Rating: 
Summary: Could have been worse, but should have been so much better!
Review: The first few acts are pretty good, with some interesting ideas and approaches, but the closing passages comprise a thoughtless mess that sinks the novel.There are too many holes in this for my liking. Any pilot with half a brain can sneak into Imperial center by hiding behind a bulk-freighter? Oh puh-lease. There has not been a great deal of thought put into this novel. The plot seems so intent on reaching its conclusion that there is no room here for subtlety or torn loyalties. It's all black and white; there are no shades of grey. On the plus side, the narrative and style of writing is free-flowing and easy to read. The author doesn't cloud the story in metaphors for the sake of sounding intelligent which I found quite refreshing. However that is about all that could be said of an otherwise disapointing novel. We don't actually witness the death of Xizor, it is only an assumption. A cheap excuse for the author to bring him back at a later date. Why do authors do this? Anderson did the same with "Daala", Stackpole with "Isaard". At least Tim Zahn didn't sink himself like this and had the courage and conviction to kill off Thrawn who is without question the greatest Star Wars villain since Vader. All these events constitute a chaotic mess without regard for what any of it means. This nonsensical ending is really a shame, because the plot had a lot of potential but alas was executed so poorly that it never had a hope of achieving anything more than a "so so" verdict. Not a classic by any means; avoid if at all possible.
Rating:
Summary: Hype is the word of the day
Review: I have to admit that I put off reading this book, until the hype wore down. But once I read it, I couldn't figure out what all the hype was about. This book was honstly, well average. The idea of the Black Sun was phenominal, the character development was, as usual, poor.
Rating: 
Summary: A GREAT BOOK
Review: Ton of detail and action.Shadows of the Empire takes you in to the missions of trying to get back Han Solo.It also tells you how Xizor works with Darth Vader and how Darth gets rid of him.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: Shadows of the Empire is one of the best books I've ever read. It's got everything. Action, drama,suspense,romance,and betreyl. Xizor is one of the most evil villians I've ever read about. Leia is a little bit more tougher in this one and I like it. C - 3p0 and r2-d2 provide great humor throughout the book. Don't even get me started on Dash he is the man. He does a great stand-in for Han. I'm hoping to read Shadows of the Empire: Evolution soon. But I don't think anyone could outlive the oringinal.
Rating:
Summary: Bre's
Review: This book does a good job setting the scene for ROTJ. It moves at a good pace, with a satisfying ending. Darth Vader has been well characterised. However, in light of the release of The Phantom Menace, Darth Vader's preconception of his own force skills in comparison to his son's are a little awry. Also, I do not believe that Leia could be taken in so easily by Xixor(whom incidently started my sistor off with naming every character in the book after a piece of platground equipment). Over all, a good read.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is the ULTIMATE BOOK for STAR WARS fans!
Review: This book is quite possibly one of the best "Star Wars" books ever written, thanks to the wonderful and creative imagination of the author, Steve Perry. It has sometimes very funny humor involving Chewbacca, R2-D2, and C-3P0. It also has the original characters from "Star Wars", "The Empire Strikes Back," and "Return of the Jedi." The action is told in supberb detail and complexity, the drama is so intense and suspenseful, it leaves you wanting more. Even though this is the only "Star Wars" book I have ever read, I bet the planet of Tatooine, that this is the BEST yet.
Rating: 
Summary: This book has everything...
Review: ...All wrong! I can really only begin to tell you how painful this book was. I found the new characters to be hollow and boring. Xizor, this character who oozes charisma, in spite of being painfully foolish and completely unlikeable, could never have come to power through any means other than nepotism. I have my doubts that the Emperor would really tolerate such a buffoon for any real length of time, much less anyone else. I know I don't feel like reading about it. "Ooh, tell me more about the sexual conquests of a dreary dull interplanetary mafia don!" I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't care. Dash Rendar, on the other hand, was a completely fascinating and wonderful character. I enjoyed all of his exploits up until this book, when his name was Han Solo. Kill him. Incidentally, if you've ever read any other Star Wars novels, you know there's only room enough for two smug bastards in that whole galaxy, and the positions are already taken. The idea of the rescue mission was interesting. So much so that I really looked forward to reading this book. And I've never read anything by Steve Perry, so I don't know if the book was horrible or the writer. I do blame the writing, but this enormous project Lucas started working on so he could stall Episode 1 a little longer could easily have been responsible for that. Of course everybody in the know claims to love this book. Lucas, Steve Perry himself, and so on. I however am not in the know, and I hate this book. I can't help but think that if the book were re-written, with significantly better characterization, it would probably be a good book. I suggest that PAD take his first foray into Star Wars by re-writing Shadows of the Empire, the worst Star Wars story ever, with the possible exception of the Phantom Menace. I think they're running neck and neck about now.
Rating:
Summary: Shadows of the Empire (Star Wars)
Review: One of the best Star Wars books written! This is a good compliment coming from me because I have always had a negative opinion of the books that take place in-between the movies. Perry has managed to put a face to the darkside and Empire. (Which none of the books do.) The Darth vader narratives are great! And Xixor makes a fascinating villain! What's best is all the political "in-fighting" with the Empire's leadership. What makes this book even more spectacular is that he does this without everyone's favorite hero, Han Solo. While Dash could be classified as a Solo rip-off, the ending was the only corny part I found in the book.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: The text of the book was intresting, but what I thought was not realy that great was trying to creat another Han Solo in Dash. Did they do that because Han was in carbonate? It was real intresting on the way that they explained Darth Vader and how he did care about Luke but just the same wanted him for more power.It seemed a little weird that the Emperor couldn't tell what Xior and Darth were thinking, after all he was the most powerful man in the galaxy. I realy thought it was good but not the best and I save five and four stars for the better ones and the best.
Rating:
Summary: BEST SCIENCE FICTION BOOK YET!
Review: Of all of the sci-fi books I have read, this one's the best! It is very descriptive, has a wonderful plot, and is a masterpiece. It has a lot of action, adventure, and comedy. All kinds of things happen in it that would normally not be expected to happen.
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