Rating: 
Summary: The Greatest Star Wars Book Yet
Review: I have read almost every Star Wars book and out of all of them this is the best.
It has strong characters and lots of excting action. It takes place between Empire Strikes back and Return of the Jedi and has to do with the main charicters trying to get Han back and battling a great new foe.
If you like the video game you should read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Exciting book
Review: Now, I've almost read all Star Wars there are and I have to say that "Shadows of the Empire" is one of the best. It's tells a great story between "Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" and it's very exciting. It also has the best villain -Darth Vader- in it. There is just one little flaw I find in the book. It's very exciting, but the real excitement happens in the last 20 or 30 pages, when Luke and the others try to rescue Leia and escape from Dark Sun. Having that said, I think the story is excellent and is only bettered by the trilogy of Timothy Zahn
Rating:
Summary: Praise for Shadows of the Empire
Review: I think that Shadows of the Empire was a great book because it filled in a blank space that hovered between The Empire
Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. It is also a good book to read since the special edition of the Star Wars trilogy is due in cinemas next year.
Rating:
Summary: The best Star Wars book other than the original trilogy!
Review: This is a great book set in a great universe!! Shadows of the Empire is probaby one of the best Star Wars books I've ever read
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good
Review: This was my first venture into Star Wars books, and being a longtime fan of the movies I decided to read some of the books.The plot was decent, and I enjoyed reading what happened in between Empire and Jedi(and it answered some questions about things in Jedi). Well, I dont think I can say anything positive that hasnt been said before about this book, so I'll explain why I gave it 4 starts instead of 5. There are parts in the book that borrow lines from the movies, and its hard to picture Xizor there with the Emperor. Vader also seems weak in parts of this book, and like he's Xivors puppet(which ruined my vision of Vader as being powerful and only bowing to the Emperors will). After reading this book, I will most certainly continue to read Star Wars books.
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: Very good at first glance
Review: At first glance, Shadows of the Empire: Evolution is a very good and interesting book. The continuing story of Guri, Xizor's second in command, is supplemented by good artwork and not too much boring dialogue, and complimented by plenty of action. Unfortunately, when you look at it again a bunch of little details crop up. First of all, why didn't Xizor's niece have that huge spinal ridge thingie? It has been established that all Falleen, male and female, do have it, so why didn't she? So she would fit into her human costume? So she would be easier to draw? Next is another minor technical thing. Supposedly taking place immediately after Return of the Jedi, but before Vandelhelm Mission and all that, it just doesn't fit in properly. If they'd made it take place during the same time as the early Rogue Squadron comics it would have been much better. All the females in the comic for some reason are unrealistic. The Pikkel sisters, who have mastered Teras Kasi among various other martial arts, are in pretty good condition, but are too buxom. In my experience, most female dancers and athletes don't have such huge breasts. Leia is also too slender and buxom, as is the Falleen, and all of the other women in the comic. I know it's probably more fun for the illustrator's that way, but it's unrealistic. The inclusion of Dash in this comic was kind of a corny stretch as well, and the Imperials at the beginning were kind of random. Since when does a Star Destroyer on random patrol randomly open fire on a civilian ship legitimately passing through the sector? And since when can a "full spread" of all of five or six proton torpedoes destroy an ImpStar? Oh well. I applaud the authors for some other details, though. All of the aurebesh really translates, it's not just random lines, and all of the art is pretty good. There wasn't excessive dialogue, but there was some good humor, and a neat look at Guri's past. Besides the fact that the story is completely inconsequential in the grand {Star Wars} scheme of things, it's quite nice. If you want some nice Star Wars eye candy with lots of action and a few questions answered, this is for you. Otherwise, skip it.
| 
