Rating: 
Summary: Liked part of it but hated alot of it
Review: I got this book because its one of the few that have my fav charecter in it, Darth Vader. Yet even with The lord of the sith himself could not save this book. There are some new charecters but they are just sad. Like Xizor, please no one in there right mind would even think of making Vader angry. Xizor is a charecter that everyone just wants to kill. (like jar jar binks) Yet he gets away without even being killed by Luke or Vader...just sad. I mean if Luke had not of slunk back into a farm boy and if leia didn't almost have sex with Xizor then maybe this book would of been at least three stars. this book is not a good buy and I hope one day that a writer will write a great book with Darth Vader in it. I also think its sad that it has not been done yet.
Rating:
Summary: average
Review: I've only read 2 starwars books, and so far I'm not impressed. Vector Prime was down right awful and I jedi was ok. I read about 3 or 4 chapters of this book and couldn't go any further, it was that bad. Don't read the reviews for this book thinking you will be buying a decent book because you won't. The people here are obviously 12 year olds who have never read good books before, thus the 4 and 5 star reviews.
Rating: 
Summary: Guri takes charge
Review: I am reviewing Shadow of the Empire ' Evolution ISBN 156971441X A Dark Horse TPB Ccomic published Feb., 2000 at 120 pages, printed in Canada. This is the one with the blond Guri dominating the cover. Not the one with Boba fett dominating the cover. Sorry for all that, but some of the reviews here are for the first SHADOWS comic based on the novel. This comic, Evolution, is not based on a book but rather collects 5 issues into one story called a TPB. Evolution picked up after the apparent death of Xizor in SOTE, which took place between ESB and ROTJ in year 3 After New Hope on the timeline. Evolution takes place at about the same time as ROTJ in year 4 ANH. This is a story featuring Guri, Xizors personal assassin. She is a beautiful, blond human-replica droid who likes reflex blue outfits and wonders if a droid can dream. Steve Perry, the author that brought us the SOTE journey joins Dark horse as the story writer. This comic was produced at a time that the inking, coloring and manufacturer techniques were starting to produce superior looking comics. Because it was made in Canada, the binding is excellent, a problem with later TPB comics made in China. The art style is cartoonish, one I generally do not care for, but it works here. Regardless of whether you like the cartoonish style, the pencil art is excellent and detailed. An interesting thing that I noticed was that special care was taken to draw Luke and Leia to look like the real actors that they are. Dark horse has been criticized by me and others for allowing their artists to just wing in when drawing Luke, Leia and Lando. The SW reader knows what these 3 people are supposed to look like, and a lazy pencil artist can't fly that one past us. Well I say all that to congratulate the Artist and editor here for getting Luke and Leia right. Oh yes, if you like to look at the female body as an art form, you will like this comic. At times it is sexy without being obscene so you can still read it to your 5 and 6 year kids. The inking and color here are almost awesome. By 2002 the process that they are evolving will mature into jaw dropping visual art. This one was pretty close. SPOILER!! Guri doesn't die in this comic. I seem to remember listening to a book on tape where Guri came up in the story, but I can't recall if it was a NJO or Prequel book. With the pencils, ink and color all rated at 3.5 to 4, and a story that is good, 3 to 3.5 I decided that this is a 4 star effort and a recommended read.
Rating:
Summary: Perrys journey is about finding Han
Review: This is a review of Shadow of the Empire which is available as a hard cover book of 340 (ISBN 0553574132) pages, a comic (isbn 1569711836), a novelization of 176 pages (isbn 044013036) and audio cassette (isbn 0553100890). This story tales places between ESB and ROTJ. I always felt it was one of the more important stories of the Expanded Universe given that Xizor became an action figure as did Dash Render and his ship (Outrider). The whole gang is in this one even Han, though is encased in carbonite. We get Vader, the emperor, Fett, Guri, Boosk, 4-Lom, Jabba, Zuckuss and Wedge along with the regular gang of heroes. Apparently Dark horse did have available any pictures of Lando or Leia because the artists did a lousy job of drawing them. Most of the time Luke was OK, but sometimes he looked like Jessica Lynch. They did do a great job drawing Fett, Vader and dash however. Everyone is searching for Han, but he has not be taken directly to Jabba. Xizor has risen to lead Black Sun which has thrived since Darth Maul wiped out the old leadership. His newest ambition is to replace Vader as #2 in the empire. Xizor orders Luke killed knowing that Vader wants him alive. Then Xizor captured Leia. This is one of my favorite of all the EU stories. Steve Perry has created a new and exciting Journey. The novel is 4 stars and the comic is 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. Considering that Dark horse released this in 1997 before some of their awesome new production techniques, this is a very well done comic. The abridged audio cassette is good quality, but at on 2 ½ hours to much is cut.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible book
Review: Shadows of the Empire is probably the second worst Star Wars novel I've read, and right now, I'm only half-way through the book. The book is written in such a childish and sappy manner, it's sickening. Listen to some of these excerpts: Vader said nothing. Grand Moff Kintaro would likely be out of a job soon and also likely out of breath--permanently. Wedge didn't have any choice. His blaster beam caught her square in the center of mass and knocked her sprawling. The burned smell grew stronger and more unpleasant. By the time Luke got to her, the chief wasn't going to be answering any questions ever again. Lando and Chewie walked down the ramp, followed by Threepio. Where was Leia? There she was. She looked terrible, She walked as if she were a thousand years old. "She walked as if she were a thousand years old"--what kind of stupid, inane comment is that? Dix's ship blew apart in a fireball that ate the craft's oxygen, then winked out, leaving nothing but blasted and ionized wreckage. Luke felt his stomach roil. Oh, no! They'd lost Dix. Suddenly it wasn't a game. People were dying. Good people. He could never lose sight of that, not for a moment. It was only fun as long as nobody got hurt and that part never lasted. War was ugly. It got bad. This last excerpt is a good example of the author's (Steve Perry) writing style. The biggest problem I have with Perry's writing style, is his inability to use commas. As a result, the whole book is filled with short sentences. Some short sentences can add flavor to a story, but this is just too much: Luke felt his stomach roil--PERIOD--Oh, no--PERIOD--They'd lost Dix--PERIOD--Suddenly it wasn't a game--PERIOD--People were dying--PERIOD--Good people--PERIOD . . . and so on and so forth. I mean, c'mon! Hasn't the guy ever heard of a comma?! Please! And what exactly is "roil" supposed to mean? And that is on top of the actual content of that last excerpt. Throughout the whole book, Luke is written painfully out of character, and this excerpt is also a good example that. Has the author somehow forgotten that Luke survived the assault on the first Death Star? And that in that assault he lost Biggs, who was a close friend? And now, after The Empire Strikes Back, Luke happens to treat these engagements as "games?" Until he is jolted back to reality by the fact that one the his comrades is actually (gasp!) killed? Also, there is the fact that one chapter opens with Darth Vader sitting nude (yes, nude) inside a hyper-something medical chamber. Now, I think something like that completely ruins the character of Darth Vader. Can you imagine Vader naked? When you do, do you still think of him as an imposing Dark Lord of the Sith who can crush your throat in an instant? I don't. I imagine a skinny, feeble old man with gross skin. Or something like that.
Rating: 
Summary: What Lurks beyond the shadows?
Review: This novel is set wedged between "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" A shorter book, than most of the other Star Wars Bantam Paperbacks, at just over 300 pages, but let that not draw away from this overly hyped book. It features such marketed characters as Dash Rendar, Prince Xizor, and the ASP Droid (several of them, actually). Most of the main characters are present in this tale, and it is very interesting, once you get past the first page (That's For you, Josh!). Dash is a Han Solo-like smuggler and Xizor is battling Vader for favortism in the Emperor's Eyes. Things progress, mighty dubiously, I must attest, and the space battles are well choreographed. This is a really good book.
Rating:
Summary: Best SW novel I've read so far.
Review: It took me awhile to get into Star wars fiction and when I did I started with the new jedi order, which I am about 10 books into. Shadows of the Empire was the first one that I read that took place during the empire and it was amazing. It read just like you would expect a quality SW plot to read. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Story, Great Bridge between epsiodes 5 & 6
Review: Known as episode 5.5, Shadows of the Empire delves deeply into the characters who fight during the final Battle of Endor. Perry writes an excellent story, perfectly capturing the personalities of all the best Star Wars characters. Luke, Lando, Leia, Chewie and the droids are all written magnificently. The inclusion of Dash Rendar as a more mercenary and sarcastic Han Solo is another strong addition to this book. The backstory involving the Death Star is great, although Xizor though craft and evil is not one of the best Star Wars villains. While its nice to see an enemy who has no force skills, Guri is the more interesting character from the Black Sun crime syndicate. It was also interesting to see the conflicting sides of Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker. The conflict between good and evil plays out on a smaller scale in this case, but that makes it no less intriguing. The little hints about the conncection between Luke and Leia make the story stronger, while the inclusion of Luke's flying skill in an X-Wing coupled with Vader's return to a TIE fighter make for an interesting parallel between father and son. Overall, Shadows of the Empire is among the top stories of the expanded Star Wars universe, an execellent read for any Star Wars fan.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Tells the previously untold story between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. A must-read for hardcore fans - fills in important blanks that call for explanation in RoTJ. Writing is clear and characters are interesting. Action packed!! Excellent.
Rating:
Summary: Random review here
Review: Doubt my review will change your opinion of getting this book or not. If you haven't read the book, do so. This book takes place between Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Aside from borrowing heavily on the films (I usually hate when books do that) it does so in a GOOD way. It is a short book and easy to read, yet interesting and one of those "I can't put this book down" type things. Now buy it.
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