would make! Although the novel is part of the Expanded Universe series that started with Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire, it's the first of the 1990s-era novels to explore the six-month or so time span between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. In this smartly-written, fast-paced novel, Lord Darth Vader and his evil master Emperor Palpatine still live and Han Solo is frozen in carbonite en route to Jabba's Palace on Tatooine. On that desert planet, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa wait for word from Lando Calrissian and Han's Wookiee first mate Chewbacca that the bounty hunter Boba Fett has landed with his prized captive. But Fett has taken a detour to repair his ship, the Slave I, and has been spotted on an Imperial-held world known as Gall. Deciding it's worth the risk, and with the assistance of Rogue Squadron and a dashing and brash mercenary named Dash Rendar, Luke and his friends mount a rescue attempt. Meanwhile, on the Imperial throne world Coruscant, Vader juggles his quest to find Luke Skywalker and at the same time contend with the machinations of Prince Xizor, a cunning crime lord and Vader's rival for the favor of their mutual overlord, Emperor Palpatine. Xizor, a Falleen with great intellect, fighting prowess, and even greater ambition, seeks to usurp the former Jedi Knight-turned-Sith Lord. His plan combines the elimination of Vader's son and the setting of a deadly trap for the Rebel Alliance. Although the ending is, of course, pre-determined (the events that follow are chronicled in the 1983 film Return of the Jedi), Shadows of the Empire is an exciting and suspenseful book. Vader fans particularly will enjoy this novel; we get glimpses into the Dark Lord's personality that the movies (and their novelizations) only barely hint at. Even better, Perry uses the films (particularly The Empire Strikes Back) as a gold mine of material. The prologue, set inside the Imperial Palace, takes a short but crucial scene from Episode V and gives it new depth and meaning, even though Perry leaves the dialog intact. In the rest of the novel, the author not only creates his own adventures for the Star Wars heroes and villains, but also "sets the stage" for the "official story" as seen in Episode VI. (Indeed, other Lucasfilm-licensed or created projects incorporated Shadows of the Empire into their storyline. In 1997's Special Edition re-release of A New Hope, Asp droids make an appearance, as does Dash Rendar's ship, the Outrider. And Brian Daley made several references to events from Shadows in his Return of the Jedi radio drama.) Alex Diaz-Granados
Rating:
Summary: Star Wars at its best....
Review: This book keeps you on your toes the entire way through. Luke juggling between the Princess and Han while his father Darth Vader juggling between Prince Xizor, Luke, and the Emperor. A must read!
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